F.A Cup Final 1999: Manchester United vs Newcastle United (2 Discs)

Introduction

When Manchester United won the F.A Cup on 22nd May 1999, it marked the second win it what would ultimately become an incredible treble of titles - the league, the F.A Cup, and the Champions League.

Teddy Sheringham was the hero on the day, coming off the bench to score the opener, and laying off for Paul Scholes to wrap up a 2-0 victory. Sheringham, of course, would also be a hero in Barcelona four days later.

This two-disc DVD set, then, features the complete 90 minutes of the F.A Cup Final against Newcastle, with the famous semi-final replay against Arsenal included as an extra.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is good for a DVD of this genre. As expected, this is a basic transfer of the TV broadcast, with no frills.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very much in the vein of the original broadcast. Commentary is ably provided by Peter Brackley, with Ray Clemence chirping on the odd occasion.

Extras

The extras here are arguably of even more interest than the main feature, given that we have the full release of one of finest games in F.A Cup history in the Arsenal vs Manchester Utd semi-final replay, held at Villa Park on 14th April 1999.

Famous for the Ryan Giggs goal deep into extra time, the match is a back-and-forth battle between the two biggest rivals of the time; Arsenal with a backbone of Seaman, Adams, Vieira, and Anelka, against United with Schmeichel, Stam, Keane, and Sheringham.

The match remains a classic to this day, however it should be noted that there is a "droning" audio effect throughout this match, which may detract from the experience for some viewers.

Conclusion

For Manchester United fans, any DVD footage of the historic treble-winning season is must-have material, and thus when both the semi-final replay and the F.A Cup Final itself come together in one limited edition tin, it can only be a winner.

Aside from the mild gripe about the audio quality in the semi-final DVD, this is an excellent set, featuring both matches untouched, which means that the raising of the F.A Cup is intact.

Utd's team of 1999 has been hailed as possibly their finest ever, and this is a great chance to own a piece of that history.

For Manchester United fans in particular, it is essential.