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Major League Swings into Blu-ray |
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Written by STEVIE STYLES
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Monday, 25 May 2009 |
It seems like America always had baseball and it has been an American institution for decades. What would our lives be if we didn’t have the game to pass by the summer? It is truly an America’s pastime and we wouldn’t be the same without it. Hand in hand with the game comes the All-American baseball movie. It’s a genre that has been around since the infancy of cinema and has produced some of the greatest films of all time.
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Major League: Wild Thing Edition |
 Entertainment
 Art
Special Features
Directed by David S. Ward
Written by David S. Ward
Starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Chelcie Ross, Dennis Haysbert, Bob Uecker
Rated R
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From The Pride of the Yankees in 1942 to Field of Dreams in the late 80’s, baseball films have shined at the box office and in our hearts. The genre has also produced some of the best comedies as well. The Bad News Bears in the 70’s, Bull Durham in the 80’s and even BASEketball in the 90’s. One of the comedies that came out in the late 80’s that spawned two sequels was the all-star cast of Major League. Major League starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Wesley Snipes was a huge hit about the players of the Cleveland Indians. The film has just now been released on Blu-ray.
Former Las Vegas showgirl/stripper Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton) inherits the Cleveland Indians baseball team in her husband’s will. Yearning for warmer climate of Florida, she concocts a scheme with General Manager Charlie Donovan to hire the worst players. If attendance at their stadium is below 800,000 ticket sales they will void their lease with the city of Cleveland. The team includes catcher Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) who has a history of bad knees, celebrity Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) who is just trying to get through the season to keep his endorsements and bay boy the “Wild Thing” pither Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen). Can this motley crew actually become a team and against all odds start winning games and make their city proud?
So goes the plot of Major League, the baseball comedy that was a major hit at the box office. The film is now available in HD for the first time with a nice collection of special features. For good or for bad all of these features have been available in the standard DVD release. Still, it’s a nice collection of extras and is worth taking the time to check out after the film. The commentary track with writer/director David S. Ward and producer Chris Chesser shares their love of the game and for the Indians themselves. It’s a great commentary track that touches on a little bit of everything. My Kinda Team: Making Major League is a great little twenty-plus featurette on the film. A Major League Look at Major League is a short featurette with real Major and Minor league players including Paul Byrd, Aaron Boone, Jason Michaels, Jensen Lewis, and Grady Sizemore. Bob Uekcker: Just a Bit Outside includes all of the participant’s of the previous feature and looks back on the incredible career of Bob Uekcke. If that’s not enough, we have an altenate ending complete with an optional introduction and a Tour of Cerrano’s Locker featurette as well.
Major League is for anyone who loves the game of baseball and sports movies in general. The film is a fun pleaser that will make you laugh and even hit you in that emotional spot as well. The all-star cast is perfectly casted and are completely believable in their performances. Major League still hits a home run all these years later and has never looked better on Blu-ray.
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