Customer Reviews
61-The best insiders view of the life and times of two of the NY Yankees Best 
2008-09-23
When I first saw this autobiography of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris stars, it was like being there with them.
Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, and Joe Pepitone (another Yankee local scouted and signed with the Yankees, his brothers Billy and Jimmy were our neighbors. I lived that era and thought I knew everything about every Yankee. This film, I have sought for years and now that I immediately purchased it through Amazon.com, I can tell any fan of baseball that is has all the fun, drama, trials and problems of any normal person that brought tears to my eyes of what went on during and after their professional careers. The class and charachter that more then describes those great players were my idols. But meeting them in person, in the dugout, never, ever gave me anything else but goosebumps.
This film I would highly recommend to any father not knowing these greats to sit with their children for a heart warming and insite not only how to behave and present themselves but a learning lesson of how a sport brought out the finest in them that will last forever.
Maris!!!! 2008-09-21
The greatest Baseball film ever made. Maris should be in the Hall of Fame!!!!
Baseball as I remember it 2008-09-10
I don't usually write reviews about movies, but I was overwhelmed by this movie. As a kid, I loved baseball, but now I couldn't tell you 10 players in the major leagues. The game is no longer the game that I remember. But this movie brought back everything to me. This is why I loved the game and why I went to bed every night listening to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Billy Crystal did a fantastic job recreating that magical season in 1961. The acting was terrific. The pressure must have been so intense, that we can only imagine it. 61* brought all of that to the screen. I wasn't expecting very much - I had not read any reviews, but I didn't remember seeing the critics talking about it much.
Just don't let the kids watch until they can handle the cussing. But other than that, what a movie.
Great movie, but if you are buying for kids, BE WARNED!! 
2008-07-23
I am always looking for sports-themed movies for my young son, and he is especially interested in non-fiction movies. ("Miracle" and "Rudy" are two great examples.)
I read the reviews, and thought we'd give this a try. I noticed that this was marked "not rated" and just hoped for the best! Whoops! I am not offended by swearing in the context of baseball. But this has excessive use of the "F" word, which I just wasn't expecting. It was a big surprise and quite disappointing.
I only offer this review for other parents who may be contemplating this movie for kids and younger teens.
Don't really enjoy baseball 2008-06-17
Got this for my husband, a baseball fan, but think I enjoyed it more then he did.Very interesting story.
Roger Marris should be in the Hall of Fame! 
2008-04-02
Summer, 1961: Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle are on pace to break the most hallowed record in U.S. sports, Babe Ruth's single-season 60 home runs. It's a big story, and the intense, plain-spoken Maris is the bad guy: sports writers bait him and minimize hi
Great Baseball Movie 2007-12-13
I'm not even a huge baseball fan, but I enjoyed this movie very much. All of my Yankee friends love this true-story-based movie, though not many ever heard about it before they watched it. Definitely a quality hour or so to spend in front of the TV.
Very Interesting 2007-11-12
This movie is well-done. They paid attention to details. Billy Crystal is a fan who remembers this era fondly and did a great job telling the very interesting story of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. These are names I remember from growing up, but I knew little about. Having the two men on the Yankees at the same time, each aiming to beat the home run record Babe Ruth had set as a Yankee, makes for a fascinating story.
The only problem with the movie is the language is foul (so to speak). The swearing and use of various words is way over the top and distracts from the story. It should have been made as a family movie because the appeal of this story crosses all generational lines. If it weren't for the language, this movie would deserve even more than five stars.
The special features are very worth watching. They show just how much detail they put into every aspect of this movie--from the color of the stadium, to the swings of the two players.
If the language won't bother you, I highly recommend this movie. If it had a rating, it most certainly would be rated "R", so keep that in mind when considering showing it to children.
Maris and Mantle as they should have been - great story, if far from historically accurate 2007-10-29
This terrific film by Billy Crystal highlights the 1961 chase for the HR record between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Both players were trying to surpass Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60, and the battle lasted for most of the season until Mantle got hurt. The only drama was then whether Maris was going to do it or not. I'm sure if you are reading this, you already know how it ends! There are several subplots to this tale, however. Mantle was the darling of the NY fans, and Maris was never popular. The fans and the media didn't want the Babe's record to be broken, but if it was going to be broken, everyone wanted Mantle to do it, not Maris. A secondary subplot (related to the title of the film) describes how, when Maris broke the record, the HR title was entered into the record book with an asterisk, denoting that Maris's 61 HRs were obtained in a 162 game season. The seasons were only 154 games in the Babe's time. Maris never received in his lifetime the credit that was due him for this monumental achievement, and I think Crystal wanted to relive his youth through this film and right a wrong.
This is a great film, even if you aren't a baseball fan or a Yankees fan (OK, I admit it, I'm part of Red Sox nation!). The story is well acted, the choice of Pepper and Jane to play Maris and Mantle was outstanding. The vignette at the end is particularly touching. Crystal shows actual footage of Mark McGwire breaking Maris's record in the late 90s, then going to talk with Maris's widow and family in the stands. There are a great number of historical inaccuracies in the film, particularly the portrayal of Mantle. This is Billy Crystal's image of Mantle through a boy's eyes, more of how Mantle should have been, not what he was. This is a minor quibble though. If you don't appreciate this film, you aren't an American and don't understand a thing about the United States.
The House that Roger Rocked 2007-10-15
Most sports fans know that Yankee Stadium was called the house that Ruth built since Babe Ruth was such a big draw he had helped them raise the money for the new stadium. When Roger Maris threatened to shatter his home run record, he received a great deal of torment from the people of New York. They felt he was an outsider. This is an excellent baseball movie. It shows Mickey Mantle's and Roger Maris's life in detail during the 1961 season. Their highs and lows and how they lived together and got along. I highly recommend this for the whole family. It is far cleaner than many sports movies. Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane do a remarkable job portraying Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle . The DVD picture and sound are sharp and it includes several features along with the commentary. This is one DVD I plan to add to my collection.
