Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Paul Crowder (co-director)
John Dower (co-director)

Writers:

John Dower (story)
Mark Monroe (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Tagline:

The untold story of the team that had America at its feet.

Plot:

The rise and fall of the N.Y. Cosmos. The soccer team that brought Pele to America; against the backdrop of N.Y. City in the 70's.

Plot Keywords:

New York Cosmos | Soccer Football | Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ahmet Ertegun	...	Himself
Nesuhi Ertegün	...	Himself (archive footage)
Matt Dillon	...	Narrator (voice)
Clive Toye	...	Himself
Shep Messing	...	Himself
Giorgio Chinaglia	...	Himself
Peppe Pinton	...	Himself
Werner Roth	...	Himself
Jay Emmett	...	Himself
Phil Woosnam	...	Himself
Raphael de la Sierra	...	Himself
Carlos Alberto	...	Himself
Franz Beckenbauer	...	Himself
Pelé	...	Himself (archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marv Albert	...	Himself
Johan Cruyff	...	Himself
Rose Ganguzza	...	Herself
Mia Hamm	...	Herself
Steve Hunt	...	Himself
Mario Mariani	...	Himself
Rodney Marsh	...	Himself
Steve Ross	...	Himself
Bobby Smith	...	Himself
Dennis Tueart	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Once in a Lifetime (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and some nudity.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Company:

Passion Pictures

Trivia:

Pelé declined to participate in the documentary when the producers balked at his $100,000 fee.

Loved It!

One of the bubbliest, most rollicking, and most surprising documentaries you'll ever see.

I am a soccer fan, but you won't have to be one to enjoy this movie. If you like anything about the 1970s--the music, the disco scene, the cheesy TV graphics--you'll love this movie.

It's premised on the nearly-insane vision of multimillionaire media mogul Steve Ross to make soccer a big time sport in the USA. It led to absurd spending, classic sports excess, and surprise, surprise--sold out stadiums! The whole thing was a roller-coaster destined to crash from the very beginning, but my it's fun to watch happen.

The cinematography is quick, flashy, and usually tongue-in-cheek. The interviewees inform, hedge, dodge, bicker, and blame. You end up with a partially contradictory but often balanced view of what happened with this wildest of teams. The personalities of this movie are its most endearing quality.

It all makes for an entertaining story for non-enthusiasts, but an epic story for anyone with any liking for this game. There are a few factual discrepancies (the largest of which was that the NASL had accomplished a few things in cities other than NY before Pele ever got there), but they're more than compensated for by the insight the film gives to its central topic.