Puskás Hungary

Puskás Hungary looks back on the life of the greatest Hungarian sportsman who ever lived. Ferenc Puskás was, however, more than just a mere sportsman. He was the god of Hungarian football, which in the 1950s was admired all over the world. Puskás was loved everywhere he played and lived: in Madrid, in Athens, even in Melbourne people would chant his name in stadiums and ask for his autograph. He was, and still is, THE national ambassador of Hungary. Everybody has heard of his name. Puskás is he first thing that occurs to a foreigner's mind when they hear the country's name. Puskás is Hungary. The documentary takes us through all the main episodes of Puskás' life, including the hardships of losing the 1954 World Cup final, and having to emigrate abroad under the communist regime. The film is simple, yet moving. It is about a man who not only received, but gave love to everyone he knew. He never let fame and stardom go to his head. He was a true legend.

Puskas is football, so simple like that.

I saw the movie in the cinema, the last week. I went with my grandpa, who lived sometime in Spain. He was a Real Madrid's fan and in the end, he cried. I was really surprising, I never seen him cry before. But, well, he felt a lot of things. I guess.

I didn't cry, but I felt moved. Because Puskas wasn't only a great football player, was to, a incredible man. Who had an unbelievable life, full of adventure.

Anyway, all these thing can see it in the film. Very well made, with a lot of statements, from many important people, like Di Stefano, Pele, Platini o Beckembauer. The film show all his life, from his beginning in Hungary, until his death in Australia.

The film has to, beautiful images, old images, and old videos. From 1954 World Cup, and an old Olimpic Games.

I knew Puskas, but I didn't know how incredible was his life. And all the thing that happened.

Very well made, and very good.

My only criticizes is, they should put or say who was talking. Because, in some cases, like the Hungarians Players, I didn't know who they were, and I would like know. That's all.

Nice.

A somewhat conventional but nevertheless quite moving documentary about the great Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskas, one of the sport's greatest players. His life was quite eventful: born in 1927, he played professionally for 23 (!) years, from 1943 to 1966. In the 1950s he was part of one of the sport's greatest team ever: the Magnificent Magyars, who won the gold medal in the 1952 Olympics, defeated England for the first time in his home turf in 1953 and almost won the World Cup in 1954. After the Hungarian Revolution, he fled Hungary. Because he played in the famous Honved, the Hungarian Army's football team, he had been given the rank of major, so his defection was considered a military desertion. After two years without being able to play in a professional club, he was able to join another great team, Real Madrid, where he excelled as a player for eight more years (despite being already in his thirties), won several cups and become one of his club's leading goal scorers. After retiring as a player, he was a coach (with uneven results) in such disparate countries as Greece, Chile, Paraguay and Australia. He missed his beloved Hungary much; he was able to visit again in 1981 (after 25 years) and returned for good to live there after the fall of Communism. A strength of this film is the good deal of stock footage included from his early years as a player. There is good footage from his post player years as well, where the most notable thing to see is the enormous obesity he reached. As a young man, he seems to have strike many people as arrogant; in middle and old age he become known for his warmth and wide generosity. He died in 2006 after several years of being ravaged by Alzheimer's disease. In the end, is hard not being moved by the life of this man.