History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game

Description

Product Description This DVD collection takes you beyond great goals and classic match action, to focus on every aspect of the game - on and off the pitch, along the corridors of power, from its humble beginnings to the billion dollar industry it is today. The series investigates the factors that have enabled soccer players to become culturlal icons and millionaires, recognized throughout the world. Through exclusive interviews filmed in over 50 countries, it explores the tremendous influence soccer holds over our lives. Every aspect of the sport is covered with exclusive footage, ground-breaking interviews with icons of the game - past and present and revealing insights into why soccer generates more excitement, passion, and wealth across the world than any other sport. With amazing DVD extras including rare and previously unseen footage, extended interviews and player profiles, this is must-see viewing for every true fan of the game! Collect all six volumes plus a bonus seventh DVD in a special limited edition DVD box set: Vol. 1: Origins / Football Cultures Vol. 2: Evolution / European Superpowers Vol. 3: Brazil / South American Superpowers Vol. 4: For Club and Country / The Dark Side Vol. 5: Superstars / The Media Vol. 6: Africa / A Game For All / Futures (2 DVDs) Approximate Running Times: Six Volumes (Seven Discs): 11 hrs, 16 mins DVD Extras: 3 hrs, 50 mins **Spanish-language version also included.** desertcart.com The entire history of the world's favorite game? It's an extraordinary challenge that could go have gone horribly wrong, but History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game is a class act. It boasts top-drawer production values, including narration by Terence Stamp, access to everybody who has really mattered in the game, ever, plus loads of famous, rare, and never-seen-before footage, each volume offering a blend of narrative, action, and illuminating interviews. This is a polished product: part celebration, part commemoration, but always with a sharp investigative sense, digging around the misty-eyed, good ol' days tradition, to explore in the company of those interviewed the reality behind some of soccer's myths and legends. The breadth of enquiry is naturally impressive, as is the narrative structure, but it's the deft handling of the subplots that really sets this apart, including: analysis of the dominant club sides such as Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Milan (volume 2); the evolution of Brazil (volume 3); the superstar casualties, like Maradona and Garrincha (volume 5); football as an agent of social control in Victorian England (volume 1); the revolution in French football that created the 1998 World Champions (volume 4); and the failure, so far, of Africa to fulfil Pele's famous World Cup prediction (volume 6). There's so little material here that isn't memorable that it's difficult to pick highlights, but action aside (and it's hard to think of an historically important game that isn't featured), an emotional Maradona exposing the "conspiracy" that fixed the 1990 World Cup final (volume 2) is an unforgettable slice of soccer culture. History of Soccer on DVD comes complete with a heap of extras (between 33 and 54 minutes' worth per volume) including, across the set, every single goal from every World Cup Final game; extended interviews with the likes of Pele, Maradona, Zidane, and Bobby Charlton; loads of "first-ever-recorded-on-film" material including the 1907 England-Scotland game; text-only biographies of the major interviewees; extended tournament highlights of past European Championships, African Nations Cups, World Club Championships, Asian Cups, and, of course, World Cup Finals. The picture itself is presented in widescreen, and there's a Spanish-language track plus an Easter egg of additional hidden material in every volume. --Alex Hankin Review: Amazing effort, mostly amazing results - This is a remarkable feat, a obvious labor of love, and if you're from England it's probably heaven on earth. If you're not from England, you may weary a bit from the rather relentless Anglo-centric viewpoint, but hey--they put it together, they're entitled to their own focus. As with any project as long as this, some parts fail to impress. The significant amount of time spent on the development of the game in India and on the African continent was (IMO) a little too much. Interesting to see once...but not something I'd likely share with my soccer friends. ("Hey! You've got to see this 30 minute segment on how political and sociological conditions in Ghana influenced the selection of the national team during the 1990's!") But there is a great deal here that approaches the magnificent. It was worth half the price of the whole package just to see the interview with Maradona where he mocks (MOCKS!) Peter Shilton for the hand-of-God goal. A classic! In fact the segment on South America (mostly Argentina and Uruguay) was flat-out excellent...followed by an entire hour devoted just to Brazil, with wonderful footage from the '56 World Cup that marked the emergence of Pele at the age of 17. One unavoidable problem with the disc is that this "history" gets older every year. This was put together just after the 1998 WC--a debacle for the United States. When talking about developing soccer countries, the USA isn't mentioned once. Instead, we have Hugo Chavez from Mexico complaining about how "sure we're the best in North America--but so what? We never get to play anybody good!" Grrrrr. If you buy this, here's what to expect (the good and bad): 1. Nothing but a few dismissive yawns towards the USA--appropriate in 1998, but wildly inaccurate now. 2. Everything you've ever wanted to know about the various incarnations of the English national side. 3. Wonderful analysis and history of football in South America. 4. A genuinely interesting analysis of the struggles between club teams and national teams, and how players can be caught between them. 5. Lots of interesting video of some of the first cup competitions in Europe, that follows the development of teams in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia (as it was called at the tme) and more. 6. An objective view of the problems of hooliganism (and a commendable willingness to place the blame largely on England, where it belongs.) 7. More than you wanted to know about football in India. 8. A lengthy and more-or-less interesting history of the bureaucracy known as FIFA. 9. The sense that the folks who put this together sincerely love the game. As you watch it all, you'll love it to. Review: Soccer (fotball) 101 - The History of Soccer (Football); The Beautiful Game, is a wonderful set. Its cinematography is outstanding and the narration is very good. The extras are very cool as well (my one complaint is that the type on the bios is a bit small. I liken it to a survey course at university such as a History 101 or 102 course. It is not overall comprehensive but is comprehensive in giving us an understanding of the game from its earliest origins to the modern game all the way up to the 2002 World Cup. Each DVD contains two one hour segments on a different historical theme of the history of soccer, and some extras. So much is covered hear, from the early origins, a Greek game that the romans adapted to a sort of ruby game that was preserved by both the Italians and the English to the modern games of Rugby and Football. In Soccer cultures the USA (a nice segment on the NASL is included) and Iran are covered as well as Asia and more. From the European superpowers (Italy, France, Germany, Holland, etc.,) to the South American Superpowers, with a whole segment featured on Brazil as well. From Clubs teams to the fans. From Superstars to the Media. And finally the growth in Africa. We get a pretty comprehensive look at the World Cup and good locks at the Europeans championships. All the superstars are hear, the great coaches, the great teams and the scandals are covered too. The different strategies and how they developed are discussed, as well as how the game spread to the fans. And how are why its so important to the fans. Also the political climates are discussed, as pertaining to the development of Soccer, in each country, in which politics has effected the game. Such as Fascism in Europe and a Dictatorship in Brazil. This is a great set and a great starting place for the novice fan and long time fan of Soccer (Football).