United

A sombre drama unlikely to see service as an in-flight movie for any airline carrying fans to Quatar to see the current World Cup. Containing remarkably little footage of football itself, it instead concentrates on the office politics that culminated in Busby's Babes taking that ill-fated flight in 1958. As manager Jimmy Murphy David Tennant's eyes are ablaze with both the fire of fanatical passion for the game and wide with grief in the aftermath of the Munich air crash. An interesting use of colour is the use of the bright red of the Man United strip against the otherwise drab depiction of fifties Britain.

Truthful and conscientious rendition of The Busby Babes' infamous Munich disaster, seen through the eyes of assistant manager Jimmy Murphy (wonderfully played by David Tennant). The film's great production values bring this TV movie on par with high-quality cinematic experiences; it is filmed with a wonderful set of lenses which capture the time in question in a wondrous, almost mythical way. Of the many possible character relations the focus is on a handful few (notably Murphy and Bobby Charlton), something which works quite well for this format. Covering more ground could have become messy and would arguably have required a different format. As it is now, however, United is an informative and artistically accomplished film, albeit with a few factual errors and shortcomings, but that seems almost inevitable when filming an incident as well-known, discussed and documented as this one.

Being a United supporter for most of my attentive soccer existence, I've always known about Munich. Watching this portrayal however cast new light and depth into the club's history, characters, and world opinion. I was touched to learn about the other clubs that sent on players and staff to help rebuild the club, especially Liverpool! The casting was incredibly accurate, as were their respective performances: shy boyish Charlton, charismatic Edwards, gaunt gritty yet deep Jimmy, and stalwart Busby. Busby's speaking pace, accent, and intonation, combined with his facial expressions and walk were incredible.

This movie was inspirational, emotional, and surprising. It's well worth viewing. The film makes you want to scour the internet for more information on Munich and affirms Manchester United's validity as one of the top clubs of all time, especially in this age of rich owner club buyouts. Anyone can buy a team and trophies, but only the greatest teams will be respected for creating a legacy. This film highlights that turning point for Man United.

Thanks for this film.

United is a docu-drama about the infamous 1958 Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of many of the Busby Babes and how the Manchester United team marched on from that dark day and rebuilt.

The focus is less on Matt Busby played by Dougray Scott in a stoic manner because he is sidelined after the crash as Busby was seriously injured and hospitalised for some time.

The focus is on David Tennant as Jimmy Murphy who has to cope with the aftermath, get a side together some from the lower leagues and get them to play. There is also the issue of some of the survivors being emotionally damaged from the incident such as Bobby Charlton who feels unable to play. Then there are the injuries to Duncan Edwards widely regarded as one of the best young players of his generation who survived the crash but later died.

As someone who knew little but the basics of this disaster I found the film informative and emotional. I would acknowledge the film had to condense the story which means some of the characters are sidelined or ignored but it is an affirming story of overcoming the odds that should get even non soccer fans involved.

I didn't know what to expect with this film as I'm not a football fan.

I love British films so I thought I'd give it a watch, even though it's not the sort of film I would usually go for.

I'm so glad I did now. It was moving and taught me lots about the Munich disaster (I wasn't even born when it happened).

David Tennant is fantastic (obviously) and all the other actors were brilliant.

My daughter has told me that there has been a lot of controversy about this film but I'm glad I haven't read any of it as it was just a really good film.

Would defiantly recommend it.