 
History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game
Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 22
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 On: 2008-01-02
I bought this for my husband this year for Christmas. Hes really enjoying it.
Its well done and includes a wide spectrum of the sport of soccer. Informative, entertaining and just really well done. Of course one could always find something to complain about, but over all I say a fantastic way to spend the days. Great viewing.
On: 2008-01-01
I bought this for my husband this year for Christmas. Hes really enjoying it.
Its well done and includes a wide spectrum of the sport of soccer. Informative, entertaining and just really well done. Of course one could always find something to complain about, but over all I say a fantastic way to spend the days. Great viewing.
 On: 2007-07-10
6 Needless DVDs (all information could probably be combined onto 2 DVDs). More footage of scenery than anything else (mountains, rivers, oceans). Very little goal or highlight footage. More political than soccer-related. More interviews than anything else. This is a low budget film wrapped in expensive, attractive packaging. They milk scenery footage and interviews (i.e. filler) for all theyre worth because they obviously dont want to spend money on goal and soccer highlights. Also, this movie only covers through 1998 so its already outdated. Youd get much more entertainment from "All the goals of World Cup 1998" or something like that.
 On: 2007-06-11
First of all, the production standards are terrible on this. Very nice, a bit staid, cinematography, but the sound mix is atrocious. The music booms, along with the narration, but interviews are recorded on sub-par, breathy microphones and are mixed very low in comparison to everything else. Even with the volume set too high for comfort in respect to the music and Stamp narration, you strain to hear the interviews.
And the presentation is very formulaic and drowsy. None of the energy of the game is captured. Instead you find the Ken Burns-ian approach of reducing any story, no matter its particular dynamics, to a deadly pace of voiceover over obvious imagery - cut to interview - cut to historical shot. Ive only made it through Disc 1, and find it difficult to believe Id make it through seven. But if Im proven wrong, I will append this review.
 On: 2007-05-10
Though I am not an avid soccer fan, this series allowed me to truly appreciate the popularity of the sport. Now I am more apt to pay more attention to the sport as I am tired of the NFL more often these days. The presentation is a well done video and audio spectacle.
On: 2007-01-18
The most complete history of the sport I have ever seen. Beginning with the ancient mayas and exploring the evolution of the sport to the present time. Also the best all-time goals and all the winning goals throughout the world cups. A must-have for soccer fans.
On: 2007-01-05
How ironic the subtitle! "The Beautiful Game." Beauty? Game? Where? If you consider high production values, a slowly building symphonic sound track, repeated close-ups of late afternoon sun-dappled water, or long shots of British dock yards beautiful, then perhaps there is "beauty" in this video. If a few select shots of crucial world cup and European championship goals, after lengthy commentary by ex-players and coaches, is your idea of "game," then perhaps there is game as well. But if one is looking for a video that actually SHOWS the beautiful game, this is definitely not it.
And what about the "History" part? Even for the academic with a high tolerance for boredom this video falls short. Its history and analysis is superficial for anyone with much knowledge of the game.
So much superficial discussion of historic teams, so much slow-building pseudo-dramatic music, so little real analysis off the field, so little sustained footage of action on the field. Ultimately, the video fails to be either a history of soccer (too superficial) or a depiction of "the beautiful game" (no sustained footage).
Perhaps the videos most embarrassing moment comes in the analysis that one interviewee provides of the failures of soccer in the United States. The game, he argues, will never catch on in the U.S. because it is too low scoring, because American audiences, who only understand goals, will never learn to appreciate the nuances of the game. Bitter irony. The viewer watches in disbelief as the producers of the video then go on to show us nothing BUT the scores of Pele, George Best, and the rest of the NASL stars of the 1970s! And so it goes throughout the series. Only goals. So much celebration of Hungarys passing attack but only goals. So much discussion of Hollands total game, but no footage of it in action. So much talk about Frances 1998 World Cup winner, but not a single shot of Zidane so much as passing the ball, let alone dribbling. If the game is beautiful for reasons other than scoring, where is the footage of that beauty? Of course, the irony (favorite word for this review) is that most soccer highlight shows are exactly the same. Talk, talk, talk about the beautiful game, but if you actually wish to illustrate the concept to the skeptical and undereducated North American masses, there seems to be nowhere to turn. Unfortunately, this dreadfully slow video, for all its high production values, is not the answer.
Check it out from your local library. Dont spend the money.
And please tell me where the video that actually illustrates and analyzes the "beautiful game" is to be found.
On: 2006-07-30
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).
On: 2006-06-06
As a soccer player myself and having seen countless amounts of footage and soccer videos, History of Soccer was a major let down. It plays like a monotone history lesson and fails to communicate the passion of the game. It contains far too much footage of landscapes, statutes and buildings than of beautiful plays. The interviews are nice, but they far too long and tedius: they should have played most of the interview as a background talk, while showing the actual footage of the beautiful plays being talked about. It missed a lot of great available footage of crack players (Maradona, Pele, Garrincha, Zico, the Kaiser, Johann Kruif, Higuita, Valderama, Ronaldo, etc.) instead, it shows the players walking about, kissing their girlfriends or travelling around... If you are an academic, or a fan, you may like it. If you are a player, youll find the DVDs interesting but rather boring. If you dont know the game, you will learn about it (after enduring HOURS of monotone talk), but you will not fall in love with the game. Pele himself did something similar back in the 80s or early 90s: a series which aired in TV that gave a full background of the game, all of its aspects, presented all of its stars and taught one how to play it. Such program was of better quality, with great insight into the game and leaved the audience with a desire to pick up a ball and start kicking it! Not only did he talk about the game but most importantly, he SHOWED what he was talking about. Such series had all of the footage shown in this DVD series and much more. I sure wish I could get a hold of it on DVD and I was wishing this DVD series would be sort of an update to that program, but was quite disappointed.
On: 2006-05-16
This is a remarkable feat, a obvious labor of love, and if youre from England its probably heaven on earth.
If youre not from England, you may weary a bit from the rather relentless Anglo-centric viewpoint, but hey--they put it together, theyre 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 Id likely share with my soccer friends. ("Hey! Youve got to see this 30 minute segment on how political and sociological conditions in Ghana influenced the selection of the national team during the 1990s!")
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 isnt mentioned once. Instead, we have Hugo Chavez from Mexico complaining about how "sure were the best in North America--but so what? We never get to play anybody good!" Grrrrr.
If you buy this, heres 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 youve 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, youll love it to.
On: 2006-05-15
This is a remarkable feat, a obvious labor of love, and if youre from England its probably heaven on earth.
If youre not from England, you may weary a bit from the rather relentless Anglo-centric viewpoint, but hey--they put it together, theyre 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 Id likely share with my soccer friends. ("Hey! Youve got to see this 30 minute segment on how political and sociological conditions in Ghana influenced the selection of the national team during the 1990s!")
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 isnt mentioned once. Instead, we have Hugo Chavez from Mexico complaining about how "sure were the best in North America--but so what? We never get to play anybody good!" Grrrrr.
If you buy this, heres 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 youve 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, youll love it to.
On: 2006-01-17
This collection of DVDs depicting the history of soccer is truly captivating. For fans who love the game, and cant get enough of it, there is nothing like being able to see over and over the greatest moments in soccer history... it is a dream come true. For those who want a deeper historical understanding of this beautiful game, there is a comprehensive analysis of soccer history... the good, the bad and the ugly... but overall, the sublime phenomena that soccer has become around the world. For wholehearted soccer fans, this a discovery of oneself and ones world... to see the great soccer traditions in China, Sudan, Egypt, India... this is the true definition of the world sport soccer is. Also, growing up in the US, the extras on the NASL were very nostalgic and moving. I wish there were more footage on all the greats that were part of this unique experiment in soccer... George Best, Pele, Eusebio, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Krol...
I just wish there was more of everything. More footage of the great games, interviews of great players (we need to have the words of Cruyff and Beckenbauer), and to also include the history of soccer in Oceania. The DVD collection reaches up until the France 1998 World Cup. I certainly hope Fremantle Home Entertainment builds on this work of art by adding to it the 2002 World Cup, and will continue with the upcoming 2006 World Cup. I would certainly buy each addition every year.
You will enjoy this invaluable collection for years, and will have a greater appreciation for this most universal of all sports... soccer.
On: 2005-08-09
From a global perspective, this documentary series has a glaring omission; it failed to give the viewers the development of soccer in the Oceanic region. If only this documentary had mentioned about the absolute dominance of soccer in Australia and New Zealand (in the confederation of Oceania), this DVD would truly be called a compendium of international soccer. Its failure to mention the confederation of Oceania (a common occurance in soccer literature as well!) and the development of the game in that region shows us that FIFA and soccer commentaries and journalists have still a long way to go before being truly global in their perception of this beautiful game. In fact, one of the producers, Guy Oliver (author of the classic encyclopedic book "The Guinness Book of World Soccer") repeats this same mistake in this series. Soccer is NOT ONLY about the winners and famous soccer nations and clubs. The soul of this mesmorising sport lies with the smaller clubs and obscure soccer nations such as Aruba, Mongolia, Vanuatu and Bhutan. Thus with a heavy heart, I am forced to give this documentary a 4-star rating and not a perfect 5 stars.
However, I really enjoyed watching this 14-hour series about world soccer. It gives the viewers a comprehensive detail about the history of this sport and the reasons for its immense popularity around the globe. It shows us every goal scored in a World Cup Final match and gives a detailed history of this sport in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, England and other top footballing European soccer nations. It even gives us the development of the game in China and India (potential world cup winning nations in the far fetched future) and shows us the future development of the game in the world.
Every famous soccer player was interviewed (the interview with Maradona was ESPECIALLY interesting and comical!) and the history of famous clubs are also being brought to light. Soccer tragedies are also being narrated and there is also a brief commentary about soccer hooliganism as well. The description of the political climate of some of the soccer nations (such as Sudan and Ghana) provides the fan an enjoyable slight deviation from the main theme.
In conclusion I would recommend this DVD to all passionate soccer fans. However, those who are interested in the minute details and facts about soccer, would not find anything new in this docummentary.
On: 2005-04-24
Excellent DVD that shows the evolution of football. Not for those who want to see lots of highlights, they are scarce and between 1900-1980 for the most part.
On: 2005-04-23
Excellent DVD that shows the evolution of football. Not for those who want to see lots of highlights, they are scarce and between 1900-1980 for the most part.
On: 2005-02-19
This is indeed a very good piece of work, worth your money, although a bit pricey. But hey you got yourself something like 14hrs of documentary!
The only complaint I have is that this documentary was released one year before the 2002 world cup, and as such lacks the very latest developments of soccer history, especially because that world cup was the first one to be held outside Europe or the Americas. All in all a must for all of those soccer fans like myself.
On: 2005-02-18
This is indeed a very good piece of work, worth your money, although a bit pricey. But hey you got yourself something like 14hrs of documentary!
The only complaint I have is that this documentary was released one year before the 2002 world cup, and as such lacks the very latest developments of soccer history, especially because that world cup was the first one to be held outside Europe or the Americas. All in all a must for all of those soccer fans like myself.
by: wez2001 On: 2005-01-08
This 6 DVD box set is titled, "History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game" on the outer package, but in fact, the documentary is actually called "History of FOOTBALL," so I will be using the word "football" to describe this great game, as it should be called.
At any rate, this is a very meticulous package. It contains the first ever, motion picture of football. Film footage of the 1901 FA Cup Final between Spurs and Sheffield United. Every World Cup final goal ever scored. And these are just the EXTRAS.
The real show is the documentary, narrated wonderfully by Terence Stamp. It starts from the beginning, where a multitude of cultures and nations began to kick a ball around, and it moves through every significant event that has shaped the football world since.
There is the Soccer War, where an actual war was started as a result of a football match.
There is the Moscow Dynamo team, captured in Nazi-occupied Russia, whose exploits against Nazis in a concentration camp were the stuff of communist legend, but are revealed to have been less than legendary now that the truth can be told.
There are the giants of club football, such as Manchester United and Liverpool on the England side, Juventus, Milan, and Inter on the Italian side, Real Madrid and Barcelona on the Spanish side, and many others. And there is even a look at the darker side of the game, such as hooliganism, various victims of air crashes, and the horrendous Hillsborough tragedy.
A spotlight is shone on every football-loving nation, from England, where the games governing body was founded, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Holland, Germany, Russia, and many more.
There is tragedy and triumph, elation and dejection at every moment. Scores of interviews from actual participants of many matches lends a human side to every story, and if you love this game of football, you will eat this DVD series up like I did.
Buy this if you are curious. Buy this if you are a fan. But most of all, buy this because it is a quality piece of documentary work with so many extras that it will take you a long time to complete viewing the entire set. You wont regret it.
On: 2004-11-27
History of Soccer-The Beautiful Game is an excellent documentary series that covers the sport from a comprehensive and global perspective. Being an avid and knowledgeable soccer fan myself, I learned triple of what I had previously known of soccer and recommend this set to any soccer fan. The picture and the audio are fine and there many links on the DVDs that provide more information about the material covered. The narraration is great and this set also has an enormous amount of interviews. Everyone from Pele, Maradona, Zidane, and Platini are interviewed. The only problem you may have is that it may be too expensive. In my opinion, it is well worth it!
On: 2004-11-26
History of Soccer-The Beautiful Game is an excellent documentary series that covers the sport from a comprehensive and global perspective. Being an avid and knowledgeable soccer fan myself, I learned triple of what I had previously known of soccer and recommend this set to any soccer fan. The picture and the audio are fine and there many links on the DVDs that provide more information about the material covered. The narraration is great and this set also has an enormous amount of interviews. Everyone from Pele, Maradona, Zidane, and Platini are interviewed. The only problem you may have is that it may be too expensive. In my opinion, it is well worth it!
On: 2004-07-14
This series is great but I didnt buy the dvd as I can just watch it on tape which I taped from foxtel.I have a question for all soccer(football) fans. Did soccer use to be alot more entertaining than it is now because of more defensive tatics in games these days?Please write back on Amazon so I can get your opinion, Thanks and se ya later
On: 2004-02-10
This set is loaded with excellent documentry.
Each disc has two volumes, and extras.
Very well edited...
Roots of how football/soccer began...
History of FIFA, UEFA, and club history, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, Celtic, Milan, etc...
Tons of game action, World Cup and other competitions.
Interviews of Pele, Maradona, George Best, Malidini, Zindane, Ronaldo, Paolo Rossi just to name a few.There is no other soccer documentry that comes close.
On: 2003-12-08
It is very good and gives you a good history of the sport. Soccer is the best sport in the world. Believe it or not. Ronaldo is the best soccer player alive and que Viva Las CHIVAS.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-04
HOS is certainly an ambitious series. With hundreds of teams, leagues & countries playing the game, therell always be omissions. Many of the topics they chose to cover deal with social and political issues surrounding the games development. They certainly give due respect to the giants of the game. However, they seem to have spent most of their budget on World Cup highlights as theres very little club football in the shows.Despite the sometimes arrogant commentary and questionable generalizations (such as the howler that the Soviet sport system didnt produce champions in team sports), HOS is a useful addition to any fans collection.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-11-01
A lavish production by people who clearly love Soccer, this is probably the best sport documentary series ever produced and worth every cent.
The DVD box set contains a 13-episode documentary series exploring various aspects of Soccers development and cultural significance as well as its greatest moments, and a whole slew of extras featuring *hours* of match highlights, extended interviews, more featurettes, biographies and even some easter eggs, little silent documentary films showing various regions passion for the game. The production values are absolutely fantastic, equaling any of the Ken Burns documentary series. The range of interviews is staggering - lengthy and utterly engrossing chats with the likes of di Stefano, Maradona, Pele, Menotti, Sandro Mazzola and Jurgen Klinsmann to name just a few.
Absorbing, fascinating, well made and well worth it. Five out of five.
On: 2003-11-01
Less a history of soccer than the title would suggest, this documentary on DVD is more a chronologically-minded discussion of football topics and polemics rather than pure history, and one that manages to say very little over the course of seven discs. Jarringly repetitive, it will, for instance mention a topic or event on several episodes, each time going a different level of depth into the topic, leading to a feeling of deja-vu for the viewer. I kept wishing this were done by Ken Burns. Then wed get a feel for the personalities of the sport, something which this cold, distant HOS series fails to do, as well as good highlights, another thing HOS gives in surprisingly little amounts.
Along with an annoyingly Anglo-centric view of the game (Britain seems to be brought up one way or another in every episode, even for the most tangential of references), there is also a strange preoccupation with Indian football. India gets two whole segments in this series, over twenty minutes of airtime for a nation that isnt anywhere close to challenging anyone for anything in world football.
The extras amount to nothing but unnarrated, oftentimes confusing footage collected under a specific heading, but otherwise viewable elsewhere in the series.
Also, if a team didnt reach a major final, they arent talked about. There is no mention of the Bulgarians at USA 94.
No mention of Steaua Bucharests unlikely penalty shootout win over Barcelona in 86. Many other quality events like this are missing. Instead the series focuses on topics that are often boring, such as devoting an entire hour to the bureaucratic history of FIFA. Yawn.
Overall, somewhat of a disappointment. Not worth the price.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-10-08
I saw this when it aired in Canada last year. I cannot recommend it enough.
The footage is sensational, the interviews fascinating and the scope and research of this documentary was beyond my wildest dreams.
I am a long time Soccer and sports fan and anyone that is interested in either needs to see this!
A "Must See" event for all sports fans!
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