The Damned United

JP Liz

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226271/

Michael Sheen was on a cold and wet Leeds United training pitch, reliving the infamous period in 1974 when the brilliant, but flawed, Brian Clough managed the First Division team for 44 days.

'It was kind of a dark time for him,' Sheen told me during a brief break as director Tom Hooper and his crew set up a new scene to shoot in the film called The Damned United, with a screenplay by Oscar-nominated writer Peter Morgan, based on David Peace's scorching fact-packed novel of the same title.

The film contrasts Clough's league success managing Derby County with his brief tenure at Leeds, where he replaced his bitter rival Don Revie, who'd gone off to manage England.

Leeds, in that era, had a reputation for playing dirty, but Clough insisted on clean play. Sheen had been filming a moment on Tuesday where Clough laid into his new charges.

He told them: 'If you want your grandchildren to remember you for being something other than the dirty buggers you all are, you need to change.'

Tactful he was not, but Clough believed football should be a beautiful game. 'He wanted the results as well,' Sheen told me. 'But the results, he always said, were secondary to the manner in which it was played. He had a purity of spirit that I think a lot of people can respect and admire.'

But Clough was a complex man, full of extremes, and this is what gives the role an almost Shakespearean stature. 'There's this demon in Clough's head that comes out every now and again and you're never sure if he's in control of it or not,' Sheen said.

He points to Clough's mixture of 'huge self-confidence and self belief' coupled with ' huge vulnerability and insecurity' which he traces back to an injury which forced Clough to give up his own footballing career.

'Because of that, there was always an anger in him - a frustration and a resentment. Managing was never going to be the same as scoring goals himself. It's a little bit like watching an alcoholic having to work in a bar, watching everyone else drink,' Sheen explained.

Apart from being an award-winning actor on stage and screen (he has played Tony Blair twice - in The Deal on Channel 4, and The Queen on the big screen - and his portrayal of David Frost can be seen in the forthcoming movie Frost/Nixon) few know that Sheen is also an accomplished footballer, as are all of the actors playing the real-life footballers who were household names of the period.
'The other actors are brilliant with a ball, but not as good as me, naturally,' Sheen joked.

Scrapper: Stephen Graham plays Billy Bremner

Stephen Graham, who plays the sturdy Leeds scrapper, and captain, Billy Bremner, might have something to say about that.
As would Peter McDonald, as Johnny Giles, and Mark Cameron (former Coronation Street) as Norman 'Bites Yer Legs' Hunter, and Joe Dempsie (of Skins fame) as Duncan Mackenzie.

The other cast members are nimble on their feet, too. Martin Compston plays John O'Hare and Colin Harris portrays John McGovern - the two players Clough took with him from Derby when he went to Leeds.

THE main Derby County players featured in the film are portrayed by Giles Alderson (as Colin Todd), Brian McCardie as the great Dave Mackay, Stewart Robertson (Archie Gemmill) and Laurie Rea playing Terry Hennessey.

As previously revealed on these pages, Timothy Spall portrays Clough's sharpeyed associate Peter Taylor. Colm Meaney is his bitter rival Don Revie, and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent plays Derby's brow-beaten chairman Sam Longson.

'Football's a different world now. It has all become corporate and branded players are earning huge amounts of money. It's big, big business. It was a different era then,' Sheen told me, with a wistful sigh.

My sense, though, is that this film, backed by BBC Films, Sony and Screen Yorkshire, is going to score at the box office when it's released in cinemas next year, and fully cement Clough as one of football's greatest figures.

JP Liz

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYzsswqPk6s

Kingp35

Looks like a very good film BUT it is in no way a true story. Being a Leeds fan it is kind of annoying how badly the players and club are being portrayed in the film, basically the players are evil and Brian Clough is the good guy when in fact it was completely the other way round.

Still I'm looking forward to it, it just annoys me that a film that will probably be the best football film ever made is one that portrays my club in such a poor light.

Dodge

Kingp35 wrote: »

Looks like a very good film BUT it is in no way a true story

Pretty much all the quotes in the book were taken from autobiographies of former players (many Leeds players included)

Obvioulsy license was taken and things are intrepreted in different ways but I'd wager it'd be close enough to the truth at its core.

The book is sensationally good. I don't think Leeds come out of it too bad in fairness. Certain people do, but its more about Clough's obsessions than anythign else

lostexpectation

johnny giles was saying on the radio last week how he sued the writer of the book

rovert

Ive very high hopes for the film as novel was fantastic. There was a very good edition of the South Bank show about the book.

lostexpectation wrote: »

johnny giles was saying on the radio last week how he sued the writer of the book

He won an apology from the writer.

galactus

Just finished reading the book which I thought was outstanding.

That said I would rate Cloughie as a legend and Leeds as...well...they didn't call them Dirty Leeds for nothing.

Colm Meaney is a dead ringer for Don Revie!

A bit peed off that my local cinema and indeed the cinemas around Sligo,Donegal and Roscommon are not showing this film on its release date as i was really looking forward to it.I thought it was on general release,the only listings i can see are in the Dublin area!:mad:

mistercrow

Is this on anywhere in Cork? Out in Dublin today.

browne_rob5

I can't find it showing in Limerick either. It appears to be showing in 4 cinemas in Dublin but nowhere else in the country. Find it suprising as there has been alot of talk about it in the media and im sure its much better than most of the other films showing.

mistercrow

Amazing, considering the ****e these distributors foist on us week in week out.

mistercrow

Talked to Sony. They only have five prints of it so it will be a couple of weeks before it makes it around to us culchies. Shambles. No doubt Confessions of a Shopaholic will still be out by way of consolation.

Fanny Cradock

Kingp35 wrote: »

Looks like a very good film BUT it is in no way a true story. Being a Leeds fan it is kind of annoying how badly the players and club are being portrayed in the film, basically the players are evil and Brian Clough is the good guy when in fact it was completely the other way round.

Still I'm looking forward to it, it just annoys me that a film that will probably be the best football film ever made is one that portrays my club in such a poor light.

Well you should probably reserve judgement until you see it. I believe that the writers of the film have departed from the book and made a more sympathetic and representative Clough. Hopefully they have done the same for the truth at large.

Kiith

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Well you should probably reserve judgement until you see it. I believe that the writers of the film have departed from the book and made a more sympathetic and representative Clough. Hopefully they have done the same for the truth at large.

I watched the Clough documentary on ITV a few days ago (it was fantastic btw) and they have said the same thing. Its a lighter view of his time at Leeds.

Nolanger

Went to see TDU today and as expected it's a good BBC TV movie. Good old Cineworld - hide this picture on the top floor out of the way. Didn't think Johnny Giles was portrayed well. No explanation on why Clough was such as good manager.

JP Liz

mistercrow wrote: »

Is this on anywhere in Cork? Out in Dublin today.

I've just seen it advertised on Irish tv for release April 24th

Any news on when this film will reach more cinemas outside of Dublin,i would love to see it in Sligo?

grenache

I've just come from seeing it, and definitely one of the better sport films made. However the plotline can be a bit thin at times, and we don't get to see Clough at the nitty gritty level, we really only get to see him on a superficial level for a lot of the film. Sheen has Clough down to a tee though, both in his looks, accent and larger-than-life personality. Spall really does show Taylor to be the real brains behind the operation, and Jim Broadbent does an excellent job as Derby chairman Sam Longson. Probably one of the best bits is Clough's argument with Longson in the tunnell over the team line-up. As already mentioned Colm Meaney does a great Don Revie and his tv studio debate with Clough at the end is very entertaining. You wouldn't get it happening today, such are the amount of bland individuals in football, there are very few real characters left. One of the things that bugs me was that - Dave McKay's character apart - none of the actors who played the footballers, actually looked like real footballers. There also could have been a greater exploration of his time at Leeds, interaction between him and the likes of Giles and Bremner was thin on the ground. But not a bad film, has its flaws but worth a view....

It arrived in Sligo too,i went to see it last night,i was the only one in there watching it.I thought there may have been more interest in it.
I wonder what Colm Meaney thought whilst sing God Save The Queen as Don Revie at Wembley!

DapperGent

Anyone know if this is still in a cinema somewhere in the Dublin area? I can't seem to find a showing in the listings.

Dodge

DapperGent wrote: »

Anyone know if this is still in a cinema somewhere in the Dublin area? I can't seem to find a showing in the listings.

Entertainment.ie has it down for Movies@swords and the Savoy in balbriggan