'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:
This is me with #maradona’s actual World Cup! Photo taken in his parents home in Buenos Aires just after I interviewed his sisters. @MaradonaMovie #diego pic.twitter.com/P2QtkPQHRV
— asifkapadia (@asifkapadia) March 22, 2020
The most honest person I met while making this film was cristiana sinagra#Maradona
— asifkapadia (@asifkapadia) March 21, 2020
Kindle only 1-99 on Amazon. Number 8 at the moment and going up. Thanks all who bought it. #Maradona #Maradonamovie https://t.co/OsDoHA3rlV
— John Ludden (@johnludds) March 22, 2020
#Maradona What a documentary Very fond memories of WC86 which he dominated and led Argentina to win the World Cup His impact on Napoli was also immense
In my opinion he is the GOAT pic.twitter.com/1KWhKx4zPF— Paul Humphries (@PFHumps) March 22, 2020
Just watched #Maradona. He is a God to the people of Naples. Two leagues, a UEFA Cup, two Italian Cups. Greatest ever, but was always the tortured little Diego. Really worth a watch @channel4 #Maradonamovie #QuaratineLife pic.twitter.com/DnDp6bAfiw
— Martin Duffy (@martinduffy76) March 22, 2020
The #Maradona doc was brilliant ...
Two takeaways - 1/ apsrt from the roof (loose term) the San Paolo looks the same, that walk round the pitch in the trench! Amazing. Best atmosphere.
2/ it might not be representative. But how crap were the goalies!? Like... awful.— Sam Matterface (@sammatterface) March 22, 2020
Messi & Ronaldo are out of this world but for me Diego Maradona is the best there ever has been. Totally flawed but a genius. God only knows how good he would have been if stayed out of trouble. Total legend 🙌 #ChildhoodHero #Maradona #No1 pic.twitter.com/U0bHqqBItM
— Darren Frehill (@Darrenfrehill) March 21, 2020
I love this moment in the #Maradona film. Somebody put a banner on the wall of the cemetery in Naples when #Napoli won its first Scudetto (League title) in 1987. It says: you don’t know what you missed ... pic.twitter.com/8wkpyFY4MZ
— Kevin Cummins (@KCMANC) March 21, 2020
Don’t care what anyone thinks .... this man was a genius (albeit a flawed genius) with a ball ⚽️#Maradona pic.twitter.com/THcBIUoqLs
— AB Goal Machine (@BloodRedPool) March 22, 2020
Legends always wear blue and gold !! #Maradona #Tipperary pic.twitter.com/59EKSuScZX
— Stephen Gleeson (@StephenGleeson_) March 22, 2020
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