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Damned United, The
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Universal acclaim
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Peter Morgan
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 9, 2009
DVD: February 23, 2010
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Summary
RATING: R for language
Starring Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Graham, and Peter McDonald
Set in 1960’s and 1970’s England, The Damned United tells the confrontational and darkly humorous story of Brian Clough’s doomed 44 day tenure as manager of the reigning champions of English football Leeds United. Previously managed by his bitter rival Don Revie, and on the back of their most successful period ever as a football club, Leeds was perceived by many to represent a new aggressive and cynical style of football - an anathema to the principled yet flamboyant Brian Clough, who had achieved astonishing success as manager of Hartlepool and Derby County building teams in his own vision with trusty lieutenant Peter Taylor. Taking the Leeds job without Taylor by his side, with a changing room full of what in his mind were still Don’s boys, would lead to an unheralded examination of Clough’s belligerence and brilliance over 44 days. This is that story. The story of The Damned United. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
It's a classic and even charming yarn of vanity, hubris and redemption, played out against the bizarre, intense alternate universe of '70s English soccer.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
The rare sports movie that deals with -- indeed positively relishes -- humiliation and disappointment.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
There's barely any on-field footage in The Damned United. What we get instead is fine acting and directing, splendid dialogue and a story too outrageous to be made up.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A pitch-perfect portrait of a man full of inspiration and ambition - and full of himself.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
It stands out as one of the best films of the genre, on the strength of the storytelling and wonderful performances.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
It's more than a detailed account of one man's petty vindictiveness in a bygone era. It's about how our hatred can consume us so deeply that we lose sight of everything.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It’s a fascinating story about ambition and vanity and pride, and in Sheen’s performance and the atmosphere capture by Hooper it contains truly fine and rare things.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Elias Savada
Elevates a significant moment in the history of this massively passionate spectator sport.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Avoids all sports movie cliches, even the obligatory ending where the team comes from behind.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Sheen is startlingly good here, and so is Timothy Spall as Clough's trusted and much abused lieutenant.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
What's lost in translation is recovered easily enough in Michael Sheen's astonishing performance as Clough.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Chuck Wilson
A movie about soccer that doesn't spend a lot of time on the field, The Damned United, like everything Morgan writes, is an intimate character study, one that is enriched by a stellar ensemble of British pros, including Jim Broadbent as Derby's team owner.
Read Full Review >Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf
Hardly the heady stuff of "Frost/Nixon"--or then again, maybe exactly the same thing. This one’s more rude and fun.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Ultimately it's Sheen, finding new facets of his character in every scene, who shoots and scores.
Read Full Review >NPR Bob Mondello
A dramedy laying out the dueling coaching philosophies of guys who doubtless meant a great deal to fans, but of whom I'd been blissfully unaware for decades -- is enormously engaging. Enormously.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams
Two things that the British know that most Americans don't: Michael Sheen is the best actor in the English-speaking world; and soccer is the only football that matters.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Hooper, the director, doesn’t include lots of amazing football sequences to upstage his star. He just moves everyone out of Sheen’s way. It’s about time.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
What vaults the film above the standard sports movie is the stellar performance by Michael Sheen.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Director Tom Hooper ("John Adams") ably balances the games (surprisingly little football footage, actually), the personalities and the drama.
Read Full Review >Variety Leslie Felperin
Telling with a light, surefooted touch a legendary tale from British soccer history, The Damned United reps the latest collaboration in factual fiction between chameleon thesp Michael Sheen, screenwriter Peter Morgan and producer Andy Harries ("Frost/Nixon," "The Queen").
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
More Eurocentric but quite enjoyable, even for those of us who don’t follow British “football.”
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Michael Sheen, who adds to his gallery of public figures (Tony Blair, David Frost) with a sharp performance here as the legendary UK soccer coach Brian Clough.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Meaney’s Flintstone-ian brute makes a terrific foil to Sheen’s prissy arrogance, but the other supporting players don’t make much of an impression. Ditto for this slice of history itself, though mileage may vary for soccer fans.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
As the two coaches head for a faceoff in a climactic live TV interview, writer Morgan starts to seem like a rip-off -- of himself.
Read Full Review >Empire William Thomas
Sheen thrives in the guise of the idiosyncratic Clough in a brilliantly candid, if bitty, football parable.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Like a skill player who just can't score, The Damned United is all dazzle and no finish and, ultimately, damned frustrating.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
eggy g. gave it a9:
Capture all the football drama & moments without any of sport movie cliche..incredible. Another superb Michael sheen's movie.
Chris J. gave it a10:
Just simply personal favorite movie of the year.
Teri gave it a9:
Excellent film, great acting.
Andres B. gave it a10:
Wonderful. Sheen gave a terrific performance.
springonion gave it a9:
Superb film which sees Sheen capture the memory of Clough in his own way. Indeed the whole movie seems to capture the era that was 1970s football in Britain; wonderfully engaging.
Qwerty gave it a9:
Michael Sheen is superb, and Colm Meany and the rest of the cast are great as well. And, you need know nothing about soccer (or, as the Brits call it, football) to enjoy and appreciate the film.
