... treats its audience like a bunch of attention deficit disorder cases.
Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
The untold story of the team that had America at its feet.
2006 · 1h 37m · PG-13
Documentary
Directed by
Paul Crowder
,
John Dower
Overview
In the 1970s the North American Soccer League marked the first attempt to introduce soccer to American sports fans. While most teams had only limited success at best, one managed to break through to genuine mainstream popularity - the New York Cosmos. The brainchild of Steve Ross (Major executive at Warner Communications) and the Ertegun brothers (Founders of Atlantic Records), the Cosmos got off to a rocky start in 1971, 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 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.
Director and cast
- Paul Crowder Director
- John Dower Director
- Pelé as Himself (archive footage)
- Franz Beckenbauer as Himself
- Carlos Alberto as Himself
- Raphael de la Sierra as Himself
- Phil Woosnam as Himself
- Jay Emmett as Himself
- Werner Roth as Himself
- Peppe Pinton as Himself
- Giorgio Chinaglia as Himself
- Shep Messing as Himself
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
... accomplishes the minor miracle of making you mourn a sports team you likely never knew existed in the first place.
Once in a Lifetime, which relies on interviews and archival footage, may not be a great documentary, but it certainly gets its points across.
Once in a Lifetime would have benefited greatly from historical and outside perspective, but the story on screen is such a kick that even monotone narrator Matt Dillon gets caught up in the excitement.
A cavalcade of theatrical personalities, juicy war stories, unforgiven grievances and old-school cinema dazzle.
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