61*

Rating:
Summary: Nice look at the '61 home run race
Review: "61*" is the true story of two baseball players, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who spent the 1961 season chasing Babe Ruth's mythical single-season record of 60 home runs. It tracks the well-known facts surrounding the race such as the way the press openly rooted for Mantle, and how the pressure appeared to get to Maris to the point that his hair was falling out late in the season.

The best part of the movie, however, is how it presents the off-the-field lives of the players. Mantle is shown to be an out-of-control boozer and womanizer, but still manages to come off sympathetically. (After all though, the movie was directed by Billy Crystal, who grew up idolizing Mantle. Kudos to him for not shying away from the weaknesses of his hero.) Mantle roots for Maris to break the record and seems genuinely friendly and caring, despite his neglect of his family.

Maris, on the other hand, is portrayed as a staid but saintly slugger. He lives clean and cares for his family, but his boring earnestness and lack of outward emotion make him the enemy of the newsmen hungry for a story, who prefer the quotable Mantle, warts and all.

One of my only complaints is that Maris is shown as being almost too perfect. I never knew the man and I'm sure he wasn't the carouser that Mantle was, but it strains believeability that a huge star for the Yankees would be so down-to-earth and pure and honest, his only portrayed fault being an inability to engage in back-slapping cameraderie with the hypocritical beat writers. I might just be too cynical about such things, but the feeling I got was that "61*" broke a barrier by displaying Mantle's exhuberant abuse of himself but whitewashed any dirt on Maris.

The other minor thing that disappointed me is that there weren't more cameos from actual players in the movie. As far as I know, the only one was from knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti, who played knuckleballer-of-that-era Hoyt Wilhelm. Not sure it would have made the movie better, but I would have gotten a kick out of seeing real ballplayers in bit parts and scenes from ball games.

On the whole though, "61*" was a fun movie to watch, with some nice period detail and good performances from the two leads. Definitely recommended for any fan of baseball and its history.

Rating:
Summary: "61*" touches 'em all
Review: "61*" tells the story of the epic home-run battle between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. For the better part of the season, the sports world stood on its ear as the New York Yankee outfielders belted homer after homer in their quest of baseball's most hallowed record, the 60 round-trippers posted by Babe Ruth in 1927. While game re-creation is marvelously done (thanks to some sprucing up of old Tiger Stadium, made to look like pre-renovation Yankee Stadium), Billy Crystal's labor of love is really more of an insightful look into the outer and inner pressures that threatened Maris' sanity. Physically, Barry Pepper is a virtual dead ringer for Maris. At first sight, Thomas Jane doesn't remind you that much of Mantle, yet the more you see the movie, the more like the Mick he looks. Crystal pulls no punches in his portrayal of the crude yet beloved Mantle - a womanizer and the antithesis of his good friend Maris, ever the family man. Anthony Michael Hall (yes, the same actor who starred years ago in "Sixteen Candles" and "Weird Science"), plays the great Whitey Ford, but it's regrettably only a minor role. Still, one can see why the Yankees called Whitey the "Chairman of the Board." Another great nuance: Hoyt Wilhelm, who retired Maris in the ninth inning of Game 154, preventing him from tying Ruth's record in the "prescribed" number of games set forth by baseball commissioner Ford Frick, is perfectly played by former major-league knuckleballer Tom Candiotti, who holds his head in tilted fashion just like Wilhelm did. While I question how much a non-baseball fan would like the movie, for an old Mantle-Yankee fan like yours truly, it's definitely a must-see and must-own.

Rating:
Summary: How about a movie called...
Review: How about a movie called 'The Hammer'? Gee, they made 'Cobb, 'The Babe', 'Eight Men Out', 'Field of Dreams', 'The Pride of the Yankees', 'The Natural', and '61*'. How about a movie about Henry Aaron, Josh Gibson, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, or even Jackie Robinson? Oh, I forgot, baseball will never allow it...

Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: I absolutely love this movie because of its perfect portrayal of the story of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle chasing Babe Ruth's homerun record. Billy Crystal directed this film and made every aspect of the story be exactly the same to the true story. Thomas Jane plays an unbelievable role as Mickey Mantle and makes this movie one of the best ever made. I recommend this film to any fan of baseball or movies.

Rating:
Summary: 61..Deserves Sixty-One Stars if Possible.
Review: Billy Crystal's labor of love dealing with the season when two Yankee teammates were in the running to break the single season homerun record hits a grand slam. Watch Billy Crystal's interviews of his childhood memories of being a Yankee fan in the 1950's in Ken Burn's great maxi series documentary BASEBALL and you would see why he was perfect to direct this great film. 61 is one of the best baseball movies in recent memory. Barry Pepper is perfectly cast, and has an uncanny resemblance to the much maligned but now-forgiven Roger Maris. Thomas Jane does a fine and credible job of playing legend Mickey Mantle. The movie captures the spirit of the late fifties/early sixties atmosphere when New York was the capital of baseball, the unrelenting press was what made or break you, and the Yankees were the equivalent of the Rat Pack of baseball. This is more than a baseball movie, it is a movie about love, friendship, family, humanity, and the spirit of determination under pressure. This is supposed to be a story of two men, Maris and Mantle. However, unintentionally, Crystal has made this film a loving tribute to Roger Maris. It is redemption for all the abuse he took by the fans and press because he wasn't Babe Ruth, or even the heavily favored Mantle. Barry Pepper's performance has a lot of emptional depth as the beleagured Maris, and should have been nominated for an Emmy for his performance. We are given an inside look at Roger Maris' love for his family and home life despite being on the road as compared to Mantle's abuse on the road. The two men had opposite views of the baseball road life, but somehow forged a friendship and bond when the pressure was on to break Babe Ruth's single season homerun record. Along with this, we are shown the vices that ultimately would be the undoing of each man (cigarettes for Maris, alcohol for Mantle). Crystal's direction is outstanding and the attention to detail is exceptional along with a fine script with some humorous undertones. Great supporting cast includes Micheal Anthony Hall as Hall of Fame Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford, Crystal's daughter Jennifer Foley as Maris' wife, Chris McDonald (HAPPY GILMORE) as Mel Allen, along with Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Rene Taylor, Micheal Nouri (Joe Dimaggio), a surprising guest appearance by actress Patricia Crowley (tv's PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES), and the always reliable character actor and king of supporting roles, Bruce McGill (ANIMAL HOUSE, TIME COP, and everything else..) as Yankee Manager, Ralph Houk. DVD has great extras including behind the scene interviews and on screen commentary by Crystal. A must-have DVD for Yankee and baseball fans alike!!

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Baseball Film
Review: A truly outstanding movie, as director Billy Crystal and actors Thomas Jane (Mickey Mantle) and Barry Pepper (Roger Maris) bring the 1961 baseball season and home run chase to life. This movie is as authentic as perhaps any sports movie I've ever seen, and the two stars give powerful performances--Mantle's charisma and legendary carousing as well as his tape-measure home runs made him a hero to millions, while Maris was a quiet, shy type who didn't want the limelight. But he was Mantle's equal on the field that year, and the pair was chasing the home run record of perhaps the biggest legend of all, Babe Ruth.

The Yankee fan will love this movie, as Crystal went to great pains to recreate Yankee Stadium and cast actors as baseball players who looked and played not only like Mantle and Maris, but Whitey Ford (Anthony Michael Hall), Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and all the rest. The relentless sportswriters (including a fine performance by Richard Masur as "Milt") who wouldn't leave Maris alone ring true, and Ford Frick, the commissioner of baseball back then, is a bit of a villian--he loved Ruth and clearly didn't want the record broken.

One of the most touching aspects of the film is the open and close, where Crystal intercuts actual footage of Mark McGuire tying and breaking the Maris record with actors and actresses portraying Maris's widow Pat and their kids looking on. Likewise, Crystal's daughter, Jennifer Crystal Foley, is excellent as the young Pat Maris.

The extras on this DVD are nearly as good as the movie itself. Crystal offers off-camera audio and narrates each scene of the movie, which is fascinating, and there's an hour-long behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film which is also powerful...it includes a clip of the "Dinah Shore Show" from 1977 when Crystal, then starring on "Soap," sat next to Mantle, introduced himself and showed his hero a program with his signature from 1956.

Strongly recommended, a movie which will stand the test of time for baseball fans, and another feather in the cap of Billy Crystal--there's very little he can't do, and if nothing else, you'll realize what a true baseball and Yankee fan he is.

Rating:
Summary: 61*
Review: This is now one of my favorite baseball movies of all time. I had never seen this movie until I purchased it on amazon. First, it is needed to say that I hate the Yankees. Even with my bias view of the team, this is the first (and last) time I will ever pull for the yankees. The bottom line is simply that this is an enjoyable movie for both baseball fans and those who do not follow the game.

Rating:
Summary: Region 1 Encoding
Review: Just a quick note about the Region encoding for this DVD for UK customers. This DVD WILL work on the PAL PS2 when used with a product called "DVD Region X" (about £10). Just make sure you're TV can display 60Hz. 50Hz TVs will play the movie in black and white.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging look at a major piece of baseball history
Review: I have had *61 in my collection for a year or so now, and no matter how many times I watch it I still have a hard time holding back cheers when Maris hits the magic 61st. This was an engaging (and accurate from what I can tell) look at an important season in baseball history. I am not a Yankee fan (I actually despise the Yankees)and the disappointing thing about the Maris story is how he was treated at times by Yankee fans and the media and even the Yankee front office and the comissioner. This movie gives us a glimpse of Yankee fans at their best (willing the injured and basically one-armed Mantle to hit a home run and finally giving Maris the cheers he deserves at the end) and worst (their treatment of Maris through most of the season). These aspects are brought to light with emotion and clarity.

The story is great, as is the music and the overall filming. No film is wasted; there is a purpose behind every scene in the movie. Billy Crystal does a great job. There is some foul language so parents might want to me careful when their kids watch this one. I do disagree with a few viewers who said that it takes away from the movie; I don't think it does.

I would recommend that any baseball fan give this movie at least one "at bat." I don't think most will be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Bad language ruined it
Review: Unneccessary foul language ruins any hope for this movie