Directed by James Erskine

1990s England, a society decaying from within, lost and disillusioned under the dogmatic Margaret Thatcher with no more glimmers of hope on which to hang the promise of change. Rioting filled the streets of London, mostly fuelled by the new poll tax, and division tore through the very heart of Britain. All the while England's footballers had qualified for the World Cup, and little would we know that football, and England, would never be the same again.

One Night in Turin is a film which encapsulates the more profound effects of football using the example of the unexpected progress made by England during the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Overshadowed by hooliganism and the 1985 Heysel Disaster where 39 Juventus fans died, a shattered society and the insatiably vitriolic press, England were "the one guest no one wants to invite to the party". That party being, of course, the World Cup, which came at a time when there had been revolutionary chance on the continent: the fall of the Berlin Wall, the death of the Soviet Union and megalomaniacal despots crushed.

Directed by Emmy-nominated film maker James Erskine, produced by Victoria Gregory (Man on Wire) along with and based on the award winning book All Played Out by Pete Davies, One Night in Turin evocatively re-tells the story of England's journey through Italia 90. The radical changes through the group stages, the utter ignominy of the reviled beast that was the English fan, the points to prove, the shocks, the misses, the goals are all in there. Superbly narrated by award winning and British Academy Award nominated actor Gary Oldman, the story is told through archived footage of interviews and recordings of games perfectly complemented by the narration which consists totally of segments from All Played Out.

Oldman's commentary harmonises the visual aspects of the film so well you would have thought that Pete Davies wrote the book in the knowledge that One Night in Turin was going to be created. The fact that the whole tale is told in the first person makes the viewer become involved in what is happening, the hopes and expectations then are now the present ones; they could be running alongside Waddle and Gascoigne themselves. This is what separates it from simply being a historical documentary. You are connected, through Davies' personal encounters, with the central protagonists of the tournament: Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle, Terry Butcher and Bobby Robson.

The antagonists become apparent through use of brilliant archive material. The press become tedious and puerile, Colin Moynihan is exposed as a weak charlatan who seems drunk on spouting the status quo and, of course, the shadow of Diego Maradona still loomed large over England. The glaring contrasts between the hero and villain of the film (Gascoigne the hooligan party animal and the cheating superstar Maradona) an interesting sub-plot running throughout.

Although the scene is set well and the era firmly defined with the anthems of the 90s pumping authenticity into the story, the film really makes its mark during the matches themselves. This happened nearly 20 years ago, the conclusion is not esoteric, it is public knowledge that England make it to the semis, but these facts disintegrate once the extremely emotive voice-over kicks in and the clips, beautifully edited with cut-aways of goalkeepers catching shots and boots dribbling balls, become live action. The music, the crowd noises, the tension in the narrator's voice - you could easily believe you've slipped into a time machine and ended up back in 1990 watching the game for the first time.

This film is quite simply one of the greatest football films made and a must for all fans. For those who are not inclined towards football or sport at all, it is still an enthralling ride through the social changes of the 1990s catalysed by sporting events. Loosely similar in style to The Damned United, One Night in Turin does for football in England what Fever Pitch did for the fan. Any motion picture that can evoke so much emotion from a viewer is highly deserving of praise. During that match against Germany you find your head in your hands as Waddle blasts over the decisive penalty even though you knew it was coming. Every goal that's scored is met with clenched fists and a ‘get in!' through clenched teeth. The film is so well put together than the footage of yesteryear has the heart in your chest smashing against your ribcage.

It is also a fitting tribute to one of football's most loved managers, Bobby Robson. Reviled by the press and written off from the start, he overcame everything to come so close to granting us our second World Cup final, at the same time breaking away from the old and outdated 4-4-2, changing English football forever and pulling together the divide which had torn through society in Britain. The game against Holland that dared us to dream, and the game against West Germany that dared us to hope, unified Britain. On the Eve of the twentieth anniversary of Italia 90, as we approach another World Cup with the country battered by recession, let us hope that the values portrayed in this film such as grit and relentless determination, as personified by Bobby Robson, stay with us once again.

There will be a special screening of One Night in Turin, with live Q & A by satellite from Newcastle Empire, at cinemas throughout the UK on May 11, see website for details.  The dvd is due for release on 31 May.