Directors: Benjamin and Gabe Turner
Starring: David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes
Running Time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: The Class of 92, a cinematic documentary detailing the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United footballers (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville).
If there is one thing that the UK does well, it is showing the Football love. But surprisingly, it’s reign of sport documentaries have never really compared to the epic feel of other countries counterparts…except for THE CLASS OF ’92, which is such a surreal story you just might be surprised that it has not been made into a film yet.
The Turner Brothers documentary follows the story of football players David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, who were all recruited by Alex Ferguson, Brian Kidd and Eric Harrison in their teenager years to play for Manchester United’s youth team, and then all went on to play in the 1998-99’s Manchester United season, which went on to be one of the most successful periods in their history.
The story of the six players is inter-cut with the growing of Britain as it leaves the Thatcher-ruled era. This is brought up a lot through the film, with people like Danny Boyle, Mani from The Stone Roses and Tony Blair of all people giving their accounts of the 90’s, and how “Fergie’s Fledglings” were a major part in the inspiration and change that helped turned football into the phenomena it has become today. You might think the documentary is talking a load of rubbish to begin with, but just when you see how this story came to, you can see how influential these six have become to a generation.
As a non-football fan, you might think that it is easy to get lost in this story but it is the complete opposite. Despite the fact that the documentary is filled with household names, they all come across as humble but most importantly, they have a love for what they achieved. They speak about the legacy of the Busby Babes often and how they were formed in the same way as the 1950’s Man Utd line-up, which made them all determined to get it right. And that they did, fighting critics and fans alike, the six players all in their early twenties managed to pull off a treble winning 1998-1999 season.
Gabe and Benjamin Turner take us on a well-rounded journey with this documentary, even showing us a brief moment of the other members of the ’92 youth squad who did not make it onto the first team (including Robbie Savage!). Combining the mix of Northern music and archived footage, THE CLASS OF ’92 is not just about football, it is a great true tale of friendship, perseverance and sticking together through hard times. It is just sad to think that in our day and age, we will probably never get a team built like that again…but THE CLASS OF ’92 will make sure that generation of football is never forgotten.
[usr=4] THE CLASS OF ’92 is available on Blu-ray and DVD on June 9th.
