The Damned United

R

Released Oct 9, 2009

1 hr. 37 min.

Drama

Biography

List

92%

139 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The story of Brian Clough's 44 day stint as manager of Leeds United Football Club takes place in 1974 England. When Don Revie quits Leeds to become the England boss, the outspoken Brian Clough takes charge. Determined to impose his own style upon Revie's tough tackling team, Clough soon alienates his players and the board. Based on the book by David Pearce.

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Critics Consensus

Better than your average football pic, Damned United is carried by another star turn from Michael Sheen as Brian Clough.

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isla s

This is a reasonably good film at depicting the passion people have for a local football team. Good performances from a good cast, particularly Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall. Its mainly about the level of influence that the manager has over the direction the football team take and how much attention others pay to him. I imagine football fans would enjoy this, so I'd recommend it, yes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

avant s

one of the best sports movie out there.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The movie is on Sheen and that's all it needs.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The name Brian Clough will be familiar to those who love football, and even to those who know nothing about the sport. The eccentric English manager remains an enormous part of English footballing history, winning a number of major honours and changing the way football was played in this country. Tom Hooper's excellent biopic focuses on Clough's infamous and ill-fated 44 day stint as Leeds United manager, after their beloved Don Revie had left to become England manager. Previous jabs and insults from Clough towards the way Leeds played left plenty of ill feeling towards him that was still very much bubbling when he joined them, and only got worse when he stood by his comments and tried to completely change the ethos of the clubs approach to playing. Michael Sheen is, as you'd expect, ludicrously good in capturing the essence of Clough, and he is excellently supported by the likes of Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent, and Timothy Spall.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A good story line, plus Michael Sheen does a brilliant job of playing Brian Clough. Clough himself had a unique mannerism and I don't think many other actors could've portrayed him so well. Having said that, I'm not giving it 4*-5* stars because the film is riddled with historical inaccuracies, for example portraying that Leeds lost 1-0 to Luton Town when it was instead a 1-1 draw, or insinuating that Clough left Brighton having never managed the team whereas in reality he managed them for a year. The fact that some people portrayed in this film such as Dave Mackay and Johnny Giles have sued the production company is an instant red flag in relation to it's accuracy. It's a good watch if you are a football fan, but beware that it's not completely accurate.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Ethan T

Ah, Tom Hooper... Depending on who you ask, The King's Speech, The Danish Girl, and Les Miserables have all gone down with many as some combination of the most overrated films in awards season over the past two decades, all helmed by that director. I have not recently seen any of the three in their entirety, but Hooper's reputation preceded him. This is without even mentioning Cats. As a football supporter not alive during Clough's heyday, I was intrigued to see such a well-reviewed exploration of Clough's lowest point in 1974, especially juxtaposed with his past successes. Ask what Clough is known for today, and most football fans will respond with the events after this and Clough's success with Nottingham Forest, which the film does not cover. To this end, I give TDU credit for not falling into the classic sports film trap of the hero's journey to an outpouring of success in the film's climax. However, the marvelously nuanced performances of Sheen, and Spall to a lesser degree, never seem replicated by the film's treatment of events documented by the film in Clough's background. Colm Meaney as Revie is blatantly antagonistic, as is Jim Broadbent as Sam Longson, as are the Leeds United players, and so forth. The story gives no care to the notion that Clough must have been well-regarded or full of potential in some circles of Leeds, at least initially, for his move to Leeds to go ahead. Although TDU offers Sheen great material in his internal struggle and occasional delusions, every relationship except that with Spall as his assistant, Taylor, never exceeds the disappointingly hollow. Therefore, due to either Hooper's direction or the screenplay of Peter Morgan (The Crown, Rush, The Queen, Frost/Nixon), The Damned United fails beyond a superb Michael Sheen performance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/27/21

Full Review

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Tom Hooper

Director

Michael Sheen

Brian Clough

Timothy Spall

Peter Taylor

Jim Broadbent

Sam Longson

Stephen Graham

Billy Bremner

Joe Dempsie

Duncan McKenzie

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Moves along crisply with, mercifully, very little on-pitch football and many beautifully crafted, touching moments.

Aug 29, 2018

Full Review

Ed Koch

The Atlantic

The story should have added up to an interesting and exciting movie, but it didn't for me. It was not due to Sheen's acting, but rather to a boring and confusing script.

Jan 17, 2018

Full Review

Graham Fuller

Film Comment Magazine

The Damned United eliminates the existential anguish and pain that propelled Peace's novel, and curtails its lowering style.

Oct 20, 2014

Full Review

Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

While the movie sensibly focuses on a relatively short period of Clough's career to tell its story, there's no escaping the liberties it takes with what actually happened, something that is likely to make soccer fans who know their history tune out.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 29, 2022

Full Review

Jason Best

Movie Talk

Even if you have next to no interest in football, The Damned United is enormously entertaining.

Nov 21, 2020

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

A superb sports film, based on the best-selling book by David Peace.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 20, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

The story of Brian Clough's 44 day stint as manager of Leeds United Football Club takes place in 1974 England. When Don Revie quits Leeds to become the England boss, the outspoken Brian Clough takes charge. Determined to impose his own style upon Revie's tough tackling team, Clough soon alienates his players and the board. Based on the book by David Pearce.

Director: Tom Hooper
Executive Producer: Hugo Heppell, Christine Langan
Screenwriter: Peter Morgan
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Left Bank Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Screen Yorkshire, BBC Films
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 9, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $449.6K

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