EIGHT MEN OUT (DVD/WS/16X9/1.85:1/1988)-NLA DVD

Eight Men Out
Writer/director John Sayles' dramatization of the most infamous episode in professional sports -- the fix of the 1919 World Series -- is considered by many to be among his best films and arguably the best baseball movie ever made. This adaptation of Eliot Asinof's definitive study of the scandal shows how athletes of another era were a different breed from the well-paid stars of later years. The Chicago White Sox owner, Charlie Comiskey (Clifton James), is portrayed as a skinflint with little inclination to reward his team for their spectacular season. When a gambling syndicate led by Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) gets wind of the players' discontent, it offers a select group of stars -- including pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles regular David Strathairn), infielder Buck Weaver (John Cusack), and outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (D. B. Sweeney) -- more money to play badly than they would have earned to try to win the Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Sayles cast the story with actors who look and perform like real jocks, and added a colorful supporting cast that includes Studs Terkel as reporter Hugh Fullerton and Sayles himself as Ring Lardner. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Cast John Cusack as Buck Weaver Clifton James as Charles Comiskey David Strathairn as Eddie Cicotte D.B. Sweeney as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson Christopher Lloyd as Bill Burns Michael Lerner as Arnold Rothstein John Mahoney as Kid Gleason Charlie Sheen as Hap Felsch Don Harvey as Swede Risberg Michael Rooker as Chick Gandil Perry Lang as Fred McMullin James Read as Lefty Williams Jace Alexander as Dickie Kerr Richard Edson as Billy Maharg Bill Irwin as Eddie Collins Michael Mantell as Abe Attell Kevin Tighe as Sport Sullivan Studs Terkel as Hugh Fullerton John Anderson as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis John Sayles as Ring Lardner Wendy Makkena as Kate Jackson Maggie Renzi as Rose Cicotte

Crew Dan Bishop - Art Director Shani Ginsberg - Casting Barbara Hewson Shapiro - Casting Carrie Frazier - Casting Avy Kaufman - Casting Peggy Rajski - Co-producer Susan Lyall - Costume Designer Cynthia Flynt - Costume Designer Gary Marcus - First Assistant Director John Sayles - Director John Tintori - Editor Jerry Offsay - Executive Producer Barbara Boyle - Executive Producer Mason K. Daring - Composer (Music Score) Jann Kenbrovin - Songwriter John William Kelette - Songwriter Turner Layton - Songwriter Gigi Coker - Makeup Nora Chavoosian - Production Designer Dan Bishop - Production Designer Robert Richardson - Cinematographer Jerry Offsay - Producer Sarah Pillsbury - Producer Midge Sanford - Producer Lynn Wolverten - Set Designer David Brownlow - Sound/Sound Designer John Sayles - Screenwriter Marc Reshovsky - Second Unit Director Of Photography Henry Creamer - Featured Music Eliot Asinof - Book Author

Eight Men Out
John Sayles once again does wonders with a large cast and a modest budget, convincingly re-creating 1919 Chicago and smartly offering a historical movie occupied by flesh-and-blood humans rather than historical icons. Matewan, his previous film, also told a story of labor woes, but the lines of sympathy in that film were clearer: the strikers were being abused, the strikebreakers were being used, and the mine owners were doing all the using and abusing. In Eight Men Out, White Sox owner Charlie Comiskey has little regard for his players' well-being, but their response (or the response of a selected number) to throw in with gamblers for the sake of a better payday, doesn't exactly place them in the labor hall of fame. On the other hand, Sayles paints these workers as more needy than greedy; pitcher Eddie Cicotte and infielder Buck Weaver, in particular, come off as anguished co-conspirators thanks to superb performances by David Strathairn and John Cusack. Eight Men Out doesn't offer the feel-good experience of Field of Dreams (though they do share one character, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson) or Bull Durham, but its honesty and faithfulness to the complexities of history ultimately make it a more valuable player in the history of sports films. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: French, Spanish, English Sound Processing: 1: PCM mono 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects Additional Features: Original theatrical trailer English: mono French: mono Spanish: mono French & Spanish subtitles DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 120 min Part of Series: Contemporary Classic   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selections 1. Title/Credits/Intro [13:07] 2. The Fix Is On [7:54] 3. The Camel's Back [4:21] 4. Big Money [9:19] 5. Gettin' Shoeless Joe [4:43] 6. Something's Fishy [6:47] 7. Games 1 & 2 [11:50] 8. Raw Deal [7:26] 9. Games 3 & 4 [5:49] 10. Squelch [7:58] 11. New Stakes [2:42] 12. Clean-Up Team [4:05] 13. "Say It Ain't So" [5:40] 14. The Trial [6:30] 15. Final Verdict [9:28] 16. Gone Now/Credits [4:48]