Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7894 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-05-22
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

Synopsis
Profiling the Brazilian football team during their successful World Cup campaigns. Features highlights of the World Cup Finals of 1958 and 1970, plus the games against Italy in 1982 and against France in 1986. Also showcases the individual players such as Leonidas, Ademir, and the team of Pele, Rivelino and Tostao.

Customer Reviews

It's now 2006 - please Motty update It
This is - like John Motson describes some of the goals - "absolutely brilliant!" I didn't appreciate the gloriousness of the 1970 side until I got to see some of the highlights included in this DVD - Pele and co just blew the opposition off the park. Also included are highlights of England friendlies against Brazil and action from Brazilian club league games as a background to the World Cup action. They should have picked up the trophy in 78 and 82 - but football, like life, can sometimes be unfair.

The only thing I'm a bit gutted about - and I knew because the cover says it - is that it only goes up to 1986. Can we have a part two covering 86 to 2006? Motty if you don't fancy it ask Barry Davies.

Football's finest deserve better
What you get with this DVD is a very quick and perfunctory set of clips of Brazil's World Cup outings from 1930 - 1966. From thereon, the clips or highlights become more extensive. Therefore, it's clearly aimed at an audience who don't particularly care about how Brazil's football developed or its history. All they want to see is modern footage of goals. And on that level, this DVD certainly delivers.

So, my problem with this DVD is firstly a paucity of pre-'66 footage. There is plenty of material available and particularly depressing is how little of this DVD is spent on Garrincha, whom many Brazilians feel was their finest player of all time. Additionally the 1958 World Cup is simply brushed over quickly without dwelling on the iconic quality of Brazil's performance. It was the first time that the world got to see the trademark style of their play and the first three minuites of their final group match against the USSR is widely believed to have been the greatest three minuites in Brazilian footballing history. And where is it on this DVD? Nowhere.

The post-1966 material fares better but even then, it's edited and presented in such a mediocre fashion that after a while you just become numb watching goal after goal after goal with very little context attached to them. You don't really get a sense of how incredible the 1970 victory was and what a pivotal moment in international football history it was. Likewise the 1982 team, a team comprable to the 1970 one. When you watch this DVD, Zico and the boys are simply presented as just another Brazilian side.

Still, the goals are wonderful as are the touches of indivdual skill that once characterised Brazilian football. But don't be misled by the title. This is quite definitely NOT the history of Brazilian World Cup football. It is merely a collection of clips of goals, nothing more.

The Beautiful Game
This is the best footage of the worlds greatest ever footballers, its taken BBC a long time to release this on DVD as the tape edition has been out for years. This shows years of footballing excellence showing the way that the game should be played. A glowing tribute to the worlds best footballing nation that is Brazil. Also shows great footage of the undoubted best player ever Pele!