Group2: Sports, Games and Other Pursuits: Instructor Comments
The Rookie. You Dennis Quaid fans will like this one—he really got into it, and you can find interviews on line about why he was chosen and what he brought to the film. There are mixed messages out there about the filming of the game in Texas, but it did happen at “The Ball Park” more or less as shown. (I was at Yankee stadium years ago when they were filming part of the “Babe Ruth Story” with William Bendix. The fans really get into something like that.) Jimmy Morris has his own web site—he still gives inspirational talks, and was heavily involved in making the film. Though this is a sports movie, it's not only about baseball.
Remember the Titans. 2000. — I have spoken with a number of T.C. Williams High School faculty or graduates who love to tell you what the film got wrong. Mostly they said the racial stuff at T.C. was worse than depicted in the film, a charge other critics have made. Coach Boone's famous comment about the film was that he wished they had gotten someone better looking than Denzel Washington to play him. (Yeah, he was kidding.) Coach Yoast's daughter still gives talks about her recollections of those days.
Searching for Bobby Fischer. The film is based on the book of the same title written by Fred Waitzkin, Josh's father. It's a father-son movie about how a parent has just as hard a time as his son trying to deal with success. Josh is now an international grand master and has written extensively about chess. You can learn a great deal about him on line. I loved the scene where Josh throws the telephone books on the floor and says to his Dad, “Your move,” accompanied by a look that says, “You're on, pal.” Great performance by Joan Allen as Josh's mother.
Soul of the Game. 1996. In the original “Jackie Robinson Story,” Jackie Robinson played himself. I remember when he started playing for the Dodgers, but the original movie (naturally) glossed things over. On the other hand, I don't think Blair Underwood's portrayal of Robinson is very accurate. But there's a lot of myth busting in this film, including the one that was around for a long time that no player had ever hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium. Josh Gibson did. Yogi Berra once took a fungo bat out to the outfield before a game and hit a ball out of the Stadium and declared, “That takes care of that!”
*61. 2002. — As you already know from above, I spent a lot of time at Yankee Stadium as a kid. It was a short train ride from my home. I also saw the New York Giants play in the Polo Grounds, and, what really makes me schizophrenic about baseball, is that my aunt lived within walking distance of Fenway Park, and she knew where the Red Sox players went for dinner. I met a lot of them, and also some Boston Braves, who played at Braves Field in Boston. I had left New York by the time the Yankees got Roger Maris, but well recall the tension over his breaking Ruth's record. As one film critic has pointed out, however, it's another sports film that really isn't about sports. It's about two guys in a fishbowl trying to help each other through some rough times. Shows a lot about what heroes are made of.
Eight Men Out. Ah, for the good old days when sports were pure and not about money. (When they asked Babe Ruth what he thought about making more money than President Hoover, he said, “I had a better year.”) Now some players make twenty times as much as the president, and some of their years aren't that great. John Sayles has a way with film—he's tough on getting the truth out, with license. Who is the real villain is this piece? This film makes an interesting counterpoint to “Field of Dreams,” which also portrays those “Black Sox” of 1919.
Enjoy.