Product Details

• Actors: Matt Dillon (narrates)
• Directors: Paul Crowder, Jon Dower
• Writers: Mark Monroe
• Producers: Fisher Stevens, Tim Williams
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• DVD Release Date: January 6, 2012
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GRUMZU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,553 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Product Description

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.

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This product is expected to play back in DVD Video "play only" devices, and may not play in other DVD devices, including recorders and PC drives.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Once in a Lifetime August 26, 2006

By Damian Mc Donagh

Okay, so maybe I was too young to remember the nineteen seventies and era of the New York Cosmos soccer team. But, after seeing this movie I wish I had been around to witness the soccer extrazaganza that really was the New York Cosmos. This movie brilliantly captures everything of that time from the actual inception of the North American Soccer League to Pele's arrival with the Cosmos. Indeed the original footage of Pele's time in New York used in the movie, is truly incredible! Better still is the funny and triumphant saga of Cosmos owner Steve Ross' determination to capture Pele's signature over other interested parties that included Juventus and Real Madrid. This movie even goes one better with a fantastic soundtrack which includes the likes of James Brown, The Supremes, Diana Ross, The Jam and The Jackson Sisters. I would thoroughly recommend any soccer or general sports fan to check this movie out if not just to see and hear soccer greats Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto fondly recall their wonderful times they both experienced playing for the New York Cosmos.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars When Soccer was popular in North America... October 26, 2006

By Cubist

Format:DVD

In the 1970s, the New York Cosmos succeeded in bringing a significant amount of attention to soccer in the United States. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos features narration by Matt Dillon with interviews with many of the team's star players (with exception of Pele who wanted too much money) and footage of the team in action in the North American Soccer League as it chronicles the team's meteoric rise and fall that was mirrored by the league itself.

Once in a Lifetime does an entertaining job of showing how the clash of egos brought about the demise of the Cosmos and the animosity that still exists between certain key figures. It also shows how the hedonism of the day also contributed to the team's downfall. As attendance soared (they even sold out Giants Stadium - something that is unthinkable today), the players were treated like rock stars with their own table at the exclusive nightclub Studio 54 and indulged in all of the usual excesses - sex, drugs and alcohol. This documentary does for American soccer what 24 Hour Party People did for the Manchester England music scene - it captures the energy and excitement of a specific period of time with a cheeky sense of humour and with the help of a great soundtrack of classic `70s songs that properly establishes the tone of the decade.

"Stories of Pele" features additional interviews with contemporaries of the legendary player - those who played with and against him - recounting stories of his amazing prowess and passion for the game.

In a fantastic touch, there are highlights from several classic games in the Cosmos' career, including the 1980 and 1981 Soccer Bowl games. Fans of GolTV should keep their eyes peeled during the 1980 game for glimpses of a young Ray Hudson playing for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and who now commentates for football matches on that station.

Best of all is the very emotional "Pele's Farewell Game: October 1, 1977" that features highlights of the man's final professional match. There is some great vintage footage of this momentous occasion.

Finally, there is a deleted scene entitled, "Haitian Divorce" that examines another unusual way that the Cosmos made money. They were supposed to play the Haitian team who was jetlagged and disappeared before the match. So, the Cosmos found a bunch of guys who looked like them and had them play against the team!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars is not enough! October 20, 2006

By bobbyknightmare

Format:DVD

In telling the story of the Cosmos, the producers of this film went beyond the fawning "those were the days" stories and went into the real story: the infighting, the behind-the-scenes deals, and how the Cosmos brought the NASL into the spotlight, only to see the NASL cut its own throat through overexpansion and television deals that should never have been struck, bringing the Cosmos down with them.