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41
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84
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69
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53
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53
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31
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43
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55
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31
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57
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55
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74
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54
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34
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19
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47
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39
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79
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73
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69
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57
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36
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83
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34
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25
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71
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43
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63
Youth in Revolt
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82
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71
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43
Barefoot to Timbuktu
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24
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76
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52
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67
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65
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64
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65
Coco Before Chanel
84
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83
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57
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61
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68
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64
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72
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85
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61
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70
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24
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81
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56
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69
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73
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47
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78
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20
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52
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76
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47
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51
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71
Lourdes
73
Me and Orson Welles
77
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80
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57
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76
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
79
Mother
50
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88
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49
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67
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64
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67
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52
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40
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49
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74
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89
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76
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63
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32
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83
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69
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36
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63
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xx
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76
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52
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74
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74
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47
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19
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63
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54
Until the Light Takes Us
60
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84
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66
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45
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82
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xx
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43
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xx
Word is Out
64
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64
Young Victoria, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Once in a Lifetime

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
John Dower (story)
Mark Monroe (story)
Directed by:
Paul Crowder
John Dower
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 7, 2006
DVD: October 3, 2006
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for language and some nudity
Starring Matt Dillon (narrator), Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Rodney Marsh, Carlos Alberto, and Steve Ross
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: the rise of the New York Cosmos, America’s first great soccer team, and its larger-than-life superstar, Pelé. Suddenly embraced by a city obsessed with celebrity and flamboyance, the Cosmos kicked off America’s first passionate love affair with the world’s most popular sport & found themselves swept up in a careening path of glory, glamour, debauchery and controversy. (Miramax Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
It's a stylish scramble of evocative footage, groovy music, and crazy-candid reminiscences from key players still proud to score.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Funky, scrappy, dishy, screwy story of that star-studded, gilded squad.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Crowder and Dower's film is a refreshing reminder that without Ross and the Erteguns, pundits would have had to coin an entirely different term to describe "soccer moms," since without the Cosmos' brief and shining moment in the sun, suburban soccer leagues would be as rare as collegiate boccie tournaments.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Once in a Lifetime, which is being released at the peak of World Cup fever, is the sort of sports documentary that will appeal even to nonfans. It's a quintessential only-in-New York story.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Once in a Lifetime performs a belated autopsy on the Cosmos and the North American Soccer League and basically concludes that they died of impatience.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Kevin Williams
You don't need to be a soccer fan to, like Cosmos fans, fall for this captivating tale, told in "Rashomon"-like style.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
This is a movie so unabashedly in love with its subject that even audiences who don't know Giorgio Chinaglia from Georgie Best will leave the theater grinning.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
An exuberant look at a heady moment in America's soccer past that is well worth remembering.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
This tale of the team that for a brief period in the 1970s promised to popularize soccer in the U.S. has it all: heroes, villains, sex and, oh yes, some sports as well.
Read Full Review >Variety Leslie Felperin
While soccer fans will rep the core aud, even non-fans can enjoy.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Once In A Lifetime is less a proper documentary than an extended VH1 Behind The Music episode, but there's only a little bit wrong with that.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Once in a Lifetime's only major failing is the fact that the iconic Pelé is seen only in period footage.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
The movie is only so-so, borrowing a little from the VH-1 school of popumentary but lacking the snazzy production values.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Bill Gallo
This intermittently fascinating documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the Cosmos --which is also the rise and fall of U.S. soccer.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Joe Donnelly
Though the movie promises a Behind the Music–type look at the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the Cosmos -- a team (if the press notes are to be believed) overwhelmed by wealth, groupies, rivalry and power struggles -- it all adds up to a tempest in a tea pot.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Despite the title, this is less a soccer documentary than a corporate hagiography along the lines of "The Last Mogul" or "The Kid Stays in the Picture"; its real hero isn't Cosmos star Pele (who wisely declined to be interviewed), but Steve Ross, CEO of Warner Communications, which owned the team.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
James gave it a9:
Tells the story with humour and verve, and it’s hard not to be a little bit nostalgic for the days when 70,000 people would crowd into Giants stadium to watch “the other football.”
Robert F. gave it an8:
Both entertaining and informative. You'll learn a lot about the birth of mainstream interest in soccer in America.
