MLB.com’s Doug Miller contributed this list of independent films that have baseball somewhere within its theme, if not the actual subject. Some are documentaries, others are features, several premiered at film festivals.
Diminished Capacity (2008): Directed by Terry Kinney, the veteran actor and performer who garnered acclaim in his role as Tim McManus in the television show “Oz,” this small film with a Sundance Film Festival showing under its belt and big-time cast — Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda and Virginia Madsen, among others — follows the eccentric lead characters as they embark on a quest to sell a rare baseball card.
Sugar (2008): This Sundance-debuted feature, written and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden who scored rave reviews for 2006’s “Half Nelson,” delves into life in the Dominican Republic for a fictional Major League prospect and how everything changes when he reaches America.
Black Irish (2007): Written and directed by Brad Gann, who penned the sports film “Invincible,” this is the tale of a strict Irish Catholic family in South Boston and the emergence of the 16-year-old baseball-playing son, played by Michael Angarano, as the family’s dysfunction complicates things.
Dummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero (2007): This documentary from Da-Cor Pictures and director David Risotto chronicles the amazing baseball career of William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy, the first – and best – deaf player in Major League history. You’ll learn that Hoy played in 1,798 big-league games and compiled a .288 lifetime batting average, 2,054 hits and 1,004 walks. He also threw three runners out at home plate from the outfield in one game.
Chasing October (2007): Matt Liston decided that quitting his job and making a documentary about his beloved Chicago Cubs in 2003 would break their “curse” and get them a World Series title for the first time since 1908. It didn’t quite work out that way for the North Siders and Liston, but he did make an enjoyable and memorable film in the process. [Editor’s note: I saw this one the one about the Red Sox (see below). Enough with team documentaries that follow these chest-beaters who feel the need to beat their breasts over life’s inequities.]
Game 6 (2005): Actor Michael Keaton, alone, is worth the price of admission to any movie and this one, directed by Michael Hoffman and taken from a Don DeLillo story, takes us into the life of a playwright and Boston Red Sox fan who misses the opening night of his play to watch the pivotal Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Robert Downey Jr. also stars.
Up For Grabs (2004): Written and directed by Michael Wranovics, this film falls under the category of “too bizarre to be fiction.” It follows the exhausting and sometimes-hilarious legal battle that ensued from the battle for the ball that Barry Bonds belted for his record-setting 73rd home run of the season in 2001.
Still We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie (2004): Paul Doyle Jr.’s documentary about Red Sox Nation and the long-suffering team chronicles the 2003 season that ended for the Red Sox when Aaron Boone’s home run cleared the wall at Yankee Stadium in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Little did Doyle know how soon his subject would reverse its “curse.”
This Old Cub (2004): This fun, nostalgic and sentimental documentary is a labor of love from a son to his father. Jeff Santo made the film about his father, Ron, the former Cubs star third baseman and broadcaster who has delighted fans throughout his long history with the team. [Editor’s note: Sweet]
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998): Writer and director Aviva Kempner’s documentary about baseball’s first major Jewish star is a fascinating study of a man, a time in America, and a battle against anti-Semitism that Greenberg waged with his spirit and baseball skills. [Editor’s note: Another in the long line of “Burnsian” treatments. Well done, nice music, but I’m partial.]
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Hi Ron,
Just wanted to mention one more baseball film, American Pastime, released in 2007. This feature film explores the experiences of two American families—one Caucasian, one Japanese—through the lens of baseball and World War II. I signed up as an extra for the film in memory of my Father and wrote about the experience on my website.
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