This idea of ​​the filmmaker made the movie more accessible to more people.

Appreciate to the movie team. High quality movie.

Its very decent sport movie. Worth watching.

With retro tunes and presentation in addition to very personal accounts from relevant individuals, 'Once in a Lifetime' succeeds in transporting you back to this period when the 1907-85 New York Cosmos strived to engrave 'soccer' into the American culture. It is interesting to see how aspects of the modern game can be linked to them such as football's current position in the US, the relentless transfer market exploits of clubs such as Real Madrid and the mixed consequences of creating top-heavy leagues. However, despite it undeniably producing spells of entertainment (e.g the signing of Pelé), your overall opinion will eventually come down to the extent to which you're eager to learn about the content.

A bunch of men bickering about a failed project. Hyped at the start of the film as something that changed football forever even though it did anything but. I've seen far better documentaries.

An excellent documentary that takes you to a time and place that no one who lived it wants to forget. This pro soccer team ahead of it's time is what electrified soccer in the USA.

Once in a Lifetime is a great documentary giving the American public a view into how the WORLDS sport almost became Americas sport in the 70s. The story is fascinating and the rifts that still exist between many of the people involved in the NASL and the Cosmos are played out on camera too comedic results. However Once in a Lifetime has one major flaw that makes it hard to really give it the credit it should deserve. How do you make a documentary about the Cosmos and the NASL and not interview the man who made it what it is? Pele needed to be interviewed. Beckenbauer, Messing, Roth and Chinaglia are great but without Pele the NASL never would have happened. Rumors are his asking price for footage was outrageous but again in order to gain credibility as a legitimate documentary it had do be done otherwise you are left with the entertaining yet lacking Once in a Lifetime.

Maybe Better If You Care About Soccer When I was growing up, I knew people who were in soccer the way some kids are in Little League--before the Soccer Mom was a demographic all its own. It was a bigger deal in LA, because it's a bigger deal in the countries to the south. When I was in high school, the US hosted the World Cup, and some of the matches were played at the Rose Bowl. When I was in college, I had a friend whose generic Sports answer for Trivial Pursuit was, depending on whether the answer required a man or a woman, either Martina Navratilova or Pelé. I know a little bit more about the sport known in the United States as soccer, but not a whole heck of a lot. Sports in general have never interested me, and soccer is essentially never televised in the US, so I don't even get sucked into watching it with friends the way I have football or baseball--or even figure skating or Australian rules football. Therefore, all of this was news to me. In 1971, a group of executives for Warner Communications decided that what New York City really needed was a world-class soccer team. This documentary, narrated by Matt Dillon for some reason, is the story of how it came to be. We talk a great deal about Warner president Steve Ross, about how he took a sport that the average American couldn't care less about and crafted a team out of semi-pro American players and whoever he could get from Europe. In 1975, they finally succeeded in wooing Pelé to the United States and the Cosmos, and with his arrival, the team really took off. They would go straight from their games to Studio 54. The locker room was filled with so many celebrities that player Franz Beckenbauer said that the atmosphere in the locker room made him feel as though he was in Hollywood. Only when Pelé retired, the fortunes of American soccer in particular and the New York Cosmos in particular started a decline that is only just beginning to turn around. This movie did not make me overcome my lack of interest in soccer. I think they're right that paying Pelé $100,000 to get his perspective would not have improved things. (When they reference him in the end, they play a cash register sound over the image.) I think possibly that if they had focused exclusively on the soccer end of things, I would have just turned it off completely. I did find the business and sociological aspects more interesting--the most interesting soccer-related bit was the person speculating on why Americans have never been as into soccer as the rest of the world. (We like our sports less free form; the two big American sports all have plays, after which action stops before we move on to the next bit.) I scarcely know a good move from a bad one, though some of Pelé's acrobatics were visually impressive, if nothing else. Heck, even most of the celebrities they showed were more recognizable to me, and I don't pay much attention to certain aspects of '70s culture any more than soccer. The arc of the New York Cosmos is not an unusual one. It was the old story of the fad that people thought would be a lasting passion. Oh, yes, there was a problem with overexpansion, but the death of the New York Cosmos (though they have been resuscitated recently) would have come about as quickly without all the failed teams started in the wake of its success. Heck, Studio 54 followed about the same trajectory, if you think about it, even unto the fact that there was a faint whiff of questionable finances in the Cosmos toward the end, though probably nothing actionable. Wildly successful, and full of the best of the best, but its initial probability couldn't last, and everyone was banking on the belief that it would. Then, of course, there were the people trying to copy the success without knowing what had caused it in the first place--possibly without it being possible for anyone to understand what caused that popularity in the first place. The sad fact is, no one is likely to learn much of anything from the fate of the New York Cosmos. After all, the New York Cosmos didn't learn from those who went before them, either. I don't think I'm intended to get from this documentary what I did, but I think that's the only thing a non-sports lover can. I would imagine someone who really cares about the sport might well enjoy this movie for its sports merits, but I don't know enough about soccer to say. Unfortunately, I didn't find much to recommend it as someone who knows as much about film as I do, either. It's really only interesting to me as sociology, and there are better works of sociology out there. I have watched worse, too, of course, but I think the best reason to watch this is if you know more about soccer than the first paragraph indicates that I do. As the first paragraph indicates, that wouldn't be terribly difficult.

Excellent, concise and detailed telling of the story of the New York Cosmos, and the North American Soccer league. This documentary included a great collection of footage, and a sported an almost full cast of relevant interviewees. Only the star of the show was missing in that department, the genial Pele. I love the quotation at the beginning that "Americans don't have the attention span to watch a sport which is free flowing and continuous" That never occured to me , although somehow i doubt it's a problem for Matt Dillion whose narration was very good. Finally, i had no idea about the 'North American Shootout'. I've heard of something similar as a suggestion for a replacement of the penalty shoot out , but had no idea it has actually been used in football. I enjoyed the footage of some of these, and thoroughly enjoyed the full 90 minutes of this documentary

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Takes a fascinating look at how close soccer came to becoming a larger part of the American psyche. The stars NY put on one team are LEGENDS of the game. The film restores the excitement the Cosmos brought to the city.

I was inspired to see this film after watching Chelsea narrowly defeat Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout to claim the 2012 UEFA Champions League finals. That I am capable of writing the preceding sentence with any degree of expertise is a testament -- the filmmakers behind Once in a Lifetime would contend -- to the impact of the now defunct North American Soccer League, and more specifically to the exhilarating yet troubled New York Cosmos. Actually, I quite regret that I had to learn of the development of American soccer through this made-for-온라인카지노추천 documentary by ESPN. Sport is a subject that deserves more consideration, and this flashy film often works against its own interests by relying too heavily on the obvious choices audiences have come to expect from television: excessive detail about the political dramas within the team, visual effect-laden asides on the lavish lifestyles of the more popular players, the fanatic passion of yet another privileged media mogul cramming through his pet project at all costs, and so on. All these familiar traps, combined with quick, jump cut editing and a million dollar soundtrack, is ultimately very superficial and tends towards distraction, or in any case it diminishes the really compelling aspects of what is really a very interesting story about a significant time in American sport. For one thing, I really would have liked to have heard more from the less-heralded players on the team, even if it meant taking minutes away from someone as well-known as Pele, arguably the most important soccer player the world has ever known. The only truly likeable character in the film is Shep Messing, a fair-to-middling goalkeeper (and one time playgirl centerfold) whose resonant sincerity in the retelling of the rise and fall of the Cosmos not only comes across as a more honest account of this time in soccer history but also a much, much more absorbing perspective than whatever childish beef might have been brewing between this or that egotistical super star. I mean, after a while, I just got bored with Giorgio Chinaglia's antics, and I could care less about some over-traveled lawyer's experience getting Franz Beckenbauer to sign a damn contract. What happened to Randy Horton, a well-educated black American man in the 1970s, with aspirations towards the game of cricket (among other talents), who has since gone on to serve several terms in the Bermuda Parliament? Why did the filmmakers ignore his journey over the sexual exploits of Pele? Why can't we see impact of soccer on and because of this remarkable individual? Of course, even as I ask these questions I already know the answer: the peanut gallery wants blood and lust, and ESPN is more than willing to give it to them. Once in a Lifetime succeeds as a soft-pitch intro to an otherwise unknown part of sport lore, but fails as a true exploration, a documentary. One of the more fascinating -- though completely accidental -- insights of the film is what is revealed about socio-economic privilege in the United States. The flamboyant endeavors of Steve Ross, former CEO of uber-powerhouse Warner Communications and the primary engine behind the development of the North American Soccer League, clearly indicates the fundamental truth underlying American capitalism: most markets are completely synthetic. The very existence of the Cosmos was literally dreamed up by a handful of rich dudes, and they worked very hard to manufacturer an American fan base. As one sports journalist explains, soccer is ultimately anathema to the American experience. That it became a phenomena at all speaks volumes about the true unbridled power of the elite in this country -- they can fabricate a cultural experience through money and will. It makes you wonder what sorts of games would have taken hold in this nation had the public been given a chance to more fully participate. Televised bouts of Monopoly, perhaps? Though it was clearly not their intention, the filmmakers of Once in a Lifetime have done us a great service by acknowledging the often sordid origins of human sport. You'll have to wade through a lot of nonsense to see it, but it's worth the extra effort.

If you ask me, this is one of the very best documentaries ever produced. Crisp, smart editing using tons of photos & archival footage with incredibly entertaining (and funny) interviews. I was lucky enough to be one of the few to actually see it in a theater. The soundtrack is one of the best ever assembled for a doc. NYC of the 70s and 80s is a hoot to see on screen and the reminiscing of the players on everything from girls, to field conditions to NYC - this is a real gem many have never seen.

I wasn't in love with the design format and the actual soccer footage was sparse, but all in all a revealing story.

This remarkably well put together movie conjures up an era when America seemed so much more exciting, so much more dazzling, so much moreâ¦ahead than the rest of the world. Its late seventies locus is New York and its subject the Cosmos, five times Soccer Bowl Champions and the club that inspired a famous T-shirt of the time that the sport was â~just a kick in the grassâ(TM). An array of talking heads that would put I love a week last Tuesday to shame have been assembled â" a whoâ(TM)s who not only of the North American Soccer League but the era itself â" Cruyff, Beckenbauer, former Big Apple Mayor Ed Koch and that master of the offensive malapropism, Rodney Marsh. Narrated by Matt Dillon, the documentary is a classy piece of cinema indeed â" charting the history of the club from humble beginnings to final meltdown. The early story is peppered with surprisingly surviving footage and the early days at Hofstra University and at Downey Stadium on Randall's Island seem a world away from the crowds of 70,000 or more the Cosmos were to go on to post a few years later. The pitch at the East River location was to be spray painted green to cover up the bare patches â" a ploy that led Pele to believe he had contracted a particularly nasty case of athleteâ(TM)s foot â" but the circumstances that led the Brazilian to the US were a real paradigm shift â" media mogul Steve Ross swooping deus ex machina to spin straw into gold. You draw your own Robinho and Agà 1/4ero comparisons. Ross could count the likes of Ray Charles and Barbra Streisand among his employees and happily admitted that funding the Cosmos was costing a matter of 2 cents for every share (a lot when you added things up). The sweet shop mentality was clear â" every time a dip occurred, a new star was brought in â" Giorgio Chinaglia, the aforementioned Kaiser, Carlos Alberto. Conditions were lavish â" a special table was assigned at Studio 54, the Chivas Regal flowed and Mick Jagger went unrecognised in the dressing room. An oddity of the time was the incompatibility of a continuing international career while operating stateside for oneâ(TM)s club but otherwise, the parallels to the fiscally gluttonous present are legion. Chinaglia in particular is painted as a villain of epic proportions, daring to declare himself â~disgustedâ(TM) with the lack of service from the Minas Gerais born legend whilst being roundly despised by all and sundry â" general manager Clive Toye even goes so far to proclaim the Italo-Welshman as â~single-handedly responsible for the death of the Cosmos'. The revealing nature of the interviews and the slow revelation of the financial dust heap are interwoven expertly â" nobody can agree on how much it cost to take Pele to the States and the importance of a television deal to the health of a sporting venture is underlined â" an agreement with ABC lasted only a season and was the first nail in the coffin of a league that was to nonetheless provide some extraordinary moments â" a wondrous shoot out chip from Carlos Alberto and a cheeky pilfering of a goal from future England midfielder Steve Hunt are real highlights. A highly entertaining ninety minutes or so.

Must see for soccer fans!

They made Giorgio Chinaglia look like Dr. Evil this movie.

The interesting true story of a small period in the 70's when the yanks "got" football. The New York Cosmos were the Real Madrid of America signing legends like Pele, Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto. Even stars like George Best and Johan Cruyff followed. they were selling out stadiums and it looked as though America was the future of football. We all know ow that ended up. Although there is a noticable lack of archive footage in the first 15 mins (understandable) when it gets to the Pele signing things really get going and you get a real sense of the mania that followed. There's some great recollections of the glory days and to see how much the Americans got behind it is staggering when you see how they are these days. The players were mega-stars and were treated like rock stars. Yes it all came crashing down and although this is explored I would have liked them to go more in-depth about the sport's spectacular fall from grace. As a doc it is just talking heads chopped together with grainy footage and photos, pretty functional. The subject matter is so interesting though that you won't mind. Also, Pele declined to be interviewed for it which does leave a big hole as he was the star of the show. Watch it.

very interesting and fun documentary... little hard to process soccer had this much hype in the states... i would love to see this made into a feature... so much back stabbing, sex, italians that sound like they're welsh and guy named pepe'.

Great documentary. A must watch for all soccer fans