United [DVD] [2011]

The film tells the story of the Manchester United football team just before and in the aftermath of the 1958 Munich plane crash that left so many of the players dead, with special emphasis on the amazing comeback of the team under the guidance of Jimmy Murray, beautifully portrayed by David Tennant. Much screen time is also given to the young up and coming player Bobby Charlton, who is played by Jack O'Connell. While the acting is solid throughout, two other performances that stand out are Dougray Scott as Matt Busby and Sam Claflin as Duncan Edwards.The film is well made, a sensitive telling of a terrible tragedy and the way it could be overcome, with painstaking attention to detail. Sets and costumes are in perfect keeping with the period, as is the demeanor of the characters, both players and officials, right down to the regional accents of the players from various places around the region. A lot of research has gone into the making of the film and the extra features of the DVD are a welcome addition to the feature. Some of the small details which are easily missed or instantly forgotten, take on a whole new significance once you hear that these are the things friends and family of the actual people portrayed in the film remember from that time.There seems to be some confusion as to which extras are included in which edition. I purchased the DVD version, which includes all the advertised extas:- Feature commentary with David Tennant, writer Chris Chisnall, director James Strong and producer Simon Heath- Preparing to be United featurette- United: Behind the Scenes (including cast and crew interviews)- Deleted Scenes with commentary

I LOVE THIS FILM. I remember the terrible days following the air crash amongst the people where I lived. People continually knocked at our door to get news of Duncan Edwards from my father who knew so many people in Manchester and Stockport's grass roots. Men publically cried which was not usual in those days. You'd see a newspaper shaking held by a bus passenger and know that behind it was a weeping man.My father died in 2010 so never saw this film. My Dad learnt how to be ambidextrous with his football footwork shown exactly the same way up against a factory wall opposite where he lived.On the morning of a day in 1939 or 1940 as he sat eating breakfast before leaving for a trial with Preston North End club he received a buff envelope - his call up papers. Got accepted by the club but the Army needed him more. Later home in late 1945 he had missed bullies chance. Younger players were now rising and on top.As a semi professional and amateur player he played against the Babes quite a few times in charity matches and such. He had to cover Bobby Charlton amongst others including Eddie Colman. I wish I'd know this when I met Sir Bobby Charlton and had the pleasure of sitting between him and his brother Jackie at a charity dinner in about 1973. They taught me to eat cheese placed on rich fruit cake. Try it.This film brought back painful and good memories of the wonderful game.

As a 15 year old United fan I watched the Manchester news in disbelief as the reports of the crash began to break. They were painful days for the city and for the club. I found this retelling of the inside story to be compelling, powerful and above all moving. There's hardly any football footage in the film, but the human side of the story is brilliantly told. The acting is magnificent. The main characters are played in a slightly understated way but that matches the events perfectly. As a Mancunian and a United fan, this film did me more good than I can say. Thank you.

As a child of a father who watched football on the telly every weekend, I knew vaguely of the Busby Babes and the crash in Munich. So when this movie came along and got good reviews, I was motivated to buy it, and I did some research before watching it to see what the full story was.Some spoilers follow, so those who don't know the story of the Munich tragedy may want to skip the next two paragraphs.This film does an excellent job of putting us in the shoes of a young up and coming player in the Manchester United team in the late 1950s. The work, the cameraderie and the sense of the time period are conveyed very well indeed. However, as the tragedy unfolds, the film focuses too much, I feel, on Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards. The film fails to really define the other players in any meaningful way, and although fans may be able to spot players like Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor thanks to the excellent casting of actors that in some cases look eerily like their real life counterparts, their characters are left as rough sketches at best. I feel the film would have been stronger if it had devoted a little screen time to the people who died in the crash and to the struggles of some of the other survivors after the crash: for example, we see nothing of Harry Gregg's injury - he had a head wound and his face was covered in blood - the film shows him essentially uninjured as he helps other survivors; we know nothing of Kenny Morgans, who showed promise before the crash, but never regained his form; we see nothing of Albert Scanlon, who survived with a fractured skull, a broken leg and kidney damage, yet went on to score 16 goals the following season; Johnny Berry, whose injuries took him out of football for life, only appears because the movie puts his words (about Tommy Taylor being a poor friend for not visiting him) into the mouth of Duncan Edwards. Also, I find it unforgivable that Edwards' apparent recovery and his eagerness to get back for the team's next match are not mentioned at all.Finally, the filmmakers make another unforgivable omission in not covering the experiences of Jackie Blanchflower, who was severely injured, suffering from a fractured pelvis and arms and legs, crushed kidneys, and a nearly severed right arm. He was in hospital for two months and was read the last rites in the early days, but survived. He tried to return to football, but never made a full recovery. The film also omits the fact that he and other injured survivors were callously told they must leave their United-funded homes to make way for incoming players.The film is well made, but I feel it could have been better with a wider focus. Some things have been omitted and some things have been changed, apparently for time and simplicity's sake, but this is not a complicated story - I feel the audience would have benefited from a longer movie and a little more focus on the secondary characters.