Local Heroes – Review
For football fans of any kind you’ll really enjoy this documentary, it covers an area of the game not often explored and if you’re a Forest fan then it’s a must watch. Garry Birtles story is especially moving.
Definitely one to check out
Viv Anderson, Garry Birtles and Tony Woodcock are the three Nottingham born players who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980 just two years after the club was promoted to the top-flight of English football.
In 1978 they won the league title at their first attempt as well as the league cup which they successfully defended a year later in a football fairy tale which will never come close to being repeated.
Local Heroes is set against the cultural and social backdrop of Britain in the 1970’s and is a deeply personal film in which the three recount their climb to the top of the professional game during a period of austerity and economic uncertainty.
Anderson, the son of Jamaican immigrants went on to become the first black player to represent England in a full international. Birtles the carpet fitter who didn’t become a professional footballer until the age of 20 and Woodcock, who dreamed of being the next Denis Law when he was growing up in the mining town of Eastwood, recount the trials, tribulations and discrimination they overcame to make it and set an example to the generations which followed.
The determination to succeed against all odds is common trait which has served all three since retiring from the game which along with their enduring friendship, has helped them face illness, tragedy, and an intriguing family story which only came to light during the filming of Local Heroes.
I pressed play on this knowing next to nothing about the history of the club, or these three men. I’m not particularly a football fan, and my memory for stats is pretty much zero so whenever conversations were around “remember the 84 FA cup final when…” my eyes would glaze over. Trying to bring the conversation round to when Hulk Hogan bodyslammed Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania 3 was met with much derision.
Therefore I was just watching it as an interesting sounding sports documentary. Did I get what I wanted?
Yes and no really.
This documentary tells the little-known story of three Nottingham Forest players Viv Anderson, Garry Birtles and Tony Woodcock who,during a time of major political and social upheaval and cultural change in the UK took Forest to lifting the European Cup in 1979 and 1980, under legendary football manager Brian Clough. A feat similar to Hogan lifting that giant to slam him for the three count.
The film gives a look back into modern British history through the eyes of Anderson, Birtles and Woodcock. A time of political unrest, austerity under a Tory government, workers striking, blackouts and absolutely horrendous racism. So basically it’s like it could have been talking about last week!
It’s look into history shows how far we’ve come and how little we’ve really changed.
Anderson made history as the first black footballer to play for England, he went on to have many wins, both on and off the pitch, he was awarded an MBE in 2000 and was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Birtles, who started his career as a carpet fitter, went on to play for England and Manchester United and Woodcock’s career saw him play for Arsenal and Germany’s FC Cologne.
Local Heroes explores football’s political and cultural transformation over the years and draws parallels between life as a footballer in the 1970s to life in the footballing world now.
For me it gives a fascinating look back in history, with the footballing story being the vehicle for that. I actually forgot how quickly things move in football, Trevor Francis was the first £1 million pound player in English Football back in 1979, now a lot of players earn half that every week. Unbelievable Jeff!
Unfortunately it doesn’t feel connected enough. The stories past and present of the 3 guys are fascinating and moving in equal measure but the whole package feels a little like a dated sports DVD or like a “feature length documentary” extra feature.
It feels like the filmmakers had an idea for this to be on a grander scale and couldn’t (maybe through the global pandemic) bring the plans to fruition. The history elements feel like much needed padding for the 2 hour runtime and there seems to be a tiny bit of retreading what’s already been said.
As is often the case with documentaries that feature archival footage, video quality will vary, however it’s bordeline unforgiveable these days for the footage actually shot for the documentary to vary in quality so wildly, very much feels like Guerrilla filmmaking which probably ten years ago would have been fine, but not now we’re in the age of the Netflix Docuseries.
The sound quality is also pretty poorly controlled, some of the interviews were definitely done over the internet (again I’m assuming Covid had a hand in scuppering some plans here) and the levels are all over the place throughout. Gary Webster’s narration is good (and level), if a little bit too “Geezer” for me at times. These production issues slightly mar what is otherwise a fascinating and insightful documentary.
So, having said all that…
For football fans of any kind you’ll really enjoy this documentary, it covers an area of the game not often explored and if you’re a Forest fan then it’s a must watch. The stories of these 3 men is as close to a real life rags to riches tale as you’ll get (although they only got paid about £60 a week in the 70’s so maybe more rags, to slightly nicer rags) and is a testament to triumph in the face of adversity. Garry Birtles story is especially moving.
Definitely one to check out when it lands On digital, DVD and Blu-ray 5th June 2023
You can watch the trailer below