This is the second time A League of Their Own has been brought out on DVD. The first issue was a bare bones bargain basement disc, abysmal picture and all. This new release fixes every issue of that disc and adds in a second disc of features, but there's still something missing.
A League of Their Own tells the true story of the professional womens baseball league of the 1940's. It follows through the entire first season, from the initial idea to the final "World Series" game. It focuses mostly on 2 sisters (Geena Davis and Lori Petty) who are drafted onto the same team, the Rockford Peaches (coached by a drunken Tom Hanks). There is a little bit of everything from drama, player troubles, and a lot of comedy. It's a great movie that well deserved to pass the $100 million dollar mark at the box office.
The movie does have some problems. 2 hours is a stretch for any comedy (though the original cut was over 4 hours accoring to the DVD!) and the ending of the final game is not only predictable, but highly cliched as well. Even with these minor issues, these are really the only problems. John Lovitz has a small but hilarious role, Tom Hanks is outstanding as usual, and haveing the actual original players have a few segments is a great touch.
Disc 1 of this 2-disc set is a flipper. A 2.35:1 widescreen version of the film lies on side A and a horribly cropped pan & scam version lies on side B. The first few minutes of this movie are disturbing. Scratches, grain, and annoying flicker make it seem like this is the same print used on the original release. Things pick up after this however. The colors are superb and most of the issues from the opening moments have been conquered. A few scratches are noticeable, but it's hardly detracting.
The back of the case says the film includes a Dolby 4.0 soundtrack. I didn't find it. There are no other options in the menu and it came up on my receiver as the odd Dolby 3.1. There is absolutely no rear speaker usage to be found at any point during the movie. The stadium annoucer sounds like he may be echoing into the rears, but he's not. Regardless, the sound is clear and crisp, just don't demo this movie to your close friends. A comentary is also available featuring the director Penny Marshall and some cast members.
Article comments
1 - tony
hi, matt~
i was in league of their own in the dance scene at the sudsbucket roadhouse... do they go "in depth" on the dance scene and show any behind the scenes footage? didn't know they re-released the dvd... liked all your comments, tho!
thanks,
tony
2 - Matt Paprocki
It's been awhile since I watched this one, but I don't remember anything at all on the dancing sequence. There may have been a brief mention of it during the doc, but it definitely wasn't anything extensive.