Released
on Sky 1999 - UK Cinema Release May 2000
Starring:
JOHN LYNCH as George Best - IAN BANNEN as Sir Matt Busby - IAN
HART as Nobby Stiles - PATSY KENSIT as Anna - JEROME FLYNN as
Bobby Charlton - ROGER DALTRY as Rodney Marsh + STEPHEN FRY, SOPHIE
DAHL, CLIVE ANDERSON
"Best"
is a controversial drama about one of the greatest football players
the World has ever known; Manchester
United
and Northern
Ireland
star, George Best.
The
film, which had its UK cinema release in May 2000, opens with
Georgie (played by Sliding
Doors
star John Lynch) reflecting on his life in the 1990's following
the death of his mentor and manager, Sir Matt Busby (played by
the late Ian Bannen). The story then rewinds 35 years to a Belfast
housing estate, where a teenage George Best is spotted by a Manchester
United
scout.
Under
the watchful eye of Sir Matt, United
slowly return to their
former glory after the Munich Air Crash, and within a few short
years Georgie becomes one of the team's most popular and skilled
players.
Following
his dizzying rise to fame, George acquires a host of merchandising
deals and fashion promotions, not to mention crowds of screaming
female fans, and the George Best phenomenon enters the realms
of pop stardom earning him the nickname of 'El Beatle'.
The
flip side to his success, however, is an increasing dependence
on alcohol, gambling and a descent into excessive womanising.
He fails to turn up for training, is arrested for drink-driving,
imprissoned for failing to attend his court hearing and also becomes
violent.
Anna
(played by Liam
Gallagher's
wife, Patsy Kensit) is the beautiful woman with whom George falls
in love - but their relationship is doomed as a result of the
footballer's womanising ways and violent temper.
The
film-makers (Sky Pictures) use some ingenious camera trickery
to re-create key moments in George's on-field life, mixing original
footage with recreated acting.
"Best"
is a dramatic biopic recreation of the life of the legend - that
is George Best!
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