Munich air disaster documentary: List of best movies to stream including ‘United’ - Netflix, BBC & YouTube

The tragic death of Sir Bobby Charlton means there are no living survivors of the Munich air disaster. However, details of that dark day, along with first hand accounts, are immortalised through important documentaries and films available as educational resources.

A good documentary gives you facts, and insight into why events transpired and how they impacted those who experienced them. For Manchester United fans around the world, it’s a chance to learn about the club’s history, the formidable ‘Busby Babes’, and to pay tribute to all 23 people who sadly lost their lives in 1958.

There are important documentaries such as ITV’s 1998 production, Busby Babes: End of a Dream, BBC Northern Ireland’s 2008 film, Munich Air Disaster – Harry Gregg’s Journey, and the National Geographic film, Munich Air Disaster: I Was There. Meanwhile, to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, two episodes of the BBC series Nation on Film, titled Munich Remembered and Sir Bobby Remembers Munich were aired in February 2008.

While all essential in their own right, we are only including documentaries available to watch at the time of publishing. Here are a few documentaries about the Munich air tragecy you can watch now.

Munich - the documentary

Hosted on the official Manchester United wesbite, this comprehensive documentary is narrated by Albert Finney and uses archived footage to tell the story of the Busby Babes and the tragic events of 1958. You can watch Munich - the documentary on the Man United website.

United

In the first dramatic portrayal of the events since its 2006 doc-drama, Surviving Disaster – Munich Air Crash, BBCbroadcast United in 2011. The film focuses on the aftermath of the 1958 tragedy, capturing the grief shared by the manager at that time, Jimmy Murphy (David Tennant), and surviving players such as Bobby Robson (Jack O’Connell). You can watch United now on Netflix.

James Nesbit: Disasters That Changed Britain - Munich Air Crash

In this 44-minute documentary for Apple TV’s History, James Nesbit examines the story of the 1958 Munich air disaster.

The Munich Disaster Remembered

In this documentary, Stephen Howson is joined by his Grandfather, who was working in Old Trafford at the time of the 1958 Munich air disaster to get his take on the legacy on the dark day and the players lost. You can stream the documentary for free on YouTube.