Mark SchultzJust to be clear ... this new hour-long ESPN documentary has nothing to do with a 1988 fictional comedy/drama of the same name, starring a young Keanu Reeves. In text to accompany a trailer for its "Prince of Pennsylvania" documentary posted online Friday, ESPN described it as "the tragic story of the turbulent relationship between Olympic wrestling stars Mark and Dave Schultz and multimillionaire John du Pont."
At its "30 for 30" webpage for "The Prince of Pennsylvania", ESPN provided a somewhat more detailed telling of the tragic story known all too well by the wrestling community: "Back in the 1980s, the road to the Olympics was long and hard for an amateur wrestler. But then along came John du Pont, an eccentric heir to the family fortune with a passion for wrestling. His 800-acre Foxcatcher Farm outside Philadelphia became the hub of the sport, with state-of-the-art training facilities, free accommodations, generous stipends and the support of America's best freestyle wrestlers, brothers Mark and Dave Schultz. It all seemed too good to be true -- and tragically it was, with a savage ending. Featuring fresh testimonials and never-before-seen footage, 'The Prince of Pennsylvania' is the story of a paradise lost to the madness of its creator, a man who had the means to buy anything except for the one thing he truly wanted."
Jesse Vile, "The Prince of Pennsylvania" director, was 14 when the murder took place at Foxcatcher Farm, not far from his home. After seeing previews for "Foxcatcher" in early 2014, Vile realized Dave Schultz's killing had ramifications well beyond suburban Philadelphia, saying, "It was rich territory for a documentary and ESPN felt the same way."
"John du Pont was a strange man who did some terrible things. He hurt a lot of people," said Vile. "But during my research, I was surprised to discover there were many who remember him as a good-hearted but deeply troubled person. This made it a difficult story to tell because it's hard to humanize a killer. But it was important that du Pont wasn't treated as a two-dimensional monster in order to understand the depth of the tragedy that occurred on Jan. 26, 1996, in Newtown Square, Pa. Dave Schultz brought out the best in John du Pont, but, unfortunately, also the worst."
The Hollywood entertainment publication Variety weighed in with its review of ESPN's "The Prince of Pennsylvania" documentary on Saturday.
"The movie, notably, centered heavily on du Pont's relationship with Mark Schultz, played by Channing Tatum, the brother of his eventual victim," wrote Brian Lowry, TV critic for Variety.
"Mark is interviewed extensively here, along with a number of the other wrestlers, but the focus shifts pretty squarely to Dave, who seemingly felt he could control, or at least manage, du Pont, despite his drug and alcohol abuse and increasingly erratic and paranoid behavior."
"While the movie frittered around the edges of what motivated du Pont, the documentary more directly zeroes in on his desire to achieve greatness through his contact with those who accomplished it within this sphere, including his pathetic desire to become an Olympian himself in middle age."
Lowry wrapped up his review of the ESPN documentary by writing, "Clearly, 'Foxcatcher' and 'Prince of Pennsylvania' grapple with the same story from different angles. But viewed in concert, the two paint a complementary portrait of a madness that was sadly allowed to go unchecked, largely because of the size of a checkbook."
For another perspective, check out InterMat's in-depth feature on the murder of Dave Schultz, written by Mark Palmer a decade after the crime.
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