61*

Rating:
Summary: APPLAUSE!! For Billy Crystal, Barry Pepper et.al.
Review: Billy Crystal has shown baseball fans (and especially die-hard Yank fans) that it is possible to turn a labor of love and a 'kid's' dream into a reality-on-film epic of the M&M boys and do it with style, an eye for detail, credibility and truth (even if it may hurt..sorry guys!). Barry Pepper et. al. are superb, realistic and down to earth in depicting the behind-the scenes 'sagas' that were going on while the baseball fans held their collective breath for the home run race. Sure, you cannot jam all the details of this baseball era into one film, both good and bad: would you watch an 8 hour movie? There is enough 'meat' to chew on here and experience the relationship of two baseball greats perceived as being at odds and understand that while totally different personae, they were good buddies, they loved the game, played their hearts out and were darn good at it!! Billy Crystal lavishes the audience with much to ponder and an up close revelation at how bad sports management can really be, while the players do all they can to be the very best. This sports film is without question one of THE very best out there. It comes as no suprise that Maris' wife presented Barry Pepper with her husband's playing glove after she saw this film, as a token of admiration and appreciation for his very credible role as her late husband; if you can impress the wife who shared in the agony and the joy..then you can certainly turn a few heads towards the T.V. to watch this film, be it H.B.O or not...doesn't matter. Grab this DVD (or VHS) and enjoy. Applause to Billy Crystal..yes I do admire him tremendously; he's not just all about laughs; he is a serious person about acting and the craft of going behind the lens to have baseball history come alive and credible on film.

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: Baseball Delight!
Review: Great baseball story. This is one of the best 3 baseball videos
on amazon with 2) When it Was a Game #3 and 3) Backyard Baseball Drills. The bond with Maris & Mantle was great. Richard Massur gives a suprisingly great supporting role as the reporter.

Rating:
Summary: A fitting homage for an unlikely hero
Review: The two men racing to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1961 were about as different as they could be. Mickey Mantle was the rock star of the Yankees, beloved by fans, living fast and hard, while Roger Maris was, as the film puts it, "at best, a very good player," but also a reserved, everyday family man. It seems almost incongruous that the one to break the record was the last one everyone expected, and "61*" suggests, not the player the public wanted.

The film is excellent at portraying the building tension of the season, as Mick and Maris, the M & M boys, battle against each other for the record. But director Billy Crystal dispels the myth that Maris and Mantle were at odds with each other. If anything, the film shows that their greatest enemy was the press, who mercilessly play up any misstep by the withdrawn, non-charismatic Maris. Baseball commissioner Ford Frick is also depicted in a less-than-sympathetic light, as a stodgy old-timer who wants to preserve the Babe's record at any cost, a desire that manifests itself in the asterisk that appeared after Maris' record until 1991.

Unlike their forebears, Ruth and Gehrig, Mantle and Maris are portrayed as having a very supportive friendship, devoid of competition. They share an apartment together, and Mantle helps Maris through the daily press barrage. Although Crystal is ostensibly a huge fan of baseball and Mickey Mantle, he does not shy away from the less-savory details of Mick's personal life, his womanizing and reckless living that even he admitted stunted his career. It really makes a fan wonder what could have been if Mickey Mantle had taken better care of himself.

But, as the film progresses, it become less about Mantle and more about the unlikeliest of heroes, Roger Maris. Barry Pepper not only looks enough like Maris to be his brother, he nails the conflict and torment that he faced when shoved into the limelight, turning Maris into a sympathetic, complex character. Thomas Jane may not have Mantle's sweet swing and powerful physique, but he shines at portraying Mantle's fun-loving, live-for-today attitude, as well as his own inner struggle. His wisecracks add much-needed levity to a film that could have been mired in its own self-importance.

Sports-themed films that hark back to the glory days of a sport often take on a mythic aspect that often rob the film of its honesty. "61*" embraces the myth but doesn't eschew the honesty, resulting in what is arguably a much more rewarding film.

Rating:
Summary: The Age of Innocence
Review: One of the best baseball movies I've seen in sometime. Move over Kevin, congratulations Billy. Of course, it won't beat Ken Burns' documentary Baseball. Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane make you feel you're watching the M&M duo again. Brings back nostalgia of the year we were tracking over short wave radio everyday what two Yankees had done that day.

The Yankees wasn't my favorite team. It was the Brooklyn Dodgers and later on L.A. Dodgers. I just hated it how the Yankees kept beating my team except in '55. But that year, I started liking the Yankees for the excitement they were bringing to Baseball. Of course I was rooting for Mantle but for me, may the best man that season win.

Those were the days when our only problems were doing the homework for the following day. Sighhhhh..The Age of Innocence.

It was a disgrace how the commissioner downplayed the record with an asterisk. Were all the records that year and after marked with an asterisk?

Rating:
Summary: Great for Baseball Fans
Review: This movie is part drama part documentary. I enjoyed learning about how Maris broke Ruth's single season home run record in 1961. The attention to detail in the movie was spectacular.

Roger Maris was a quiet hard-working ball player from North Dakota. He was a family man who never sought the spotlight, but was right in the middle of it in 1961. All in all, he didn't handle it well. Not many of us would have.

Mickey Mantle was comfortable in the spotlight. He wanted to break Ruth's record and had a shot at it for much of 1961. Injuries plagued him that year, as they did for much of his career with the Yankees.

This story, at its heart, is about the realationship of these two men. The press portrayed them as competitors, but on a basic level they were teammates trying to win ball games. I was especially impressed by the character of Mantle. He rooted for Maris from a hospital bed on the last day of the season, when Maris broke the record. Mantle was a very flawed, yet he was hard not to like. Marris was harder to like, but easier to admire. He had a strength of character that not many men would display in a similar setting.

The DVD also contains a feature on how this film was made that is well worth watching. Billy Crystal put this film together with painstaking detail. He was 13 in 1961, lived in New York, and attended Yankees games. This movie was a labor of love for him, and it shows.

This is a must-see for Yankee fans, and a great movie for any baseball fan to see.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic For Any Yankee Fan's Shelf
Review: As a fan of the New York Yankees isolated in the midwest, I take my nostalgia where I can get it. And believe me, this movie is chock full of it.

I'm not sure that there is a rendition of the homerun race of 1961 that is more accurate. There are alot of myths and untruths that surround the 61 season and I think this film exposes a lot of them.

The movie has its funny moments too. The Mick's drunken carousing, Yogi's signature quotes and the Babe's wife's reaction to Maris tying the record come to mind.

I would give this movie a perfect rating but, as with almost any baseball movie, you need to know alot of the background before you can fully enjoy the movie. If you're a baseball fan, you'll enjoy this movie. If you're a Yankee fan, it'll bring a tear to your eye.

Rating:
Summary: Super movie
Review: Even if you are not a Yankee fan, this is a great movie that you need to check out. This movie takes a honest stab at the 1961 baseball season, when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were both shooting for the Babe's single season home run record. Billy Crystal really did an excellent job in the making of this movie. If you watch the "making of" feature on the DVD, you can find out just how much effort went in to creating the look and feel of this movie from obvious things like recreating '61 Yankee Stadium to the way that Mantle would walk from the dugout to the plate.

This movie is Unrated, and has content that might not be suitable for youngsters. But just because you don't want your 7-year-old kid to see it doesn't mean that you can't enjoy it. Put it on the shelf and show it to him when he is old enough. Billy Crystal attempted to portray the two main characters - Mantle and Maris - as honestly as he could, even if that meant showing Mantle boozing it up after a game or some of the players saying the f-word. Sorry, but that's how it is in real life, and that's what made this movie as great as it is. Don't let the fact that this is an HBO original scare you away - this is probably one of the best movies I have seen in a while. Plus this DVD is a bargain when you compare its price to others. See it if you haven't already!!

Rating:
Summary: What a movie!
Review: After watching this movie I have to say that Marris, Mantle, and Crystal are my new found heroes. I'm 29 years old and have been a huge fan of baseball all my life. I'm too young to have seen Marris and Mantle play, but Crystal did an amazing job to show the world the life and times of these great players.

This is my favorite DVD in my collection and will always be a fav for years to come. I can't wait to show it to my father.

Job well done Billy!

Rating:
Summary: DVD hits a home run
Review: 1961 was truly a year to remember. This DVD gives puts the viewer in an incredible race to break a record nobody wanted broken. Barry Pepper does a phenomenal job as Roger Maris. The DVD extra with Billy Crystal is one of the best "extra" features I have ever seen.