Best (1999)

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Written by John Carroll Lynch, Mary McGuckian

Directed by Mary McGuckian

Running Time: 120 minutes (approx)

Production Year: 1999

Rating: 15 Certificate

Filmed in Colour

At the start of the film George Best is earning his living from personal appearances in 1994. News of Sir Matt Busby's death shocks a severely hung-over Best and prompts him to look back on his life.

35 years earlier, Best is a young whippersnapper on a Belfast housing estate who is spotted by a Manchester United scout, Bob Bishop. The football team is slowly recovering from the shock and loss of the Munich Air Disaster and, under Matt Busby's eye, is becoming a great team once again.

George Best quickly becomes a professional player and, by his late teens, is a firm favourite with players and fans alike. In fact, the adulation he receives is much more akin to that of a pop star than a footballer, with merchandising deals, magazine features, men's fashion promotions and hordes of screaming girls following him wherever he goes.

However the darker side of Best is his struggle against alcohol - not that he really perceives it as a problem. However, as his physical health begins to deteriorate and his professional career hits the skids, he becomes filled with a sense of self-disgust.

But this is not by any means the end of George Best's journey - and a renewed sense of hope lies waiting just around the corner

When is Best next on TV?

In the UK... it's next showing on Sky Movies Indie July 31st, 11:40am and on Sky Movies Indie August 1st, 2:30am. See more...

Cast

Ian BannenSir Matt Busby
Jerome FlynnSir Bobby Charlton
Image for Ian HartIan HartNobby Stiles
Patsy Kensit HealyAnna
Image for Cal MacaninchCal MacaninchPaddy
Image for Linus RoacheLinus RoacheDenis Law
Image for Adrian LesterAdrian LesterRocky
Image for David HaymanDavid HaymanTommy Dougherty/The Barman
James EllisDickie Beal
Image for Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRodney Marsh
Clive AndersonInterviewer
Sophie DahlEva Haraldsted
Image for Stephen FryStephen FryFrazer Crane
Dave DuffyLimosine Driver
Lalor RoddyPetrol Station Attendant

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