Search - The Damned United [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

A controversial reign

L. Power | San Francisco | 11/07/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A few months ago when I was overseas I heard about this movie, based on a true story about controversial soccer manager Brian Clough.

A few days ago, I went to see the movie, in San Francisco. I wondered what other people in the theater might think, if they would get it.

Sure enough, non soccer followers, who probably had no clue about Clough or Revie were sucked into the drama of the legendary confrontation, between these two rivals, which surpassed my expectations.

Someone more outpoken and more controversial than Brian Clough would be difficult to imagine, someone destined to become one of the most outstanding managers in the history of English soccer. Don Revie managed League Champions Leeds United. Clough managed Derby County previous years League Champions. Don Revie leaves Leeds to manage England, and Leeds made the bonehead decision to appoint the outspoken Clough in his place, outspoken because of his criticism and dislike of both Revie and the style of play under his management. This outspokenness led to clashes with the players whose successful, although rough style, had led them to incredible success.

As you get further into the movie, I suspect you will get drawn into its surprising twists and turns.

I was particularly impressed with Colm Meaney's portrayal of Revie. At one point I wondered if was actually Revie or Meaney I was watching, if it was actual footage of Revie. Michael Sheen who played Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen, nails Clough's distinct accent and outspokenness to a tee. Some of these Leeds players were greats, but the character development is very thin here. I understand that some of these players threatened to sue, as did Clough's family, which might explain this.

I wish they had shown more of the Keegan and Bremner sendings off in Clough's first match. One wonders though, why focus on this particular piece of an outstanding career. Clough went on take Nottingham Forest to win both the League Chamionship, and the European Cup, and at one point went 42 league games consecutively without defeat, which I don't think any other manager has ever done. Hope this was helpful, and think you'll enjoy the movie.



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Brings alive 70s football

Sirin | London, UK | 12/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a brilliantly filmed, original movie. Based on David Peace's spare, gritty novel, it brings alive the ill fated 44 day managership of Brian Clough at Leeds United, explaining why he was such a controversial choice to manage the club given the long acrimonious history between Leeds and Derby when Don Revie was the manager of football's champions Leeds and Clough was at the helm of young pretenders Derby.

Michael Sheen shows off his brilliant skills in conveying real life characters (he has given similar treatment to Tony Blair, David Frost and Kenneth Williams); and recreates Brian Clough in his own image, a slightly camp, antagonistic manager frequently undermining his own chairman.

The filming recreates many of the tropes of the 1970s - ashtrays laid out with half time oranges in the dressing room, Wizard boys comics, psychedelic wallpaper - and makes the film a hugely enjoyable piece of ersatz period drama."

A Great British movie !

Sawney Beane | Glasgow | 11/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There have been alot of movies made about soccer through the years, most of them have been awful, Escape to victory and A shot at glory are two that that spring to mind, this is the first great movie on the sport.It is set in the 70's around Brian Clough's short spell as the Leeds manager and his confrontations with the players, the previous manager and the board. It is certainly not as glamours as todays game and the producers really capture the spirit of the 70's,with Dodgy stadiums, rubbish playing surfaces, bad haircuts and terrible fashion. This story may not be 100% accurate and some of the footballer's dont look like athletes, but you can over look this because you get a gripping story and some excellent perfomances from some of britains best actors. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has an interest in British football."

The Damned United - Not Your Average Sports Movie

Aglio | Boston, MA | 03/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Damned United is not your typical sports film. It's much more than that. It's a study of contrasting personalities. Set during the 60s and 70s, the movie details the conflict of two very different managers of rival football (soccer) clubs i.e. Brian Clough and Don Revie. Don Revie (played by Colm Meaney) is the manager of the top ranked and virtually unbeatable, Leeds United. They are the Damned United of the title. Brian Clough (played by Michael Sheen) is the very outspoken, but extremely talented manager of a second tier team, Derby County.

At the start of the film, Revie has accepted the position of manager for Team England. That leaves the position of Leeds United manager open and the job is offered to Brian Clough. The film traces Brian Clough's rise as Derby County manager and fall as Leeds. Of course, he finds much more success after his tenure at Leeds United. But, that's another movie. Most Americans might ignore a film about English football thinking the subject boring. This is not the case. It's a marvelous character study and a fantastic movie. Michael Sheen's performance as Brian Clough is absolutely riveting. He's a very talented and versatile actor with roles as diverse as David Frost, Tony Blair and even Lucien from Underworld. I found myself fascinated by Clough's obsession with Revie. That obsession is what drives the plot. The adapted script is extremely well done by Peter Morgan. He also wrote the screenplays for Frost/Nixon and the Queen. It's an extremely literate script with sharp dialog.

One thing I will mention is that while Colm Meaney did not have as much screen time as Michael Sheen, he makes his presence felt as Revie. He's a marvelous character actor who has big shoes to fill with this role. All the characters in this film are larger than life. Now, what makes this story interesting is that you eventually learn that Brian Clough's obsession with Revie arose from a perceived slight at a match. Clough says that Revie refused to shake his hand at the end of a game. Is that what has been driving this man ? That obsession is what keeps you glued to your seat. Michael Sheen is just that good at playing Clough. He's a foul mouthed ball of energy.

And this movie isn't just about the conflict between Clough and Revie. It's also a very good portrait of the friendship between Clough and his co-manager, Peter Taylor played by Timothy Spall. These two are also contrasting personalities. Peter Taylor was Brian Clough's anchor. He kept all of Clough's eccentricities in check. He's the sensible one. They were a team and when they had a fall out, that left Clough foundering.

One small detail I found interesting was the accents of the performers. Most Americans are used to hearing the polished accents of BBC English. There's none of that here. The movie is filled with rough Northern accents that may seem jarring at first, but eventually grow on a person.

This is a movie I hope more people will watch because it really is a fascinating subject. Is it true to life ? I'm sure it's a dramatization of the facts. However, that does not detract from the movie. You expect movies to take a certain amount of poetic license. Make time to see this movie, you won't regret it.

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