For Love of the Game

Director: Sam Raimi Sam Raimi

Overview

"Though certainly not in the same class as Kevin Costner's other baseball movies, Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game is, if nothing else, a brave attempt to portray the sport with some degree of realism. Universal's DVD edition, though far from perfect, does the film many favors, offering good audio-visual quality and plenty of special features. Although not as visually arresting as the Evil Dead films that made director Sam Raimi's name, For Love of the Game still illustrates his expertise with detail and movement, and the anamorphic widescreen picture looks particularly good during the game sequences. The sound is even better, with DTS and Dolby 5.1 tracks available, each offering lush audio quality. The extra features are led by the familiar ""Spotlight on Location"" behind-the-scenes featurette, which is 20 minutes or so of everyone involved in the film saying how great it is. Far better are the deleted scenes, which also run to over 20 minutes, and contain some very interesting moments (not least a ""groupie"" strand omitted from the final version). Given that Costner had a very public dispute with Universal over the final cut of the film, it is a shame that more background information about the final edit is not provided (and a shame for Costner fanatics that the fabled nude shot is nowhere to be seen!). A commentary by Raimi might have been interesting for the same reason, as well as to provide a better understanding of why he chose to direct such a commercial film. The remaining special features include the original theatrical trailer, some good production notes, DVD-ROM features, and cast and filmmaker biographies. Two more novel features are ""The Perfect Game"" and ""On The Mound."" The former is a bit of baseball background with some statistics, the latter a trivia game that lasts about 30 seconds. For Love of the Game is not an obvious film upon which to lavish such care and attention, but Universal should be given credit for delivering what is undoubtedly an excellent DVD."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/04/2000
UPC:	0025192068423
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:18:00

Special Features

Spotlight on location; Deleted scenes; The history of the perfect game; On the mound: a trivia game; Theatrical trailer; Special dvd-rom features

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kevin Costner	Billy Chapel,Billy's Father,Billy's Mother
Kelly Preston	Jane Aubrey
John C. Reilly	Gus Sinski
Jena Malone	Heather
Brian Cox	Gary Wheeler
Vin Scully	Himself
J.K. Simmons	Frank Perry
Steve Lyons	Himself
Carmine Giovinazzo	Ken Strout
Bill E. Rogers	Davis Birch
Hugh Ross	Mike Udall
Greer Barnes	Mickey Hart
Bill Rodgers	Davis Birch
Domenick Lombardozzi	Tow Truck Driver
Arnetia Walker	Airport Bartender
Larry Joshua	Yankee Fan in Bar
Scott Bream	Brian Whitt
Jose Mota	Jose Garcia
Earl Johnson	Marcus Ransom
Chris Lemonis	Lee Giordano
Jesse Ibarra	Dennis Skinner
Pedro Swann	Juan Vasquez
Michael Rivera	Jimmy Pena
David Eiland	Relief Pitcher,Relief Pitcher
Jose Lisi	Pete,Pete
Jim Colborn	3rd Base Coach
Michael Borzello	Catcher Double
Paul Bradshaw	Tiger Pitching Coach
Gene Kirley	Tiger Bench Coach
Chris Fischer	Detroit Tiger
Jonathan Marc McDonnell	Detroit Tiger,Detroit Tiger
Barry Bradford	Detroit Tiger
Kevin Craig West	Detroit Tiger
Wes Said Drake	Detroit Tiger,ER Nurse
Luis Moro	Detroit Tiger
Michael Papajohn	Sam Tuttle
John Darjean Jr.	Jonathan Warble
Donzell McDonald	Lenny Howell
Scott Pose	Matt Crane
Vick Brown	Jesus Cabrillo
Chris Ashby	Nardini
Bill Masse	Mike Robinson
Mike Buddie	Jack Spellman
Eric Knowles	Ted Franklin
Ricky Ledee	Ruiz
Juan Nieves	Francisco Delgado
Augie Garrido	Yankee Manager
Rick Reed	Home Plate Umpire
Rich Garcia	1st Base Umpire
Jerry Crawford	2nd Base Umpire
Robert Leo Shepard	Yankee Stadium Announcer
Eddie Layton	Yankee Stadium Organist
Robinson Frank Adu	Locker Room Attendant
T. Sean Ferguson	Heckler
Victor Colicchio	Heckler
David Mucci	Heckler
Jacob Reynolds	Wheeler's Nephew
Maurice Shrog	Yankee Stadium Usher
Karen Williams	Kisha Birch
Tracy Middendorf	Blonde Player's Wife
William Newman	Fitch
P.J. Barry	Waldorf Doorman
Frank Girardeau	Waldorf Bellhop
Caterina Zapponi	Waldorf Singer
Monty Alexander	Waldorf Pianist
Daniel Dae Kim	ER Doctor
Bill Vincent	X-ray Technician
Mark Thomason	Billy's Father (Early Years)
Laura Cayouette	Masseuse
Christopher Cousins	Ian
Ted Raimi	Gallery Doorman
Michael Emerson	Gallery Doorman
Shelly Desai	Taxi Driver
Lucinda Faraldo	Airline Ticket Agent
Ed Morgan	Man at Cafe
Brian Donald Hickey	Autograph Seeker
Tracy Perry	Autograph Seeker
Addie Daddio	Actor
Piper Cochrane	Actor
John B. Sterling	Voices
Geoff Witcher	Voices
Basil Poledouris	Composer

Technical Credits

Dana Stevens

Michael Shaara

Sam Raimi	Director
Marc Abraham	Executive Producer,Producer
Armyan Bernstein	Producer
Mark Bero	Special Effects
Ron Bozman	Executive Producer,Producer
Peter Donen	Special Effects
Chris Doyle	Stunts
Lynn Kressel	Casting
Amy Robinson	Producer
Al Di Sarro	Special Effects
Dana Stevens	Screenwriter
Thomas Rasada	Special Effects
Michael Shaara	Screenwriter
Jonathan Alvord	Special Effects
Victoria Bowes	Sound Effects
Kelly Cabral	Sound Effects
Richard Dwan	Sound Effects
Frank Fleming	Sound Effects
Keith Gardner	Sound Effects
Cinesite	Special Effects
Steve Maslow	Sound/Sound Designer
Gregg Landaker	Sound/Sound Designer
Wylie Stateman	Sound Editor