The Damned United

Don't bother with this, poor directing, very weak script and altogether very very boring.

Please enjoy The Damned United, a very well acted film, Colm Meaney has Britain's greatest ever manager spot on and Michael Sheen is also excellent as Brian Clough.

But remember the film is a story based on fact, not on what actually happened. Some people believe all that happened in the book and subsequently in the film to be true however most of what happens was in the authors head and is therefore largely fiction. In fact the inaccuracies and indeed the book/film have been wholly condemned by the Clough family.

An enjoyable film but factually flawed. A few examples of these factual inaccuracies include...

Leeds United did beat Derby County 2-0 in the FA Cup that year but the game was played at Elland Road NOT the Baseball Ground. Leeds however did play Derby on two other occasions that season, in the Semi-Finals of the League Cup, the first game a few weeks before the FA Cup tie so it wasn't that much of a novelty for the two sides to play each other.

Contrary to the film Leeds did not play and kick Derby off the park the game before their European Cup Semi-Final, they played them months before in that season.

Johnny Giles is not 6 foot plus and in real life Peter Taylor was a much larger man than Clough.

Brian Clough actually managed Brighton for 32 games and spent just under a year on the South Coast.

Oh and as for the very cheap shot at the end... Don Revie might have failed as England boss but at least he WAS the England boss...

To be honest there are too many more factual errors to list here, but if you take the movie for what it is, a work of fiction loosely based on fact , you can't go far wrong.

i will admit that miochael sheen is a genius, and the director has done a good job, but unfortunately this film is just stupid.i do blame the author of the book, but this is nothing short of an attack on a great man, who sure, did have his flaws, but was not as horrible as portrayed here. as someone who was fortunate enough to know cloughie and meet his family, i find this film innaccurate and nothing short of upsetting.I do urge people to see this film, as sheen is fabulous, but to consider it complete fiction and not to think that brian clough was like he is portrayed here.

Very good film. only bettered by an extraordinary book. As I have always found, the big screen adaptation of a book fails to achieve the heights reached by the literary work. However, this is not to demean the film, rather it extolls the magnificence of David Peace's novel on which the film is based. The book starts with a lot more context, explaining and exploring the depth of 'Cloughie's' character brilliantly and more fully that the film could ever hope to, owing to time and reality constraints - delving into the great man's time at Hartlepool and early days at Derby.
The book just does everything better, and is a mesmerising experience for any fans of football, or just of human feats and foibles. I am way too young to even remeber brian clough as a manager or even personality, and was a tad reticent before getting stuck in to the book. But how i was surprised and overjoyed when i did. A wonderful read, and, acknowledging it is fiction based on fact, and appreciating how the Clough family were outraged by it, it gave a glimpse ionto the psyche of one of football, and life's great characters.
The fims pales by comparison. However, it is still an excellent watch. Brilliant. It was just never going to live up to the masterful art of the book. I'm yet to find any film that has.

Brilliant fim - but do yourself a favour, read the book first - then you'll understand.

Being a huge Brian Clough fan, I was very apprehensive about how he was going to be portrayed.
He came out of it ok, and with his dignity just about intact.
But I still feel it is wrong that someone can write a book about someones experience based on the authors flights of fancy.
Anyway the movie does not really go that way, and shows Clough as the Charismatic, if a little eccentric and outspoken Genius that he was.
Clough and his assistant Taylor are the good guys, up against Don Davies Leeds United.
Acting wise Michael Sheen, nailed it. Brilliant performance.
To sum up, a pretty good British Sports Movie.

This 97 minute film went in the blink of an eye! I`ve not enjoyed a film this much in years. I fail to see what the Clough family find so insulting about it to be honest as Brian is portrayed as a true legend by the excellent Sheen! Ably backed up by Mssrs Spall and Broadbent. It is a work of FICTION and how on earth can FICTION be `factually flawed`?? Well worth seeing honest!!

The Damned United tells the tale of legendary English football manager Brain Clough in some of the biggest years of his life and the biggest years of Derby's history leading up to his departure.
The story isn't entirely true, theres a lot which strays from the facts and perhaps goes into a slightly biased view point but it gets all the basics right. The story perhaps takes a little credit away from Clough as a managerial genius but overall it shows you the mind behind the man.
Michael Sheen proves again he's one of the top British actors in the world, his portrayal of Clough comes across as genuine and believable, he gets himself into the role and literally becomes the manager.

Overall: The Damned United is a brilliant film, although it's not exactly a biography of the great manager its still a great watch. A very entertaining film which'll make you laugh, cry and maybe even make you wonder.
Highly Recommended!

Thought this film was awesome and i will be getting it as soon as its out i recomend anyone to buy this movie. Michael sheen plays brian clough really well this is well worthy of being in the dvd colection buy it !!

As a life long super leeds united fan, i couldn't wait to watch this film. The cast, the plot etc is spot on. I'm only 23 so im not too familiar with don revi's side back in the 70's but never the less, great film. A must see for any footballing fan, not just leeds fans. Great film. Marching on together :)

Michael Sheen is outstanding as Brian Clough! Great support cast! Quite simply the greatest Football movie ever made........Don't let this one escape!!