Recently, I was told the movie 61* was in the DVD bargain bin. “That’s the movie they shot in Tiger Stadium!” I reacted. Of course, I had to get my own copy, and after watching the movie, I must say it’s a must-see for any baseball fan, casual or die hard. The story follows New York Yankees M & M boys Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as they pursue Babe Ruth’s single season home run record during the 1961 season. Alert Tigers fans are easily able to recognize Tiger Stadium throughout the movie — the crew used Michigan and Trumbull as Yankee Stadium during the 2001 filming of the movie. Having little time to spare, the production team actually spray painted the seats in the stadium, which were later steam cleaned once filming was complete. The third deck of Yankee Stadium, as well as the skyline, were added digitally later on. Of course, I received my own pleasant surprise when Tiger Stadium was also featured as itself in the movie — the Yankees play several critical series against the Tigers in a pennant race in the movie, allowing the stadium to come to life for Tigers fans once again. In one particular shot with the Yankees team bus outside the stadium, viewers can clearly see Michigan Central Stadium and a good glimpse of Corktown — not baseball related, but interesting nonetheless.
Connections to Detroit aside, this is the best sports movie I have seen in some time. Billy Crystal did a marvelous job portraying Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris — the two personalities were incredibly authentic. Maris was a devoted husband, and a tortured athlete, particularly in the 1961 season, when the press refused to leave him alone. With a crazy New York lifestyle, Mantle was unable to take care of himself, but remained a Yankees fan-favorite at the time. The movie brought to mind things I never even considered — prior to watching, I had little knowledge aside from Roger Maris had hit 61 homers in one season, and that Mickey Mantle was a Yankees legend. Now, that is not to say that the film is entirely historically accurate. After all, Hollywood does what it has to do to make a buck, and teammate Bob Cerv appears with the Yankees from the very beginning, despite not being traded to the Bronx until May of that season. Still, the entire movie is a very moving picture, and creates a spectacular profile of America’s tortured athlete. Life with the world rooting against you is something we rarely consider when heckling our least favorite athletes. The drama of 61* is enough to make any casual fan appreciate all of the hard work and patience our athletes exercise on a daily basis, as well as the struggles with fame and time away from the family.
Also be sure to check out the “making of” in the special features — that was far more interesting than I had expected. Billy Crystal talks about how it was to direct the film, and there is an entire segment on transforming Tiger Stadium into Yankee Stadium.
61* is available from Circuit City for $6.99 on DVD online.
1 Comment
February 21, 2008 at 8:29 am
I agree; this is one of best sports movies made over the past 10 years. It’s almost too bad that it was on HBO, rather than given a theatrical release, as more people might have seen it.
When I watch ‘61*’ again, however, I realize that I enjoy the Mickey Mantle stuff much more than the Roger Maris narrative – which is, of course, the story of the film. Thomas Jane was great as Mantle, and I almost would’ve preferred to see him in his own movie.