I know far too much about the Munich Air Disaster and the lives it claimed, both in death and in injury. I spent a large portion of my formative years studying it with the hope to write a book about the event from a young football fan (which is still in its infancy). As a result, when I found out that BBC were producing and broadcasting a drama about the Munich Air Disaster, my interested was piqued; not to be critical necessarily, but to just see how other people portrayed it.
The drama follows the reality of the Air Disaster, mainly from the eyes of Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Murphy which begins in 1956 with the former wondering when he will get his first team chance. Before I watched it, I figured it would be from his point of view - big name, known all over the world, Air Disaster survivor, etc. You get a (very) brief introduction to some of the players (Pegg, Colman, Jones, Edwards) and to Jimmy Murphy (played by David Tennant) and Matt Busby. It follows the problems Manchester United and Busby in particular getting the team into Europe, and a little bit about the players home lives (at home with the landladies, at a dance). This is all a build up to the crash itself, and the aftermath through Charlton's and Murphy's eyes - climaxing when Manchester United go to Wembley to face Bolton Wanderers after the air disaster.
The direction of the dramatization is very good - the scenes are filmed beautifully. David Tennant plays the pain of Jimmy Murphy very well, although Tennant is significantly younger than the age Murphy was at the time of the Munich Air Disaster. The way he grieves is very real and he really put a good performance on.
However, I have issues with the drama.
The role of Matt Busby (played by Scott) depicts a rather shady character; shown more during the conversation with the FA about United going to Europe. Whilst Busby was very forceful about his opinions, I think they hammed this characteristic up. A huge discrepancy I had with the film was the insinuation that Busby largely left all team talk up to Murphy - whilst this is partially true, Busby was a very active participator in team training and was one of the first "training" managers of that era, and of whom we see today. The portrayal that he simply walked into the changing room to bark orders and leave the tactics up to Murphy was quite inaccurate.
Onto the players; why were so many omitted? Roger Byrne, Liam Whelan, Geoff Bent, Albert Scanlon, Bill Foulkes especially? The latter was a lynch pin in helping survivors in the aftermath of the crash, along with Harry Gregg who was featured. I voiced this to a friend, who said maybe the families of those concerned wished not to be portrayed within the film, but I found it utterly baffling that someone like Roger Byrne, the captain of the team, would not even be mentioned (apart from when his death was being read out). I also had a problem with the journalists, trainers and other passengers who were not mentioned, especially those who died like Frank Swift.
I thought at the end there may be a small tribute to those who passed on, so was surprised when nothing came up.
In spite of this, I thought the actors were very good (in the way they were directed, even if it was painfully inaccurate). The cinematography was fantastic and a joy to watch in terms of scenery. I just wish it had been a bit more accurate, considering so much time has passed and with so much information readily available about the crash (and prior), I would have hoped for something a bit more true to life.
The drama follows the reality of the Air Disaster, mainly from the eyes of Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Murphy which begins in 1956 with the former wondering when he will get his first team chance. Before I watched it, I figured it would be from his point of view - big name, known all over the world, Air Disaster survivor, etc. You get a (very) brief introduction to some of the players (Pegg, Colman, Jones, Edwards) and to Jimmy Murphy (played by David Tennant) and Matt Busby. It follows the problems Manchester United and Busby in particular getting the team into Europe, and a little bit about the players home lives (at home with the landladies, at a dance). This is all a build up to the crash itself, and the aftermath through Charlton's and Murphy's eyes - climaxing when Manchester United go to Wembley to face Bolton Wanderers after the air disaster.
The direction of the dramatization is very good - the scenes are filmed beautifully. David Tennant plays the pain of Jimmy Murphy very well, although Tennant is significantly younger than the age Murphy was at the time of the Munich Air Disaster. The way he grieves is very real and he really put a good performance on.
However, I have issues with the drama.
The role of Matt Busby (played by Scott) depicts a rather shady character; shown more during the conversation with the FA about United going to Europe. Whilst Busby was very forceful about his opinions, I think they hammed this characteristic up. A huge discrepancy I had with the film was the insinuation that Busby largely left all team talk up to Murphy - whilst this is partially true, Busby was a very active participator in team training and was one of the first "training" managers of that era, and of whom we see today. The portrayal that he simply walked into the changing room to bark orders and leave the tactics up to Murphy was quite inaccurate.
Onto the players; why were so many omitted? Roger Byrne, Liam Whelan, Geoff Bent, Albert Scanlon, Bill Foulkes especially? The latter was a lynch pin in helping survivors in the aftermath of the crash, along with Harry Gregg who was featured. I voiced this to a friend, who said maybe the families of those concerned wished not to be portrayed within the film, but I found it utterly baffling that someone like Roger Byrne, the captain of the team, would not even be mentioned (apart from when his death was being read out). I also had a problem with the journalists, trainers and other passengers who were not mentioned, especially those who died like Frank Swift.
I thought at the end there may be a small tribute to those who passed on, so was surprised when nothing came up.
In spite of this, I thought the actors were very good (in the way they were directed, even if it was painfully inaccurate). The cinematography was fantastic and a joy to watch in terms of scenery. I just wish it had been a bit more accurate, considering so much time has passed and with so much information readily available about the crash (and prior), I would have hoped for something a bit more true to life.