Good movie but grossly overrated

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

...Brian Clough.I met him once,a few years down the line from the events depicted here.It was a Leyton Orient where Notts Forest were set to play an evening cup tie they could well have done without as the pitch was like a bog and it was lashing with rain.Clough was on the pitch wielding a fork as he attempted to disperse the pools of water seeping up from the underground river that flooded frequently back in the days before proper drained grounds were the order of the day. "Surely that's not your job,gaffer?",I said. "If I don't do it no other bugger will,and the last thing I need is for the bloody game to be postponed",he grumbled. We chatted for a minute or two and I asked him about an International defender the papers said he was trying to buy. He leaned on the fork for a moment and said,"Well,lad,he wanted me to pay his fxxxxxx mortgage off and give him 30 grand under the table,so I thought "bollocks to you,young man" and that's the end of it". This frankness was typical of him and accounted in a large measure why he was disliked by the game's governing body.And his (justified) self - confidence,nay,arrogance which is well bought out in "The Damned United". Only he will ever know why he chose to try a Don Quixote job on Don Revie's team which was reviled throughout English football except for a few square miles of God's Own County. He failed because of poisonous personalities in the team who hated him intensely and he was sacked after six weeks when the directors would have been better off sacking those players who sought to do him down. They must have felt sick when six years later he collected his second consecutive European Cup with a team on paper less talented. Mr M.Sheen is superb as this strange contradictory man,capturing his mannerisms perfectly.Mr T.Spall matches him in the rather more subdued role as his partner in bromance Peter Taylor. The actors playing footballers look exactly like that - actors playing footballers. The staged football scenes are not very convincing but the point is made that Leeds United were pariahs in the First Division and thoroughly deserve their current obscurity. Some where in that great manager's office in the sky,Clough is turning to Jock Stein and Mat Busby and saying "I told you so".

This was a very good film, probably one of my favourite films of all time. When I watched this film, I was of course aware of Brian Clough and Don Revie but I had no real prior knowledge of their rivalry, nor the exploits of Clough at Leeds United but this did not hinder my enjoyment of this piece.To have Michael Sheen as Brian Clough was a superb casting decision, he portrayed Clough brilliantly throughout the film. Timothy Spall did a great job playing Brian Clough's long-suffering assistant Peter Taylor. The two actors were not only great as individuals but as a duo they worked very well together in this film.I would highly recommend this film to any football fan but even if you are not really interested in the sport 'The Damned United' is a very good piece of drama that is definitely worth a watch.

Sports movies have always fascinated me; and this one should count as a great one at that. The movie starts off with showing Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) taking over the coveted position of Manager in Leeds United. The movie is basically about Clough's tenure at Leeds. But with various other events shown in the movie, the movie itself becomes a masterly act.The best feature of the movie is that it grows out of 'Just a sports movie' to become much more. It portrays rivalry, bitterness, ambition and certainly ego. Peter Morgan's screenplay from David Peace's novel played a large and significant part in that. And if the screenplay played a part in making this movie such a treat to watch, then certainly the performance of the cast would be the other part. It may be just me, but I found that Michael Sheen's performance is one of the most underrated performance I have ever seen. I understand that there were many factual errors regarding the story of the movie. But it's a shame if those had stopped Michael Sheen getting all the plaudits he deserved. He was wonderful in his deliveries of dialogue, especially, at those 'Interview' scenes. Another great performance was there from Timothy Spall, as Clough's longstanding subordinate and friend, Peter Taylor. Colm Meaney and Jim Broadbent were good too, as Don Revie and Derby County's Chairman Longson respectively.All in all, this movie is a great sports drama which is only a little less great that director Tom Hooper's next one after this.

There have been many outspoken and controversial coaches in sports history but none as cocky and controversial as British Football (soccer to us) coach Brian Clough, a man who won two League titles and two European Cups with underdog teams from the east midlands, yet is mainly known for being fired after only 44 days from Leeds United, the soccer champions of 1974. From a screenplay by Peter Morgan, Academy Award winning director Tom Hooper's The Damned United is a character study of a brilliant but flawed individual and his on-again, off-again relationship with his close associate, Peter Taylor, as together they hit the heights, then plumb the depths.The film stands out for exceptional performances by Timothy Spall as the loyal Taylor, Colm Meaney as the pompous Leeds manager, Don Revie, and Jim Broadbent as Derby's rigid owner Sam Longson. The film, however, belongs to Michael Sheen (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), who creates an unforgettable character in Brian Clough: outrageous, smart, arrogant, neurotic, but fully alive. a cocksure genius who once said: "I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the country. But I'm in the top one." When a journalist remarks that he's been called the best young manager in the country, he replies: "Thank you; I'm the best old one too." The film does not discuss Clough's lifetime battle with alcoholism.The story begins in 1974 when Clough is chosen to replace long-time manager of Leeds United, Don Revie, who is stepping down to become the coach of England's national team. The film then backtracks through Clough's flamboyant career, beginning with his tenure as head coach of the Derby County Rams from 1969 to 1972 where he raised the underdog team from the bottom of Division 2 to being a strong competitor for the European Cup. Before the match in Turin against the European powerhouse Juventus team, however, against Longson's advice, Clough used his best players in a game with Leeds, only to have them suffer injuries that kept them out of the game in Europe. Losing in Turin to Juventus 3-1, Longson calls Clough a fool and Clough publicly berates the owner.When Taylor suffers a heart attack, without consulting Taylor, Clough offers his and Taylor's resignations, thinking it unlikely that they would be accepted. To his shock, the board accepts their resignations and appoints Dave Mackay as manager, a player that Clough and Taylor had brought of retirement two years ago. After accepting a job with Brighton & Hove, Clough reneges and agrees to take the job at his old nemesis Leeds, leaving Taylor at Brighton and allowing their friendship to suffer a strong setback. At Leeds, Clough gets off on the wrong foot with his players, berating them for their past cheating and brutality and suggests they collect their trophies and throw them away.He tells them that they must play in a more honest and less bullying manner and has them perform exercises that they had not been asked to do previously. Revie is still revered by both players and fans, and the Leeds players look at their new coach with disdain bordering on contempt. In an interview after his appointment, Clough lays into Revie, still harboring a grudge since the Leeds manager refused to shake his hand before a match. In the opening game of the season, things go from bad to worse for Clough as Leeds captain Billy Bremer is suspended for violence and lost to the team for six weeks.The players refuse to play for Clough and the team wins only one of their first five games, forcing the hand of the board who fires him after only 44 days. Though there is little soccer action (mostly violent), The Damned United is a damned good film, a funny, sometimes sad, but ultimately inspiring look at the value of humility, friendship, and forgiveness, often overlooked in the competitive world of sports. You do not have to be a Brit, a Football fan, or even a sports enthusiast to appreciate the message.