Goal! - The Dream Begins

Goal! - The Dream Begins
by Danny Cannon

List Price: ~~$19.99~~
Our Price: $7.20
You Save: $12.79 (64%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.19 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel, Kuno Becker, Leonardo Guerra, Tony Plana
Director: Danny Cannon
Brand: Team Marketing
Producer: Allen Hopkins
Producer: Chris Ouwinga
Producer: Danny Stepper
Writer: Adrian Butchart
Writer: Dick Clement
Writer: Ian La Frenais
Writer: Mike Jefferies
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-12
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

DVD Reviews of Goal! - The Dream Begins

DVD Review: A Cinderella story with a kick!
Summary: 4 Stars

I'll be honest from the get go. This is not a new story. It's the same rags to riches/Cinderella story, but with a football/soccer bent to it. Now depending on how the movie plays out, it could've been a very bad thing. But it wasn't.

Goal! is about a young man, Santiago Munez, who wants to play football more than anything else. When an ex-scout sees him play & notices the sheer promise Munez has, he instantly tries to get him scouted & brought over to the UK to play professionally. Unfortunately setbacks such as poverty & an unsympathetic father stand in Munez's way. It's only after his grandmother raises the money that Munez travels to the UK... and promptly fails the promised tryout. Luckily for Munez, he's given another chance but is unaware that some of the biggest hurdles have yet to come.

Like I said earlier, it would've been easy for this film to fail badly. The whole "average Joe makes good" thing has been done before in sports flicks. About 30 minutes into the film I couldn't help but think of 'Bend it Like Beckham'. But this film manages to pull off the Cinderella story spin well. I was able to relate to the character & I felt myself actually caring about whether or not he'd succeed, which is important for films such as this.

This wasn't the greatest film I've ever seen in this genre (Beckham is far better), but it really was a nice film & I can predict that this will be a hit with many football fans & players. I'm sure that there might have been tiny details that the savvy could point out as being incorrect, but for the non-savvy such as me, the film really was nice. (The ending was really the best part of the film for me- it was really heartwarming!)

DVD Review: Soccer dreams
Summary: 3 Stars

Inspirational film about Mexican American soccer player who makes his living doing manual labor in rich neighbourhoods of LA and playing soccer in his spare time. Santiago is gifted in soccer but he is not college student where the likelihood of him being picked up for the professional team is the greatest. It is during a chance meeting in the public park that he gets noticed by the former professional British soccer player who offers Santiago help getting into a (British) pro league.

That is how the story starts and turns into part inspirational story and part story about cultural differences between Europeans and North Americans. It is also a story about strength of the family and the power of love. For soccer fans this is a great movie to watch. There are plenty of guest appearances from the world famous soccer professional players. Lots of soccer action and dribbling if you like those.

DVD Review: I'm not gonna lie- this is one of my favorite movies
Summary: 5 Stars

So yeah, a story simple as simple can get- a man dreams of being a soccer player, and is one day offered a chance by a major to go to England to join a major soccer team. No kidding that's basically the plot of the whole thing. So yeah, it's gonna be a crappy soccer movie, right? That's basically my thoughts before watching this movie.

Boy, am I ever pissed at myself to this day for thinking that.

This movie was a PROFOUNDLY amazing movie on every level. I wasn't expecting The Godfather, and normally I'm not a fan of sports movies. But watching this movie, I was so surprised at how much I liked it. It take a plot that would normally be considered simple and turns it into something complex and surprisingly really great. One would not expect a good movie at all watching it, but they would be surprised as hell at how well done it is.

Ever since his childhood days in Mexico, Santiago Munez has had one dream- playing soccer. One night, his family sneaks across the border into California, where he has two jobs- one as a chef in a Chinese restaurant and one as a gardener for his dad. In his time off in the hot California sun, he plays soccer with his mates. That's his passion. His dream is to be a major league soccer player for a soccer team. Putting aside his status as an illegal immigrant, he saves his earnings so he can try out for a major soccer team.

Then one day, a man from England sees him playing Soccer. He is impressed at how well Munez plays. After the game, he offers him the chance to go to England and try out for the team. His grandmother encourages thim to ignore his non-believing father and just go, offering him the money.

While in the UK, Munez learns that it's not easy being a big-name soccer player. And he learns it the hard way- he has trouble playing in the rain, he has trouble with his severe asthma, and a death in the family causes some drama.

This film is of course cliched and predictable- LA is depicted with an orange tint, England is depicted with a rainy, cold washed-out blue tint, the stereotypical characters all come into effect at one point, and the finale is predictable as hell. But the way the movie is done, it's done in a way that you wouldn't care about that- you;d just really be blown away by how amazingly well done it is. And I must say, if this movie doesn't make you wanna go to England, who knows what will.

Do not miss this movie, even if you don't like soccer. It is a great movie.

DVD Review: Rent it. Buy it.
Summary: 4 Stars

If you like movies like Hoosiers and Rudy, you will love this film. Santiago Mu?ez is a very gifted young immigrant with an impossible dream--to play soccer for a world class team. It's a story filled with heart and determination. It will inspire and challenge you to reach for your own dreams and go after them with character and integrity. This is a great film. I recommend it. Rent it. Watch it. Buy it and you can enjoy it again and again. Beware, the sequel is not very good.

Goal! - The Dream Begins
Goal! The Dream Begins [Blu-ray]

DVD Review: Amazing story
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a great video for any sport fan, whether you love football(soccer) or not.

Description of Goal! - The Dream Begins

Like the inspiring heroes in MIRACLE, REMEMBER THE TITANS, and THE ROOKIE, the amazingly gifted Santiago Mu?ez, a young immigrant living in the barrios of Los Angeles, has an impossible dream -- to play soccer for a world class team. Unexpectedly getting a tryout with one of England's premier soccer clubs, Newcastle United, Santiago finds himself totally alone in a world where soccer is a religion and the players are gods. Now he not only has to prove he has the passion, talent, and determination to make it alongside the best in the world, but he has to overcome his own demons and those of others. Filled with memorable characters, great heart, and real-life soccer legends, GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS is a triumphant story about believing in your dreams.

You'd have to be a heartless curmudgeon to dislike a movie as enjoyably sincere as Goal! The Dream Begins. Yes, the corny title tells you all you need to know about this rags-to-riches soccer tale, but like Hoosiers and Rudy, this conventional sports drama rises above its familiar plot with an engaging cast and some pleasant surprises along the way. The first in a proposed trilogy that will follow young Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) as he rises to prominence in the competitive world of British soccer, this one begins by showing how Santiago, an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles, attracts the attention of a talent scout (Stephen Dillane), who arranges a tryout for England's prestigious team, Newcastle United. It's rough going for a beleaguered trainee who suffers from asthma, but soon Santiago is befriended by a hard-partying soccer star (Alessandro Nivola) and he's on his way to reaching his.Goal! It's all very inevitable, but director Danny Cannon makes the most of this inspiring story by exploiting the unexpected subtleties in an otherwise predictable screenplay: Santigo's relationship with his seemingly unsupportive father (Tony Plana) gains additional resonance as the story unfolds; a local nurse (Anna Friel) turns out to be more than a routine love interest; and Newcastle's German manager (Marcel Iures) is a wry, colorful character who works miracles with his unruly squad of players. Add some obligatory cameo appearances by real-life soccer stars including (of course) the great David Beckham, and you've got a modest, likable hit that delivers exactly what it promises, and a little bit more.--Jeff Shannon

Drama DVDs

Genres > Art House & International > By Country > British Cinema
General
Drama > General
Sports
Sports > Soccer

DVD Video

Bestsellers in Drama DVDs

Love Actually (Full Screen Edition)
Universal Studios; Release date: 2004-04-27; DVD
Best price: $6.86
Price in other shops: ~~$12.98~~

Little Dorrit
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-04-28; DVD
Best price: $29.99
Price in other shops: ~~$49.98~~

Lost in Austen
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-04-14; DVD
Best price: $9.28
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Cranford
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-05-20; DVD
Best price: $23.59
Price in other shops: ~~$34.98~~

Away We Go
Universal Studios; Release date: 2009-09-29; DVD
Best price: $10.94
Price in other shops: ~~$19.98~~

Love Actually [Blu-ray]
Universal Studios; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops: ~~$26.98~~

Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)
THOMPSON,EMMA; Release date: 1999-08-24; DVD
Best price: $6.42
Price in other shops: ~~$14.94~~

Once
HANSARD,GLEN; Release date: 2007-12-18; DVD
Best price: $6.66
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Scrooge
FINNEY,ALBERT; Release date: 2003-09-23; DVD
Best price: $8.21
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Love Actually (Widescreen Edition)
Universal Studios; Release date: 2004-04-27; DVD
Best price: $7.41
Price in other shops: ~~$12.98~~

Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs

Gracie
Team Marketing; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Real - The Movie
Release date: 2006-08-22; DVD
Best price: $13.45
Price in other shops: ~~$24.95~~

A Shot at Glory
Lions Gate; Release date: 2002-11-19; DVD
Best price: $7.42
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

GOAL!: The Dream Begins
by Robert Rigby
Harcourt Paperbacks; Published: 2006-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.10
Price in other shops: ~~$6.95~~

Goal
by Robert Rigby
Corgi Childrens; Published: 2009-03-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.44
Price in other shops: ~~$9.91~~

Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
Team Marketing; Release date: 2006-10-03; DVD
Best price: $6.28
Price in other shops: ~~$14.99~~

Goal II: Living The Dream (Gol 2: Viviendo El Sue?o) [NTSC/ REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
DVD
Best price: $14.00

GOAL II: Living the Dream
by Robert Rigby
Harcourt Paperbacks; Published: 2007-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops: ~~$6.95~~