Diego Maradona Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Diego Maradona Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 6, 2019

Asif Kapadia's "Diego Maradona" (2019) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Altitude Film Distribution/Spirit Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive audio commentary by the director; deleted scenes; making of featurette; and more. In Spanish and Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

At the core of Asif Kapadia’s documentary is a simple yet rather profound revelation. If you accept that it is a valid one, you will begin to understand why Diego Maradona became a worldwide phenomenon. If you reject it, you will quickly find yourself lost in a sea of outrageous myths and half-truths.

All of the material that Kapadia utilizes in the documentary comes from archival sources -- TV programming, old training footage and rare home videos -- and feature recorded observations by Maradona. There are no talking heads, which means that Maradona has the final say on every single subject that is brought up. In other words, this is a take-it-or-leave-it type of documentary that offers you a one-sided version of truth.

Kapadia very quickly moves from Maradona’s early years in Boca Juniors to his hugely disappointing stay in Barcelona to reach his arrival in Napoli. All of the valuable information that prepares the important revelation emerges here because it is where Maradona began his transformation into a worldwide phenomenon. His transfer was a monumental event, at the time one of the greatest that the city of Naples had experienced. Why? Because the Northerners had tagged it ‘the sewer of Italy’ and for decades did not miss an opportunity to humiliate anyone that was in any way associated with it, so when Maradona landed there all Neapolitans instantly felt a dramatic shift in the balance of power. The Argentine had put Naples back on the map of Italy before he had played a single game, and a lot of people genuinely believed that from here things could only get better.

Just as Maradona had promised the fans, one season after his transfer Napoli started winning against the big boys in the Scudetto -- Juventus, Inter and AC Milan -- and the more comfortable he became with his teammates, the stronger Napoli got. Then in 1987 something truly extraordinary happened -- Napoli won the Scudetto for the first time ever, and shortly after defeated Atalanta to lift the Coppa Italia. That year, in Naples and most of the South, Maradona became a living legend, an icon that many genuinely believed God had sent to Italy. (The archival footage that shows the end of the match that secured the Scudetto title and celebrations after it has to be seen to believed. Naples went berserk and for days people throughout the entire city could not function properly. Sadly, a lot of weaker hearts also gave up).

With the historic success, however, Maradona apparently experienced enormous pressure, which then led to great complications. He started using cocaine to deal with the pressure and eventually his addiction allowed the Camorra to move into his life. Then something else happened that profoundly transformed the Argentine’s life -- the soccer virtuoso, Diego, was overpowered by the reckless, selfish and at times quite dangerous superstar named Maradona that was coexisting with him.

The exact description of the revelation about two completely different personalities fighting for superiority in Maradona’s life is not that important. Also, in the grand scheme of things it is largely irrelevant exactly when and how Maradona’s relationship with the Camorra goons flourished. The important bit is why it happened -- and there are two simple reasons that emerge in the documentary:

Maradona’s success with Napoli permanently altered the socio-cultural psychology of Naples. It was a historic triumph, not an ordinary soccer triumph. Then Maradona became an economic juggernaut as well, and the more he produced for his club, the more he lost control of the type of life that allowed his talent to flourish. After that it was only a matter of time before the pressure of the closed environment in which he was forced to live crushed him.

Diego Maradona Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Diego Maradona arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Altitude Film Distribution/Spirit Entertainment.

I have not see this film theatrically and unfortunately do not know how it was produced. Why is this important? Because the entire film is basically a large collage of archival footage that comes from numerous sources with different native resolution. The TV broadcast material, for instance, is both in standard and high-definition, and there are clips from home videos that also vary in quality. Of course, what is important is how all the footage was transferred to the final version of Asif Kapadia's film, and what is its native speed. Given the nature of the archival footage I don't think that it actually matters much, but it would have been good to know. Either way, the final master for the film is probably progressive, and it is almost certainly what is screened in theaters. So, with this clarification out of the way, I have to say that I am quite pleased with the presentation. There are no transfer anomalies, such as image skips and distortions, and image stability is excellent.

Diego Maradona Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Spanish LPCM 2.0 (with portions of Italian). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the 5.1 track. Obviously, the archival footage has some unevenness, but there is a wonderful atmospheric soundtrack, composed by Antonio Pinto, that creates quite an atmosphere. I think that the 5.1 track opens up some areas really well, so I would encourage you to go for it instead of the 2.0 track.

Diego Maradona Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of Documentary - this documentary offers interviews with director Asif Kapadia and members of his team and covers a wide range of topics, from the personal experiences they had with Diego Maradona in Dubai to different aspects of the version of his life that he described to them. It is outstanding. In English, not subtitled. (70 min).

• Q&A Session - this Q&A session features Asif Kapadia and editor Chris King and was recorded after a screening of Diego Maradona. The bulk of the information that is shared addresses the production of the film and soccer superstar's personality. The session is moderated by Goa chief editor James Dickens. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary with Asif Kapadia was recorded exclusively for the home video release of Diego Maradona.

• Deleted Scenes - a large collection of archival and rare videos that did not make it in the final theatrical version of Diego Maradona. (36 min).

Diego Maradona Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is this the definitive documentary about the career and legacy of Diego Maradona? No, because a lot of the information that is shared in it is the soccer virtuoso's interpretation of the truth. But this is exactly what I expected, not a group of talking heads explaining his life, and this is exactly what the documentary delivered -- intimate recollections, difficult confessions, and a ton of archival content. I loved every minute of it. The Blu-ray release also comes with an excellent selection of informative bonus features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.