Once in a Lifetime

An interesting travel through the effort to create an American football (or soccer, if you must) league. It would have been nice to hear from Pele, but the rest of the talking heads are good value.

Quite an interesting subject explained alongside some of the best classic US soccer footage you'll see and an inviting hint of 70s flash and style. It certainly could have been a bit more driven, but Once in a Lifetime is a good film nonetheless.

:(

Great doc with a greater soundtrack. Weaves sports, film, and the music industry into a tightly nit package (with dull corners). In the vein of 'ESPN's 30 For 30'.

"The film is an uncanny reflection of soccer itself: intermittently engaging but generally a dramatically inert bore." - Nick Schager

Good doc that covers all the bases but paints a slightly rose-tinted picture of the club and its wider impact on world football. The absent Pele is a shame but not a great loss; what is missing is more on the demise of the Cosmos and its after-effects, and perhaps additional soundbytes on the Chinaglia disputes (as most seem more than happy to mouth off about him). Some very nice footage/photos on show, accompanied by a decent soundtrack, although the speed of cuts is often a bit too much.

Competently constructed doc about the hey day of proto-MLS squad the New York Cosmos. Described as focusing on 1977, I didn't notice the film zeroing in on that year any more than the seasons before or immediately after. As a non-soccer fan, I learned quite a bit here -- most importantly -- the proper way to pronounce "Pele". And what does that say about soccer's (non-)popularity in the US that I've never ONCE heard anyone correctly pronounce the name of its greatest player until I saw this.

Solid telling of an interesting story. Great images from the 1970s-matches.