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The Curse of the Bambino
Told with humor in the face of heartache, this acclaimed documentary, about the curse of Babe Ruth on the Boston Red Sox, combines archival footage with contemporary interviews and focuses not on the Red Sox players that have come and gone, but on the diehard fans who live their entire lives lamenting what some have come to call The Curse of the Bambino.
Release : | 2003 |
Rating : | 7.4 |
Studio : | |
Crew : | Director, Editor, |
Cast : | Ben Affleck Steven Wright Michael Chiklis Mike O'Malley Denis Leary |
Genre : | Documentary |
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Don't listen to the negative reviews
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
If you liked the documentary, I suggest that you read the book by Dan Shaughnessy from which it is based. There is a lot more detail to the history of the Red Sox than what was depicted. Red Sox fans have been lead to believe that former owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees simply to put on a Broadway musical. Although Ruth was a great player, he was not a team player. He was difficult and often abandoned the team to pursue his own interests. Frazee did not want to sell Ruth, but did not want a "one-man" team, which he saw the Red Sox turning into. This transaction changed the fortunes of two teams as the Yankees, who had never won anything before 1919, became contenders and champions almost overnight, while the Red Sox became forgettable. There is more to the Red Sox inability to win a championship than the sale of Babe Ruth. For example, the Red Sox had the opportunity to become the pioneers of integration when in 1945, Jackie Robinson and several other negro league players went to Fenway Park for a tryout and were soundly rejected. A few years later, Willie Mays was also rejected. In fact, the Red Sox did not have a black player until 1959. The hesitance of former owner Tom Yawkey to sign black players may have contributed to the Red Sox championship drought, as well as the fans obsession with the Yankees. Each chapter of the book covers various periods of Red Sox history, including the 4 World Series lost in 7 games and the strange occurrences in between, as well as the rivalry with the Yankees. I recommend the book to all baseball fans so that fact can be separated from hearsay.
This is a wonderful documentary. It is fun to watch from beginning to end. It shows you the entire history of the Boston Red Sox up until 2003. Ben Afflec is the perfect narrator for this film. He speaks from the heart and makes watching this great film even more exciting. As far a documentaries go I would rate this a 7.9 out of 10. 10 being the best. The Ali documentary "When We Where Kings" is a ten, Curse of The Bambino isn't far behind. The only negative thing I have to say about this film is, they should have waited until 2004 to make this film, then the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees and the A-Rod mess up could have been added to the mound of failure depicted in this film. I highly recommend Curse of The Bambino. It is fun to watch from beginning to end.
I caught this doc the other day on HBO, and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. As a life-long Yankee fan, it gave me all the incentive I need to look forward to another season where the BoSox don't measure up. The best part of this film to me, tho, was the segment on the '86 World Series (the Buckner debacle) Watching 4-5 guys repeating Vin Scully's commentary word for word as the ball rolled haplessly thru Buckner's legs almost made me feel sorry for them. Also great was the shot of Carl Yazstremski sinking to his knees as Bucky Dent's ball sailed over the Green Monster.Keep hoping, Boston!!!
There is no curse.HBO spent an hour documenting something that doesn't exist, and they didn't even do a very good job of it. The Boston Red Sox have a long, colorful history, and it's true that part of the story is their inability to win a championship for nearly 90 years despite getting agonizingly close about once a generation. But that's only part of the story. 86 years since 1918 and the best HBO can come up with is "The Curse"? There's so much more than that to this team. If HBO wanted to make a documentary about the Boston Red Sox, there really was the potential for a meaningful examination of a historic club that has a very special bond with its fans all across New England.Instead, we get an hour of sob stories set to depressing background music. I'm sure Affleck did this for a laugh, but he sounds like a fool narrating this nonsense. It's not even an accurate representation of the fans. One has to wonder how many hours of interviews they left on the cutting room floor, with most fans probably acknowledging that the team's had some bad breaks but that it just makes one anticipate the following season even more. Few Sox fans would say that Dan Shaughnessy speaks for them.And even fewer believe in a curse.