http://theleoafricanus.com football as never before (May 21, 2009 by Sean Jacobs)
Earlier this month, ESPN screened Kobe Doin’ Work, by American director, Spike Lee. In the film, Lee focused 30 cameras on Kobe Bryant, the star point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, during a regular season game against the San Antonio Spurs. Lee captured Bryant’s every move at the expense of the game or his teammates. Lee acknowledged that he got the idea for the film from the 2006 film, Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait (2006). In that film, directors Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno trained 17 cameras for 90 minutes on Zinedane Zidane, the French midfielder during a Spanish league game between Zidane’s club, Real Madrid, and Villareal.
What most people don’t know is that both the Bryant film and the Zidane film was [sic] based on a much older, and more interesting, football film. In September 1970 German avant-garde director Helmut Costard – in what was a revolutionary concept at the time – used eight cameras to film Northern Ireland football star George Best for a league match between his club, Manchester United, and Coventry City. The result was the 100 minute film, Fußball wie noch nie (Football as never before), that was released one year later.
I’ve always wanted to see the Best film.
On Tuesday, June 2, Cabinet Magazine is organizing a screening of the George Best film, followed by a discussion with the cultural critic Simon Critchley (300 Nevins Street, Brooklyn, NY, FREE. No RSVP necessary). Sadly, I can’t go as I will be in Washington D.C. But if you’re in the New York City area, go see it.
Winslowalrob replies:
A) Kobe is not a point guard.
B) The Spike Lee movie was nowhere near as good as the Zidane movie.
C) I have never even heard of the Best flick, I gotta find a way to see it.
D) Where you staying in DC?
MoL adds
Zidane didn’t last the 90 minutes as stated because he was sent off after receiving a red card. The score in the Best film was 2-0 and Best scored a goal, after which he was seen being congratulated by teammate Denis Law whose main cultural influence was his haircut, which inspired Rod Stewart’s.