Eight Men Out

Starring:Jace Alexander, Gordon Clapp, John Cusack, James Desmond, Richard Edson, Don Harvey, Bill Irwin, Perry Lang, Michael Lerner, Christopher Lloyd, John Mahoney, Michael Mantell, James Read (II), Michael Rooker, Charlie Sheen, David Strathairn, D.B. Sweeney, Studs Terkel, Kevin Tighe
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Eliot Asinof's detailed book Eight Men Out illustrates how the system of American sports collapsed in 1919, the year the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. Filmmaker John Sayles worked on his script years before the 1988 film (or before he had the rights to make the film) as a labor of love. Sayles's adaptation proves one can make a historically accurate film in the day and age of artistic license. And what a story. Although many know about the "Black Sox," made famous--again--in the 1989 hit film Field of Dreams, the details of the saga are far less known. The center of Dreams, Shoeless Joe Jackson (portrayed correctly by D.B. Sweeney as illiterate and left-handed in Eight), is not the core of this film; it's ace pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles favorite David Strathairn), who took the money, and third baseman Buck Weaver (John Cusack), who did not. The film fits nicely into Sayles's (Lone Star) strong suit: the ensemble drama. We are introduced to bickering owners, famous crooks, high-minded judges, lowlife gangsters, investigative reporters (played by Studs Terkel and Sayles himself), and, most of all, players who are at the breaking point when it comes to low salaries and degrading rewards. While some may feel the film is not as visceral as it should be, there is a great amount of verisimilitude when watching finely tuned athletes telling their bodies to play poorly--heartbreak on the nation's diamond. Beautifully detailed (like Sayles's previous labor-drama, Matewan), Eight Men Out gives us powerful lessons in which everyone lost: players, gamblers, and especially the fans who love the game. --Doug Thomas

Description

John Cusack (Con Air) and Charlie Sheen (Major League) lead a "superb ensemble of actors" (Newsweek) delivering "striking performances" (The New York Times) in this "mesmerizing story" (Los Angeles Times) about the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal, certainly one of the saddest chapters in the annals of professional sports. Buck Weaver (Cusack) and Hap Felsch (Sheen) are young idealistic players with the Chicago White Sox, a pennant-winning team owned by Charles Comiskey Â- a penny-pinching, hands-on manager who underpays his players and treats them with disdain. And when gamblers and hustlers discover that Comiskey's demoralized players are ripe for a money-making scheme, one by one the team members agree to throw the World Series. But when the White Sox are defeated, a couple of sports writers smell a fix and a national scandal explodes, ripping the cover off America's favorite pastime.

Customer Reviews:

A reality check for Baseball fans.......2007-06-17

The Black Sox were a great team. i doubt Joe Jackson and Bucky Weaver threw the seris.Eight Men out made me mad and a little down, if they did it who else did? This is a good movie if you get a sick feeling from it youre not alone. Great job by this cast.

An unpopular position.......2007-03-02

To the best of my knowledge, nobody but Aaron Sorkin has ever put plausible words in the mouths of magnates and robber barons to explain their unreasonable obsession with the profit motive.
(Steven Weber as Jack Rudolph in Studio 60, Nevada Day Part 2.)
Having said that, I'd like to add that there really IS more gut-clenching baseball in this film than in all of the others I've lately begun collecting. And the baseball MATTERS to Anybody because the central characters are exquisitely drawn and beautifully realized by a truly wonderful cast of exceptionally fine actors...except Komisky, who Clifton James makes perfectly contemptible.
On the other hand, Bill Irwin actually speaks! That fact all by its lonesome justifies the expenditure. And it's a GREAT motion picture.

One of best baseball movies ever.......2006-11-01

Without a doubt, this stands as one of the great baseball movies. Unlike "The Natural" or "Field of Dreams", this is a true story- that of the 1919 Chicago White Sox and their plot to throw the World Series spurred on by the miserly ways of their owner Charlie Commiskey. The movie brings to life early 20th century baseball and all of the many actors are very good in their parts. Bringing to life people, events, and an era almost a century old are not easy but it is very well done here.
I think the movie will appeal to non baseball fans also as the film is more concerned with the drama of the characters rather than the "X"s and "O"s of baseball.

And they are out in Eight Men Out .......2005-12-30

In the early 1920's, the baseball world was shocked by a scandel, when 8 players of the 1919 Chicago White Sox team was accussed of throwing the world series. The players were Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn), Buck Weaver (John Cusack), "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (D.B. Sweeney), Fred McMullin (Perry Lang) , Lefty Williams (James Read), Chick Gandil (Michael Rooker) , Hap Felsch (Charlie Sheen), and Ray Schalk (Gordon Clapp). These 8 players I am sure you all know of, was suspended from playing baseball in the Major Leagues for life for thier part in the crime, even if the jury had aquitted them. The movei starts before the World Series happens, and before we get into see a deal, or talk between players and gamblers, but mor names get added on in the deal, and they are each paid a certain amount of money each for each game in the World Series. The White Sox was considered in this season team in baseball, and was favorly favored to win the World Series, but in yet these players took thier turn in games, while they team met the Cinncianti Red Stockings, and look who turns out to win the World Series, whcih should make it easy to review this movie, and even if you know of the scandal that took place and broke the hearts of kids in America, and even the Chicago White Sox fans, the movie runs about 2 hours long, which even takes some time, before we get to see the World Series games, the trail bacially happened in 1921, even if it is seen in ths movie between 1919 and 1920, but White Sox and history buiffs should enjoy this movie.

Eight Men Out.......2005-09-29

The film is fantastic for all baseball lovers, history lovers, and anyone who wishes to escape for a few hours. No baseball fan should miss this one.

Grand Slam DVD Giftset (Bull Durham / Eight Men Out / The Jackie Robinson Story / The Pride of the Yankees)

Average customer rating:

Grand Slam DVD Giftset (Bull Durham / Eight Men Out / The Jackie Robinson Story / The Pride of the Yankees)
Starring: Grand Slam Giftset
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Bang The Drum Slowly
61*
The Natural (Director's Cut)
Pastime
Field of Dreams (Widescreen Two-Disc Anniversary Edition)

ASIN: B00015HVO2
Release Date: 2004-03-16

Description

Disc 1: THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY Disc 2: EIGHT MEN OUT Disc 3: BULL DURHAM Disc 4: THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES

Average customer rating:

Combines two other sports movie giftsets plus 8 additional films

The Ultimate Sports Giftset

Manufacturer: MGM
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Sports | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

Combines two other sports movie giftsets plus 8 additional films.......2007-03-17

This bundle combines two very good sports giftsets:
The Grand Slam Giftset -(Bull Durham/Pride of the Yankees/Eight Men Out/Jackie Robinson Story)
Sports Giftset - (Bull Durham / Hoosiers / Raging Bull / Rocky )
This total of seven movies are five star films, and if your interests are mainly baseball, or you prefer the finest films from several sports, you might be better off getting just one of these two giftsets. However, this Ultimate Sports Giftset also has several good films not included in these other two giftsets, such as the more watchable sequels in the Rocky series - Rocky II and Rocky III, along with That Championship Season, and Diggstown, which is an unusual vehicle for James Woods and Lou Gossett Jr. that did end up working well for both of them. Also included is a rarely seen documentary film from 1970 entitled "AKA Cassius Clay", which has Ali talking about his career with his usual verbal wit along with some great footage of Ali's early career fights.

Finally, there are three films in the turkey category that get slipped into the total package. "Monkey on My Back" is a 1957 film that was supposed to be about fighter Barney Ross. The movie is bad, but the accuracy must have been even worse, because Ross sued the producers of this film over the content and won. "Body and Soul" is not the classic version starring John Garfield. Instead this is the poor 1998 pseudo-remake. There's plenty of bad acting to go around in this movie, and even the good actors seem to think they're all performing in different films. Worst of the pack is the 2002 version of Rollerball. Like many of the 23-year-olds that make today's films, the producers of this remake of the 1975 classic just don't get that the original was great because of its portrayal of futuristic society, not because of violent action scenes. Weighing the good with the bad, this set is probably worth purchasing for the 12 good films in the bunch.