61* (DVD)

Whether you loved baseball or not, the summer of '61 was dominated by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, and Billy Crystal has perfectly captured the 'feel' of that unforgettable, magical season in "61*". When 'M & M' began their assault on Babe Ruth's 'unbreakable' record of 60 home runs in a single season, those who knew and loved the Babe were angered that this 'Holy Grail' was a target, and, as Crystal illustrates, Ruth's friend, Baseball Commissioiner Ford Frick, laid down restrictive rules to help keep Ruth's record intact (the dreaded asterix, if the record wasn't broken in 154 games), making the competition more than simply breaking the record, but a race against the clock, as well. With two brilliant performances by actors Thomas Jane and Barry Pepper (who look astonishingly close to Mantle and Maris), the film transcends the sport, becoming a tale of friendship, of an insane loss of privacy and personal dignity, and of two very different, remarkable men. Mantle is universally loved (and expected to win the race), a veteran Yankee of epic talent and overwhelming charm, whose wild boozing and womanizing is 'sanitized' by an adoring press. Maris, on the other hand, is a quiet, focused professional, a family man whose only vice is cigarettes, and, in only his second year with the Yankees, is considered an outsider and usurper to Mantle's 'glory' (having won the MVP award, the year before). As he has little to say to the press, they make a spectacle of him, in a season-long vendetta that fans the flames of hatred that the city already feels towards him. For Maris, the impact is staggering, added to the pressure of the home run race. Welts appear on his body and he starts losing handfuls of hair, he receives daily hate mail, and even his family is threatened. But Maris' biggest ally is Mantle, who truly likes him, admires his devotion to his family and the game, and realizes his own failing body may not allow him the triumph his fans expect. It is a beautiful story, riveting despite the fact that the outcome is known, before the film even begins. I highly recommend the 'Making of' documentary, as well as the film. Did you know Thomas Jane had never played any baseball, before he made the film? And Crystal's decision to include a cameo by Mantle's tiny grandson, watching the 'grandpa' he'll never know hit a home hun, is sheer magic! "61*" is simply a fabulous film, at a really fabulous price. Even if you don't like baseball, I think you'll love this film!

I knew when I read about this movie and saw Billy Crystal's name attached to it that it would be a work of love. And I was not diasppointed. 61* takes us back to 1961 and retells the classic home run race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as they both tried to catch Babe Ruth's then record of 60. The initial part of the story is told from the the Maris family perspective in 1998 as Mark McGwire was chasing Roger on his way to the then record of 70 (smashed by Barry Bonds with 73). If you will recall that historic moment, you will recall the homage that McGwire paid to the Maris family. 61* is not so much a baseball movie (even though I called it that) as it is a movie about rivalry and friendship between two very different men. The movie is not afraid to show them as fallible but it does so with dignity and explains why they may have these foibles. Mantle is shown as being the utlimate Amercian icon. Every kid growing up wanted to be Mickey Mantle. Blond, good looking and playing centerfield for the Yankees - what more could one ask for. But the dark side of Mantle - his womanizing and drinking is not ignored. But we come to understand that Mantle was afraid of dying. No man in his family had ever lived to 40 and we get the feeling that he wanted to enjoy life when he could. Maris is shown as being quite and introverted and moody, but when we see the enormous pressure he is put under, we understand. Maris never asked for the limelight. All he wanted to do is to help his team win. Mantle and Maris are shown as rivals - there's tension and there is also love. We see that Maris had no greater fan and supporter than Mantle. Mantle admires what his friend is going through and perhaps is relieved that some of the pressure is removed from him - after all - Mantle was expected to hit a home run every time at bat. The dark side of the story is the totally unnecessary pressure and hatred that Maris endures. He gets hate mail, he has chairs thrown at him, the press gangs up on him. Why? Because he was breaking a record of an Yankee and the public wanted only another Yankee icon - Mantle - to break that record. Maris was not a real Yankee (he was acquired in a trade) and that was what irked and irritated his detractors. Never mind that he had been MVP in 1960. Flash forward to 10 years later and you can get a glimpse of what Henry Aaron went through as he approached the Babe's career home run record. 61* is also an indictment of sports fans and reporters and how we have our priorities totally out of whack, especially when we think about how these days, New Yorkers wish that all they had to care about WAS a home run race. The DVD's main bonus feature, worth the viewing alone, discusses how the movie was made. It was fascinating to hear of the transformation of old Tiger Stadium in Detroit into Yankee Stadium, and how the movie was cast. In a bit of trivia which ties into the Bonds home run record, Thomas Jane (who plays Mickey Mantle) had never picked up a baseball until he got this part. Billy Crystal sent him to a school to learn some baseball skills. Jane's instructor was Reggie Smith, a distant Bonds' cousin. Isn't it funny how life comes full cycle? Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane are fully believable as the duo and give excellent performances. 61* will delight baseball and non baseball fans, because the beauty of the movie is the relationship between the two men ad how, in the face of immense odds, friendship can endure.

Two things I have a great affinity for is movies and baseball. So I really have a great affinity for movies about baseball. Over the years I have seen some outstanding baseball films including "Field Of Dreams", "42", "Bull Durham" and "Eight Men Out". Recently I had the chance to see an excellent made for HBO film about the 1961 baseball season. That was the year that two New York Yankee players were in a head to head race to see who would be the first to break Babe Ruth's record for most homeruns in a season. Set in 1927 The Babe smacked 60 homeruns that year. A record that many thought would never be broken. But as the old saying goes records are made to be broken. And in 1961 the homeruns mark would fall. No doubt of that. The question was to who? In '61 it would come down to two teammates who were the best of friends and at the same time two totally different personalities. One of them was Mickey Mantle, adored and worshipped by Yankee fans everywhere. The other, Roger Maris, was treated like an outsider. It didn't matter he wore the Yankee pinstripes, to many Yank fans he was unpopular. He didn't start his career with the Yankees. He was traded to the team the year before from Kansas City. He would go on to win the American League MVP award. Still the fans didn't embrace him the way they did Mickey. So as the 1961 season progressed the cheers were for The Mick the break the record and the jeers were for The Raj trying to break it. The pressures and the stress that was being placed on Roger Maris would take its toll on him physically and mentally. The movie 61* does a pretty good job of recreating the events and telling the story behind what took place that season. The two actors who play Mantle and Maris bring a lot of believability to their rolls. It helps that they both look a lot like Mickey and Roger. A lot of attention was put into recreating the games being played on the field. They looked realistic enough you would think you were watching actual games. You have to give a lot of credit to the director for how well this movie is. The director happens to be Billy Crystal, a lifelong baseball and Yankee fan. It is easy to see this was a labor of love for Billy to make. If you like baseball and watching movies then this is a baseball movie to watch. Believe me you will get caught up in the story and learn a lot about that year and the drama that two baseball players experienced during that summer.

...I just have to tell you and the world how your beautiful, emotional film moved me to tears. Every ounce of your passion, your knowledge...your love...of baseball, the Yanks, Mickey and the glorious summer of 1961 is up on the screen in your impossibly good movie, "61*". It's obvious you were there for all this stuff...you've made a movie that only you could have made, and how many times can you say that? What filmmaker...ever...would not only have the talent to pull off this story, but also witnessed it as it happened? Nobody. But you. This is a film that belonged on the big screen, not the small. The reconstruction of the U.S. back in 1961 feels pitch-perfect; even though I was technically a negative-three years old at the time, it feels 'right.' Even though I missed it, being pre-embryonic and all that, I "got" Mantle's appeal, Maris' torture, the press' pressure. Your direction varied from the emotionally operatic to the documentary-like, yet fit each scene like a glove. Intertwining scenes from the stands, the field, the broadcast booth and elsewhere exquisitely enhanced the drama without attracting too much attention to itself. I liked it when you just sort of let the events unfold. Yes, I know that a simple groundball-to-short must have involved 30 shots and five days of work, but it seemed as if it was happening "real time." On the other hand, some of those great overhead or "in the air" shots, usually of some massive home run, conveyed the drama and the excitement in a way only film can. Your casting was phenomenal. As the other reviewers have mentioned over and over again, Thomas Jane and Barry Pepper were perfect. Perfect beyond belief. But I found the other characters equally fine...Mel Allen, Ralph Houk, Phil Rizzuto were all played by character actors easily recognizable to anyone who has seen more than a dozen movies in their lifetime, yet they evaporated into their character. Your daughter put in a sublime performance herself...sweet enough that I sought her name out at the end of the film, only to find out who she "really" was! An intelligent, perceptive script combined with some seriously impressive cinematography and again, masterful art direction (in recreating 1961), made for a film package better than the majority of "movie theater" films that came out that year, or any year. This is a film that every baseball fan will adore, every film fan will love, and every casual fan will thoroughly enjoy. It's a terrific movie. Thank you so much, Mr. Crystal, and I urge you to make more baseball movies...please! And as a final note: the making-of doc is essential viewing. It made a great film better.

I can recommend this movie without any regret for all adults that enjoy baseball, history, and drama. It contains all three in abundance! So why the asterisk? Please read to the bottom. An HBO production made by Billy Crystal (a true baseball enthusiast), this instant classic has the insiders view of Roger Maris' duo battle for anonymity, while trying to beat the Babes homerun record and bring the Yanks a pennant. Of course, one goal compromises the other, but Roger wages the fight despite the recommendations of all, including Mickey Mantle, his eventual, close friend. The storyline builds drama from the beginning. The viewer first sees Mark McGuire closing in on Roger Maris' homerun record, from the stand point of the Maris family. The sentiment builds, as Roger's widow is hospitalized as she and the family are enroute to St Louis to witness the record breaking moment. As she examines her husband's bat, on temporary loan from Cooperstown, she ponders 1961 and recalls her lover her husband. No need to go further describing the history. This production is done with care and with tremendous concern to capture all aspects of perspective, through the tumultous homerun race of Maris, the reluctant hero, and Mantle, the heir to Yankee glory and legend. The actors look and capture their subjects incredibly. Yankee stadium is there in all its glory. No glossing over of the relationships and personalities are done to spare the reputations of Yankee legends. 61* is just true quality. * So, here it is. As reported elsewhere in other reviews, I share disappointment with the graphic language used to develop the Mick's personality. The script goes beyond swearing, which I expected, to be honest. The references to sexual activity could have been toned down so kids could have enjoyed this great baseball movie. As it is, I CANNOT RECOMMEND CHILDREN UNDER 17 SEEING THIS MOVIE. To each their own, but there it is.

I grew up in the 60's loving the game of baseball and although I've been a life long Boston Red Sox fan, it was very difficult (if not impossible) to fall under the magical "spell" of names like Mantle and Maris. And director Billy Crystal was able to capture that magic on film with this incredibly moving motion picture, which followed the exploits of the "M & M boys" as they both pursued the most elusive and prized goal in all of professional sports - Babe Ruth's 1927 record season 60 home runs. But this is far more than just a baseball movie. It's a film about an incredibly decent, humble and modest man, who had to endure a hellish 1961 season from the NY fans, the NY media and even the baseball commissioner's office. It's about the incredible friendship and bond that existed between both Maris and Mantle. But in my opinion, it's a movie about a wonderful husband and family, who left us far too early (Roger died at the age of just 51 years old). I can't come up with enough accolades for the performances of the two leads, Thomas Jane (Mantle) and Barry Pepper (Maris) and the incomparbale supporting cast, who played the other Yankees and press. And the attention to detail that director Billy Crystal conjured up in taking us all back to 1961 is breathtaking. There are some magnificent baseball movies in circulation (i.e. Field of Dreams), but 61* easily stands along side them and is a must-own film for any baseball fan's library. This is a love letter from Billy Crystal to his boyhood heros and the Cathedral that we called (old) Yankee Stadium. But I think I'll be eternally grateful to Billy for showing us all what a hero / role model that this quiet and unassuming man (Maris) was and how he maintained his dignity and self-respect despite being crucified by the NY media / fans. It was shameful the way Roger Maris was treated and why this great ball player isn't in the Hall of Fame is absolutley baffling. Thanks, Billy. Although my allegiance with always be with the Red Sox, I'm grateful for this incredibly poignant and heartwarming story you gave us. Rest in peace, Roger.

At first glance, you can tell that this isn't your average, run-of-the-mill sports biopic. It becomes quickly apparent that director/producer Billy Crystal has an emotional connection to the movie he is making. He cares about how Matle is portrayed. He cares about how Maris is portrayed. He cares about historical accuracy. He cares about recreating the atmosphere down to the excruciatingly finest detail. He just cares. "61*" is not just a sports movie, it is a history lesson in what used to make baseball great. Most of us were not alive to witness the 61 home run race in the summer of 1961 and this movie serves as our own personal newsreel fo the events. Billy Crystal went to great lengths to portray the 1961 season, a time in which he calls the greatest summer of his life, in the greatest detail. The actors hired to portray the players were chosen to not just for their acting skills, but for their resemblance to the players they were portraying as well. Barry Pepper is eerie as Roger Maris. The resemblance is uncanny and when he's turned at 3/4, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and the real Maris. Thomas Jane does an amazing job as the high-living Mickey Mantle whose self-destruction likely lead to him not being the player he ultimately could have been. The movie does a great job of setting the mood and you quickly forget you are watching a movie as you begin to get sucked into the plot. It is a great story about a great time in America. A time when there was no war and America had one passion, baseball, and America's team, the Yankee's, were the stars of the show. America was glued to their tv's and radios trying to soak in every second of these games and Crystal's film is a Grand Slam, 400 foot Home Run over the centerfield wall. "61*" is a great film and definitely rates as one of my all-time favorite sports films.

Growing up in the 50's & 60's, the M&M Boys were captivating for their play & charisma. We played baseball on the sandlot & fantasized that we were one of the Yankees as we hit, fielded & argued. Roger Maris was my idol. In the years long since, having pursued a career & raised a family, I was recently shocked to hear he is not in the HOF!!! This movie is so well done by Billy Crystal! Barry Pepper turns in an outstanding performance and the filming is spectacular. The storyline depicts the rabid press..bombastic in their assaults polarizing fans to all but destroy a humble, modest man, who once loved the game of baseball. They wrote flagrantly untrue stories & the Yankees failed to protect him. His tombstone reads: 61 in '61 Against all odds, and indeed it was! The movie tells it like it was...a womanizing, alcoholic Mantle contrasted to a devoted team player & family man - Maris. He cared so much for Mantle & rescued him by asking him to live w/ he & Bob Cerv...thus beginning the fabulous drive in '61...the mesmerizing pursuit of the HR record by both Mantle & Maris. Roger Maris was a 4x All Star, 2x MVP, HR record holder & should have won the MVP in '62, outplaying Mantle, but lost in a believed contrived ballot. Maris fought many injuries & was expected to play w/ a fractured hand & excruciating pain in '64 when Yankee Mgr Houk, refused to divulge the fracture to Maris until the end of the season after he had his own x-ray taken, revealing the fractured hand. He played on multiple pennant & WS teams, ultimately retiring w/ the Cardinals. His bat & ball are in the HOF & it is long overdue that the King receive his crown! See this movie. It is beautiful! I've watched it again & again. The extras are great as well!

Excelente producto, a tiempo, en buenas condiciones, tal y como se describe, me encanto demasiado, al fin lo conseguí, muchas gracias.

Baseball has to me always been a minority sport. This movie changed all that. As director, Billy Crystal shows that every sport has some defining moment in its history. Brilliantly directed & equally superbly acted by Thomas Jane,Barry Pepper & the other actors in this movie. It gives a real flavour of what the pressure (of breaking the BABES record for Home Runs for a season) from the press must have been like for a young country boy moving to New York. The commissioner of baseball then changes the rules as he is a fan of the Babes & wants the record to stay with the Babe. A really absorbing, tense & dramatic end to the movie. I would recommend this movie to any sports fans out there who, like me said Baseball, kids game.

Prodotto arrivato con puntualità, ben confezionato e integro. Non so dire sulla qualità del DVD, era un regalo. Chi l'ha ricevuto, amante del baseball, dice "film bellissimo".

今年10月1日にマリナーズのイチロー選手がメジャーの年間安打記録を 塗り替えた。その時に前の記録保持者だったジョージ・シスラーの遺族 が観戦していたスタンドに一塁ベース上でチームメイトに祝福されたあと向かい、言葉を交わした、このシーンを見てこの作品中ラストに出てくる（当時の）年間本塁打記録を抜き去った直後のマーク・マグワイヤが前の記録保持者で作品の主人公であるロジャー・マリスの遺族の所に 行き、同じように言葉を交わしたというシーンを思い出しました。とってもアメリカの懐の深さを実感できる感動のシーンでした。 イチロー選手が記録を抜く前後ではこの作品中と同じように「当時より試合数が多い」などという理由で一部の野球ファンから認められていませんでしたが、いざ記録達成となるとスタンド観客全員で祝福をしてくれていました。ロジャーもベーブ・ルースの記録を破ってしまうということでかなり批判を受けたりしてましたが、記録達成時にはスタンド中から祝福されてました。 この作品は映画作品ではなくＴＶドラマ作品ですが、隠れた名作です。 バリー・ペッパーの演技もお見事です。

Very good Bio pic of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as they chase the iconic home run record of Babe Ruth in which Maris ultimately prevails.