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!!
Features/Specifications
Attractive Retail Box
Genre: Drama,
Sports, Baseball
Rating:
Not Rated (Contains Some Adult
Language)
Starring:
Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane,
Jennifer Crystal Foley, Richard Masur, Bruce McGill, Chris
Bauer, Christopher McDonald, Donald Moffat, Anthony
Michael Hall
Directed By:
Billy Crystal
Release Information:
Studio: Hbo Studios
Theatrical Release Date: April 28, 2001
DVD Release Date: February 3, 2004
Run Time: 129 minutes
Production Company: Hbo Studios
Package Type: Snap Case
DVD Features:
Encoding:
Region 1 (U.S. and
Canada only). This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in
other countries.