61*

Rating:
Summary: Thanks to Billy Crystal
Review: This movie is a beautiful tribute to the baseball season of 1961, and the homerun race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Mickey Mantle was the childhood hero of Billy Crystal, and Billy gives us a loving, but realistic portrayal of Mantle through the perfectly cast Thomas Jane. Mickey Mantle was no angel. He womanized and drank too much. This movie was orginally aired on HBO, not prime-time network TV, so Billy Crystal could make the dialogue and plot more realistic, and less sanitized. For those who demand their movies not contain any profanity or references to sex, booze, or body parts, they should not watch any "realistic" film about baseball and Mickey Mantle.

I never cared for baseball, but this movie got me interested in learning more about the NY Yankees and Mickey Mantle. This is truly a magical, moving piece of film. We all can interpret films in our own ways, but I think this is really a loving valentine to Mantle from Billy Crystal. He says to Mantle, "You were my hero, warts and all. Even though you didn't break the record, you could have if you only had taken better care of yourself."

This is a loving tribute to Roger Maris also, but this movie did not make me want to learn more about Maris. I went to the library and checked out books about Mickey Mantle. Mickey was his own worst enemy, but he was a human superman to many little boys like Billy Crystal.

Rating:
Summary: 61* NOT SUITABLE FOR KIDS - tons of filthy language, etc.
Review: 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?

Rating:
Summary: Intriging
Review: This film is a great documentary piece in a cinematic format. With great historical information of the ballplayers lives inside and outside of baseball. The passion of Billy Crystal is shown in this piece. It is more than a baseball or sports movie it is a piece of americana that can be shared and enjoyed by all.

Rating:
Summary: Surprising good look at two of the best.
Review: I grew up watching Micky and Roger. This movie was made with love and they all did a great job.

I am the same age as Billy Crystal, but a Cardinal fan. I was 14 years in 1961 and the race for the Babes record was all we talked about for months. I, like most was rooting for the Mick. I couldn't believe the boos that Maris got though. Roger had played his AAA ball in the American Association. As such, he came and played in Omaha. He was one minor lead player that didn't mind signing authographs.

I cried when roger died. I cried when the Mick died. This movie was a real emotional experience for me. Probably only 3 stars for most people, you sort of had to be there to give it 4.

Rating:
Summary: A True Hero in the Shadows
Review: I bought "61*" on a whim. I have a soft spot for baseball movies, and it was the first one I happened upon when I bought it. What a surprise! This movie is, hands down, the best baseball movie I've seen in a long time. Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane pull at your hearts while they portray M&M. You'll want to cheer Maris on in hopes that he'll break the Babe's record in time for his home run talley to be the "official" record(not the one with an asterisk). This isn't one of those giant vs. the underdog type movies, it's a giant vs. a giant, albeit one of them is a gentle giant in a game that has always had its share of outlandish stars. Mr. Crystal does not disgrace either of the heroes in this film. If you loved Mantle before this film, you'll have no ill feelings toward him afterward. As for Maris, Pepper's portrayal of him will make you want to cherish Roger even more. Go out, buy this movie, watch it, and then add it to the top of your baseball collection, preferably somewhere between "The Natural" and "Eight Men Out." This movie is definitely a bright spot for baseball's legacy.

Rating:
Summary: A True Hero in the Shadows
Review: I bought "61*" on a whim. I have a soft spot for baseball movies, and it was the first one I happened upon when I was looking for a new DVD one night. What a surprise! This movie is, hands down, the best baseball movie I've seen in a long time. Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane pull at your hearts while they portray M&M. You'll want to cheer Maris on in hopes that he'll break the Babe's record in time for his home run talley to be the "official" record(not the one with an asterisk). This isn't one of those giant vs. the underdog type movies, it's a giant vs. a giant, albeit one of them is a gentle giant in a game that has always had its share of outlandish stars. Mr. Crystal does not disgrace either of the heroes in this film. If you loved Mantle before this film, you'll have no ill feelings toward him afterward. As for Maris, Pepper's portrayal of him will make you want to cherish Roger even more. Pepper represents Mr. Maris as a true hero in the shadows of quite possibly the only team in professional sports that actually overshadows the players on it. Buy this movie, watch it, and then add it to the top of your baseball collection, preferably somewhere between "The Natural" and "Eight Men Out." This movie is definitely a bright spot for baseball's legacy.

Rating:
Summary: Different Perspective
Review: The best thing about this movie may be the different perspective that it gives. It does not give the overly romantic view like "Field of Dreams" does (but it still is a five-star movie in its own right). It gives a much more realistic view of challenges, victory, defeat, relationships and so on. Very little goes to show how great Mickey Mantle really was, but we get a pretty good glimpse of Roger Maris.

Rating:
Summary: 61*
Review: Great Movie, its like i got to know roger and mickey becuae i wasnt around yet when they wer playing. excellent movie:)

Rating:
Summary: For Baseball fans
Review: Any baseball fan should love this movie, especially if you were around at the time. Using the old Detroit Tiger stadium and enhancing it with digital graphics, Billy Crystal brings the old days of the America's favorite past time to life. The distinct compitition and parrallel freindship of the two players is explored and many lesser known aspects are revealed.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just For Baseball Fanatics
Review: This is a great movie and this is coming from a woman who doesn't really care for baseball. I was flipping through channels last night, got to HBO, saw the 1960s clothes and hair-dos and stopped to watch for a minute. New York Yankee uniforms, and this guy who looks alot like Mickey Mantle - no wonder - he's supposed to be Mickey Mantle. I recognized the guy playing Roger Maris. He also played the sniper who quoted scripture in "Saving Private Ryan." I'm assuming he looks alot like Roger Maris.

I was completely mesmerized by this movie - the story of the 1961 baseball season of the NY Yankees, and the breaking of the Babe Ruth single season home run record. I won't call it a competition between Maris and Mantle, because Mantle seemed not to care one bit if Maris broke it. But the press seemed intent on making it a competition between them. One reason I enjoyed this movie so much is because of the contrast between Mantle's personality and Maris's. At one point Maris tells Mickey how he (Mickey Mantle) is like a movie star to Yankee fans. Mickey shrugs it off, but Maris persists saying how Mantle has a way about him. Maris always seemed to be saying the wrong thing and offending someone even if he didn't mean to. And the fans wanted Mantle to break the record, not Maris.

Billy Crystal did a great job of directing this film. Whoever did the casting did a great job too. The guy playing Mickey Mantle was fascinating to watch. I have only a vague memory of hearing about him as a little girl in the early 60s, but I had seen him over the years doing interviews and such, and this guy had him down pat in my opinion.

Keep watching through the closing credits - great closing scene at the ball park - a father with his little boy tells him, "this is Mickey Mantle, son." Whack! "And that's a home run!" The two actors in this scene are none other than Mickey Mantle's son, Danny, and grandson, Will.