Oh, man, what a fun, fantastic documentary; really, really riveting stuff.
In Search of Greatness explores the impact and relevance of genes, athletic talent, work ethic, passion, coaches, mentors, parents, siblings, teammates, era, and much more on the success of some of sports' most renowned athletes, Wayne Gretzky, Jerry Rice, Pelé, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Venus and Serena Williams among them.
Regarding creativity and its role in high-performance generally, the documentary even includes examples ranging from high-jumping pioneer Richard Fosbury Douglas (famous for inventing the "Fosbury Flop") and The Beatles to David Bowie and Bruce Lee.
Interviews with Sir Ken Robinson and author David Epstein (The Sports Gene), punctuated by a few audio recordings of the late, great, unconventional Zen philosopher Alan Watts power the story along.
I watched the doc two times in a row, in large part because I'm a slow learner, but also because it's that dang interesting.
If you enjoyed Michael Lewis' Moneyball (the article, the book, the movie, or the many interviews), In Search of Greatness has a very similar vibe and ethos, despite its being a Gabe Polsky production (2014's Red Army and 2017's Genius).
