Posted September 26, 200520 yr comment_3521097 I figured this is an NMB standard, yet something new we haven't done before. I'm withholding some of the good movies for future threads. Eight Men Out Field of Dreams Bull Durham The Soul of the Game A League of Their Own
October 5, 200520 yr comment_3599298 I can't comment on the middle three, since it's either been so long since I've seen them or I've never seen them. However... Eight Men Out: Damn good movie which did a great job capturing everything revolving around the 1919 World Series scandal and the events leading up to it. There was a made-for-TV movie here in Canada called Net Worth which was a hockey movie covering how the first players association was formed and it was one that heavily showed the players as protagonists and owners as antagonists. Eight Men Out may lean a bit towards that (depending on your view), but I think the movie does a great job of being fairly objective and letting the viewer decide on his/her own. The only flaw is, at times, the characters are undistinguishable, with no one standing out that much, which all the same may contribute nicely to the point I just made. It's still a fine movie and one of the best baseball ones I've seen. A League Of Their Own: Another fine movie, though not as good as Eight Men Out. From what I've read, there is some inaccuracies and inconsistencies of the movie compared to the womens leagues that did take place in the '40s, which I forget exactly. I still like a lot of what was covered: The struggle of the league to win fans over, the incredibly different characters (suitable for a comedy like this), Tom Hanks' role, the up-and-down relationship of Kit and Dottie, among other things. Definitely recommended. I'd like to throw another one in, if that's okay: 61*: This was a made-for-TV movie by HBO in 2001 that made its way onto DVD, which you can generally buy for fairly cheap and is about the 1961 home run chase and the focus on Roger Maris (played extremely well by Barry Pepper) and his strained relationship with the media, family of Babe Ruth, the fans, etc. as well as his friendship with Mickey Mantle. It's hard not to watch this and be sympathetic of Maris, especially with the movie beginning with his kids watching Mark McGwire break his dad's home run record at the beginning. High end as far as made-for-TV movies go.
October 18, 200520 yr Author comment_3697301 I wanted to start with movies I had seen personally. I finally saw 61 today, and I really should have seen it earlier. Easily one of the best baseball movies I have ever seen.
October 18, 200520 yr comment_3704427 Billy Crystal was the director of 61* and possibly the writer as well, IIRC. I loved Barry Pepper's performance in it.
October 19, 200520 yr comment_3705526 Field of Dreams is really a beautiful movie and I shed tears over the end everytime. It's not a baseball movie; it's a story about redemption among a few other themes.
October 19, 200520 yr comment_3707995 Billy Crystal was the director of 61* and possibly the writer as well, IIRC. I loved Barry Pepper's performance in it. Off-topic, but if you haven't seen 25th Hour, do so. Pepper is great in that one too (right up there with Edward Norton) and may be one of the most underappreciated actors these days.
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