Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos
by Paul Crowder, Jon Dower
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DVD details
Actor: Matt Dillon (narrates)Director: Jon Dower, Paul Crowder
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Producer: Fisher Stevens
Producer: Tim Williams
Writer: Mark Monroe
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2012-01-06
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: LIONSGATE
Product features:
- Run Time 97mins
- Highest Quality Recording
DVD Reviews of Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos
DVD Review: Remember when one star shone brightest in the Cosmos?
Summary: 4 Stars
Growing up in New Jersey in the 1980's, I was vaguely aware that there was a soccer team called the Cosmos that played not far from where I lived. Unfortunately, I was barely walking and talking by the time Pelé had played his final game in Cosmos colors, and I missed out on the magic of their championship seasons in the North American Soccer League. "Once in a Lifetime" transported me back to the 1970's and helped me see what happened during the first heyday of American pro soccer.
Some of the first soccer footage you see in "Once in a Lifetime" is set to opera music - which is fitting for a documentary that unfolds like an opera. After a brief history of American soccer, the emperor arrives on the scene. Entertainment mogul Steve Ross' millions help to raise the NASL's profile from obscurity to unprecedented heights, but he seemingly only cares about victory for his own club rather than the viability of the league. The wooing of Pelé follows. He sweeps into New York like a god to sign a huge contract and sparks national interest in soccer by demonstrating his breathtaking skills on the soccer field.
Not long after, we meet the sympathetic villain of the piece, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia, without whom the Cosmos would not have enjoyed their success. His bigger-than-life personality, however, brings him into some conflict with Pelé. Then, after the final curtain call comes for the great Brazilian, Chinaglia begins to assert himself within the organization, and his close relationship to Ross appears to lead to his running the team from the locker room.
At the height of the Cosmos' glory days, free-flowing money, superstar players, hedonism, Hollywood glitz and NASL championships were the norm. The rapid declines of the Cosmos and the league, however, mirrored the Roman Empire: too much excess and too much expansion. Still, the film does a service by reminding viewers that future for soccer in the United States isn't bleak; it may never reach the level of football, basketball and baseball, but it appears to be here to stay.
"Once in a Lifetime" features excellent bits from interviews with key characters in the Cosmos story: from the team's first coach Gordon Bradley to some of the greatest superstars of the game who donned the Cosmos colors, like Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer. More than a few members of the front office management also weigh in on the rise and fall of the club and the league.
The documentary makes good use of photographs, Cosmos match highlights and other video clips. The music video-style presentation and an excellent mix of `70s soul/funk, disco and rock perfectly match the changing moods of the film. Actor Matt Dillon's excellent narration complements the various highs and lows of the Cosmos. These elements all combine to give viewers a feeling of how New Yorkers and the rest of the nation experienced Cosmos-mania during the height of the league's popularity.
The extra features on the DVD are superb. Three edited Cosmos games give you a taste of the old NASL as it was originally presented on ABC. The "Stories of Pelé" program from ESPN gives you a better insight of what the uniquely gifted player meant to those who played with him and against him over the years.
Description of Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos
Glory, glamour, debauchery, controversy. It's all here in Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story Of The New York Cosmos. This untold tale of America's first great soccer team and its larger-than-life superstar reveals how a scrappy team of ragtag athletes rose from total anonymity to stratospheric celebrity only to flame out in a New York minute. From the makers of award winning One Day In September and Dogtown and Z-Boys, this hugely entertaining and humorous film has everything - heroes and villains, egos and excess, wild partying and exciting sports action. Adding to all the drama are candid- and often juicy- interviews with former players, coaches, newsmakers and journalists. It's a once-in-a-lifetime story you just can't miss.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
The 2006 World Cup brought a plethora of soccer films (OK, three) to the cineplex. The most entertaining is this '70s-infused documentary of the New York Cosmos and the brief life of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Cosmos rose to the pinnacle of success in the league, bringing in many famous players from around the globe including German Franz Beckenbauer, Italian Giorgio Chinaglia, and most notably, Brazilian Pele, the most famous athlete in the world. For a brief, shining moment, these players and the league made soccer hip and viable to a country who hardly embraced the sport beyond pre-teens kicking the funny ball around. The film delves in those who knew Warner Brothers honcho Steve Ross, who funded his passion and lingered in the spotlight. The fast and breezy doc has a great array of music to power through the talking heads, including players, commissioners, agents, coaches, and even Henry Kissinger. The high-scoring Chinaglia is painted as a villain type, who charmed Ross and--now on camera--some of us as he recounts the days. Other players, like Cosmos goalie Shep Messing, recall wonderful stories about being a hack one week to playing with the greatest ever the next. The yarn of brining Pele to America is nearly half the film; an incredible story of dreams, egos, and dollars. The fact he is not interviewed for this film is inconsequential. He's better received as a legend, and deservedly so. --Doug Thomas
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