61*

Noted baseball fan Billy Crystal directed this made-for-cable drama set in the summer of 1961, as two of the strongest hitters in the major leagues, Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) and Roger Maris (Barry Pepper), find themselves neck and neck in a battle to break Babe Ruth's long-standing record for ...more

Billy Crystal's 61* stands alongside Bang the Drum Slowly and Bull Durham as one of the few films that understands the day-to-day life of baseball players. The fully realized performances by Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane make this film compelling for people with no interest in baseball. They, along with screenwriter Hank Steinberg, do a marvelous job of presenting two very complex, very male personalities. Maris is an outwardly stoic average guy who approaches the game with unsmiling intensity; ...more