NON-FICTION -- DOCUMENTARY
When It Was a Game - Triple Play Collection
This HBO documentary is based on a highly original idea: tell the story of baseball from the Great Depression era through the late 1950s using footage from home-movie cameras shot
by fans and players. The result is a marvelous look at baseball in America as seen from the ground--the culture of stadiums, the ritual of afternoon games, the spiritually sustaining
rivalries. Among the truly unexpected sights is color footage of the 1938 World Series, not only from inside the stadium walls but from the street as traffic cops, crowds, and vehicles
amassed. It also covers World War II's impact on the game, and, of course, the heroes, often caught in relaxed, unselfconscious moments.
Arguably more defined and even more lyrical than its predecessor, When It Was a Game 2 moves from a general celebration of baseball culture in America to a specific focus on various
facets of the game's history, including the special relationship between game announcers and fans and the farm-team system during the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Brooklyn's assimilation of
the Dodgers into their community identity is covered quite winningly as is the heartbreak of the team's desertion to California. Last, the film takes us on a tour of some of the game's
legends and presents a touching tribute to the extraordinary Babe Ruth. --Tom Keogh
When It Was a Game 3 focuses on the 1960s, a time of change for all of America. Through sharp, incredibly clear color footage of players and fans, the film shows how Major League
Baseball slowly but surely evolved from pure sport to moneymaking entertainment. Covering the mighty Yankees, the western expansion of both leagues, the increasing inclusion of black
players, and the rise of free agency and increased salaries, the film shows the growth of baseball from adolescence to adulthood.
Unhittable - No Hitters, Perfect Games and Near Misses
This is a must get DVD for any Baseball fan and a Great gift for any Baseball fan. It has the complete 55 minute show about No Hitters, Perfect Games and Near Misses. It has a nice
historical look at it and centers on the Multiple No Hit Pitchers Like Johnny Vandermier, Sandy Kofax and Nolan Ryan. The DVD has a special significance to me because I became a
California Angels Fan (now Aniheim Angles) when I was 13 and that year (75) the first game I ever listened to on the radio (Dick Enburg and Don Drysdale Anouncing) Nolan tossed his 4th
No Hitter Tying Sandy Kofax record at the time; on his way to 7 total, an unbeleavle feat. TheDVD also Hghlights the great pictures who did not get no no and the ones who had to wait
a long time like Tom Terrific Sever. It also has bonus footage of the final three outs for no hitters by Sever, Saberhagen, Gooden, Leiter, Milton and Nomo; And a Nolan Ryan Workout.
So I will reiterate This is a must get DVD for any Baseball fan and a Great gift for any Baseball fan..
Baseball - A Film by Ken Burns (1994)
After the national success of his 11-hour epic, The Civil War--the highest-rated miniseries in public-television history--many wondered if Ken Burns could capture the same energy and
passion with smaller subjects. His reply, the 18-hour history of America's greatest sport, Baseball, not only quieted these worries, it also perhaps surpassed his prior achievement.
Massive in scope (it covers more than 100 years), exhausting in detail, and filled with celebrities, journalists, politicians, historians, and the men who played the game, Burns's romantic
love letter to the game achieves the impossible: even those who hate baseball can't help but become immersed in it. This is because Burns doesn't just detail the great players and the
memorable plays and games; he also presents baseball as a cultural and social mirror, reflecting the beauty and hypocrisy of the nation that created it. Divided into nine innings, two
hours each in length, the video examines complex social issues such as segregation, racial inequality (its section on Jackie Robinson, baseball's first African American player, should be
required school viewing), labor battles between owners and players, politics, technology and gender conflicts, among others. Then, of course, there's fascinating footage and biographies
on the players--troubled icons such as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, heroes such as Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, and tragic figures such as Pete Rose and Lou Gehrig--the men who,
despite a rocky and often hypocritical history, constructed baseball's tradition and preserved its invincibility
The Story of America's Classic Ballparks (1991) VHS only
MLB - The Ultimate Blooper Collection (This Week in Baseball)
In its 25 years on the air, This Week In Baseball has seen more bloopers and colorful characters than any other sports show in television history. And now TWIB has put the very best
into this one incredible collection.
The Ultimate Blooper Collection contains more than 90 minutes of hilarious highlights from the wild and wacky world of Major League Baseball. Special sections include:
When Players Play Pranks- There is plenty of downtime in baseball to plot & scheme. The resultant pranks are often hilarious.
When Bloopers Go Good- Sometimes a potential blunder becomes an unforgettable highlight. Paul O'Neill's 30-yard kick from right field is one of the all-time best.
Lights, Cameras, Bloopers- some of today's biggest stars, including A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi, Piazza, Nomar and others, have taken their turn hosting TWIB the last few years. The
outtakes, flubs and blunders are beyond belief.
When Bloopers Live In Infamy-These are the bloopers that will never die-the outfielder who ran right through the wall-and home run ball that bounced off Jose Canseco's head. The
best of the best!
Special features also spotlight unforgettable characters of the game, including Jose Lima, Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, and Tommy Lasorda, whose amazing backwards tumble at the 2001
All-Star Game was one of the all-time bloopers. No sport gives you better bloopers than Major League Baseball. No show has seen more of them than This Week In Baseball. And this is
the best from 25 years of TWIB-The Ultimate Blooper Collection.
Major League Baseball Memorable Moments
- The 30 Most Memorable Moments in Baseball History
Sports Bloopers:Baseball
Major League Baseball - 100 Years of the World Series (Collector's Edition)
Babe Ruth - The Life Behind the Legend
Before Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs, before Roger Maris swatted 61, before Micky Mantle even touched a bat, and before Jackie Robinson played his first game, there was George
Herman Ruth. The "Babe" was more than the best player ever to play baseball: he was a mythical American hero, larger than life and the sport that made his name known around the
world. He was the most talented sportsman in an era when baseball was the national pastime. The story behind the emergence of Babe Ruth in the 1920s was one even the most
talented minds in Hollywood couldn't have drummed up. As one humble teammate of Ruth's recalls in this excellent documentary, "If Babe Ruth had not existed, it would have been
impossible to invent him." Babe Ruth: The Life Behind the Legend tells the story of the actual man--from his benevolent acts of charity to his mass consumption (of food and women).
Exploring the difference between reality and myth, this touching, subtle biography goes beyond rational explanations into a metaphysical realm that defines the actions and popularity of
this man as something not entirely comprehensible. You won't care whether he really did "call" that shot in the 1932 World Series or if he went straight from an all-night bender to go 3
for 4 against Chicago; it won't matter, because the reality eventually dilutes the myth. The facts speak for themselves: he won 90 games as a pitcher, had a lifetime average of .340,
smashed his way to 714 home runs (often recording more homers in one season than entire teams). Ruth was greatness personified, "and to just be with him in a stadium, was like having
some of that magic rub off on you." This is a splendid tribute to an important American icon who defined a game as well as an era. A must for any sports or history buff.
When It Was a Game - Triple Play Collection
This HBO documentary is based on a highly original idea: tell the story of baseball from the Great Depression era through the late 1950s using footage from home-movie cameras shot
by fans and players. The result is a marvelous look at baseball in America as seen from the ground--the culture of stadiums, the ritual of afternoon games, the spiritually sustaining
rivalries. Among the truly unexpected sights is color footage of the 1938 World Series, not only from inside the stadium walls but from the street as traffic cops, crowds, and vehicles
amassed. It also covers World War II's impact on the game, and, of course, the heroes, often caught in relaxed, unselfconscious moments.
Arguably more defined and even more lyrical than its predecessor, When It Was a Game 2 moves from a general celebration of baseball culture in America to a specific focus on various
facets of the game's history, including the special relationship between game announcers and fans and the farm-team system during the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Brooklyn's assimilation of
the Dodgers into their community identity is covered quite winningly as is the heartbreak of the team's desertion to California. Last, the film takes us on a tour of some of the game's
legends and presents a touching tribute to the extraordinary Babe Ruth. --Tom Keogh
When It Was a Game 3 focuses on the 1960s, a time of change for all of America. Through sharp, incredibly clear color footage of players and fans, the film shows how Major League
Baseball slowly but surely evolved from pure sport to moneymaking entertainment. Covering the mighty Yankees, the western expansion of both leagues, the increasing inclusion of black
players, and the rise of free agency and increased salaries, the film shows the growth of baseball from adolescence to adulthood.
Unhittable - No Hitters, Perfect Games and Near Misses
This is a must get DVD for any Baseball fan and a Great gift for any Baseball fan. It has the complete 55 minute show about No Hitters, Perfect Games and Near Misses. It has a nice
historical look at it and centers on the Multiple No Hit Pitchers Like Johnny Vandermier, Sandy Kofax and Nolan Ryan. The DVD has a special significance to me because I became a
California Angels Fan (now Aniheim Angles) when I was 13 and that year (75) the first game I ever listened to on the radio (Dick Enburg and Don Drysdale Anouncing) Nolan tossed his 4th
No Hitter Tying Sandy Kofax record at the time; on his way to 7 total, an unbeleavle feat. TheDVD also Hghlights the great pictures who did not get no no and the ones who had to wait
a long time like Tom Terrific Sever. It also has bonus footage of the final three outs for no hitters by Sever, Saberhagen, Gooden, Leiter, Milton and Nomo; And a Nolan Ryan Workout.
So I will reiterate This is a must get DVD for any Baseball fan and a Great gift for any Baseball fan..
Baseball - A Film by Ken Burns (1994)
After the national success of his 11-hour epic, The Civil War--the highest-rated miniseries in public-television history--many wondered if Ken Burns could capture the same energy and
passion with smaller subjects. His reply, the 18-hour history of America's greatest sport, Baseball, not only quieted these worries, it also perhaps surpassed his prior achievement.
Massive in scope (it covers more than 100 years), exhausting in detail, and filled with celebrities, journalists, politicians, historians, and the men who played the game, Burns's romantic
love letter to the game achieves the impossible: even those who hate baseball can't help but become immersed in it. This is because Burns doesn't just detail the great players and the
memorable plays and games; he also presents baseball as a cultural and social mirror, reflecting the beauty and hypocrisy of the nation that created it. Divided into nine innings, two
hours each in length, the video examines complex social issues such as segregation, racial inequality (its section on Jackie Robinson, baseball's first African American player, should be
required school viewing), labor battles between owners and players, politics, technology and gender conflicts, among others. Then, of course, there's fascinating footage and biographies
on the players--troubled icons such as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, heroes such as Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, and tragic figures such as Pete Rose and Lou Gehrig--the men who,
despite a rocky and often hypocritical history, constructed baseball's tradition and preserved its invincibility
The Story of America's Classic Ballparks (1991) VHS only
MLB - The Ultimate Blooper Collection (This Week in Baseball)
In its 25 years on the air, This Week In Baseball has seen more bloopers and colorful characters than any other sports show in television history. And now TWIB has put the very best
into this one incredible collection.
The Ultimate Blooper Collection contains more than 90 minutes of hilarious highlights from the wild and wacky world of Major League Baseball. Special sections include:
When Players Play Pranks- There is plenty of downtime in baseball to plot & scheme. The resultant pranks are often hilarious.
When Bloopers Go Good- Sometimes a potential blunder becomes an unforgettable highlight. Paul O'Neill's 30-yard kick from right field is one of the all-time best.
Lights, Cameras, Bloopers- some of today's biggest stars, including A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi, Piazza, Nomar and others, have taken their turn hosting TWIB the last few years. The
outtakes, flubs and blunders are beyond belief.
When Bloopers Live In Infamy-These are the bloopers that will never die-the outfielder who ran right through the wall-and home run ball that bounced off Jose Canseco's head. The
best of the best!
Special features also spotlight unforgettable characters of the game, including Jose Lima, Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, and Tommy Lasorda, whose amazing backwards tumble at the 2001
All-Star Game was one of the all-time bloopers. No sport gives you better bloopers than Major League Baseball. No show has seen more of them than This Week In Baseball. And this is
the best from 25 years of TWIB-The Ultimate Blooper Collection.
Major League Baseball Memorable Moments
- The 30 Most Memorable Moments in Baseball History
Sports Bloopers:Baseball
Major League Baseball - 100 Years of the World Series (Collector's Edition)
Babe Ruth - The Life Behind the Legend
Before Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs, before Roger Maris swatted 61, before Micky Mantle even touched a bat, and before Jackie Robinson played his first game, there was George
Herman Ruth. The "Babe" was more than the best player ever to play baseball: he was a mythical American hero, larger than life and the sport that made his name known around the
world. He was the most talented sportsman in an era when baseball was the national pastime. The story behind the emergence of Babe Ruth in the 1920s was one even the most
talented minds in Hollywood couldn't have drummed up. As one humble teammate of Ruth's recalls in this excellent documentary, "If Babe Ruth had not existed, it would have been
impossible to invent him." Babe Ruth: The Life Behind the Legend tells the story of the actual man--from his benevolent acts of charity to his mass consumption (of food and women).
Exploring the difference between reality and myth, this touching, subtle biography goes beyond rational explanations into a metaphysical realm that defines the actions and popularity of
this man as something not entirely comprehensible. You won't care whether he really did "call" that shot in the 1932 World Series or if he went straight from an all-night bender to go 3
for 4 against Chicago; it won't matter, because the reality eventually dilutes the myth. The facts speak for themselves: he won 90 games as a pitcher, had a lifetime average of .340,
smashed his way to 714 home runs (often recording more homers in one season than entire teams). Ruth was greatness personified, "and to just be with him in a stadium, was like having
some of that magic rub off on you." This is a splendid tribute to an important American icon who defined a game as well as an era. A must for any sports or history buff.
| Recommended DVDs & Videos Below, you'll find a wide selection of ballpark & baseball related DVDs we've found well-worth watching. For more information or to purchase any DVD, click on the title. BallparkTour has affiliated with Amazon to bring you the best prices and fastest shipping on all available titles. All titles are available on DVD unless noted: VHS only |
Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Using never-before-seen footage and rare archival materials, this documentary about one of the most-beloved figures in baseball tells of Joe DiMaggio's early life in San Francisco, and of
his entrance into the New York Yankees organization in 1936 at the tender age of 21. The familiar facts are covered (though it is always nice to see them again): his 56-game hitting
streak, the nine World Series championships he helped attain, and his thrice-earned MVP status. DiMaggio's personal life is tastefully handled, too, including his bachelor years and his
two marriages, the second a famous union to Marilyn Monroe. Drawing upon interviews with Bob Feller, Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose, George Bush, Mario Cuomo, and DiMaggio's teammates
Jerry Coleman, Phil Rizzuto, and Tommy Henrich, the film creates a portrait of a hero who knew both greatness and tragedy on his path. An exciting homage, all around, and now that's he
gone an important marker of American life in the 20th century.
100 Years of the New York Yankees
Still, We Believe - The Boston Red Sox Movie - NEW Release!
Forever Loyal - A Salute to the Cubs Fans and Their Field
Forever Loyal is a doubleheader of Chicago Cub info. The first segment, "Inside Chicago: Wrigley Field" is a 26-minute exploration of the inner workings of the "friendly confines," from the
players' clubhouse to the hand-operated scoreboard to the concession stands. The second segment, "The Cub Fan," tries to dissect what makes these long-suffering stalwarts tick. There
are some celebrities in the Bob Costas-hosted 53-minute feature (political pundit George Will, writer-historian Jerome Holtzman, former Cub player Ron Santo), but mostly it's normal
fans who explain their affliction (a large part of it is hereditary). A special bonus is "Fandemonium: 2003 in Wrigleyville," an 8-minute compilation of giddy fan interviews as they gather
outside the park before the 6th game of the National League Championship Series, when a World Series trip was only nine innings away. Unfortunately, they should have paid heed to a
statement in "Inside Chicago: Wrigley Field" (which was produced during the 2002 season): "As fans grow more insistent on becoming part of the action, their interactions with the players
has increased." The bizarre fan incident that helped derail the Cubs' 2003 playoff run is the kind of addition to the Cub curse that will make Forever Loyal either a reassuring visit or a
painful reminder of what it means to be a Cub fan. Either way, they'll probably find it worth watching, though maybe not more than once.
WRIGLEY FIELD: Beyond the Ivy
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
Aviva Kempner's Oscar-nominated documentary is about baseball like Field of Dreams is about cornfields. Kempner efficiently covers all the bases of Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer Hank
Greenberg's magnificent career with archival footage and talking heads, including family members, former teammates and baseball legends, broadcasters and sportswriters, and such
unabashed fans as Alan Dershowitz and Walter Matthau. If this biography's style is not remarkable, its subject certainly was. Greenberg, the son of immigrant parents, was a beacon of
hope to Jews. As one observer notes, baseball was a way of "showing we were as American as everybody else." To see one of their own succeed in the national pastime at a time of
virulent anti-Semitism was a source of pride and inspiration. One lifelong fan, a rabbi, states, "He was the baseball Moses." Winner of several critics association awards for Best
Documentary, this is a stirring film for all seasons.
Biography - Babe Ruth VHS only
He is perhaps the greatest sports hero in American history, a man whose nicknames, "the Sultan of Swat" and "The Babe" evoke the combination of power and innocence that made him so
unique. Babe Ruth was more than a ballplayer he was a public figure whose popularity transcended that of any game. Profane and earthy, he had a simplicity and warmth of spirit that
were electrifying. But his greatness resides on the baseball diamond, where he set a roster of records capped by his 60-home run season. Here is the Babe's story, from his youth in
Baltimore and his early career as a Red Sox pitcher to his years of glory in Yankee Pinstripes, and beyond. Take a revealing look at the immortal slugger who swatted his way into
America's heart.
The Jackie Robinson Story
The vintage film biography The Jackie Robinson Story is unusual in that Robinson portrays himself, and the movie was produced in 1950, barely three years after he took up his position at
second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the "color line" in professional baseball. After providing a fast portrayal of Robinson's early life, up to his collegiate sports career at UCLA
and his stint in the U.S. Army, the story turns serious when Branch Rickey offers him a contract to play for a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team. Interestingly, some of the scenes, such as an
incident when Robinson and his teammates were being locked out of a stadium at a spring training game in Florida, may have more impact with viewers today than when the film was first
released.
The Life of Jackie Robinson
Yankeeography, Vol. 1
The first in a series of Yankeeography signature biographies from MLB Productions that bring the greatest names in New York Yankees history to life. Volume One highlights six Yankee
legends; Thurman Munson, Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly and Joe Torre.
Using never-before-seen footage and rare archival materials, this documentary about one of the most-beloved figures in baseball tells of Joe DiMaggio's early life in San Francisco, and of
his entrance into the New York Yankees organization in 1936 at the tender age of 21. The familiar facts are covered (though it is always nice to see them again): his 56-game hitting
streak, the nine World Series championships he helped attain, and his thrice-earned MVP status. DiMaggio's personal life is tastefully handled, too, including his bachelor years and his
two marriages, the second a famous union to Marilyn Monroe. Drawing upon interviews with Bob Feller, Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose, George Bush, Mario Cuomo, and DiMaggio's teammates
Jerry Coleman, Phil Rizzuto, and Tommy Henrich, the film creates a portrait of a hero who knew both greatness and tragedy on his path. An exciting homage, all around, and now that's he
gone an important marker of American life in the 20th century.
100 Years of the New York Yankees
Still, We Believe - The Boston Red Sox Movie - NEW Release!
Forever Loyal - A Salute to the Cubs Fans and Their Field
Forever Loyal is a doubleheader of Chicago Cub info. The first segment, "Inside Chicago: Wrigley Field" is a 26-minute exploration of the inner workings of the "friendly confines," from the
players' clubhouse to the hand-operated scoreboard to the concession stands. The second segment, "The Cub Fan," tries to dissect what makes these long-suffering stalwarts tick. There
are some celebrities in the Bob Costas-hosted 53-minute feature (political pundit George Will, writer-historian Jerome Holtzman, former Cub player Ron Santo), but mostly it's normal
fans who explain their affliction (a large part of it is hereditary). A special bonus is "Fandemonium: 2003 in Wrigleyville," an 8-minute compilation of giddy fan interviews as they gather
outside the park before the 6th game of the National League Championship Series, when a World Series trip was only nine innings away. Unfortunately, they should have paid heed to a
statement in "Inside Chicago: Wrigley Field" (which was produced during the 2002 season): "As fans grow more insistent on becoming part of the action, their interactions with the players
has increased." The bizarre fan incident that helped derail the Cubs' 2003 playoff run is the kind of addition to the Cub curse that will make Forever Loyal either a reassuring visit or a
painful reminder of what it means to be a Cub fan. Either way, they'll probably find it worth watching, though maybe not more than once.
WRIGLEY FIELD: Beyond the Ivy
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
Aviva Kempner's Oscar-nominated documentary is about baseball like Field of Dreams is about cornfields. Kempner efficiently covers all the bases of Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer Hank
Greenberg's magnificent career with archival footage and talking heads, including family members, former teammates and baseball legends, broadcasters and sportswriters, and such
unabashed fans as Alan Dershowitz and Walter Matthau. If this biography's style is not remarkable, its subject certainly was. Greenberg, the son of immigrant parents, was a beacon of
hope to Jews. As one observer notes, baseball was a way of "showing we were as American as everybody else." To see one of their own succeed in the national pastime at a time of
virulent anti-Semitism was a source of pride and inspiration. One lifelong fan, a rabbi, states, "He was the baseball Moses." Winner of several critics association awards for Best
Documentary, this is a stirring film for all seasons.
Biography - Babe Ruth VHS only
He is perhaps the greatest sports hero in American history, a man whose nicknames, "the Sultan of Swat" and "The Babe" evoke the combination of power and innocence that made him so
unique. Babe Ruth was more than a ballplayer he was a public figure whose popularity transcended that of any game. Profane and earthy, he had a simplicity and warmth of spirit that
were electrifying. But his greatness resides on the baseball diamond, where he set a roster of records capped by his 60-home run season. Here is the Babe's story, from his youth in
Baltimore and his early career as a Red Sox pitcher to his years of glory in Yankee Pinstripes, and beyond. Take a revealing look at the immortal slugger who swatted his way into
America's heart.
The Jackie Robinson Story
The vintage film biography The Jackie Robinson Story is unusual in that Robinson portrays himself, and the movie was produced in 1950, barely three years after he took up his position at
second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the "color line" in professional baseball. After providing a fast portrayal of Robinson's early life, up to his collegiate sports career at UCLA
and his stint in the U.S. Army, the story turns serious when Branch Rickey offers him a contract to play for a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team. Interestingly, some of the scenes, such as an
incident when Robinson and his teammates were being locked out of a stadium at a spring training game in Florida, may have more impact with viewers today than when the film was first
released.
The Life of Jackie Robinson
Yankeeography, Vol. 1
The first in a series of Yankeeography signature biographies from MLB Productions that bring the greatest names in New York Yankees history to life. Volume One highlights six Yankee
legends; Thurman Munson, Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly and Joe Torre.
FICTION -- BASEBALL MOVIES
The Pride of the Yankees
When people say, "They don't make them like they used to," Pride of the Yankees is just the kind of film they're wistfully remembering. Nominated for 11 Academy awards (winning one
for film editing), this handsome biographical drama of baseball legend Lou Gehrig is one of the most finely crafted films ever to emerge from Hollywood. Gary Cooper, that great oak of an
American actor, progresses from the awkward and naively shy rookie to the seasoned "Iron Horse" first baseman of the New York Yankees without losing his idealism or modesty. Teresa
Wright captures the same slice of Americana with her mixture of girl-next-door sweetness and urban sophistication as his supportive wife, Eleanor. After he's diagnosed with a
degenerative neurological disease (known today simply as Lou Gehrig's disease), Cooper delivers Gehrig's famous retirement speech from the mound of Yankee Stadium with the courage and
spirit of a winner: "I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth." One of the finest sports films ever made, Pride is about more than simply baseball: Gehrig, the
hard-working, uncommonly talented son of immigrant parents, is the living embodiment of the American Dream. Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea costar as a Greek chorus of sportswriters,
and real-life Yankees Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel, and Babe Ruth appear as themselves.
61*
61* is an endearing ode to the baseball days of yore when the press was the enemy, salaries were in check, and breaking records with bat and glove took on Ruthian proportions. In 1961
baseball expanded its season from 154 games to 162, allowing weaker pitching into the major leagues and two New York Yankees teammates--the colorless Roger Maris and golden boy
Mickey Mantle--to make an assault on the sport's ultimate record: Babe Ruth's 60 home runs. To add to the stew, baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced any record set in the last
eight games of the season wouldn't count toward the official record; records had to be achieved in 154 games.
Director Billy Crystal guarantees success for his movie in the perfect casting of the leads. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan's religious sniper) is deft as Maris, and Thomas Jane is a
perfect Mantle, a superman in a Yankee uniform. Despite the differences between family man Maris and hard-living Mantle, they form a rewarding friendship amid the media and fan
frenzy. The shy Maris took the brunt of the storm, even facing boo-birds in his home stadium. Crystal and first-time writer Hank Steinberg keep the pace moving quickly between the
field, the locker room, the press box, and the home front. The film never tries to dazzle with more than the facts (and it softens Mantle up a bit), yet it belongs on the short list of
grand baseball movies.
A League of Their Own (Special Edition)
Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during World War II resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and
Marshall's movie depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town Oregonian sisters (Geena Davis, Lori
Petty). The sisters are signed to play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. They're
all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna and (in
her movie debut) Rosie O'Donnell. It's a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic risks), but the stellar cast is delightful, and the movie's filled
with memorable moments, witty dialogue, and agreeable sentiment. And just remember: there's no crying in baseball!
The Winning Team VHS only
Starring Ronald Reagan and Doris Day
The Rookie (Full Screen Edition)
Jim Morris, the real-life hero of The Rookie, has an inspirational story all but guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face. Happily, this G-rated Disney drama, based on Morris's
published memoir of the same title, is suitable for an all-ages audience. Blessed with an awesome fastball, Morris nursed dreams of pitching for Major League Baseball during his 20s;
injuries and bad luck, however, forced him to give up hope and become a teacher and coach. Years later, pressed by students and colleagues to try out for "the Show" one more time,
Morris discovered he still had a powerful arm, and he was signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rookie is at its best throughout this first chapter in Morris's midlife adventure,
though the rest of the film finds fresh angles on more familiar baseball-movie conventions. Dennis Quaid is soulful and charismatic as Morris, perfect in his depiction of a man both
thankful and startled that destiny has given one of the good guys his due.
It Happens Every Spring VHS only
Cheating? Who's cheating? When an egghead chemistry professor (Ray Milland) stumbles upon a formula for making baseballs resistant to the touch of wood, he sneaks a little onto a
pitcher's glove and for a time has a career throwing from a major league mound. Set aside ethical concerns: this light comedy is in an Absent-Minded Professor mold, with balls clownishly,
impossibly dancing around the swing of batters. (Besides that, the climax requires an act of minor heroism on the prof's part when the magic suddenly isn't there.) Directed by Lloyd Bacon
(42nd Street), the movie is a lot of fun for all ages and proves that you can make kids hysterical with silly action without wrapping a stupid, crude story around it. With Ed Begley, Alan
Hale Jr., and Paul Douglas
Soul of the Game
An aging Satchel Paige wanted to be the first African American baseball player to integrate the major leagues after World War II. Of course, things didn't work out that way: the visibly
dignified and younger Jackie Robinson got the nod, while the Negro Leagues he left behind carried on with such brilliant talents as Josh Gibson segregated from deserving opportunities.
This HBO movie concerns the period just before Robinson was pressed into a difficult role breaking the color barrier, and the rich script by David Himmelstein and Gary Hoffman concerns
his aspirations as well as those of the frustrated Paige and the deteriorating Gibson. Blair Underwood plays Robinson with an expected nobility, while Delroy Lindo is superb as Paige as is
Mykelti Williamson as Gibson. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, the film really does fill a gap in a viewer's imagination about what these three legendary men must have been going
through--and much of it is painful to witness. With Edward Herrmann as Branch Rickey
The Stratton Story VHS only
Starring Jimmy Stewart & June Allyson
Bull Durham
Bull Durham is about minor league baseball. It's also about romance, sex, poetry, metaphysics, and talent--though not necessarily in that order. Susan Sarandon plays a loopy lady who
just loves America's national pastime--and the men who play it. At the opening of every season, she attaches herself to a promising rookie and guides him through the season.
Unfortunately, the player she bestows her favors upon does not really deserve it. She knows it, and veteran Kevin Costner knows it. Her choice, a dim bulb played for laughs by Tim
Robbins, is the only one who doesn't know it. The film, directed by its writer, Ron Shelton, a former minor league player, is rich in subtle detail. There are Edith Piaf records playing in
the background, fast-talking managers, and minor characters as developed as the leads. Sarandon's retro-'50s outfits make you think she's just another bimbo, not an English teacher
very much in control of her life. And Costner's clear-eyed, slightly vitriolic performance is devastatingly sexy and keenly witty. The love scenes, though tasteful, are almost as humorous
as they are hot. Sarandon's character likes to tie her players up and expand their horizons by reading Walt Whitman to them, "'cause a guy will listen to anything if he thinks it's
foreplay." How can you not love a movie with such a wicked sense of humor?
Major League
A baseball comedy and slob comedy rolled into one, this one actually works as entertainment, if not as a piece of cinematic mastery. James Gammon is the has-been manager hired to lead
the last-place Cleveland Indians whose owner wants them to lose so she can sell them. But the team of has-beens and never-wases that he assembles (including Tom Berenger, Charlie
Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, and Wesley Snipes) develops a sense of pride and turns the team around. There's plenty of rowdy humor about sex, race, and whatever else they can make fun of.
Look for Rene Russo (in her first film role) as Berenger's romantic interest; Snipes also had his first showy role as Willie Mays Hayes, the team's base-stealing ace.
Field Of Dreams (15th Anniversary Widescreen Edition)
A phenomenal hit when it was released in 1989, Field of Dreams has become a modern classic and a uniquely American slice of cinema. It functions effectively as a moving drama about the
power of dreams, a fantasy ode to our national pastime, and a brilliant adaptation of W.P. Kinsella's exquisite baseball novel Shoeless Joe. Kinsella himself found the film a delightful
surprise, differing greatly from his novel but benefiting from its own creative variations. It is the film that cemented Kevin Costner's status as an all-American screen star, but the story
resonates far beyond Costner's handsome appeal. As just about everyone knows by now, Costner stars as Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, who hears the mysterious words "If you build it, he will
come," and is compelled to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. His wife (Amy Madigan) supports the wild idea, but a reclusive novelist (modeled after J.D. Salinger and
played by James Earl Jones) is not so easily persuaded. The idealistic farmer is either a visionary or a deluded fool, but his persistence is rewarded when spirits from baseball's past
begin appearing on the ball field. Past and present intermingle in the person of "Moonlight Graham" (superbly played by Burt Lancaster), an unknown player who sacrificed his dreams of
baseball glory for a dignified life as a small-town physician ... but what all of this means is unclear until the film's memorably heartfelt conclusion. A meditation on family, memory, and
faith, the film balances humor and magic to strike just the right chord of thoughtful emotion, affecting audiences so deeply that the baseball field created for the production has now
become a mecca of sorts for dreamers around the world.
Mr. Baseball
Tom Selleck stars in this hilarious comedy about a veteran major leaguer who attempts to revive his fading baseball career by signing to play in Japan.
For Love of the Game
Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace
employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for
the Detroit Tigers, it means his career--and his life--is at a crossroads.
Although it is no Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Killer Angels) stream-of-consciousness
novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers,
but everything for Billy. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threatening injury). His one viable
link to the game at hand is his catcher, played winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times
to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no grand slam, but a
solid double.
The Natural
From the sun-dappled heartland, a young man (Robert Redford, in soft lighting) emerges as maybe the best baseball player anybody's ever seen. On his way to the majors, he is cut down
by an enigmatic black widow (Barbara Hershey) and vanishes for many years. When he reemerges, a silent mystery, he lands a spot with the New York team and begins tearing up the
league--he's still the natural. Fans of the Bernard Malamud novel will be dismayed at the pure mythical hokum of this film, but baseball fanatics have been known to watch and rewatch
this one; after all, it's constructed as a kind of shrine to the national pastime. Barry Levinson (Rain Man) directs the movie with an unabashed devotion to the game, although the film
could use more of the realities of chewing tobacco and pine tar. Redford is fine, and Kim Basinger and Oscar-nominated Glenn Close are effective as the women in his life. The crowning
touch is the soaring, extraordinary music by Randy Newman, the singer-songwriter turned orchestral composer.
The Scout
Like the millions of fans who endured the St. Louis Cardinals' disappointing 1998 baseball season to watch the heroics of Mark McGwire, so will Albert Brooks devotees thrill to their
comedy god stepping up to the plate in a rare starring role in a film he did not direct and knocking it, if not quite out of the park, then certainly to deep center field.
Brooks, sporting a paunch and a beat-up straw hat, stars as Al Percolo, a disheveled, down-but-not-out New York Yankees scout. His latest sensation, a high school phenom, blows his
Yankee stadium debut after he unceremoniously throws up on the mound. Al is not fired, but instead banished to the backwaters of Mexico, where he discovers his own Babe Ruth and
ticket back to the majors: local sensation Steve Nebraska, who has a 100 m.p.h. fastball and a titanic swing. As winningly played by Brendan Fraser, he is also an incredible screwball,
part Encino Man and part George of the Jungle
The Yankees are willing to pay the outrageous salary of $55 million (those were the days!) for him. But first he must get a clean bill of mental health. That won't be easy for a guy prone
to throw dinnerware at the press. In a scene that recalls Brooks's increasingly desperate lobbying to get casino owner Garry Marshall to return the nest egg his wife squandered in Lost in
America, Brooks strikes out in his attempts to get Steve's psychiatrist, Dr. H. Aaron (Dianne Wiest), to rubber-stamp the case. As Al becomes a surrogate father to the troubled youth,
Dr. Aaron uncovers dark secrets from his past.
While perhaps not in the same league as Bull Durham, The Scout will be a hit with everyone who loves baseball and Brooks (not to mention Brendan)
Bang The Drum Slowly
Only those with ice water in their veins won't get misty-eyed watching this moving film about the friendship of two professional baseball players, one of whom--in every sense--is playing
his last season. A pre-stardom Robert De Niro portrays a rather simple-minded rookie catcher who comes under the wing of a veteran pitcher (Michael Moriarty). When De Niro's
character is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, Moriarty tries to help him get through one more season. Directed by John Hancock and based on the novel by Mark Harris (who also wrote
the screenplay), the film builds on baseball's ability to foster its own lore of courage, nobility, loyalty, and--sadly--tragedy. Watching the youthful De Niro and Moriarty, with all that
promise in their bones, adds to the overall romance of the film today. Also appearing are Vincent Gardenia and Danny Aiello. A perennial favorite for many.
Fear Strikes Out
From its early scenes of a young Jimmy Piersall literally suffering his father's abusive determination that the boy should play baseball, Robert Mulligan's 1957 Fear Strikes Out becomes
more about mental health than love of the game. But this is a compelling drama about the real-life Piersall's gradual breakdown one season before a national audience, the legacy of his
domineering dad's overbearing ways. (Karl Malden plays Piersall's father.) Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird) brings his usual, civilized mix of poignancy and dramatic urgency to the
proceedings, keeping any viewer (sports fan or not) involved. Perkins looks out of place on the field and is meant to appear that way; his fragility and intensity underscore the sad tale of
Piersall's woes.
Pastime
You don't have to be a baseball lover to appreciate this funny, touching story of minor-league ball and major-league dreams. Pastime is the most realistic depiction of the nonglamour side
of sports as played by the people who seem to love it the most. William Russ stars as an aging pitcher, now in his 40s, who only got to pitch once in the majors. Still hanging on in the
minors in the late 1950s, he can't believe his career could be over. Ridiculed for his enthusiasm by his much-younger teammates, he befriends the team's outcast, a young black pitcher
(Glenn Plummer) with a cannon for an arm, and imparts what wisdom he has to offer.
The Babe
John Goodman ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?") brings the legendary Babe Ruth to life in this triumphant film "Entertainment Weekly" calls "a crowd pleaser."
Co-starring Kelly McGillis ("Witness"), "The Babe" chronicles Ruth's phenomenal story--from his hard knock beginnings at a Baltimore orphanage, to his meteoric rise to baseball
superstardom and his poignant retirement from the game.
His amazing career included seven American League pennants, four World Series championships, two tempestuous marriages and a wild lifestyle that earned him numerous suspensions.
"The Babe" is the definitive story of one of sport's most fascinating figures, capturing all the drama and excitement of the greatest baseball player in history.
Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb played baseball like a man charging a machine-gun nest. He gave no quarter, took no prisoners. And when his Hall of Fame career was over, Ty Cobb attacked life the
same way. Tommy Lee Jones portrays the legendary - and equally cheered and detested - Georgia Peach in this acclaimed film from writer/director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Dark Blue),
also starring Robert Wuhl and Lolita Davidovich. From its recapturing of the outfielder's playing days (Roger Clemens portrays a rival pitcher) to its recreation of a 1961 Hall of Fame
banquet, Cobb is a movie grand slam.
Eight Men Out
Eliot Asinof's detailed book Eight Men Out illustrates how the system of American sports collapsed in 1919, the year the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. Filmmaker John
Sayles worked on his script years before the 1988 film (or before he had the rights to make the film) as a labor of love. Sayles's adaptation proves one can make a historically accurate
film in the day and age of artistic license. And what a story. Although many know about the "Black Sox," made famous--again--in the 1989 hit film Field of Dreams, the details of the
saga are far less known. The center of Dreams, Shoeless Joe Jackson (portrayed correctly by D.B. Sweeney as illiterate and left-handed in Eight), is not the core of this film; it's ace
pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles favorite David Strathairn), who took the money, and third baseman Buck Weaver (John Cusack), who did not. The film fits nicely into Sayles's (Lone Star)
strong suit: the ensemble drama. We are introduced to bickering owners, famous crooks, high-minded judges, lowlife gangsters, investigative reporters (played by Studs Terkel and Sayles
himself), and, most of all, players who are at the breaking point when it comes to low salaries and degrading rewards. While some may feel the film is not as visceral as it should be,
there is a great amount of verisimilitude when watching finely tuned athletes telling their bodies to play poorly--heartbreak on the nation's diamond. Beautifully detailed (like Sayles's
previous labor-drama, Matewan), Eight Men Out gives us powerful lessons in which everyone lost: players, gamblers, and especially the fans who love the game
The Pride of the Yankees
When people say, "They don't make them like they used to," Pride of the Yankees is just the kind of film they're wistfully remembering. Nominated for 11 Academy awards (winning one
for film editing), this handsome biographical drama of baseball legend Lou Gehrig is one of the most finely crafted films ever to emerge from Hollywood. Gary Cooper, that great oak of an
American actor, progresses from the awkward and naively shy rookie to the seasoned "Iron Horse" first baseman of the New York Yankees without losing his idealism or modesty. Teresa
Wright captures the same slice of Americana with her mixture of girl-next-door sweetness and urban sophistication as his supportive wife, Eleanor. After he's diagnosed with a
degenerative neurological disease (known today simply as Lou Gehrig's disease), Cooper delivers Gehrig's famous retirement speech from the mound of Yankee Stadium with the courage and
spirit of a winner: "I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth." One of the finest sports films ever made, Pride is about more than simply baseball: Gehrig, the
hard-working, uncommonly talented son of immigrant parents, is the living embodiment of the American Dream. Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea costar as a Greek chorus of sportswriters,
and real-life Yankees Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel, and Babe Ruth appear as themselves.
61*
61* is an endearing ode to the baseball days of yore when the press was the enemy, salaries were in check, and breaking records with bat and glove took on Ruthian proportions. In 1961
baseball expanded its season from 154 games to 162, allowing weaker pitching into the major leagues and two New York Yankees teammates--the colorless Roger Maris and golden boy
Mickey Mantle--to make an assault on the sport's ultimate record: Babe Ruth's 60 home runs. To add to the stew, baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced any record set in the last
eight games of the season wouldn't count toward the official record; records had to be achieved in 154 games.
Director Billy Crystal guarantees success for his movie in the perfect casting of the leads. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan's religious sniper) is deft as Maris, and Thomas Jane is a
perfect Mantle, a superman in a Yankee uniform. Despite the differences between family man Maris and hard-living Mantle, they form a rewarding friendship amid the media and fan
frenzy. The shy Maris took the brunt of the storm, even facing boo-birds in his home stadium. Crystal and first-time writer Hank Steinberg keep the pace moving quickly between the
field, the locker room, the press box, and the home front. The film never tries to dazzle with more than the facts (and it softens Mantle up a bit), yet it belongs on the short list of
grand baseball movies.
A League of Their Own (Special Edition)
Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during World War II resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and
Marshall's movie depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town Oregonian sisters (Geena Davis, Lori
Petty). The sisters are signed to play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. They're
all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna and (in
her movie debut) Rosie O'Donnell. It's a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic risks), but the stellar cast is delightful, and the movie's filled
with memorable moments, witty dialogue, and agreeable sentiment. And just remember: there's no crying in baseball!
The Winning Team VHS only
Starring Ronald Reagan and Doris Day
The Rookie (Full Screen Edition)
Jim Morris, the real-life hero of The Rookie, has an inspirational story all but guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face. Happily, this G-rated Disney drama, based on Morris's
published memoir of the same title, is suitable for an all-ages audience. Blessed with an awesome fastball, Morris nursed dreams of pitching for Major League Baseball during his 20s;
injuries and bad luck, however, forced him to give up hope and become a teacher and coach. Years later, pressed by students and colleagues to try out for "the Show" one more time,
Morris discovered he still had a powerful arm, and he was signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rookie is at its best throughout this first chapter in Morris's midlife adventure,
though the rest of the film finds fresh angles on more familiar baseball-movie conventions. Dennis Quaid is soulful and charismatic as Morris, perfect in his depiction of a man both
thankful and startled that destiny has given one of the good guys his due.
It Happens Every Spring VHS only
Cheating? Who's cheating? When an egghead chemistry professor (Ray Milland) stumbles upon a formula for making baseballs resistant to the touch of wood, he sneaks a little onto a
pitcher's glove and for a time has a career throwing from a major league mound. Set aside ethical concerns: this light comedy is in an Absent-Minded Professor mold, with balls clownishly,
impossibly dancing around the swing of batters. (Besides that, the climax requires an act of minor heroism on the prof's part when the magic suddenly isn't there.) Directed by Lloyd Bacon
(42nd Street), the movie is a lot of fun for all ages and proves that you can make kids hysterical with silly action without wrapping a stupid, crude story around it. With Ed Begley, Alan
Hale Jr., and Paul Douglas
Soul of the Game
An aging Satchel Paige wanted to be the first African American baseball player to integrate the major leagues after World War II. Of course, things didn't work out that way: the visibly
dignified and younger Jackie Robinson got the nod, while the Negro Leagues he left behind carried on with such brilliant talents as Josh Gibson segregated from deserving opportunities.
This HBO movie concerns the period just before Robinson was pressed into a difficult role breaking the color barrier, and the rich script by David Himmelstein and Gary Hoffman concerns
his aspirations as well as those of the frustrated Paige and the deteriorating Gibson. Blair Underwood plays Robinson with an expected nobility, while Delroy Lindo is superb as Paige as is
Mykelti Williamson as Gibson. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, the film really does fill a gap in a viewer's imagination about what these three legendary men must have been going
through--and much of it is painful to witness. With Edward Herrmann as Branch Rickey
The Stratton Story VHS only
Starring Jimmy Stewart & June Allyson
Bull Durham
Bull Durham is about minor league baseball. It's also about romance, sex, poetry, metaphysics, and talent--though not necessarily in that order. Susan Sarandon plays a loopy lady who
just loves America's national pastime--and the men who play it. At the opening of every season, she attaches herself to a promising rookie and guides him through the season.
Unfortunately, the player she bestows her favors upon does not really deserve it. She knows it, and veteran Kevin Costner knows it. Her choice, a dim bulb played for laughs by Tim
Robbins, is the only one who doesn't know it. The film, directed by its writer, Ron Shelton, a former minor league player, is rich in subtle detail. There are Edith Piaf records playing in
the background, fast-talking managers, and minor characters as developed as the leads. Sarandon's retro-'50s outfits make you think she's just another bimbo, not an English teacher
very much in control of her life. And Costner's clear-eyed, slightly vitriolic performance is devastatingly sexy and keenly witty. The love scenes, though tasteful, are almost as humorous
as they are hot. Sarandon's character likes to tie her players up and expand their horizons by reading Walt Whitman to them, "'cause a guy will listen to anything if he thinks it's
foreplay." How can you not love a movie with such a wicked sense of humor?
Major League
A baseball comedy and slob comedy rolled into one, this one actually works as entertainment, if not as a piece of cinematic mastery. James Gammon is the has-been manager hired to lead
the last-place Cleveland Indians whose owner wants them to lose so she can sell them. But the team of has-beens and never-wases that he assembles (including Tom Berenger, Charlie
Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, and Wesley Snipes) develops a sense of pride and turns the team around. There's plenty of rowdy humor about sex, race, and whatever else they can make fun of.
Look for Rene Russo (in her first film role) as Berenger's romantic interest; Snipes also had his first showy role as Willie Mays Hayes, the team's base-stealing ace.
Field Of Dreams (15th Anniversary Widescreen Edition)
A phenomenal hit when it was released in 1989, Field of Dreams has become a modern classic and a uniquely American slice of cinema. It functions effectively as a moving drama about the
power of dreams, a fantasy ode to our national pastime, and a brilliant adaptation of W.P. Kinsella's exquisite baseball novel Shoeless Joe. Kinsella himself found the film a delightful
surprise, differing greatly from his novel but benefiting from its own creative variations. It is the film that cemented Kevin Costner's status as an all-American screen star, but the story
resonates far beyond Costner's handsome appeal. As just about everyone knows by now, Costner stars as Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, who hears the mysterious words "If you build it, he will
come," and is compelled to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. His wife (Amy Madigan) supports the wild idea, but a reclusive novelist (modeled after J.D. Salinger and
played by James Earl Jones) is not so easily persuaded. The idealistic farmer is either a visionary or a deluded fool, but his persistence is rewarded when spirits from baseball's past
begin appearing on the ball field. Past and present intermingle in the person of "Moonlight Graham" (superbly played by Burt Lancaster), an unknown player who sacrificed his dreams of
baseball glory for a dignified life as a small-town physician ... but what all of this means is unclear until the film's memorably heartfelt conclusion. A meditation on family, memory, and
faith, the film balances humor and magic to strike just the right chord of thoughtful emotion, affecting audiences so deeply that the baseball field created for the production has now
become a mecca of sorts for dreamers around the world.
Mr. Baseball
Tom Selleck stars in this hilarious comedy about a veteran major leaguer who attempts to revive his fading baseball career by signing to play in Japan.
For Love of the Game
Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace
employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for
the Detroit Tigers, it means his career--and his life--is at a crossroads.
Although it is no Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Killer Angels) stream-of-consciousness
novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers,
but everything for Billy. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threatening injury). His one viable
link to the game at hand is his catcher, played winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times
to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no grand slam, but a
solid double.
The Natural
From the sun-dappled heartland, a young man (Robert Redford, in soft lighting) emerges as maybe the best baseball player anybody's ever seen. On his way to the majors, he is cut down
by an enigmatic black widow (Barbara Hershey) and vanishes for many years. When he reemerges, a silent mystery, he lands a spot with the New York team and begins tearing up the
league--he's still the natural. Fans of the Bernard Malamud novel will be dismayed at the pure mythical hokum of this film, but baseball fanatics have been known to watch and rewatch
this one; after all, it's constructed as a kind of shrine to the national pastime. Barry Levinson (Rain Man) directs the movie with an unabashed devotion to the game, although the film
could use more of the realities of chewing tobacco and pine tar. Redford is fine, and Kim Basinger and Oscar-nominated Glenn Close are effective as the women in his life. The crowning
touch is the soaring, extraordinary music by Randy Newman, the singer-songwriter turned orchestral composer.
The Scout
Like the millions of fans who endured the St. Louis Cardinals' disappointing 1998 baseball season to watch the heroics of Mark McGwire, so will Albert Brooks devotees thrill to their
comedy god stepping up to the plate in a rare starring role in a film he did not direct and knocking it, if not quite out of the park, then certainly to deep center field.
Brooks, sporting a paunch and a beat-up straw hat, stars as Al Percolo, a disheveled, down-but-not-out New York Yankees scout. His latest sensation, a high school phenom, blows his
Yankee stadium debut after he unceremoniously throws up on the mound. Al is not fired, but instead banished to the backwaters of Mexico, where he discovers his own Babe Ruth and
ticket back to the majors: local sensation Steve Nebraska, who has a 100 m.p.h. fastball and a titanic swing. As winningly played by Brendan Fraser, he is also an incredible screwball,
part Encino Man and part George of the Jungle
The Yankees are willing to pay the outrageous salary of $55 million (those were the days!) for him. But first he must get a clean bill of mental health. That won't be easy for a guy prone
to throw dinnerware at the press. In a scene that recalls Brooks's increasingly desperate lobbying to get casino owner Garry Marshall to return the nest egg his wife squandered in Lost in
America, Brooks strikes out in his attempts to get Steve's psychiatrist, Dr. H. Aaron (Dianne Wiest), to rubber-stamp the case. As Al becomes a surrogate father to the troubled youth,
Dr. Aaron uncovers dark secrets from his past.
While perhaps not in the same league as Bull Durham, The Scout will be a hit with everyone who loves baseball and Brooks (not to mention Brendan)
Bang The Drum Slowly
Only those with ice water in their veins won't get misty-eyed watching this moving film about the friendship of two professional baseball players, one of whom--in every sense--is playing
his last season. A pre-stardom Robert De Niro portrays a rather simple-minded rookie catcher who comes under the wing of a veteran pitcher (Michael Moriarty). When De Niro's
character is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, Moriarty tries to help him get through one more season. Directed by John Hancock and based on the novel by Mark Harris (who also wrote
the screenplay), the film builds on baseball's ability to foster its own lore of courage, nobility, loyalty, and--sadly--tragedy. Watching the youthful De Niro and Moriarty, with all that
promise in their bones, adds to the overall romance of the film today. Also appearing are Vincent Gardenia and Danny Aiello. A perennial favorite for many.
Fear Strikes Out
From its early scenes of a young Jimmy Piersall literally suffering his father's abusive determination that the boy should play baseball, Robert Mulligan's 1957 Fear Strikes Out becomes
more about mental health than love of the game. But this is a compelling drama about the real-life Piersall's gradual breakdown one season before a national audience, the legacy of his
domineering dad's overbearing ways. (Karl Malden plays Piersall's father.) Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird) brings his usual, civilized mix of poignancy and dramatic urgency to the
proceedings, keeping any viewer (sports fan or not) involved. Perkins looks out of place on the field and is meant to appear that way; his fragility and intensity underscore the sad tale of
Piersall's woes.
Pastime
You don't have to be a baseball lover to appreciate this funny, touching story of minor-league ball and major-league dreams. Pastime is the most realistic depiction of the nonglamour side
of sports as played by the people who seem to love it the most. William Russ stars as an aging pitcher, now in his 40s, who only got to pitch once in the majors. Still hanging on in the
minors in the late 1950s, he can't believe his career could be over. Ridiculed for his enthusiasm by his much-younger teammates, he befriends the team's outcast, a young black pitcher
(Glenn Plummer) with a cannon for an arm, and imparts what wisdom he has to offer.
The Babe
John Goodman ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?") brings the legendary Babe Ruth to life in this triumphant film "Entertainment Weekly" calls "a crowd pleaser."
Co-starring Kelly McGillis ("Witness"), "The Babe" chronicles Ruth's phenomenal story--from his hard knock beginnings at a Baltimore orphanage, to his meteoric rise to baseball
superstardom and his poignant retirement from the game.
His amazing career included seven American League pennants, four World Series championships, two tempestuous marriages and a wild lifestyle that earned him numerous suspensions.
"The Babe" is the definitive story of one of sport's most fascinating figures, capturing all the drama and excitement of the greatest baseball player in history.
Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb played baseball like a man charging a machine-gun nest. He gave no quarter, took no prisoners. And when his Hall of Fame career was over, Ty Cobb attacked life the
same way. Tommy Lee Jones portrays the legendary - and equally cheered and detested - Georgia Peach in this acclaimed film from writer/director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Dark Blue),
also starring Robert Wuhl and Lolita Davidovich. From its recapturing of the outfielder's playing days (Roger Clemens portrays a rival pitcher) to its recreation of a 1961 Hall of Fame
banquet, Cobb is a movie grand slam.
Eight Men Out
Eliot Asinof's detailed book Eight Men Out illustrates how the system of American sports collapsed in 1919, the year the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. Filmmaker John
Sayles worked on his script years before the 1988 film (or before he had the rights to make the film) as a labor of love. Sayles's adaptation proves one can make a historically accurate
film in the day and age of artistic license. And what a story. Although many know about the "Black Sox," made famous--again--in the 1989 hit film Field of Dreams, the details of the
saga are far less known. The center of Dreams, Shoeless Joe Jackson (portrayed correctly by D.B. Sweeney as illiterate and left-handed in Eight), is not the core of this film; it's ace
pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles favorite David Strathairn), who took the money, and third baseman Buck Weaver (John Cusack), who did not. The film fits nicely into Sayles's (Lone Star)
strong suit: the ensemble drama. We are introduced to bickering owners, famous crooks, high-minded judges, lowlife gangsters, investigative reporters (played by Studs Terkel and Sayles
himself), and, most of all, players who are at the breaking point when it comes to low salaries and degrading rewards. While some may feel the film is not as visceral as it should be,
there is a great amount of verisimilitude when watching finely tuned athletes telling their bodies to play poorly--heartbreak on the nation's diamond. Beautifully detailed (like Sayles's
previous labor-drama, Matewan), Eight Men Out gives us powerful lessons in which everyone lost: players, gamblers, and especially the fans who love the game
WORLD SERIES VIDEOS (DVD)
2003 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Florida Marlins
2001 World Series - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees
2000 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK YANKEES VS NEW YORK METS
1999 World Series - New York Yankees vs Atlanta Braves
1996 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK YANKEES VS ATLANTA BRAVES
1986 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK METS VS BOSTON RED SOX
1977 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
1978 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
1961 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds
2003 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Florida Marlins
2001 World Series - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees
2000 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK YANKEES VS NEW YORK METS
1999 World Series - New York Yankees vs Atlanta Braves
1996 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK YANKEES VS ATLANTA BRAVES
1986 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK METS VS BOSTON RED SOX
1977 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
1978 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
1961 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds
