Bang the Drum Slowly
 | Directed by John D. Hancock Starring: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Ann Wedgeworth Paramount, 1974, DVD Customer Rating: 24 reviews Recommend |
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The story of the friendship between a star pitcher, wise to the world, and a half-wit catcher, as they cope with the catcher's terminal illness through a baseball season.
Only those with ice water in their veins won't get misty-eyed watching this moving film about the friendship of two professional baseball players, one of whom — in every sense — is playing his last season. A pre-stardom Robert De Niro portrays a rather simple-minded rookie catcher who comes under the wing of a veteran pitcher (Michael Moriarty). When De Niro's character is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, Moriarty tries to help him get through one more season. Directed by John Hancock and based on the novel by Mark Harris (who also wrote the screenplay), the film builds on baseball's ability to foster its own lore of courage, nobility, loyalty, and — sadly — tragedy. Watching the youthful De Niro and Moriarty, with all that promise in their bones, adds to the overall romance of the film today. Also appearing are Vincent Gardenia and Danny Aiello. A perennial favorite for many. — Tom Keogh
Title: Bang the Drum Slowly
Sales Rank: 27244 in DVD
Actor: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Ann Wedgeworth
Director: John D. Hancock
Studio: Paramount, 2003-03-04, Theatrical Release: 1974
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 1.85:1
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 96 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0 x 0 x 0 inches, 1 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches, 0.2 pounds
- Excellent acting by Michael Moriarty
- "Bang the Drum Slowly" is a 1973 adaptation of a 1956 TV program (Paul Newman and Albert Salmi) based on the Mark Harris novel of the same name. The film stars Michael Moriarty and Robert DeNiro.
Michael Moriarty is best known to us from his years playing ADA Ben Stone on "Law and Order." "Drum" was Moriarty's third film and… More reviews
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Cathy DuVall… More reviews
- "...and lay the sod o'er me..."
- BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY is a baseball movie (adapted from a 1950s live TV drama) that's actually about friendship, life and its end. Based on Mark Harris's novel, it was partly filmed at Yankee and Shea stadiums. Vincent Gardenia (as manager Dutch Schnell) received a Best Supporting Oscar nod. Danny Aiello's minor role (as 'Horse') marked his first… More reviews
- Half hearted attempt at melodrama...
- A lot of people love this movie, so I'm preparing myself for a verbal beating, but really; I've yet to find a film as manipulative and generally unfulfilling as `Bang the Drum Slowly'. I say `yet to find' and I know that's rather harsh. There are far worse films, but for the genre, this is certainly at the bottom.
It's like `Brian's… More reviews
- Bang the Drum Slowly
- Very strong movie, with some nice emotional moments. Perhaps a tad overdone and the baseball scenes could have been a bit more realistic. But its characters made you care, and it had some really funny parts as well. Overall, I would recommend as a good watch, but don't expect the best sports movie you'll ever see or you… More reviews
