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Amazon.co.uk Review
The entire history of the world’s favourite game? It’s an extraordinary challenge that could go have gone horribly wrong, but The History of Football 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 shed-loads of famous, rare, and never-seen-before footage, with 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 football’s myths and legends.
The breadth of enquiry is naturally impressive, as is the narrative structure, but it’s the deft handling of the sub-plots 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 (Chapter 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 football culture.
On The DVD: The History of Football on disc comes complete with a heaving platter 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 16:9 anamorphic aspect ratio, there’s a well-executed menu system, plus an "easter egg" of additional hidden material in every volume.--Alex Hankin.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Can't recommend this box set highly enough. Each DVD (seven in total) is split into two 50-minute programmes. Topics for the programmes include European football, South American football, Brazil, the development of club and international football, the media, superstars, developing nations and the future. The series has high production values and features extensive, poignant footage and interviews with all-time greats such as Pele, Maradona, Best, Rinus Michels, Zidane, Zico, Rossi, Klinsmann, Shearer, Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo, Maldini, Charlton, Platini etc etc. The extras are superb, including highlights of every World Cup Final up to 1998 and several European Championship finals, as well as longer interviews with the greats. The series is comprehensive, well made, engaging, informative and respectful. If you love football and appreciate its past, buy this.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Lavishly-produced by people who clearly love and understand the appeal of football, this is probably the best sport documentary series ever produced and well worth the asking price. The DVD box set can be broken into two parts, a 13-episode documentary series exploring various aspects of football's development and cultural significance as well as its great moments, and a whole slew of extras featuring *hours* of match highlights, extended interviews, more featurettes, biographies and even some sweet little "atmosphere" easter eggs, little silent documentary films showing various regions' passion for the game. The production values are absolutely right out of the top drawer, with as much care being taken as would be lavished on a big-budget BBC series. The range of interviews (and interviewees) 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. Bizarrely, given the anorak-like comprehensiveness of the match footage contained in the extras sections (every World Cup final, every African Nations final, every Asian Cup final, the first film of football ever produced, Real Madrid's finest moments in the European Cup, etc etc) the European Championship final coverage stops after 1976 - but this is only frustrating because the rest of the package is so utterly complete. Absorbing, fascinating, well made and well worth it. Five out of five.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is an excellent box set, but it is missing the episode that looks at Russian football, and tells the story of the 4 big Moscow teams, Dinamo, Lokomotiv, Spartak and CSKA. The same episode also tells the stories of great Russian playes like Lev Yashin and Eduoard Streltsov. This episode was shown on cable tv's UKTV Documentary along with all the other episodes in the series, but for some unknown reason is not in this box set. Still, it is a cracking watch, and i advise all true football fans to get it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
more action please
Although this is a history DVD and it does indeed give you so much info that you probably didn't know,it would have been nice to see plenty of action on the pitch. Read more
Published 21 months ago by bearpower
Pay attention
When we purchased the item, we thought that it worked on all regions of DVD players. We were wrong. Living in the USA, we had to watch it using our XBox 360 gaming device. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jennifer Desmond
Football Feast
Ironically, there is so much to see here that I struggle to find the time to watch it! From what I have seen thus far I can tell that i'll be engrossed in every minute of it. Read more
Published 22 months ago by DazzKK
Perfect
This is absolutely essential viewing. If you love football this gives new depth and you will have renewed respect for the beautiful game. Read more
Published on 7 April 2007 by Reader
11 men kicking a ball around a field.....
We have all heard this criticism of the beautiful game from those who refuse to appreciate the subtly of the skill and that decibel defying silence when the ball hits the net. Read more
Published on 10 July 2004 by Phatbassline
Absolutely Engaging - Lacking in little
Other than more comprehensive depth (and what footie nutter doesn't want that, or would ever be satisfied with anything other than seamless virtual immersion actually INTO the... Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2002 by Melvin G. Brennan III
A must have for any true football fan.
I took some risk buying this box set sinse I didn't read any reviews before I bought it and the cost was pretty hefty (75 pounds or so) but sinse I'm a hectic football fan and a... Read more
Published on 24 May 2002 by Guğmundur Ingvar Jónsson
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