George Best: All by Himself

He was football’s first rock and roll star – a handsome, charismatic Belfast boy who could thrill and excite the crowds with every turn of the ball. But George Best was also the lead in his own Shakespearean tragedy, a flawed genius, brought down by drink, temptation and depression. In this 30 for 30 documentary jointly presented by ESPN Films, the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen, director Daniel Gordon (Hillsborough) recounts the tale of this beloved but be-devilled superstar with riveting, evocative footage and testimony by those who knew him at his best—and worst. There’s a lot of ground to cover in Best’s short life—from his electrifying debut with Manchester United at the tender age of 17, through the glory years that United won the 1968 European Cup, his adventures in the North American Soccer League, not to mention his time spent romancing the world's most beautiful, intoxicating women. But Gordon tells Best’s story with a skill worthy of the man himself. The film draws you into the drama that surrounded Best and makes you understand just why an estimated quarter of a million people lined the route of his funeral cortege to mourn his tragic passing.