5.
Eight Men Out (1988)
Eight Men Out is one of those films that got a decidedly mixed reaction when it came out 23 years ago. At the time, Roger Ebert wrote: “Eight Men Out is an oddly unfocused movie made of earth tones, sidelong glances and elliptic conversations. It tells the story of how the stars of the 1919 Chicago White Sox team took payoffs from gamblers to throw the World Series, but if you are not already familiar with that story you’re unlikely to understand it after seeing this film.” It is now considered a classic by baseball and film fans alike. So much so that if you go to Rotten Tomatoes you’ll see that it presently has an 86% approval rating. It would seem to me Ebert jumped the gun, fans did understand the story and they liked what they saw.
4.
Field of Dreams (1989)
“If you build it he will come”. Field of Dreams was an adaptation of W.P. Kinsella‘s wonderful book “Shoeless Joe” about an Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field behind his farmhouse after hearing a voice emitting that now famous phrase. The film featured Kevin Costner at the height of his movie star powers. I’ve always said a true male star is someone that the ladies want to bed and the guys want to have a beer with. Gary Cooper had it. Paul Newman had it. And back in 1989, Costner had it in spades. Channeling the American everyman in a film that managed to marry a bit of magical realism with good old-fashioned American values that pleased audiences and critics alike.
3.
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Pride of the Yankees is the true story of Lou Gehrig and his wife Eleanor. Gehrig was 37 when his career came to an unexpected end after being stricken by a little known but fatal disease that now bears his name. Gehrig’s story would have been worth telling if he had only been one of the greatest players of all time. Having his life cut short while he was still a top star places it in Greek tragedy territory. Throw in one of the greatest love stories ever told and you have the making of a classic. Starring Gary Cooper, who like Costner in Field of Dreams was at the height of his powers, the film includes a reenactment of Gehrig’s farewell speech in Yankee Stadium. The famous line “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth” was voted #38 in the American Film Institute (AFI) list of the 100 Greatest film quotes of all time.
2.
Bull Durham (1988)
Costner again. Only this time in a gritty, real take on the travails of minor league baseball. Written and directed by Ron Shelton who was a minor league player before embarking on a successful career in Hollywood, no film before or since has brought the viewer inside the sports world with such a level of intimacy.
Baseball movies were not considered a viable commercial prospect at the time and every studio passed except for Orion Pictures, which gave Shelton a $9 million budget, an eight-week shooting schedule and creative freedom. Even so, many cast members accepted salaries lower than their usual, due to their enthusiasm for the material. Costner was cast because of his natural athletic ability. Bull Durham was a commercial success, grossing over $50 million in North America, well above its estimated budget, and was a critical success as well [source]. Sports Illustrated ranked it the #1 Greatest Sports Movie of all time.
1.
The Bad News Bears (1976)
The Bad News Bears is one of the most influential and imitated films in the history of cinema. The story of a ragtag band misfits taking on the seemingly invincible all-stars in sports films starts with the Michael Ritchie directed Bad News Bears, a little league version of anti-hero war flicks from the ’60s like The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes. It changed the way successful sports movies were constructed from that point forward. From Slap Shot to Caddyshack to The Mighty Ducks, all the way up to this month’s release of Moneyball.
I place it at number one, however, because it recreates the sports experience closest to that of the average person and thereby taking many viewers back to pivotal events of their childhood. Reigniting memories and giving the viewer a chance to relieve them. That’s because most of us were part of a team like The Bad News Bears at one time or another. Plus, the casting couldn’t have been better. The great Walter Matthau as the foul mouthed, beer swilling coach Morris Buttermaker, Vic Morrow, a terrific character actor at the time, as the coach of the hated Yankees, Jackie Earle Haley as the bad boy Kelly Leak, and last but not least, Tatum O’Neal, every young boy’s dream girl back in the mid-’70s, as the rocket armed Amanda Whurlizer. A true classic.
And with that you have my favorite “ten” baseball films of all-time. I would love to hear your favorites and whether any of you think Moneyball has a chance of cracking the list. That said, for more on Moneyball click here and to read Brad’s A- review click here.
