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Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent, Henry Goodman ... see more see more... , Maurice Roëves , Stephen Graham , Brian McCardie , Peter McDonald , Giles Anderson , Mark Bazeley , Martin Compston , Joe Dempsie , David Roper , Jimmy Reddington , Oliver Stokes , Ryan Day , Mark Cameron Wystrach , Frank Skillin , Dylan Van Hoof , Sydney Wade , Elizabeth Carling , Mark Jameson , Liam Thomas , Glenn Cunningham , Tony Gubba , Gillian Waugh , Colin Harris , Stewart Robertson , Laurie Rea , Michael Parkinson , Ralph Ineson , Philip Childs , Terence Harvey , Gordon Hall , John Craven , Isabella Eades-Jones , Paul Bown , Christopher Chilton

The creators of such docudramas as The Queen and Frost/Nixon re-team for this period sports chronicle set in 1974. In England, the Leeds United players retain a status as the preeminent champions of t... read more read more...heir football league. Unfortunately, the manager to whom the team owes much of its success, visionary Don Revie (Colm Meaney), promptly leaves the unit to take over the England team. His replacement, the slick and confident Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), is publicly known as a vociferous critic of the team's approach to games. Clough has some experience and success to back him up -- in flashbacks, the film details how he and his business partner Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) coached Derby County from the bottom of the Second Division to the League Championships, though they had much less success working with the Brighton team later on. For various reasons, Taylor refuses to accompany Clough to his new post in Leeds, so Clough must go it alone. Clough wastes no time aggressively attempting to modify the playing style of the team -- he dictates that they play more attractively, and less violently. This clashes with the intentions of the team members, however. When the players hit the field, they find it extraordinarily difficult to adapt to the mandates of their new coach, which sets the stage for a series of losses and puts Clough's reputation on the line. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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78% liked it

54,726 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

124 critics

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Tom Hooper

Release Date: October 9, 2009

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DVD Release Date: February 23, 2010

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Stats: 1,951 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,951)

  • FiLmCrAzY
    November 15, 2011
    FiLmCrAzY
    Im not into football movies at all and i will avoid them as much as possible but it takes one football movie to star Michael Sheen to actually get me to watch this movie and much to my surprise i actually enjoyed this movie. Its entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable and is actual... read morely highyly amusing.
    Worth a watch and like me it may change your minds about movies focused on football!
  • SirPant
    June 6, 2011
    SirPant
    I'm not much of a football fan but there's no denying it's a sport full of fascinating characters, Brian Clough being one of the more colourful. Tom Hooper's direction is great, the attention to detail compositionsion of every shot is beautifully shot. The acting is also very go... read moreod from all of the cast, although Timothy Spall looks nothing like Peter Taylor but I suppose it doesn't matter too much, he still did a great job. This might befavouriterate sports film, although it really doesn't feel like one.
  • Alireza64ir
    September 21, 2010
    Alireza64ir
    An underrated british movie.Since it's about football its intresting and entertaining.Like other Peter Morgan's screenplays ,stoyline is short and simple and has mostly focused on details and is more concerned to be faithful to historic events
  • deano
    September 19, 2010
    deano
    This is damned good true story of British coach football Brian Clough as well as a bravura performance from Michael Sheen and a faithful, intelligent screenplay by Peter Morgan combine with a well chosen storyline to deliver a convincing tale. This film is not about football game... read more, it's uses football as a framework for ambition, greed, success, failure, friendship and love.
    Timothy Spall gives a good performance of light and shade as "behind every great man" Peter Taylor, Brian's right-hand man, but the effect of his performance is weakened by his looking completely unlike his real-life prototype. No problems on that score with Colm Meaney as Don Revie (apart from a lack of height!), who nails Revie's distinctive accent to a "T".
  • rjayhutchinson
    August 1, 2010
    rjayhutchinson
    A very poignant, well-acted memoir of Brian Clough's 1974 stint as manager of Leeds United, this film succeeds in nearly every aspect. There is little to be found wrong with this film.
  • harrycaul
    July 20, 2010
    harrycaul
    Since it would be difficult to conceive of a more affectionate portrait of Brian Clough than the one presented here, one wonders why the Clough family were so opposed to The Damned United's production. Yes, it's heavily romanticised and stretches the truth for dramatic and... read more/or comedic effect - in particular, by implying that Clough left Brighton and Hove Albion for his disastrous 44 day tenure as Leeds United manager while the ink was still wet on his Albion contract - but, excepting a certain Scottish midfielder who sued the production company over his representation in the film, nobody would ever mistake this for a serious biopic. Though it's not nearly as frivolous, The Damned United is best approached as the 24 Hour Party People of football movies, a hugely entertaining blurring of fact and fiction in celebration of a lovable egomaniac. Michael Sheen is marvellous as Old Big 'Ed with Timothy Spall (Peter Taylor, Clough's assistant manager), Jim Broadbent (Sam Longson, Derby County chairman) and Colm Meaney (Don Revie, Clough's nemesis) providing excellent support. I deducted half a star for the gratuitous digs at Revie in the epilogue.
  • neverteaseaweasel
    March 15, 2010
    neverteaseaweasel
    Michael Sheen is talented and adorable. I'm not shallow as to rate a film well on those term alone, but still. Just saying... I'm impressed with what a diverse selection of characters he has played.: Lucian in Underworld, Tony Blair in The Queen, Aro in New Moon, The White Rabbit... read more in Alice, David Frost in Frost/Nixon, and now Brian Clough. To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of the coach, but apparently he was someone worth knowing. I'm genereally not that fond of sports movies (or the sports themselves) but this really is incredibly good. Timothy Spall just looks right in the 70s. Who would have ever guessed? Written by Peter Morgan, and very, very similar to his work in The Queen. While is film is very fun and entertaining, it is not something to be remembered forever. It really will not make you think or feel anything at all. I'm actually not totally sure that it had any kind of a point, but maybe that is part of the brilliance. A certain charm and appeal comes with the lack of an obvious message or agenda. At any rate, the film is sweet and charming, very likable all around, and that alone goes a long ways.



    I'm also rather fond of the closing: "Brian Clough was the best manager that the Leeds never had." That was a bit of a paraphrase, but the gist is the same.
  • MissMorganLeee
    March 14, 2010
    MissMorganLeee
    I just love Michael Sheen! He is becoming one of my new Favorite actors! Every role he is in He commits 1000% A Great, very interesting true story about a very intersting and not nessacarily likable man. Once again I love Michael Sheen and this was his movie all the way. Well Don... read moree. SEE IT!
  • binky013
    March 9, 2010
    binky013
    It's odd, but every time I see a movie heavily focused on soccer/football, it's always even better than I'd hoped. Not being very knowledgeable about football/soccer, I never know exactly what I may be getting myself into, but one after another, I'm very impressed by films such ... read moreas Bend It Like Beckham, Green Street Hooligans, or even She's the Man -- I mean all of the film, including especially the soccer/football angle. Maybe I should have played this sport? : )

    I did not know who the legendary Brian Clough was, but I'd read enticing comments about this intriguing biopic. It's plainly fictionalized, I'm sure -- the shape of this portion of this amazing man's life is too literary in form, although how far afield from hard fact it might stray, I could not guess. Suffice it to say that the good folks involved in this project are very successful at painting a fascinating portrait of Clough. I am very glad I took a chance on this one, and Michael Sheen is definitely a great find for me. This is well worth watching, even if, like me, you know very little about football/soccer.

    By the way, I don't know how you all might feel about the "special features" on DVDs. Me? Most likely I find them not so special. All the special features on this DVD, however, are interesting. I especially like the way they contextualize the deleted scenes, the instance of the two deleted scenes for the same scene in particular. Great stuff, all of the special features, and very informative.
  • gor41
    February 27, 2010
    gor41
    Efficient Brit drama about the rise-fall-rise of Brian Clough which struggles to exceed its nostalgic charm and parochial limitations but not because of the ever impressive Sheen who embodies another larger than life character with aplomb.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
November 11, 2009
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

The Damned United is a most entertaining study in obsession wrapped in a traditional sports movie. Full Review

Tom Long
October 30, 2009
Tom Long, Detroit News

The Damned United is a thoughtful and entertaining study on the perils of ambition that has little to do with soccer and a lot to do with being human. Well-played. Full Review

Christopher Orr
October 23, 2009
Christopher Orr, New Republic

One of [its] primary pleasures...is that, in choosing a topic as narrow and parochial as the fate of an English soccer club, Morgan has relieved himself of any duty to persuade us that the events he d... Full Review

Chris Vognar
October 23, 2009
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

A finely constructed and fiercely entertaining soccer movie that deals more in pride and obsession than penalty kicks.

J. R. Jones
October 23, 2009
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

[Michael Sheen] adds to his gallery of public figures (Tony Blair, David Frost) with a sharp performance here as the legendary UK soccer coach Brian Clough. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
October 23, 2009
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Like a tense World Cup match, there's a lack of scoring, but it is still riveting. Full Review

Michael Phillips
October 19, 2009
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Sheen is wonderful. Full Review

Rick Groen
October 16, 2009
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Like a skill player who just can't score, The Damned United is all dazzle and no finish and, ultimately, damned frustrating. Full Review

Peter Howell
October 16, 2009
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Sheen's performance is controlled fury, barely touching ground as he presents Clough as being the very picture of a delusional fool. Full Review

Wesley Morris
October 15, 2009
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

While it's true that a couple of the characters are vivid creations, it's hard to glean what else Morgan sees in this story, which he adapted from a novel by David Peace, besides a showcase for Sheen.... Full Review

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    • Brian Clough: We're from the north, Pete. What do we care about Brighton? Bloody southerners. Look where we are! We're almost in France!
    • Brian Clough: Things are going to be a little different around here... without Don
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