Take me out to the Theater..
Oct. 8th, 2002 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreWith all the excitement of the playoffs right now, several stations are running classic baseball movies. Which got me to thinking about the greatest baseball movies of all time. So here's my line-up:
1. The Natural Robert Redford plays a mysterious rookie with amazing hitting power in this wonderful film set in the 1920s. Beautifully filmed, with a real love of the classic days when baseball was a radio sport.
2. Eight Men Out They story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, the team that threw the World Series. Well written and acted. Another look inside baseball as it was in the early days.
3. Field of Dreams Kevin Costner hears a voice telling him to build a ball field in his cornfield. What follows is one of the greatest baseball movies ever made that features very little baseball. I challenge any fan of the game not to cry and the end of this film!
4. Major League A scheming owner plans to move the Cleveland Indians by putting together a team so bad that attendance will drop low enough to get her out of the lease with the city. What follows is one of the funniest movies about the game ever made. A collection of has-beens, never-weres and never will bes make up the team.
5. Damn Yankees A musical about a Washington Senators fan who makes a deal with the devil to get his team past the Yankees.
6. For Love of The Game Kevin Costner stars as a pitcher and the end of his career. He's pitching his final game, reminiscing on his life. He plays for the Tigers, who were eliminated weeks ago, so the game is pointless.. but suddenly he begins pitching a perfect game. The movie does a good job of maintaining two story lines: the romance and this amazing game.
7. The Pride of the Yankees Gary Cooper plays Lou Gehrig. Need I say more?
8. The Fan Wesley Snipes is an all-star player traded to the SF Giants. Robert DeNiro is an obsessed fan in this terrifying film. The dark side of sports fandom.
9. The Rookie True story of a Texas high school coach who makes a bet with his players: if they win a championship, he'll try out for the Majors. They do, he does, and he ends up as the oldest rookie pitcher in MLB history with the Florida Marlins.
Pinch hitting: Abbot and Costello "Who's on First", which shows up in a couple of their films.
1. The Natural Robert Redford plays a mysterious rookie with amazing hitting power in this wonderful film set in the 1920s. Beautifully filmed, with a real love of the classic days when baseball was a radio sport.
2. Eight Men Out They story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, the team that threw the World Series. Well written and acted. Another look inside baseball as it was in the early days.
3. Field of Dreams Kevin Costner hears a voice telling him to build a ball field in his cornfield. What follows is one of the greatest baseball movies ever made that features very little baseball. I challenge any fan of the game not to cry and the end of this film!
4. Major League A scheming owner plans to move the Cleveland Indians by putting together a team so bad that attendance will drop low enough to get her out of the lease with the city. What follows is one of the funniest movies about the game ever made. A collection of has-beens, never-weres and never will bes make up the team.
5. Damn Yankees A musical about a Washington Senators fan who makes a deal with the devil to get his team past the Yankees.
6. For Love of The Game Kevin Costner stars as a pitcher and the end of his career. He's pitching his final game, reminiscing on his life. He plays for the Tigers, who were eliminated weeks ago, so the game is pointless.. but suddenly he begins pitching a perfect game. The movie does a good job of maintaining two story lines: the romance and this amazing game.
7. The Pride of the Yankees Gary Cooper plays Lou Gehrig. Need I say more?
8. The Fan Wesley Snipes is an all-star player traded to the SF Giants. Robert DeNiro is an obsessed fan in this terrifying film. The dark side of sports fandom.
9. The Rookie True story of a Texas high school coach who makes a bet with his players: if they win a championship, he'll try out for the Majors. They do, he does, and he ends up as the oldest rookie pitcher in MLB history with the Florida Marlins.
Pinch hitting: Abbot and Costello "Who's on First", which shows up in a couple of their films.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
You missed one of the Costner trilogy...
Date: 8 Oct 2002 13:14 (UTC)bullpen?)
Great view of how the game is played in the minors,
plus major sparkage in the love triangle (serial
monogamist, tho') between the three leads. Hugely
funny (I find myself mentally applying the
"Lollygaggers!" speech to countless situations...) and
*hella* sexy!
Z
P.S.: Hey, an honest question: is A League of Their
Own worth watching, in your opinion?
Re: You missed one of the Costner trilogy...
Date: 8 Oct 2002 23:01 (UTC)Re: You missed one of the Costner trilogy...
Date: 9 Oct 2002 01:37 (UTC)no subject
Date: 8 Oct 2002 18:04 (UTC)It IS a rockalicious movie, but I'll bet more people have seen some takeoff on the final run around the bases, bulbs exploding, than saw the film.
It is a beautiful film.
Never watched The Fan. Seemed... Hmm. Just not there.