THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES

Director Daniel Gordon / 2002 / UK

To the astonishment of everyone, including themselves, the North Korean team caused one of the biggest upsets in soccer history when they defeated some of the greatest teams in the game to make it to the final round of the 1966 World Cup. It has taken almost four decades to track down the seven surviving team members and piece together the events that led up to the soccer shock that stopped the world. North Korea held the secrets of its champions until this marvellous documentary probed deep enough.

It was rumoured that the entire team was imprisoned soon after their return to North Korea due to the drinking and womanising at the celebration party, or perhaps because they lost a crucial game. Combining footage from the deciding matches plus unprecedented access to Pyongyang, the original team and World Cup archives, The Game of Their Lives is alive with nail-biting suspense. A totalitarian regime meets top-level sport in the international arena—-a genuine thriller.

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