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The Damned United (2009) 7.5
Ratings:
7.5/10 from 20,189 users
Metascore: 81/100
Reviews: 68 user | 139 critic | 27 from Metacritic.com A look at Brian Clough's 44-day reign as the coach of Leeds United. Director:Tom Hooper |
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Title: The Damned United (2009)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Colm Meaney | ... | ||
| Henry Goodman | ... | ||
 |
David Roper | ... | |
| Jimmy Reddington | ... | ||
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Oliver Stokes | ... | |
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Ryan Day | ... | |
| Michael Sheen | ... | ||
| Mark Bazeley | ... | ||
| Timothy Spall | ... | ||
| Maurice Roëves | ... | ||
| Stephen Graham | ... | ||
| Peter McDonald | ... | ||
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Mark Cameron | ... | |
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Frank Skillin | ... | |
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Dylan Van Hoof | ... | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Taking over England's top football club Leeds United, previously successful manager Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor who has loyally stayed with Brighton & Hove Albion. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Taglines:
"They love me for what I'm not... ...they hate me for what I am."Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
27 March 2009 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Az elátkozott Leeds United See more »Box Office
Budget:
$10,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$32,065 (USA) (9 October 2009)Gross:
$449,558 (USA) (5 February 2010)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Sam Longson: Shouldn't bloody well offer them, then, should you?
Brian Clough: Look, you can't get rid of us. It would be a disaster for the club. For the whole of Derby!
Sam Longson: You can't keep shooting your mouth off the way you have been and issuing these ultimatums. With great reluctance, your resignations have been accepted.
Brian Clough: Look, you can't do this. It's madness.
Sam Longson: The decision stands. Car keys on the table and out.
Brian Clough: We're gonna create a footballing dynasty ...
[...]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The scenes in the film set at the Derby County training ground were actually filmed in Leeds at a football pitch ironically overlooking the Leeds United stadium. See more »Goofs
The commentator introduces Leeds as the League champions before the 27.01.68 game, but Manchester United were the reigning champions at the time. See more »Quotes
Brian Clough: What are you doing? You weren't supposed to *accept* our resignations!Sam Longson: Shouldn't bloody well offer them, then, should you?
Brian Clough: Look, you can't get rid of us. It would be a disaster for the club. For the whole of Derby!
Sam Longson: You can't keep shooting your mouth off the way you have been and issuing these ultimatums. With great reluctance, your resignations have been accepted.
Brian Clough: Look, you can't do this. It's madness.
Sam Longson: The decision stands. Car keys on the table and out.
Brian Clough: We're gonna create a footballing dynasty ...
[...]
See more »
Football has been poorly served by the cinema to date. "The Damned United" goes a long way to rectifying that. A bravura performance from Martin Sheen as Brian Clough and a faithful, intelligent screenplay by Peter Morgan combine with a well chosen storyline to deliver a convincing tale. Crucially, this is not a film about football, it uses football as a framework for ambition, greed, success, failure, friendship and love.
The traditional traps surrounding a football film are avoided. "Live" action is limited, and team sequences brief. Consequently the characters are given a chance to breathe and develop , not just Clough's, but those of Peter Taylor, marvellously captured by Timothy Spall, and others . Chairmen Manny Cousins and Sam Longson enjoy rewarding cameo parts and the footballers themselves are picked as actors rather than surrogate footballers.
Critics may carp about the odd anachronism and unconvincing physical shape of the Leeds United team in particular but it is the ego of Brian Clough which bestrides this story. The 90 minutes barely does justice to his 45 days at Leeds as his career up to the appointment is interwoven into the main tale. Although faction is a dangerous device, for me it does justice to both the lovingly recreated era and the characters. Cloughs family have apparently repudiated this work, which is a shame. It is broadly favourable with the wrinkles as foibles rather than damnable weaknesses.
The film closes with a re-creation of the YTV interview with Clough and Revie sitting side by side immediately following Clough's dismissal. The atmosphere is electric, Clough is surprisingly conciliatory whilst Revie delivers an, "I told you so", tour de force. Echoes of the Sheen/Morgan collaboration Frost / Nixon abound as does the repeated device of the late night telephone call from the arch protagonists, this time Clough to Revie, last time Nixon to Frost. The final reconciliation between Clough and Taylor is as brave a depiction of a male platonic relationship as has been screened for a very long time.
A triumph for all concerned.