United (TV drama)
Encyclopedia
United is a British
television film directed by James Strong
and written by Chris Chibnall
. It is based on the true story of Manchester United's "Busby Babes
" and the aftermath of the 1958 Munich air disaster
. In particular, the film focuses on the experience of coach Jimmy Murphy, played by David Tennant
, and Bobby Charlton
, played by Jack O'Connell
.
Largely filmed around the North East of England
, the film was first broadcast on 24 April 2011 on BBC Two
and BBC HD
, but is being sold internationally as a theatrical picture by Content Media Corp. The series gained a 14.3% rating in its time slot and was generally well-received by television critics.
. The film begins in 1956 as Murphy gives Charlton his first chance to play a match with Manchester United's first team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes" due to their unique pedigree as an entirely club-nurtured team of players. Meanwhile, manager Matt Busby persuades Football League
administrator Alan Hardaker
to allow his team to play in the European Cup with the proviso that they are back in time for each scheduled fixture. The team see success both at home and abroad. However, the terrible events of the 1958 Munich air disaster
leave the team with only four surviving players who are able to play. Against the odds, Murphy vows to present a team to play their next home game and, ultimately, the 1958 FA Cup Final
.
with a budget of £2 million ($3.2 million). In writing his script, Chris Chibnall
drew on first-hand interviews with the survivors and their families. It was shot in November and December 2010 in the north of England including the Tyneside Cinema
, Tynemouth Metro Station
, Newcastle Civic Centre
and the Assembly Rooms. Carlisle United's Brunton Park ground doubled for the inside of Old Trafford
in the 1950s. The shoot took four six-day weeks of filming and was hindered by heavy snowfall in December; one extra day cost the production £30,000 because the project was not insured against inclement weather conditions.
In recreating the crash, it was felt it would be appropriate to see events unfold through Charlton's eyes. Jack O'Connell stated that it had a dream-like quality. "It has a lethargic feel. So it doesn't necessarily seem like reality. There's a hazy sense about it." Dougray Scott stated "We filmed the scene [of the crash] on a military base up in Newcastle...There were some people sitting in seats without a scratch on them, dead, others without a scratch on them alive, some with terrible injuries and dead. It was an emotional part of the shoot."
The score, composed by Clint Mansell
, was released on iTunes in April 2011. It is Mansell's first TV film credit. The ending credit sequence features the song "Devotion" by Paul Weller
.
.
Sandy Busby, the son of Matt Busby, said he thought the film was "very poorly done" stating that he was annoyed he had not been consulted about the film. He went on to state he was "disgusted" with the portrayal of his father and critical about the omission of some players from the film; "Why didn't they include other players that died and were injured in the crash? If I was one of their family I would be very upset." In particular, he criticised film's portrayal of his father, which he thought made him look like a gangster; "I was disgusted with the portrayal of my father. He had this camel coat on, and a fedora, and all through the film he was never seen in a tracksuit. He was known as probably the first tracksuit manager at that time. I was disgusted."
Television reviews such as Gerard Gilbert in The Independent also noted a gangster-like appearance in Busby's costume, and suggested that painting Alan Hardaker
as the villain seemed tame; "compared to Jimmy McGovern
's Hillsborough, with its burning righteous anger aimed at the police and The Sun, Hardaker seemed like a flimsy scapegoat for what, au fond, was an appalling accident."
Jim White
, writing for The Telegraph was more positive stating "United...is brilliant in its evocation of the pipe-puffing Fifties football orbit...the CGI evocation of immediate post-war Old Trafford
, with the smokestacks brooding above the open terraces, looks more authentic than the real thing...David Tennant's performance as the central character should alert every award-giving body."
Sam Wollaston in The Guardian commended the smaller period details, stating "There are lots of nice little differences between football then and football now. Can you imagine any of today's lot feeling that kind of connection not just with the club but with the whole area? Or living with a landlady? Or telling a girl they were a plumber because plumbers had better prospects than footballers? Or smoking a pipe on the way out of the tunnel, as team captain Mark Jones did? Lovely...But, of course, at the heart of Chris Chibnall's poignant drama is the tragedy that claimed eight of the Busby Babes. It's beautifully done – powerful, haunting and very human. And if you didn't shed a tear, then you're harder than I am."
The drama is nominated at the Prix Europa
2011 Awards as "Best European TV Production".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television film directed by James Strong
James Strong (director)
James Strong is a British television director and writer. He has directed episodes of the shows Holby City and Doctors, as well as six episodes of Doctor Who and two episodes of its spin-off series Torchwood...
and written by Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a British playwright, television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series Torchwood....
. It is based on the true story of Manchester United's "Busby Babes
Busby Babes
The Busby Babes were a group of Manchester United players, recruited and trained by the club's chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of the eponymous Matt Busby.The Busby Babes were notable...
" and the aftermath of the 1958 Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...
. In particular, the film focuses on the experience of coach Jimmy Murphy, played by David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, and Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
, played by Jack O'Connell
Jack O'Connell (actor)
Jack O'Connell , is a British actor, from Alvaston, Derby, England. He went to St Benedict Catholic School and Performing Arts College...
.
Largely filmed around the North East of England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
, the film was first broadcast on 24 April 2011 on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
and BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
, but is being sold internationally as a theatrical picture by Content Media Corp. The series gained a 14.3% rating in its time slot and was generally well-received by television critics.
Plot
The drama primarily focusses on the relationship between assistant manager Jimmy Murphy and the young player Bobby CharltonBobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
. The film begins in 1956 as Murphy gives Charlton his first chance to play a match with Manchester United's first team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes" due to their unique pedigree as an entirely club-nurtured team of players. Meanwhile, manager Matt Busby persuades Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
administrator Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer...
to allow his team to play in the European Cup with the proviso that they are back in time for each scheduled fixture. The team see success both at home and abroad. However, the terrible events of the 1958 Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...
leave the team with only four surviving players who are able to play. Against the odds, Murphy vows to present a team to play their next home game and, ultimately, the 1958 FA Cup Final
1958 FA Cup Final
The 1958 FA Cup Final was contested on 3 May 1958 by Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, London, in front of a crowd of almost 100,000. The referee was J. Sherlock. Bolton won 2–0, with a double by Nat Lofthouse, who scored the goals in the 3rd and 55th minutes...
.
Cast
- David TennantDavid TennantDavid Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
as Jimmy Murphy - Jack O'ConnellJack O'Connell (actor)Jack O'Connell , is a British actor, from Alvaston, Derby, England. He went to St Benedict Catholic School and Performing Arts College...
as Bobby CharltonBobby CharltonSir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966... - Sam ClaflinSam ClaflinSamuel George "Sam" Claflin is an English actor, perhaps best known for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides....
as Duncan EdwardsDuncan EdwardsDuncan Edwards was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid 1950s, and one of eight players who died as a result of the Munich air disaster.Born in Dudley,... - Dougray ScottDougray Scott-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
as Matt BusbyMatt BusbySir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season... - Dean AndrewsDean AndrewsDean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars...
as Bert WhalleyBert WhalleyHerbert "Bert" Whalley was a footballer for Manchester United from 1934 to 1946, later serving as coach for the club. He died in the Munich air disaster in 1958 at the age of 45.... - Kate AshfieldKate AshfieldKate Ashfield is a British actress, best known for her award-winning roles as Jody in the Anglo-German film Late Night Shopping, as Sadie MacGregor in the British film This Little Life and as Liz in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead.-Biography:Ashfield was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England...
as Alma George - David CalderDavid Calder (actor)David Calder is a British actor.Calder was born in Portsmouth, England, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His most high profile TV roles include Det. Insp...
as Harold HardmanHarold HardmanHarold Payne Hardman was an English footballer and later football chairman.-Football career:Born in Newton Heath, Manchester, he was discovered by Blackpool as a schoolboy and thrown into the first team during their season in exile from the Football League in 1899-1900... - Neil DudgeonNeil DudgeonNeil Dudgeon is a British actor best known for his many television appearances, most often in crime drama.-Early Life:Dudgeon was born 1 January 1961 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, and attended Danum Grammar School among others. He established himself as an actor in school plays and went on to study...
as Alan HardakerAlan HardakerAlan Hardaker was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer... - Tim HealyTim Healy (actor)Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He is married to the actress Denise Welch.-Career:...
as Tommy Skinner - Melanie HillMelanie HillMelanie Hill is an English actress from Sunderland, County Durham.-Television:Hill replaced Gilly Coman as the character of Aveline in the last two series' of Carla Lane's BBC television sitcom Bread...
as Cissie Charlton - Philip Hill-Pearson as Eddie ColmanEddie ColmanEdward "Eddie" Colman was an English football player and one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster....
- Thomas HowesThomas Howes (actor)Thomas Howes is an English actor. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.He is best known for having played the role of William, the second footman in ITV's Downton Abbey, and played the role of Manchester United's captain Mark Jones in the 2011 TV film of the Munich air disaster,...
as Mark JonesMark Jones (footballer)Mark Jones was an English footballer and one of eight Manchester United players to lose their lives in the Munich air disaster... - Ben Peel as Harry GreggHarry GreggHenry "Harry" Gregg, MBE is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and manager.He played 25 times for Northern Ireland as a goalkeeper and played for Manchester United during the reign of Sir Matt Busby with a total of 210 appearances.-Playing career:Gregg started his career with...
- Brogan West as David PeggDavid PeggDavid Pegg was an English footballer and one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958....
Production
The film was produced by World ProductionsWorld Productions
World Productions is a British television production company, founded in the early 1990s by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett. The company's first major series was the police drama Between The Lines , and throughout the decade they went on to produce a succession of highly successful drama series...
with a budget of £2 million ($3.2 million). In writing his script, Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a British playwright, television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction series Torchwood....
drew on first-hand interviews with the survivors and their families. It was shot in November and December 2010 in the north of England including the Tyneside Cinema
Tyneside Cinema
The Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the city's only full-time independent cultural cinema, specialising in the screening of independent and world cinema from across the globe...
, Tynemouth Metro Station
Tynemouth Metro station
Tynemouth Metro station is one of the oldest stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro network. The railway station was opened in 1882 by the North Eastern Railway and is now a Grade II* listed building...
, Newcastle Civic Centre
Newcastle Civic Centre
Newcastle Civic Centre is a civic centre located in the Haymarket area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the main administrative and ceremonial centre for Newcastle City Council. Designed by the city architect, George Kenyon, the building was completed in 1967 and was formally opened by HM...
and the Assembly Rooms. Carlisle United's Brunton Park ground doubled for the inside of Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in the 1950s. The shoot took four six-day weeks of filming and was hindered by heavy snowfall in December; one extra day cost the production £30,000 because the project was not insured against inclement weather conditions.
In recreating the crash, it was felt it would be appropriate to see events unfold through Charlton's eyes. Jack O'Connell stated that it had a dream-like quality. "It has a lethargic feel. So it doesn't necessarily seem like reality. There's a hazy sense about it." Dougray Scott stated "We filmed the scene [of the crash] on a military base up in Newcastle...There were some people sitting in seats without a scratch on them, dead, others without a scratch on them alive, some with terrible injuries and dead. It was an emotional part of the shoot."
The score, composed by Clint Mansell
Clint Mansell
Clinton Darryl "Clint" Mansell, is an English musician, composer, and former lead singer and guitarist of the band Pop Will Eat Itself....
, was released on iTunes in April 2011. It is Mansell's first TV film credit. The ending credit sequence features the song "Devotion" by Paul Weller
Paul Weller
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
.
Ratings and critical reception
The film gained a 2.89 million (12.8%) audience share for BBC 2 at 9pm, with a further 346,000 (1.5%) viewers watching on BBC HDBBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
.
Sandy Busby, the son of Matt Busby, said he thought the film was "very poorly done" stating that he was annoyed he had not been consulted about the film. He went on to state he was "disgusted" with the portrayal of his father and critical about the omission of some players from the film; "Why didn't they include other players that died and were injured in the crash? If I was one of their family I would be very upset." In particular, he criticised film's portrayal of his father, which he thought made him look like a gangster; "I was disgusted with the portrayal of my father. He had this camel coat on, and a fedora, and all through the film he was never seen in a tracksuit. He was known as probably the first tracksuit manager at that time. I was disgusted."
Television reviews such as Gerard Gilbert in The Independent also noted a gangster-like appearance in Busby's costume, and suggested that painting Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer...
as the villain seemed tame; "compared to Jimmy McGovern
Jimmy McGovern
Jimmy McGovern is a BAFTA award-winning English television scriptwriter from Liverpool.-Early career:McGovern started his career working on Channel 4's soap opera Brookside in 1982, tackling many social issues such as unemployment.-Successes:...
's Hillsborough, with its burning righteous anger aimed at the police and The Sun, Hardaker seemed like a flimsy scapegoat for what, au fond, was an appalling accident."
Jim White
Jim White (journalist)
Jim White is a British journalist and presenter who has fronted STV's coverage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2006/07 season by accident. He attended Manchester Grammar School and went on to read English at Bristol University.-Writing:White has covered major sporting events for the Daily...
, writing for The Telegraph was more positive stating "United...is brilliant in its evocation of the pipe-puffing Fifties football orbit...the CGI evocation of immediate post-war Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
, with the smokestacks brooding above the open terraces, looks more authentic than the real thing...David Tennant's performance as the central character should alert every award-giving body."
Sam Wollaston in The Guardian commended the smaller period details, stating "There are lots of nice little differences between football then and football now. Can you imagine any of today's lot feeling that kind of connection not just with the club but with the whole area? Or living with a landlady? Or telling a girl they were a plumber because plumbers had better prospects than footballers? Or smoking a pipe on the way out of the tunnel, as team captain Mark Jones did? Lovely...But, of course, at the heart of Chris Chibnall's poignant drama is the tragedy that claimed eight of the Busby Babes. It's beautifully done – powerful, haunting and very human. And if you didn't shed a tear, then you're harder than I am."
The drama is nominated at the Prix Europa
Prix Europa
Prix Europa is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Its open juries sample and select the best television-, radio- and online productions of each year...
2011 Awards as "Best European TV Production".
External links
- United - BBC Press Pack