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

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.

A great movie for US soccer fans

I was the radio broadcaster for the Rocheter Lancers of the North American Soccer league from 1975-1980 and I spent quite a bit of time at Giants Stadium seeing Cosmos games,if we weren't playing. The film brought back all kinds of memories. It was great. I never would have recognized Shep Messing who played for Rochester in 1979. Also Chinaglia (sp?) I thought looked like Tony Soprano today. The Lancers used to play the Cosmos twice a year, once in New York (rather New Jersey) and once in Rochester. Plus we played a semi final series against the Cosmos in 1977...losing both games. We didn't beat the Cosmos after 1976. Still despite our lack of success, the Cosmos were a great team to watch. Anyboy who was a US soccer fan in the 1970's should like this movie. I didn't know it existed until I saw it on ESPN2 on 9/20/06.

PS-Downing Stadium on Randall's Island was my least favorite venue to broadcast from...Giants stadium was the best||| Yankee stadium was fun too in 1976.