Manchester United: Beyond the Promised Land (2000 Video) User Reviews

You should see it once - if you support Man Utd

[eyeoftheguppy · 6/10 · 22 May 2008]

In terms of film masterpieces this was never going to be up there with the Oscar winning films but in its own way it achieves what it sets out to do and does it well in the process.

Think season review cum coprorate propaganda - it reviews the 1999/2000 season but through biased eyes. Never the less for a United fan it provides a good watch - brief highlights, exclusive interviews with the staff and players. Since it is an official video there is no shortage of interviews but unlike a season review this is all done from a players perspective.

A different type of "film" to most Man Utd related ones.

The Pride of all Europe, the Cock of the North...

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 15 May 2008]

This is definitely one for fans of the club only – and even some of them might feel cheated. Selling itself as a fly-on-the-wall documentary about a season in the life of arguably the world's biggest and richest football club, this DTV film is really one big marketing exercise. While we do see some behind the scenes interplay between the players, staff and manager of the club, these moments are slotted between some shameless advertising for the likes of (then) new sponsors Vodafone, and can hardly be described as nuggets of insight. It's interesting, in the light of their purchase of Chinese player Park, to see Louis Edwards remarking on the lucrative marketing potential of the Asian countries.

One unintentionally funny moment is the scene in which one of United's directors shows off the 'ringing' tone on his phone. It sounds like its being played by a three-year-old on a xylophone

A boring piece of corporate marketing that has no passion and spends longer looking at Vodafone's services than it does showing actual football

[bob the moo · 31 January 2005]

In 1999 Manchester United completed an historic and amazing treble by following victory in the English Premiership and the FA Cup by scoring two goals in the dying minutes of the Champions League final to win 2-1. The road had been a long one and the squad that did it achieved their place in the annals of Manchester United history. The film follows them in the season after this as they look to build on their brand image, head to Brazil and look back on their achievements to date.

I'm not a Man Utd fan; actually I support Wolves so therefore know nothing about professional football at all (boom boom). However, like the Arsenal unbeaten run of 49 domestic games (stopped by Man Utd) it is hard not to be impressed by any club that achieves dominance like the treble winning season for Utd saw or recognise their place in sporting history. For that reason I watched this film and, on the whole enjoyed it and found it interesting, although it is difficult to get past how glossy and airbrushed the film is and how much it feels like a corporate attempt to spread the brand of Utd throughout the world. So therefore this film is less about the football and more about the off-pitch action. Sadly this means we get 15 minutes on Vodafone (new sponsors) being awarded the contract and how the white seats will be arranged, how the logo will be put on the new shirt and so on. This corporate aim feeds through into everything – Ferguson's falling out with Beckham is given a very glossy spin but it doesn't compare to the total whitewash applied to Man Utd's decision to drop out of the FA Cup to go to Brazil (where they were basically handed their asses). They managed to find the one journalist in the UK who thought it was a good idea and got him to just put it under the carpet – hell, longer was spent on Vodafone's services and products than on the games in Brazil! Outside of this the film does have some interesting bits but they are few and far between as the film is almost totally about Man Utd as a corporate entity rather than a football team. Shots of goals and games are minimal and not injected with any real meaning or significance within the season. Contributions from fans only serve to make the club look silly and basically play to the criticisms; the main fan we follow is Irish and lives in New York? The few Manchester fans play to the arrogance that many see in Reds fans – claiming they should really win everything and expressing disgust with their "precious Reds" whenever they struggle to win! Not unlike many football fans I suppose – or at least the ones that call phone-in shows. If anything the film is more interesting in the way it inadvertently shows how quickly things can change and how modern football is very like a corporate machine – profits driven and without any sense of history or loyalty.

It shows this in several ways. We see Peter Kenyon gushing over the club – knowing that only a season or two later he would jump ship to a club with a bigger income in the shape of Chelsea. We see Beckham downplaying the fights with Ferguson, knowing the truth now and the fact he left Man Utd shortly after this film. We see the Man Utd fans dismissing Arsenal – only for them to break records and win the Premiership a season later. We hear all this rubbish about how they will never fall off the top – knowing that they now sit 3rd behind "non-contenders" Chelsea and Arsenal and have a trophyless season just after the one seen here. We hear Ferguson praised (and rightly so for his past) but we know that the many, many duff players he has signed in the past few years were only months after the season we see. The most impacting thing is the note that, when Man Utd went to Brazil in 2000, Leeds were top of the Premiership by a point; this is the same Leeds that spent the following season or two imploding and have come to rest in the middle of Division One – now that would be a much more interesting documentary! Overall this is a pretty poor film with only vague interest – even Man Utd fans will find this lacking in real value. With almost no game action shown the focus is on the corporate machine and more cumulative is spent looking at the Vodafone deal than at the on-pitch action. The interviews and dressing room footage is boring and pointless and none of the passion we are told about is seen on the screen. More interesting now due to events since the film was made but even this interest is not enough to make me ever want to watch this film again.

Real passion.

[Anthony Williamson · 1/10 · 3 June 2003]

There should be a great film about the greatest sport in the world. Unfortunately this is not it. Seemingly created to take more money out of the United fan's pockets - got the key ring, bought the three away shirts, now buy the DVD. For the real passion behind football check out Michael Palin's Golden Gordon which is a good deal closer to reality than this featherweight carelessly thrown together production.

Keep the red flag flying high

[alwyn · 10/10 · 29 May 2002]

Brilliant , maybe not for a movie lover or someone who doesn't care about Football or Manchester United but for the average football fan and/or Manchester United supporter this is a master piece. An insight in one of the most glamorous and richest Club in the world looking for even more success.

Good film about a great team

[thomasiversen · 10/10 · 23 December 2002]

This documentary evolves around the season after which United completed an amazing Treble, winning the Championship, the Fa Cup and the Champions League. This tells the story of how the worlds biggest football club are run and how Man Utd can still be hungry for more success after the Treble season.

It's a fairly good documentary, but it's not great and at times you get the feeling that this is a film meant for all those who support the Reds on a daily basis. My conclusion is that United fans will enjoy this film very much, but if you are not Man Utd supporter then this is maybe not for you.

Not good

[djs8994 · 17 June 2003]

This is a corporate promotion film masquerading as an in depth fly-on-the-wall documentary. Before I saw the film, the clips I saw were of either Roy Keane getting upset about losing a pub quiz and two leeds fans resentful of United's success. Two moments worth watching which last about 20 seconds.

The rest of the film revolves around, an Irishman in New York traveling to watch a game or some extremely boring dressing room footage and playing golf, all of which leads me to believe that most of the united team are even duller in real life than we thought they were.

Most of the film I was bored and sedate, but I was made livid by the glossing over of ManU's decision to pull out of the FA cup as holders, to go to some new tournament in Brazil (which they didn't win) to persuade FIFA to give the world cup to England (which they didn't). At the time it was huge news, that a team had for the first time opted out of the oldest cup competition in the world. The film gives us the corporate angle for withdrawal, none of the press reaction, and then off to Brazil. A couple of fans express chagrin, over this in the film but no anger, as it what actually happened.

For a documentary about a football team we see surprisingly little action. A handful of games are shown, with a couple of goals from them. From the outset we know that united will win the league because no other teams' games are shown. This in a film where 10 minutes are given over to a couple of vodafone executives being shown where their giant advertisement with be.