Thanks, Bill. Other than Sports news and sports
, we only turn the t.v. on at night for movies, so I haven't looked for any of these in a long time.
Regarding 'Cobb', if you replaced 'Cobb' with some fictional player, I think it's a very good movie. My problem with it was that Jones didn't look at all like Cobb. On the other hand, I was amazed at how Janes and Pepper pulled off Mantle and Maris in '61*' - an instant favorite.
'The Natural' and 'Eight Men Out' are mine as well. I understand what Raymond is saying about "outgrowing" it, but I haven't yet. I can still remember the first time I saw it, in the movie theater.
PS - my other problem with 'Cobb' is that I've since read Stump's book (haven't read Cobb's) and heard a lot about Stump AND Cobb - in particular, Stump's forgeries and Cobb's altruistic behavior toward old ball players. Not sure what to believe from that movie.
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Originally Posted by the 'stache
Ken Burns' Baseball documentary is what I usually watch on Netflix. I've watched the whole thing 3-4 times by now. As far as other documentaries on Netflix, there's The Baseball Chronicles, described as a compilation of interview footage with both living and dead baseball players. The reviews look to be luke warm. You Don't Know Bo, the excellent ESPN documentary on Bo Jackson is also available. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it, though it's not only about baseball, obviously, as Bo was a two sport athlete (and more before turning pro). Then, there's Ballplayer: Pelotero, a documentary narrated by John Leguizamo about Major League baseball training camps in the Dominican Republic. So far, that's all I'm seeing. The Battered Bastards of Baseball sounds intriguing, too.
The HBO "Legends & Legacies" documentaries are outstanding, and I hope they do more of them. I'd kill for them to do one on Clemente. I really loved Mantle and Ted Williams. The one they did on Babe Ruth was good, too, though I haven't seen it on television in a while. It is on HBO Go, however, as is Shot Heard 'Round the World and When It Was a Game III. The other baseball one you see on HBO from time to time is also excellent, but for some reason I've not saved it. The Curious Case of Curt Flood should appear again soon. If there were a way I could burn all of these to a disc, I would. I have the Lombardi documentary on my DVR, and would love to make a hard copy of it so I never lose it. I'm sure HBO would bitch about it, but I don't care. If they made it available on DVD and Blu Ray, I'd buy it.
Ya, I wasn't a huge fan of Cobb. Tommy Lee Jones did well with what he was given, but I'd like to see a movie about him that takes place during his prime, and not a movie about old sonofabish Cobb with flashes back to his brilliant baseball days.
The Natural is still my favorite baseball movie, though Eight Men Out has been closing some as of late.
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