Pele: Birth of a Legend (2016)

Pele's meteoric rise from the slums of Sao Paulo to leading Brazil to its first World Cup victory at the age of 17 is chronicled in this biographical drama.

Directors:

Jeff Zimbalist (as Jeffrey Zimbalist), Michael Zimbalist

Writers:

Jeff Zimbalist (as Jeffrey Zimbalist), Michael Zimbalist

Stars:

Vincent D'Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, Diego Boneta

Cast

Credited cast:
Kevin de Paula	...	Pele
Leonardo Lima Carvalho	...	Younger Pele
Seu Jorge	...	Dondinho
Mariana Nunes	...	Celeste Arantes (Pele's Mother)
Milton Gonçalves	...	Waldemar de Brito
Seth Michaels	...	Mario Zagallo
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Feola
André Mattos	...	Santos club's coach
Phil Miler	...	Narrator (voice)
Rafael Henriques	...	Yuri (14 year old)
Felipe Simas	...	Garrincha
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adriano Aragon	...	French Announcer (voice)
Mariana Balsa	...	Lucia
Eric Bell Jr.	...	Zoca (voice)
Diego Boneta	...	Jose

Storyline

Pele's meteoric rise from the slums of Sao Paulo to leading Brazil to its first World Cup victory at the age of 17 is chronicled in this biographical drama.

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Plot Keywords:

cameo appearance by real life subject | brazilian sportspeople | afro brazilian | brazil | ends with biographical notes | 

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Taglines:

A boy with nothing who changed everything.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some smoking and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Seu Jorge played Pelé dos Santos in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).

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Goofs

The film shows the Brazilian public on many occasions watching the live World Cup matches, This wasn't possible as Satellite broadcasting had not yet been introduced, and they could only have seen recordings of the games days later.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits include the disclaimer that "The persons and events in this motion picture are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional." Which is of course ridiculous considering this is a biopic of Pelé loaded with real events (like the 1958 world cup).

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Soundtracks

Return to Ginga
by Sivamani, with T. Raja, Kumaran, Prem, Shankar, Andrew, Kuberan, Purushottam, Yash Pathak, Vettri & Kumar
Composed by A.R. Rahman

User Reviews

Ginga or Joga Bonito, both mean: Pelé

I grew up watching Football, i loved it and i still do, and of course i love my nation (Venezuela), but you just can't denied that you like Brasil for their style of playing, their amazing Joga Bonito, it's just masterful and beautiful that makes you think, can i do that?, there are 2 correct answers: you work all day, every day for a very long time to accomplish it, or just wait until another life and born with it like Pelé.

This is the guy that every Football player looks up to at least one time in their life, and of course for us Fottball lovers to know there is a movie about this legend it's like saying, there is a movie about Michael Jackson and you think: They better don't mess it up, because he is the best in the business and he deserves it. Trust me they have done it right in this film, the kid playing Pelé is really good with his ginga (freestyle of playing) and does honor to the man himself, he really capture the essence of what he means to every fan, player and Brazilian in the world. Makes me think, can he have Pelé's blood, yes he does, but not by family, but by nationality, they just have it in them.

The movie it's solid in the cinematography, it really shows the feeling of the country and their culture and the sport itself, the casting made me think some times about overacting, but i just forget about it and kept watching a great film. What i really loved is that Ginga is explained and gives real knowledge of what it means, it's now that they call it Joga Bonito, but they are the same: One amazing player. Donpt believe me? just take a good look yourself this movie and experience what Soccer (that's how Americans call it) it's really about, and you will have the most amazing teacher, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or as is best known: Pelé.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese Swedish

Release Date:

13 May 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pele: Birth of a Legend

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,226, 15 May 2016

Gross USA:

$57,046

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,846,608

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, Seine Pictures, Zohar International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1