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The Damned United

Play trailer Poster for The Damned United R Released Oct 9, 2009 1h 37m Drama Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 138 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
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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The Damned United

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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John C I don't mind football, but I doubt I could watch a movie containing lot of it, which is probably why I enjoyed The Damned United. It charts Brian Clough's ill-fated move from Derby to Leeds where he comes uncharacteristically unstuck in his managerial attempts. Martin Sheen is (as always) brilliant at playing the self appointed `greatest manager in England' and he's backed up by the equally excellent Timothy Spall and Jim Broadbent. You don't have to love, or even know much about, football to like this film. It's about someone who isn't quite as clever as he thinks he is. Therefore you can't help but take a little bit of evil delight in his fall from grace. However, although Clough isn't always the genius he believes himself to be, he's never far from it. So, even when he's down, you know he won't be there for long. Good British drama - very entertaining. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/10/24 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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
Producer
Andy Harries, Grainne Marmion
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
Runtime
1h 37m
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