Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
by Paul Crowder, John Dower
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ahmet Ertegun, Clive Toye, Marv Albert, Matt Dillon, Steve HuntDirector: John Dower, Paul Crowder
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-10-03
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Miramax
Movie Reviews of Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
Movie Review: Bombastic, inaccurate and, like the NASL, almost but not quite
Summary: 4 Stars
The movie itself is highly entertaining and much better than the book. It still paints a picture as if the league never took off until Pele came along. Yes and no. Portland became "Soccer City" prior to Pele's arrival and Seattle and Tampa were certainly on their way.
I also think they overplay the Cosmos ruling NY angle (the NY Yankees were a pretty big story during the '70s when Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson ruled the roost) and the impact soccer had. The TV ratings nationally were abysmal even during the 1977-80 heyday.
That said, get the DVD! It has so many fascinating background takes on all that went on with the Cosmos and the NASL, it is both a fun ride and a cautionary tale of what excess can do ultimately to your "product."
The extras are not all that great. You get the 1980 and 1981 Soccer Bowls and the Pele Farewell Game vs. his old club team Santos (Brazil). They are basically 20-min. condensed extendo hilites and just emphasize how bad Jim "Village of Vancouver" McKay's toupe and play-by-play commentary was. Also, it seems the copies they got of the original tapes lacked lighting. I was constantly cranking up the brightness on my TV to "see" the action better.
And of all the Soccer Bowls, why 1981? That was a dull (and I'm not spoiling it really) 0-0 affair in which the Chicago Sting won in a shootout in rainy boring Toronto. Put the 1977 Soccer Bowl vs. Seattle on there as that was Pele's lone NASL championship (that I have on excellent quality video bought off some firm that did NASL game tapes in the '80s out of Natchez, MS, so it is out there available from collectors). Or throw on one of the many thrilling matches the Cosmos had vs. either the Vancouver Whitecaps or the Tampa Bay Rowdies to show the "real" NASL.
The Farewell Game is dull beyond belief. It's typical of friendlies (exhibition matches) so I was not expecting much. Other than seeing Frank Gifford as emcee in his ultrayellow Monday Night Football ABC blazer, it's really not worth adding here other than for historians.
If they ever re-release this DVD, whack on some better extras.
Summary of Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
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 ThomasWhile professional soccer is still struggling to find a firm foothold in the United States in the 1970s the North American Soccer League marked the brave first attempt to introduce the game to American sports fans. While most teams had only limited success at best one did manage to break through to genuine mainstream popularity -- the New York Cosmos. The brainchild of Steve Ross (a passionate soccer fan who was also a major executive at {@Warner Communications) and Ahmet Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun (the founders of {@Atlantic Records) the Cosmos got off to a rocky start in 1971 (no one was especially happy with the playing field at Randall's Island and some rowdy fans were known to throw broken glass onto the grass) but things changed in 1975 when the world's most celebrated soccer star the Brazilian champion Pele signed with the Cosmos for a five-million-dollar payday. With the arrival of Pele the Cosmos became a hit with both fans and the media and the players became the toast of the town earning their own private table at Studio 54. A number of other international soccer stars were soon lured to the Cosmos including Franz Beckenbauer Rodney Marsh and Carlos Alberto but with the turn of the decade the team began losing favor with fans and folded in 1985. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos is a documentary by Paul Crowder and John Dower that looks at the team's remarkable history and includes interviews with many of the Cosmos' star players (with the notable exception of Pele who declined to participate). ~ Mark Deming All Movie GuideSystem Requirements:Running Time: 97 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: PG-13 UPC: 786936718126 Manufacturer No: 05266800
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