The best Pelé’s documentary movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Pelé’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Pelé.
Pelé
7/10
Against the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil, this documentary captures Pelé's extraordinary path from breakthrough talent to national hero. Mixing rare archival footage and exclusive interviews, this documentary celebrates the legendary Brazilian footballer who personified football as art.
Diego Maradona
7.7/10
Constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage, this documentary centers on the personal life and career of the controversial football player Diego Maradona who played for SSC Napoli and Argentina in the 1980s.
Pele Forever
7.4/10
Documentary about Brazilian soccer genius, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pelé.
The Art of Football from A to Z
6.4/10
Funnyman John Cleese leads viewers through an exhaustive -- and hilarious -- tour of the world of soccer, complete with the sport's most memorable goals, kicks, saves, goofs and penalties. Also included are reflections on soccer's impact on culture, including the Monty Python sketch "Philosophy Football," and interviews with celebrities Dave Stewart, Dennis Hopper and Henry Kissinger, as well as soccer icons Pelé, Mia Hamm and Thierry Henry.
Sergio Mendes: In The Key of Joy
8/10
A joyful, cinematic celebration of this singular musical artist, who remains as vital and relevant today as when he exploded on the scene with his group, Brasil '66. With a rich, multi-layered approach to storytelling, the film digs deep to reveal the forces that shaped his incredible journey.
Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
7.3/10
In the 1970s the North American Soccer League marked the first attempt to introduce soccer to American sports fans. While most teams had only limited success at best, one managed to break through to genuine mainstream popularity - the New York Cosmos. The brainchild of Steve Ross (Major executive at Warner Communications) and the Ertegun brothers (Founders of Atlantic Records), the Cosmos got off to a rocky start in 1971, but things changed in 1975 when the world's most celebrated soccer star, the Brazilian champion Pele, signed with the Cosmos for a five-million-dollar payday. With the arrival of Pele, the Cosmos became a hit and the players became the toast of the town, earning their own private table at Studio 54. A number of other international soccer stars were soon lured to the Cosmos, including Franz Beckenbauer, Rodney Marsh, and Carlos Alberto, but with the turn of the decade, the team began losing favor with fans and folded in 1985.
Bobby
7.1/10
A film which marks the 50th anniversary of England's victory in the 1966 World Cup, and uncovers the truth behind the man who led them to it... Bo66y is a powerful, dramatic and deeply personal portrait of a genuine footballing icon. Moore fought many battles besides those witnessed by millions on the football field. Behind the glory lies the story of a man who faced highs and lows with the same strength and bravery. But he died young, cruelly shunned by the game and by the very people who owed him so much. The story is told by his two wives, his friends and fans, including Pele, Sir Geoff Hurst Harry Redknapp, Ray Davies, Ray Winstone and Russell Brand, and more than 30 others, whose words are mixed with as yet unseen archive footage.
Todo Poderoso: O Filme - 100 Anos de Timão
8.7/10
Todo Poderoso: O Filme - 100 anos de Timão tells the saga of a team that was born from the hands of five workers to become a real social phenomenon. Rescues images never before seen footage as the first of Corinthians in 1929, plus historic interviews of the first team's idols, as Neco, Del Debbio, Baltazar and Luizinho. Brings together for the first time, the major superstars that recall the glories of these 100 years of history through more than 200 goals. It features unreleased song of Bid, Rappin Hood and Negra Li composed especially for the film's official centenary of Timão.
Gods of Brazil: Pelé & Garrincha
7.5/10
Documentary telling the story of legendary Brazilian footballers Pelé and Garrincha, whose emergence following Brazil's defeat at home in the 1950 World Cup Final heralded the dawn of a golden age of football for the country. But while one man became known as the world's greatest footballer, the other died a broken alcoholic at the age of 49.
When the World Watched: Brazil 1970
Simonal: No One Knows How Tough It Was
8.1/10
In a time of timeless and revolutionary talents, Wilson Simonal shined as nobody before and innovated as only a few could. All of a sudden, everything vanished. This film maps the spectacular trajectory of the ex-Army corporal that ruled as a monarch, and was condemned to ostracism for an offense to which he pleaded not guilty.
True Brazil
8.3/10
In the late 1960s, Thomas Farkas imported equipment suitable for direct sound, and released a collection of documentaries called "Brasil Verdade" ("True Brazil"), after the Military Coup d'État took place in Brazil, which happened without any popular resistance or revolution or reaction of the society. The five short films are directly related to this fact and its consequences to the country.
In Search of Greatness
6.9/10
A cinematic journey into the secrets of genius as told through the greatest athletes of all time. It includes original interviews with Wayne Gretzky, Pelé, Jerry Rice, and features Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan, among others.
Ecco
5.5/10
A documentary highlighting some of the oddest, strangest and more grotesque examples of human behavior. Included are a tour of the Grand Guignol theater in Paris, a man who sticks long needles through his body, reindeer being castrated, and footage of lesbians and strippers.
Subterrâneos do Futebol
7.2/10
The practices of football in Brazil and the issues surrounding the sport. Press, players as a commodity, the popular passion, the practice on the fields of várzea. The statements of Luiz Carlos de Freitas, a young promise of Palmeiras, and Feola's coach, as well as an interview with Pelé.
This Is Pelé
6.8/10
Santos de Todos os Gols
The goal is the culmination of any football match that prevails: the moment of maximum euphoria expected by any team. And the team of Santos is known for being the Brazilian record holder who has rocked the networks to this day. In this essay, idols like Pelé, Robinho and Serginho Chulapa tell how their sensations blended into the Club's own history in its most important moments on and off the field.
Santos, 100 Years of Playful Soccer
7.6/10
A portrait of the one hundred years of Santos Football Club, where history is told by the real facts, their meaning and emotion. "To born, to live and to die Santos", the path of the first Brazilian football team to become World Champion twice since its foundation. From Pelé goals era to the irreverent football of Neymar’s generation, the history is told by supporters, players and historians, inserting the football passion into the cultural context of Brazil and inside each Brazilian as well.
Superstição e Futebol
Religious beliefs linked to football.
50 Anos do Tri
In 2020, we celebrated 50 years of winning the Tri, won at the Mexico World Cup in 1970. The film portrays the backstage of that title, the political and social context of Brazil at the time and how that selection of superstars marked the lives of many people. To tell the story of this achievement, different names in different spheres of Brazilian and Mexican society.
