Amazon.co.uk Review
The Story Continues revisits the familiar and the forgotten from a great tournament. France, 1998 proved a worthy World Cup with which to end the first century of international football--the multiracial, multicultural host team won with a compelling blend of skill, style and passion; there was drama and controversy; and a host of brilliant young individuals burst onto the world stage.
All your favourite bits are here: loads of France and Brazil of course; Chilavert, Paraguay's roving keeper-captain; Owen's wonder-goal, Beckham's red card ("stupid petulance"); Scotland's Jim Leighton flapping away; Bergkamp's masterful last-gasp winner against Argentina. Plus a few soccer landmarks--the first ever golden goal; the USA vs Iran; the first ever close-mikes on players for the national anthems.
Cramming the action from 60 games into a 55-minute programme was never going to be easy--so the producers didn't bother. There is a broad sense of the unfolding tournament, but little traditional tracing of the journeys from group stage to final--instead the programme draws themed strands of action together, with plenty of slo-mo-to-music montages. The lack of a strong linear narrative will not please everyone--certainly not those only looking for England's story--and the failure fully to address enduring controversies, such as Ronaldo's "illness", leaves this production some way short of definitive, but it's a fun memento that will stand repeat viewings.
On the DVD: The Story Continues is presented on disc in 4:3 format. Extras consist of another 55 minutes of material devoted to the pick of the individual stars--a WC98 select squad of 22 players, including all the ones you'd expect (Beckham, Owen, Zidane etc), and a few surprises. Barry Davies narrates. But it's another missed opportunity to include tournament details: even some text-only results and stats would have been very welcome. --Alex Hankin
DVD Description
DVD Special Features:
Bonus Programme: Stars of world Cup 98
Language: English, Dolby Digital
Subtitles: None
Screen format 4:3
See all Reviews
