Calcio fans all over the world can now delve into the Old Lady’s history, explains Adam Digby, thanks to a new version of hit documentary ‘Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story’
Calcio fans all over the world can now delve into the Old Lady’s history, explains Adam Digby, thanks to a new version of hit documentary ‘Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story’
As Juventus prepared for the 2018-19 season to begin, they made what has become an annual pilgrimage to the small village of Villar Perosa just seven days before their first Serie A fixture of the new campaign. Located around 25 miles southwest of Turin, it is a place the Bianconeri travel every summer, the club’s first team taking on a side made up of youth sector players on the local pitch.
This year’s edition saw Cristiano Ronaldo net his first ever goal for the club, but it also saw him follow in the footsteps of some of the truly iconic stars who pulled on the famous black and white stripes long before he did. Just like Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Omar Sivori, the Portuguese megastar joined his new team-mates in visiting the castle which has long been the home of the Agnelli family.
They are of course the patrons of Italy’s most successful football club and have been since 1923, and it is the way their history has become so completely intertwined with the Old Lady’s which underpins ‘Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story.’
The film, made by Juventus fans Marco and Mauro La Villa and first released in October 2016, explains how Gianni Agnelli, his brother Umberto and grandson Andrea – the current President – drove the club’s quest for a third gold star. That emblem of course represents 10 league titles, and during the course of countless interviews, that trio of family members explain their desire to reach that accomplishment before Milan or Inter could even add a second.
In that pursuit, Juve suffered the demotion of Calciopoli and saw both San Siro clubs take turns as Serie A’s most dominant side. Through it all, the Agnellis believed in what they were doing, modernising every facet of the off-field operation while repeatedly overhauling the team they put out on the pitch.
Somewhat in keeping with Juve’s efforts to cater for a global audience, the La Villas have recently re-released the film, an international version now available on iTunes. Rather than simply dubbing over the original Italian narration, the producers have gone to great lengths to deliver it in English with Academy Award winner F Murray Abraham (Amadeus/Grand Budapest Hotel) voicing the new version.
Furthermore, they have extensively revisited much of the art direction, changing all the Italian newspaper headlines and fan banners into English so that International fans are be able to simply watch the film and stay engaged as much as possible. That avoids the need to rely on heavy subtitling, meaning viewers can enjoy the experience rather than finding themselves reading their way through it.
There are eight further language options to choose from on the DVD – available to buy here – which also comes with an insightful “making of” section and a number of other extras. A thoroughly enjoyable experience, ‘Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story’ is a great look back on the history that has shaped the Bianconeri, and it is one now open to any fan of the Old Lady around the world.