Rating: 
Summary: Nice look at the '61 home run race
Review: "61*" is the true story of two baseball players, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who spent the 1961 season chasing Babe Ruth's mythical single-season record of 60 home runs. It tracks the well-known facts surrounding the race such as the way the press openly rooted for Mantle, and how the pressure appeared to get to Maris to the point that his hair was falling out late in the season. The best part of the movie, however, is how it presents the off-the-field lives of the players. Mantle is shown to be an out-of-control boozer and womanizer, but still manages to come off sympathetically. (After all though, the movie was directed by Billy Crystal, who grew up idolizing Mantle. Kudos to him for not shying away from the weaknesses of his hero.) Mantle roots for Maris to break the record and seems genuinely friendly and caring, despite his neglect of his family. Maris, on the other hand, is portrayed as a staid but saintly slugger. He lives clean and cares for his family, but his boring earnestness and lack of outward emotion make him the enemy of the newsmen hungry for a story, who prefer the quotable Mantle, warts and all. One of my only complaints is that Maris is shown as being almost too perfect. I never knew the man and I'm sure he wasn't the carouser that Mantle was, but it strains believeability that a huge star for the Yankees would be so down-to-earth and pure and honest, his only portrayed fault being an inability to engage in back-slapping cameraderie with the hypocritical beat writers. I might just be too cynical about such things, but the feeling I got was that "61*" broke a barrier by displaying Mantle's exhuberant abuse of himself but whitewashed any dirt on Maris. The other minor thing that disappointed me is that there weren't more cameos from actual players in the movie. As far as I know, the only one was from knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti, who played knuckleballer-of-that-era Hoyt Wilhelm. Not sure it would have made the movie better, but I would have gotten a kick out of seeing real ballplayers in bit parts and scenes from ball games. On the whole though, "61*" was a fun movie to watch, with some nice period detail and good performances from the two leads. Definitely recommended for any fan of baseball and its history.
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: Nice look at the '61 home run race
Review: "61*" is the true story of two baseball players, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who spent the 1961 season chasing Babe Ruth's mythical single-season record of 60 home runs. It tracks the well-known facts surrounding the race such as the way the press openly rooted for Mantle, and how the pressure appeared to get to Maris to the point that his hair was falling out late in the season. The best part of the movie, however, is how it presents the off-the-field lives of the players. Mantle is shown to be an out-of-control boozer and womanizer, but still manages to come off sympathetically. (After all though, the movie was directed by Billy Crystal, who grew up idolizing Mantle. Kudos to him for not shying away from the weaknesses of his hero.) Mantle roots for Maris to break the record and seems genuinely friendly and caring, despite his neglect of his family. Maris, on the other hand, is portrayed as a staid but saintly slugger. He lives clean and cares for his family, but his boring earnestness and lack of outward emotion make him the enemy of the newsmen hungry for a story, who prefer the quotable Mantle, warts and all. One of my only complaints is that Maris is shown as being almost too perfect. I never knew the man and I'm sure he wasn't the carouser that Mantle was, but it strains believeability that a huge star for the Yankees would be so down-to-earth and pure and honest, his only portrayed fault being an inability to engage in back-slapping cameraderie with the hypocritical beat writers. I might just be too cynical about such things, but the feeling I got was that "61*" broke a barrier by displaying Mantle's exhuberant abuse of himself but whitewashed any dirt on Maris. The other minor thing that disappointed me is that there weren't more cameos from actual players in the movie. As far as I know, the only one was from knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti, who played knuckleballer-of-that-era Hoyt Wilhelm. Not sure it would have made the movie better, but I would have gotten a kick out of seeing real ballplayers in bit parts and scenes from ball games. On the whole though, "61*" was a fun movie to watch, with some nice period detail and good performances from the two leads. Definitely recommended for any fan of baseball and its history.
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: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Grand slam
Review: 61* belongs on the top-shelf with the great non-fiction sports movies like BRIAN'S SONG and EIGHT MEN OUT. This is Billy Crystal's love letter to the 1961 Yankees, and to his credit it doesn't blink or flinch in its treatment of that greatest of childhood heroes, Mickey Mantle.
In 1961 Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle took aim at Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a season. Barry Pepper plays the young and reclusive Maris with a haunting sadness, Thomas Jane plays the charismatic Mantle with an easy going honesty that masks an emotionally and physically injured young man. Pepper is a dead-ringer for Maris, and both actors get under the skin of the characters they're portraying. There are times when you forget they're not really Maris and Mantle. Couple their performances with 61*'s meticulous attention to detail and you've got a baseball fan's dream movie.
The dvd comes with a commentary track with director Billy Crystal, text biographies of Maris and Mantle, and a `making of' documentary. You should watch the movie before the documentary, since it contains a lot of scenes from the movie.
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Baseball Movies Ever!
Review: 61* is a classic and in my opinion one of the best baseball movies ever made. The casting was superb. Barry Pepper gives an unforgettble performance as the late Roger Maris, and Thomas Jane as "The Mick" is incredible. This movie is for all the fans who really love basball. Thanks Billy you did a great job! Only a true Yankees fan as yourself could've made this great movie.
Rating:
Summary: No Doubt the Best Baseball Movie Ever Made
Review: 61* was an awesome baseball movie. It is enjoyable for everyone, not just for baseball fans. I first saw this movie when it premiered on HBO. I watched it over and over. 61* is not just about a homerun race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, but it's also about the problems they faced while trying to break the Babe's record. The movie is a drama and a comedy. It's even emotional in a way. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a good baseball movie and also anyone who just wants to see a good movie and I gurantee you'll watch it over and over.
Rating:
Summary: Great Flick
Review: A great story of the human drive to go out and do your best, regardless of what others do or say. While Mantle was revered as a god, poor Maris must've felt like the guys drafted into the Army during Vietnam - thinking they're doing their patriotic duty, just to come home and get spit on as a result. I wasn't alive at the time so I can't comment on the accuracy of the film, but it's entertaining whether or not you are a baseball fan (and if you are I'm sure you'll want to add this DVD to your collection.)
Rating:
Summary: Simply a great, great baseball movie
Review: A great, great baseball movie. Up there with Field of Dreams, except this one is based on a true story. Billy Crystal did a phenomenal job getting all the details down for this particular movie. I'm by no means a Yankee fan, but all of a sudden, I've become a fan of Maris and Mantle. Extra features on this movie are pretty cool too.
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