TITLE  = 40 Jahre Bundesliga: Titel, Tränen, Triumphe (DVD)
AUTHOR = Uwe Karte, Jörg Röhrig
PRICE  = EUR 19.95
SIZE   = 2 DVDs
YEAR   = 2003, Kinowelt, Mawa Film&Medien, Bild
SOURCE = www.kicker.de
RATING = 2 stars

40 Years Bundesliga: Titles, Tears, Triumphs (In German)

Note: DVD format for Zone "2". Will not work on unmodified US-DVD standalone players, but seems to work fine on PC based DVD-ROM readers.

I reluctantly give this 2 stars, although a 50% rating is perhaps more appropriate. On 2 CDs, this effort is the "official DFL" story of the league, and despite the thrilling subject matter, it actually manages to be quite boring.

The aim is to cover the highlights of the Bundesliga from 1963-2003. The first mistake is that the story is only loosely in chronological order. It could have been simple and worthwhile to start with 1963, and give a synopsis of each season, and perhaps have some "essays" interspersed here and there. That way you could have continuity and analysis. Instead, the story hops around, and although it has a general chronological flow, you're often unclear where you are. Too much time is wasted on generally worthless soundbites, that add nothing to the story.

40 Jahre does an acceptable job in portraying some of the great star players of the league, although quite a few are never mentioned. Of course, that's more forgiveable than many TEAMS that are never mentioned at all.

Most of the highlights are actually quite boring as well. Often, announcers from the time are used, and unfortunately they too are often lame, like Ernst Huberty. A good journalist, but his play-by-play is more suited to golf.

In summary, this is one of thoses movies that's worth seeing once, but whether you should plunk down 20 euros is questionable. Of course, there aren't many decent overviews of the Bundesliga, so it's not a complete losing effort. Say 15th place and just avoided relegation...