61*

Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: Absolutely fantastic movie. My daughter and I loved it. Excellent performances by Thomas Jane and Barry Pepper. Their fans will not be disappointed. Billy Crystal did good on this one. Highly recommend. Their is quite a bit of cursing as far as the language goes, so I would not recommend for young children.

Rating:
Summary: Great Cast, Great portrayal, Great Movie - *TEN STARS*
Review: I loved everything about this movie. Barry Pepper's portrayal of Roger Maris was, well, I was awestruck. The whole cast was excellent. The emotions evoked were so powerful, you thought you were actually there.

I've since watched this movie 3 times and each time I've been moved to tears (I'm not normally a teary person).

It does not matter if you don't know much about baseball (although this is definitely for baseball fans), this is a movie not to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars Is Not Enough
Review: It was the summer of 1961, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were chasing the illusive home run record held by none other than Babe Ruth. This is the story of that fateful summer. "61*" is probably one of the best baseball movies I have ever seen. I would have never imagined that Billy Crystal would have ever been able to put together such a great film.

The cast in this movie is wonderful. Roger Maris, played by Barry Pepper, who was also in "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Green Mile," was played very well. I can't comment on accuracy of the actual character as I was not alive when this story took place. But, the roles were very believable. The struggle that Roger Maris went through as a result of the media blitz that surrounded him and the ghost of Babe Ruth, must have been so painful.

Now, I don't claim to be a baseball expert, nor would I say that I am actually a fan of the game in the state it is in today. But, this film was when baseball was a game and people still played for the love of the game. Yes, there were rich ballplayers, but many still had winter jobs and needed playoff bonuses to stay afloat. They had a head for the game and they had heart for the game, now most have a head for the game and a heart for real estate.

This movie is wonderful. If I was a producer, I would defiantly give Billy Crystal money for a movie. . . I do know that Mr. Crystal is a fan of the game. So, I do wonder slightly if the movie is accurate or if it a fan piece. . . But, honestly, I do not care. The story was amazing.

epc

Rating:
Summary: An Essential Film About Baseball
Review: I hope this doesn't sound insulting, but I never knew Billy Crystal could have directed a film as good as this one.

"61*" recounts one of the most amazing years in baseball history - 1961, when two of the Yankees' most legendary sluggers, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, went on a hitting streak that took them within striking distance of Babe Ruth's celebrated (and seemingly unreachable) single-season total of 60 home runs. But as the season progressed, and Maris and Mantle kept smacking them out of the park, two things became clear - 1), the baseball commissioner didn't want to see the record broken, and would do everything in his power to ensure it wouldn't be, and 2), fans and sportswriters had a definite preference when it came to which of the two they considered worthy of making baseball history (the overwhelming majority favored Mantle). Still, the home runs kept coming - but so did the pressure, and the animosity, and the injuries, and the death threats. And though the season proved historic, the toll on both players was enormous.

A film like "61*" needs to be perfectly cast in order to succeed, and this is where Crystal really scores - Barry Pepper captures all the drive, intensity, and quiet dignity of Roger Maris, while Thomas Jane nearly steals the film with an effortlessly charismatic (and all-too-human) Mickey Mantle. In fact, all of the cast does admirable work - Bruce McGill makes a memorable Ralph Houk, and former teen star Anthony Michael Hall graduates to the big leagues with an expert turn as Whitey Ford. If there's a problem at all, it's with the characters of the sportswriters, who become an increasingly intrusive and irritating presence as the film goes along (this, however, may be calculated - there's evidence to support both Maris and Mantle viewed a number of sportswriters as intrusive and irritating).

Ultimately, credit for the success of "61*" must go to Billy Crystal, whose filmaking instincts and attention to detail are truly admirable. I should have known all along he was the only director who could do this story justice.

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: A Grand Slam Homerun!
Review: I'm too young to remember the "Race for Ruth's Record". I read about it as a kid when I used to consume baseball books like they were water. I always wondered what it must have been like being Roger Maris, a man who was truly under-appreciated in his time. In the year 1961, Maris broke the single season homerun record set by Babe Ruth. Babe hit 60, Roger hit 61 on the last game of the 1961 season. Yet, due to Baseball Comissioner Frick's controversial ruling, Roger Maris' homerun record came with an asterisk - Maris' single season was longer than Ruth's. It took another "Race for the Record" for people to realize just how much Maris struggled to beat the odds and break the record. When McGwire beat the record in 1988, the season was longer, he was in better shape than Ruth and Maris, bats and balls were different, stadiums were different. What else was different? This time, nobody dared to bring up the dreaded asterisk!
61* begins on Opening Day at Yankees Stadium. The team has a new manager, Roger Maris is to be awarded the Most Valuable Player Award, and Mickey Mantle is made team captain. Reporters speculate on how members of the team will do this season. But none of them could have imagined a season like that of 1961. A season when two of the team's stars - relative newcomer, Roger Maris, and ailing veteran, Mickey Mantle - began a pace that could possibly cause the most sacred record in baseball to be broken. Nobody ever believed that Babe Ruth's 60-homerun record would ever be beaten, not even Maris and Mantle. But as the season progressed, it became clear to all that it was definitely a possibility. As the race heated up, reporters began to hound Maris, an unpopular player with the fans due to his quiet and private nature. Fans ridiculed him, booing every homerun he hit. Meanwhile, it seemed that everyone rooted fan-favorite Mickey Mantle on. Fans and reporters were merciless when it became clear that Mantle was not going to make it and Maris was on his way to breaking the record. In fact, it's a wonder that Maris didn't have a nervous breakdown before he hit the fateful 61st.
This is a story of one man's struggle to do his best in a job that he truly loved. He wasn't looking to please anyone - only to be able to look at himself in the mirror and say, "I did what I could to get the job done." Roger Maris played the game well, not just because he was talented, but because he loved it. It's a shame that the asterisk was not removed from his homerun record until 6 years after his death. This movie also revealed a true friendship that stood the test of the stress it was placed under. Both on and off the field, Maris and Mantle would remain friends, each one cheering the other on.
This movie was lovingly directed by Billy Crystal, an avid baseball fan, who dedicated the movie to his father - the man who introduced him to the sport. Barry Pepper portrayed Roger Maris perfectly: the happiness he shared with his family and friends and the anguish he experienced at the hands of the reporters and nay-sayers. You truly believe you are seeing Maris in action. Mickey Mantle is portrayed by Thomas Jane, who puts in an equally convincing performance.
Yes, we all know how it ends, but you'll still find yourself on the edge of your seat as Roger Maris blasts that 61st homerun out of the park! See this movie today!!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, gives you an inside look at Maris and Mantle
Review: I love baseball movies. But some are better than others. And this one is near the top. It depicts the home run race between Micky Mantle and Roger Maris, who at times were rivals but were also great friends, with a love and respect for each other.

It really brought the history of the game to the forefront for me, as I did not realize the fans were so against Maris breaking Babe Ruth's record. The fact that the record stood all these years with an asterix behind it, was unfair to Maris because his accomplishment was astounding and took many years to be matched.

Billy Crystal brought the story forward to when Maris's record was broken, with actual footage of the Maris family. This was a wonderful way to weave the past with the present, as Crystal was recapturing the excitement and joy of both records being reached. This movie is a 5 star bet, so grab your cracker jacks and head to the ball game, because you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: I don't even like baseball...
Review: Yet Billy Crystal's biopic of the "rivalry" (media created, don't ya love 'em) between Mickey Mantle (the scruptuously talented Thomas Jane) and Roger Marius (equally talented with that hurt kid face Barry Pepper) and the "let's change the rules to whatever we want" attitude of the baseball commissioners drew me into the game with it's exciting scenes on the field, its engrossing drama, and inspired performances by the entire cast. Buy it, love it, be gratified.

Rating:
Summary: An out-of-the-park homerun for Billy Crystal. Great film!
Review: I love baseball films. I even like "Bull Durham" for which I take a lot of flack at home, where Red Sox Baseball is sacred and we have to listen to the "Curse of the Bambino" tape as a ritual every Spring. Even though I had to abandon any love for the Yankees when I moved to New England, I still enjoy Yankee history--havning followed Mantle and Maris as a kid.

This film, to a Baby Boomer like me, is like listening to a bard recite the stuff of legend. And Billy Crystal, who knows enough baseball that he consulted with Ken Burns on his monumental documentary, does a fabulous job telling the story of Maris and Mantle's race to break the Babe's homerun record in 1961.

The cast is absolutely superb, with actor Pepper looking so much like Maris I could hardly believe it. And Thomas Jane takes on Mantle's persona incredibly well. In one scene, the way he folded the baseball cap's bill and how he held the angle of his head -- suddenly Thomas Jane WAS Mantle. It was downright eerie. The acting, the script, the supporting cast were perfect.

Of course Crystal cleverly ties the 1961 record race with Sosa and McGwine's homerun race in the 90's, with Mrs. Maris reprising the bittersweet role of the Babe's widow, watching nervously as the most treasured achievement of her late husband is threatened. This device, following the widows of the greats was a fantastic way to tie the threads of history together, from the Babe, to Maris, up to McGwine. This is probably the best baseball film I've seen, surpassing even "The Natural" and "Field of Dreams", both of which I love.

Here's a spoiler-- not in the film: Maris is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame! He never batted over .300 , and you just don't get into the Hall without that stat. Absurd.

Rating:
Summary: The very BEST baseball movie I've ever seen!
Review: There is no finer example of baseball on film than Billy Crystal's 61*. In fact, there are few better MOVIES, period, that I have ever seen (and that's saying a lot -- I introduced my three-year-old son to this movie a few months ago, and he has seen it every single DAY since then -- which means I've seen it too.) And can you believe it still is wonderful -- though I know every line, every word, every camera angle and cut? Crystal takes the heart of the subject -- Mantle & Maris and their pursuit of the record in full public view -- and shows us what we didn't know about them in 1961 -- Maris, the quiet, inarticulate but thoroughly decent family man, Mantle the hard-drinking, hard-living but ultimately insecure superstar who played despite constant, crippling pain -- and shows how they both attempted to rise above themselves and be the heroes they were already thought to be for the space of a few months in one special summer. That striving to be better than you are, with terrific pressure to perform (and in Maris's case, a lot of pressure NOT to perform, because fans didn't want HIM breaking Ruth's record) is, to me, the emotional center of the movie. It is so thoroughly understandable and so human, that even if you don't love baseball (are there such people?), you can still get close to this film. And if you do love it -- well, there can be no better film to see. We got it on DVD out of sheer self-defense -- there were too many `good parts' we wanted to see again and again -- and I think we may just have worn out the DVD. Don't miss the MAKING OF ... feature as well -- it's absolutely terrific in and of itself -- the clever and creative way Crystal and his people turned an old Detroit ballpark into the old Yankee Stadium and turned Anthony Michael Hall (who plays Whitey Ford) into a left-handed pitcher when he was, in fact, right-handed, is a lot of fun to watch just for the moviemaking trivia. In short (and I could go on and on) -- buy it. Watch it. Pass it on. There is simply nothing to touch it that I've ever seen on film -- it leaves pictures like FIELD OF DREAMS, BULL DURHAM, THE NATURAL and all the rest in the dust. This is the real thing. Be part of it -- and let it become part of you.