*61 (1 Viewer)

[Charles J P]

Who else thought this was a really great movie (this is the story of Roger Marris (SP?) and Mickey Mantle, racing to beat Babe Ruth's single season home run record in the same number of games). I just watched this the other night, and I thought the movie was really good. Looked good on DVD too. I havent had a chance to spin up any of the extras yet. I liked how they integrated the real footage into the movie.

 

[Larry Bevil]

I agree, this was a very good movie. Mickey Mantle was my hero growing up. I didn't realize the partnership he shared with Roger Maris until I saw this movie. I also didn't realize the hard times the fans of the NY Yankees gave Roger. I gained a lot more respect for Roger Maris as a result of this movie. My respect for Mickey remains high.

 

[Brian O]

Great movie. The portrayal by the two leads was spot-on. The documentary by Billy Crystal is really nostalgic too. Very well done. Solid buy for any baseball fan.

 

[Mick Wright]

I agree this was a great movie. Most of it was stuff I knew from reading all the Mantle bios, but no one had ever dared be that frank about his, um womanizing . To bad it didn't get a theatrical release, because I think it deserved it.

 

[James D S]

It's great to hear all the good reviews of this flick. I was wondering if I should pick it up. Sounds like I'm gonna have to now.

Roger Maris was my father's fav - this may make a great Christmas present.

 

[Jeff Leeds]

I liked the movie too. I knew a guy that was an extra, he was a Yankee so I knew about the movie long before it came out. Since I don't buy HBO at home I got it on DVD and I loved it and so did my wife. For 13 bucks at COSTCO it was way cool, and the making of with Billy was cool too. This is a must have in the collection.

 

[David Lambert]

I should pick this up just to find out what the story is behind that bloody asterisk!

 

[Charles J P]

Yea, I'm only 23, and not a huge baseball fan, so most of the story was news to me. Still was a great movie though, and can be appreciated by non-baseball fans. My fiance even sat through most of it, and I'm pretty sure she liked it.

 

[GlennH]

I agree this is a good story. I'm a baseball fan and so I liked it from that standpoint, but even non-fans could appreciate it I think.
Definitely check out the making-of documentary. Very interesting, and Billy Crystal is always entertaining.
One caution for parents - being an HBO production (not a theatrical release) this doesn't have an MPAA rating. There are probably a dozen F-bombs dropped, most of them from Mantle's lips. (That may well be an accurate portrayal of how he talked but I don't think it was necessary to make this story compelling.) Anyway, you may want to be aware of that.
For the record, it's 61* with the asterisk after the 61, not before.

 

[Matt Stryker]

Another non-fan who loved it here. An excellent date movie too. Rent it if you're skeptical, but you'll probably end up buying it anyway...

 

[Paul Anthony]

One of my favorite movies this year! I was disappointed that it didn't win any Emmy awards, which it certainly deserved.

 

[Jeff Leeds]

Just to save you the money to only find out about the asterisk, it is there because Roger Maris hit his 61 home runs in a 162 game season, the Babe did his in a 154 game season. The commish of baseball at the time decided that the record would have an asterisk attached to it, part of the mystic of the Babe and all not being lost. They dumped the asterisk in the 70s.

 

[BryanZ]

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I also thought it should have been released in theaters. It would have done very well. My guess is either a PG or PG-13 (barely) rating for language and sexual references. The extras on the movie are very enjoyable. What is even more amazing is that the actor who played Mickey never played baseball before so he didn't have any bad habits.
I think this will go down as one of the all time greatest baseball movies, if not the greatest.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

A very enjoyable film, but I think it would be PG-13 minimum, possible R for language.
My brother was a extra in the front row behind home plate during the scenes where after a Roger Maris home run...where he is booed, Mantle steps up to the plate to loud cheers and then throws his arm/elbow out while swinging.
He is wearing a two-tone blue shirt which he straightens when he stands up and has brownish/blonde hair. As if anyone cares, but I've been having fun with it at family gatherings!
Regards,

 

[GlennH]

Regarding the asterisk, there never was an actual asterisk in the record book, but rather a separate listing for the two season lengths. Here is some more information, taken from this article about the movie at sportsjones.com:

When Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, he did so in 154 games. In 1961, the season was 162 games long, and Roger Maris needed the eight additional games to hit his 60th and 61st homers.
Baseball commissioner Ford Frick, who had been a friend of Ruth, stated during the season that Maris would have to break the record in 154 games to “establish a new record.”
When sportswriter Dick Young asked Frick if Maris’s record would require “an asterisk,” Ford replied, “There will be a distinctive mark.”
Instead of the asterisk or “distinctive mark,” the result was a separate listing for Maris and Ruth:
61 ROGER E. MARIS, AL: NY, 1961 (162 G/s)
60 GEORGE H. RUTH, AL: NY, 1927
For decades, writers and fans referred to the “asterisk” beside Maris’s record. This is the origin of the infamous asterisk that shows up in the title of Billy Crystal's film.
In 1991, a baseball committee gave Maris the record alone, and it stood for seven years, until broken by Mark McGwire.

 

[Charles J P]

My guess is either a PG or PG-13 (barely) rating for language and sexual references.

mmmm... I thought, like Glenn, that the f-bomb is dropped at least a few times. I dont think that can slip in even once in a PG movie.

 

[David Lambert]

Thanks for filling me in about the asterisk, guys.

 

[Shane Martin]

This was most definitely an R rated movie with all the F words. There is no way it would get a PG-13 rating.

That said It's a terrific movie.

 

[BryanZ]

This was most definitely an R rated movie with all the F words. There is no way it would get a PG-13 rating.

And that is a shame too for it doesn't deserver a R rating in todays society, especially considering what sort of movies get the R ratings. Even Doc Hollywood with the topless scene only got a PG-13. The only real knock against 61* is the language and sexual references. Still say this is one movie that would have done very well at the box office.

 

[Bill Buklis]

Since this was a "made for cable" release for HBO, they probably deliberately added a few F-words just for the cable "mystique". I have a feeling that if this truly was a theatrical release it would've been edited differently to garner a PG or PG-13.

Regardless, this is a movie I've wanted to see. I missed this when it came on HBO.