Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos
by Paul Crowder, Jon Dower
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DVD Cover Information
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
Movie Reviews of Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos
Movie Review: These Guys Were Even Bigger Than You Remember
Summary: 5 Stars
No one who played US youth soccer in the 70s doesn't have at least a vague memory of the New York Cosmos, and a clearer recollection of the team's franchise player, Pele. Most probably can't relate, however, the historical significance of that team, and can't appreciate (or believe) how huge American soccer was for one, shining moment, as the 70s traded in their sequins for the early 80s. Once In A Lifetime shines a bright and admiring spotlight on the team, and narrates the remarkable conflation of events that almost put American soccer on the world's stage.
The Cosmos were the brainchild of a Warner Brothers bigwig named Steve Ross, created as the soccer equivalent to New York's Mets (the "cosmopolitan" to their "metropolitan"). And while Ross and most of his co-financiers didn't know a lick about the world's greatest game, they at least recognized its potential success in the US if marketed correctly, and they knew enough to listen to fellow record execs and worldly soccer fans Nesui and Ahmet Ertegun (former president of Atlantic Records and "the world's greatest record man," R.I.P.). Thus began the fascinating rags-to-riches tale of the Cosmos, who went almost overnight from playing on fields spray painted green and strewn with broken glass, to starring on national television and selling out major football stadiums nation-wide, all facilitated by the signing of freshly retired Brazilian star Pele and prime-of-his career Italian star Giorgio Chinaglia. The quickness with which events transpired is best told by some of the Cosmos' lineups: for example, nowhere else and at no other time could soccer's greatest player (and highest paid athlete ever, at the time) have shared field time with Shep Messing, a hayseed who'd posed for Playgirl months earlier. The pre-international phase Cosmos were literally playing alongside their heroes, and probably had to quit their day jobs as the North American Soccer League (NASL) grew.
The pace of the documentary is great, with plenty of soccer clips, paparazzi-shot photos and news conferences, and funny interviews featuring a lot of suits trying vainly to reconcile events remembered differently. The Cosmos' ascent to celebrity, the NASL's rise and fall, and the players' egos and rivalries, each are tales unto themselves that don't need embellishing. Once In A Lifetime wisely takes a hands-off approach in that regard.
Matt Dillon was an interesting choice as narrator, but gives the film a gritty feel as the team's earlier hardscrabble days are recalled. The DVD extras in particular are outstanding (to the soccer fan, anyway): a couple of NASL championship games, and Pele's retirement match in which he played a half apiece with the Cosmos and his Brazilian team Santos. Incidentally, Pele decided not to be interviewed for the movie- this could have detracted more were there not so much great stuff already included; as it was, it somehow added to the man's mystery and legend, and fit just right.
Summary 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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