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

As someone who grew up in Northern New Jersey during the rise of the Cosmos in the late 70's/early 80's, I was looking forward to seeing this movie, and it looked so good in the trailers. While it did not... Full review

Hey Kids! Remember the NASL? I TOTALLY do. The Calgary Boomers were my town team, my Dad had season tickets, and I was insanely jealous that I didn't catch one of those nifty looking NASL balls they kicked into the... Full review

One of the bubbliest, most rollicking, and most surprising documentaries you'll ever see.I am a soccer fan, but you won't have to be one to enjoy this movie. If you like anything about the 1970s--the music, the disco scene, the... Full review

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... Full review

I saw this film at the Hot Docs Film Festival in May 2006. The North American Soccer League was struggling along through the 1970s until the New York Cosmos, owned by Warner Communications head Steve Ross, decided to bring superstar... Full review

Wow! What a blast from the past! I spent 5 years of my life working for the Cosmos in their ticket office- 1978-1983. I missed the early years, but got a real education from watching this film. It brought back... Full review

I knew a little about the New York Cosmos before I saw this movie, and had always been intrigued as to how Pele, Beckenbauer and others came to play in a country that had seemed so apathetic to association football... Full review

What a crazy laugh the New York Cosmos must have been back in the 70s! This is the story of one man and his dream to turn what was not much more than a pub team playing in a delapidated... Full review

Atlantic Records moguls Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun were instrumental in getting Ross interested in soccer, and it was Warners deep pockets that allowed the Cosmos to spend so lavishly. Against this backdrop, the Cosmos flameout was nothing short of spectacular. ... Full Review

The film's argument concerning the lack of network support seems plausible to a point-nothing in the U.S. goes without the engine of TV-but other factors contributed. That first game was broadcast by a less than enthusiastic CBS, and the movie makes the case that the sport was neglected ever after by TV, which showed no sustained interest and mounted no serious campaign to make the business go. ... Full Review

For a couple of seasons, the Cosmos, New York Citys brilliant pastiche of superstar talent from around the world, was brilliant: good fun, great partiers, phenomenal players. That first game was broadcast by a less than enthusiastic CBS, and the movie makes the case that the sport was neglected ever after by TV, which showed no sustained interest and mounted no serious campaign to make the business go. ... Full Review

It's right there in the title, alas: This is primarily the story of the New York Cosmos and not a movie about the NASL as a whole, the latter being a far more interesting subject. The story is complex, and it ping-pongs from corporate machinations to footage of various games (the outcomes of which are largely irrelevant to the meta-story here), and the film almost begs us to care about them. ... Full Review

Lacking some important viewpoints, the film still manages to paint a delightful and educational picture of sports history when soccer was more popular than baseball and football combined. Fueled by hype, disco-fad mentality, and legitimate competitive excitement, the New York Cosmos piloted the charge that brought football to the U.S. for a beautiful, sweet moment in the 1970s. ... Full Review

Unnecessary, yet sprightly and consistently interesting, "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," with its overblown title, accomplishes what few documentaries, much less pseudo-documentaries, even attempt: It's a mostly coherent portrait of a failed effort... ... Full Article

It was 1977 and one of New York's most tumultuous and decadent summers. Then, in the midst of blackouts, riots, the Son of Sam serial killer scare and the dawn of Studio 54, came an entirely unexpected moment of inspiration:... ... Full Article

3 stars (out of four)Everybody messed up except for me, who told them so.To understand "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," you need to understand that sentence. ... Full Article

Like many kids who grew up in the 1970's, I played soccer for several years in organized youth leagues before hanging up my cleats for good once my age reached double-digitsthose who doubt this are advised to go to Amazon.com... ... Full Article