Thomas Hüetlin

The three-part documentary “Beckenbauer – The Last Emperor” chronicles a life so exuberant it feels as though it were more than one. Torsten Körner, who co-wrote the highly acclaimed biography “Der freie Mann” with Franz Beckenbauer 20 years ago, has crafted a historically precise, at times nostalgic journey through life that connects Beckenbauer’s private life with his public one, the real with the imaginary. From Munich’s “Giesing” neighborhood—known as the “Glasscherbenviertel”—to the hearts of the German people and ever higher, all the way to New York; from the 1966 World Cup to becoming a global figure; and as the “Emperor” and a “beacon of light,” to the most famous German in the world: “Beckenbauer – The Last Emperor” illustrates, as rarely before, what constituted the modernity of both the soccer player and the “pop star” Beckenbauer.

In the summer of 1965, FC Bayern Munich achieved promotion to the Bundesliga. Five up-and-coming footballers who are still inextricably linked to the club and German football today play a major role in this: Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner and Uli Hoeneß. In addition to the personal lives, the series tells about a team between 1965 and 1974 that came from nothing