Once In A Lifetime is a "hilariously intercut" documentary telling of America's brief love affair with soccer in the 70s. Co-director Paul Crowder already had the critically acclaimed Dogtown And Z Boys and Riding Giants under his belt when this opened to rave reviews.

He Shoots...

Two deleted sequences reveal a couple of story threads that Crowder and co-director John Dowder didn't have time to follow up. The first could be the premise of a Hollywood comedy with talking heads revealing how a four-team tournament was staged in the US to publicise the Cosmos, but a shortage of money meant they could only afford a couple of European sides and the Haitian national team. In the end the Haitians failed to show up for the final because they'd decided to jump immigration instead!

The second sequence uses archive footage to chronicle Pelé's farewell game with the Cosmos and the mania that surrounded him wherever he went - even in China. It's a fascinating glimpse at how one man worked a nation into a frenzy and topped it off with an emotional address to the crowd (which one speaker says you could "pour over your pancakes").

Of course the one big letdown of the film was Pelé's refusal to appear (apparently too busy promoting his own documentary). Actor-turned-producer Fisher Stevens addresses the problem with a wry sense of humour in the featurette The Real Hunt For Pelé. Official channels of communication get him nowhere so he jets off to Rio de Janeiro beseeching cabbies and accosting passers-by on the street in a desperate bid to get in touch with the legendary footballer.

The Set Play

Pelé wasn't the only difficult customer the filmmakers encountered. Crowder and producer John Battsek recall the lengthy negotiations involved in getting Henry Kissinger before the cameras in their commentary for the film. When they did finally get him alone in a room, the former Nixon aide greeted them with, "You've got ten minutes. Get on with it." That explains the poor framing insists Crowder... Thankfully it's a rare lapse in style for the director who also talks about "getting a 70s feel" with all those split-screens, wipes and funky soundtrack - the latter taking quite a chunk out of their $1m budget. At least he didn't have to spend too much money on special effects; Apparently it was all about "pushing the Avid to its maximum", he says referring to the widely available editing software.

With its comical take on an era of excess and the egos that went with it, this DVD isn't just for footie fans. Anyone who sees the funny side of today's celebrity-obsessed culture should get a kick out of it too.

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