Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)

Ratare Uzant:

7.0/10   

Regizor:

John D. Hancock

Writers:

Mark Harris (novel)
Mark Harris (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 MAI 1978 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

The story of the friendship between a star pitcher, wise to the world, and a half-wit catcher, as they...

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Terminal Illness | Friendship | New York City | Athlete

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Comentarii uzant:

death be not proud...

Cast

Michael Moriarty	...	Henry 'Author' Wiggen
Robert De Niro	...	Bruce Pearson
Vincent Gardenia	...	Dutch Schnell
Phil Foster	...	Joe Jaros
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Katie
Patrick McVey	...	Bruce's Father
Heather MacRae	...	Holly Wiggen
Selma Diamond	...	Tootsie, Hotel switchboard operator
Barbara Babcock	...	Team Owner
Maurice Rosenfield	...	Team Owner
Tom Ligon	...	Piney Woods
Andy Jarrell	...	Ugly
Marshall Efron	...	Bradley
Danny Burks	...	Perry
Tom Signorelli	...	Goose Williams

Lungime Film:

96 min

Tara:

USA

Limba:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Mixaj Sunet:

Mono

Certificare:

Finland:S | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Clearwater, Florida, USA

Company:

ANJS

Stiati ca:

First produced as an hour-long live TV drama in 1956 on the United States Steel Hour, with Paul Newman as Henry Wiggen and Albert Salmi as Bruce Pierson.

Goofs:

Continuity: During a rainstorm, the grounds crew is shown pulling the tarp over the field. After a locker room scene, the next exterior shot shows only the home plate area covered, and the rest of the field open to the rain.

Quotes:

Bruce Pearson: Everybody'd be nice to you if they knew you were dying.
Henry Wiggen: Everybody knows everybody is dying; that's why people are as good as they are.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "St. Elsewhere: Bang the Eardrum Slowly (#3.23)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Streets of Loredo (The Cowboy's Lament)

death be not proud...

I originally saw this movie when it first opened in early 1973 . I haven't seen it in many years but fondly remember it as one of those pictures that leaves an indelible impression. Based on an early '50s novel by Mark Harris about a fictional N.Y.City Baseball Team (The Mammoths) the movie's focal point is the friendship between the team's star pitcher and a dying catcher, a naive, backwoods boy lacking in the social graces.

I'll never forget Michael Moriarty's Henry Wiggen in a scene where he reaches out to embrace a distraught, frightened Bruce Pearson (Robert De Niro), trying his best to console his dying roommate. " We're all dying " , Wiggen says to his friend, and thus begins and shortly ends one of the most tender scenes ever filmed between two men, in a movie about baseball, no less. And yet it's really not about baseball at all; yes, there are the obligatory scenes of the team at play and a humorous locker room speech by the team's crusty manager (the wonderful, late Vincent Gardenia, who received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for this film). There is plenty of humor to go along with the pathos in this story but pathos wins out. Death hangs over everyone's head in this picture : the message is pure and simple . To quote the movie's poster tag line, "Nothing is more important than friendship, not even death". I suppose a movie like this wouldn't work as well nowadays. The team support and management along with ridiculous sky rocketing salaries and apathetic treatment of sports fans has changed everything for the worse; this sweet little movie touches on a more innocent time. BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY will not enter the record books as one of the all time greats: it's too pat and maudlin at times (the locker room scene where Piney Woods plaintively strums the title song on the guitar is overkill, although it gets to me every time). But Moriarty and De Niro and a timeless reminder of the importance of love and friendship make this an unforgettable film.