"Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," an informative and entertaining documentary by Paul Crowder and John Dower, blows the dust off a fascinating era: the rise and fall of America's most storied soccer team. (See Film Notes on Page 36.)

While the 1970s was the worst of times for New York City -- from its economic slump to the Son of Sam murders -- it was the best of times for the Cosmos. Launched and financed in 1971 by Warner Communications Chairman Steve Ross and music moguls Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, the franchise attracted sellout crowds to Giants Stadium (their eventual home, after an ignoble stint on Randalls Island) and made soccer -- at least in the Big Apple -- a must-see sport. (Fans included Mick Jagger and Henry Kissinger.) The team's jewel in the crown was global superstar Pele, the Brazilian who joined the team in 1975 to promote his favorite sport -- and for a then-fat salary. Not content with one marquee name, Ross also brought in international stars Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto -- all considered demigods in the soccer world.

But this halcyon period was short-lived. After poor television ratings and in-house fighting (Chinaglia seems to have been at the center of much of it), the Cosmos folded. And the demise of the North American Soccer League wasn't too far behind. The movie gives an evocative sense of the period and spends time with many of the principals (except Pele), most of whom blame one another for the team's demise. (Chinaglia seems to get the brunt of the ire, but it doesn't tarnish his outspoken self-admiration.) Anyone who wants to relive this flamboyant but fleeting chapter in America's uneven soccer history should not miss this.

-- Desson Thomson (July 14, 2006)

Contains profanity and nudity.