Diego Maradona

I saw this earlier this evening.

It's an absorbing watch. The stories of Maradona and his complexities are so compelling that it can be enjoyed by football fans and people who know nothing about the sport, though, obviously, if you know a little to begin with you may appreciate it a bit more. There is a lot of football on screen at all times, what makes it is the other elements of the history that it draws on - the archetypal rags to riches tale, the nationalism and racism that Maradona faced and helped to fuel his fire, the murky politics and crime, the general head-spinning emotional intensity that existed around him all the time - and all of the drugs and all of the women. How could a person keep their head screwed on through it all?

Some of the footage is incredible. There's all of the on-pitch stuff with Maradona being alternately brutalised - literal ankle breaking tackles, countless sneaky elbows to the face, wild lunges from defenders clearly meant to maim - or displaying his awesome genius by whacking in impossible goals and drive to win after leaving chump after chump sitting on their arses in his wake. But the parts that had the most impact for me had to do with the ecstasy and agony of adulation - the opening sequence when he is unveiled in the stadium, walking through it like a messiah, thousands collectively losing the plot all around; the homecoming scene in Buenos Aires after '86, with that flag waving sea of people in the square; the raw joy of the crowd when he gets the winner in the match against Juve. But it all comes at a price, eventually. It struck me that why people loved him so much wasn't just about the things that he did, but how when he achieved great things he was totally with the fans and shared in their happiness.

But all that love and adoration is just too much after a while, people will always want a piece of you - and soon you can't get into a car or even out of your front door without being besieged. The footage of him basically struggling to catch a breath in Naples, while photographers, reporters, fans, everyone, kept coming from every angle, was exhausting and anxiety inducing. And I was only watching it; imagine living it.

Sure, there was nothing in the film I didn't already know before and, sure, I've seen most of the goals and skills down through the years, but you can never really tire of watching his skill, no matter how many times you've previously seen it. The assembling of all of those moments together, mixed with all the off field madness for context, gives the documentary a great cumulative power. What a player. What a crazy few years. Well worth a watch.

I agree with the previous poster, watching this film on the big screen was special. The film was paced perfectly and from the opening moments it was gripping viewing.

The footage of the celebrations of the homecoming in Argentina after winning the world cup in 1986 were something but were possibly even surpassed by the footage of the celebrations the following year in Naples when the city celebrated Napoli's first League title.

Probably unfair to compare this to Senna which I also thoroughly enjoyed, but I just felt this film was on another level, a masterclass in editing. It even included a brief snippet of commentary from Jimmy Magee at Italia '90 if I'm not mistaken!