THE PLOT THUS FAR
Go behind the scenes with the Egyptian national soccer team — the “Pharaohs” — and its American coach, Bob Bradley and follow the team’s efforts to qualify for soccer’s ultimate event for the first time in more than 20 years. Faced with ongoing violence and political strife within the country, the team must remain united and work together to reach their ambitious goal.
American Pharaoh documents the team’s personal and professional struggles to keep their eyes on the prize of getting to the World Cup while living in and representing a country in turmoil.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“American Pharaoh” is a documentary about Egypt’s attempts to put political strife behind athletic dreams. Struggling to make the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, Bob Bradley serves as an unlikely coach. The young American works his ass off to forge a bond with the team, while skirting carefully around the after effects of the Arab Spring. The results are shaky at best, but they show promise in a region that seems allergic to positive change. The team works their ass off to stay united, but it’s iffy.
Soccer has always had a hard time catching the attention of the American mainstream. I think a lot of that has to do with misappropriated anger from the rest of the world trying to call it Football or Futbol or Silly Foreigner Sport. While the documentary plays about an hour, I wish we could’ve got a commentary to expound on what was going on. There’s such a rich history here and the recent World Cup shenanigans has temporarily renewed American interest in the sport. PBS should’ve took advantage of that.
The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is typical for standard definition. The transfer is flat with little punch-up. But, the Dolby 5.1 track kicks up where needed. In the end, I’d recommend a rental or streaming it.
RELEASE DATE: 07/08/2014