Summer, 1961: Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle are on pace to break the most hallowed record in U.S. sports, Babe Ruth’s single-season 60 home runs. It’s a big story, and the intense, plain-spoken Maris is the bad guy: sports writers bait him and minimize hi61* 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. –Doug Thomas
March 18, 2006
#1
Unneccessary foul language ruins any hope for this movie
March 19, 2006
#2
Crystal’s rewriting of history does no one any service. The historical scene about Mantle complaining that he “failed” his draft induction physical is laughable at best. Mantle was selected to the all star team that year! He was MVP later! Mantle was known as the “fastest man to first base” at this time, and his complaint that he couldn’t serve is a joke. Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams, while in Korea on his SECOND tour of military duty (WWII was his first), stated when he was crash landed his fighter jet, he ran away from it “FASTER THAN MICKEY MANTLE!” Crystal a draft dodger himslf (Vietnam), should be ashamed of this portrayal of Mantle and rewriting history! Disgusting.
March 19, 2006
#3
What a great story of the competition between Mickey & Roger – NOT Mouse & Rabbit…This one’s not for the kids…not even teenagers. Thankfully, we watched it without the kids first. Why they would ruin such a historical baseball movie with Mantle beginning with, “shove it up your a” and “I’ve always liked girls w/ big hands b/c it makes my d look big” is beyond me! Hollywood takes this too far throughout the movie. If you like to see emphasis put on beer drinking, smoking, “girly magazines”, bit t*ts, references to homos, taking girls back to a hotel – adultry, son of a b, THE F WORD several times, bullsh**, then this is the movie for you. God help us all! Man, we love sports, but this is an awful purchase. I wish I could return it for a refund or credit, but once the DVD is opened, Amazon won’t take it back. So, do yourself a favor and pick Field of Dreams. I don’t know why the FCC didn’t rate this one R or worse. A “not rated” rating leaves you to believe it is a clean movie. But in my opinion, the FCC hasn’t done anything positive with our tax dollars ever! So, what’s new?
March 19, 2006
#4
I love baseball. I love baseball movies. (Kevin Costner occupies a space on the wall in my office). I love the romance of baseball that has been passed on to me from my father. He grew up in Queens in the 40′s and 50′s and pulled for the Dodgers. He passed that love on to me. I remember my first game – 1969, Mets vs. Reds, as much as I remember my wedding day. I try to pass on to my children the same romance my father passed on to me. When I picked up the DVD last night I was excited at the prospect of sharing it with my 13 year old son.
HBO film, no rating. If it was, unfortunately it would be an R. I know Mickey wasn’t a saint, but in sharing a magic moment like 1961, was it really necessary to know that he used the F word more often than he hit homeruns? And why is Babe Ruth’s wife painted as an early version of Roseanne?
I wanted so badly to share this one with my son, to be able to bond some more over something as great as the drama of 61. Unfortunately, Mr. Çhrystal and I have differing opinions over the amount of language necessary to portray a story. Billy – you blew it, and in doing so you lowered your movie from a classic to just another Hollywood has been.
Thanks.
March 19, 2006
#5
Not bad considering it’s the Yankees….. but I digress. Good acting and special effects. I also recommend it for the additional Billy Crystal material.