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REACTION | Diego Maradona: The Movie

'Diego Maradona' aired on Channel 4 last night; a gallant rampage through the life of the Argent...



REACTION | Diego Maradona: The...
Soccer

REACTION | Diego Maradona: The Movie

'Diego Maradona' aired on Channel 4 last night; a gallant rampage through the life of the Argentinean legend.

In the main, it focuses on his life in Naples, the town with a siege mentality. In that respect, they chose the best possible man to make a demigod - Maradona did not so much do things for himself on a football pitch as he did them against someone else.

“He had this idea in 1981, just before he goes to Barcelona, that Maradona’s such a huge star, he’s going to be so global, he could be big in America. Let’s make a movie about him and we’ll bring it out in the cinema screens in North America,” director Kapadia explained.

The film, though, was never completed and the tapes remained untouched for decades, some in Naples and some in a trunk in Buenos Aires belonging to Maradona’s ex-wife, Claudia Villafañe.

“Literally these tapes had not been looked at for 30 years. We had to find a machine on eBay because they’re not industry standard anymore.

“Even hardcore Napoli fans or Diego fans have never seen this material,” Kapadia commented.

Maradona, an eccentric but private man, wasn’t used to his personal life being the focus of intense scrutiny from the British filmmaker. The Argentina legend was used to deflecting personal questions, but Kapadia persisted.

“There was a point where he said, ‘you’ve got a real nerve asking me these questions. People don’t normally interrupt me when I’m answering. People don’t normally ask me these difficult questions. But for that, I respect you because you’ve got the nerve to say them to my face.’

“So it was a bit of a nerve-wracking moment but it was a key thing that I had to keep pushing,” Kapadia said.

Below is the reaction to the film last night, including some of Kapadia's photos and memories from along the way:

 

 

 

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