For Love Of The Game (HD-DVD)
Picture: A- Sound: B+ Extras: C Film: C+
Hoping to
hit one out of the box office ballpark a third time, Kevin Costner revisited
baseball again with Sam Raimi’s For Love
Of The Game (1999) as Raimi was in the twilight zone between his B-movie
beginnings and hitting it big with the Spider-Man films. Not as edgy as Bull Durham or as lite as Field
Of Dreams, we instead get a drama about a couple (Costner and Kelly
Preston) facing the end of their relationship and end of his pitching career at
the same time.
It all
comes down to snapping a losing streak on and off the field with Dana Stevens
screenplay (from Michael Shaara’s novel) trying to balance melodrama with the
game. Unfortunately, the resulting film
(despite Raimi’s best efforts) is uneven and even with an interesting
supporting cast that includes Jena Malone, John C. Reilly and Brian Cox, is
able to just more than break even. The
film did not do well and did not become a belated favorite, but it may be on its
way to cult status and this solid HD-DVD will not hurt.
The 1080p
VC-1 digital 2.35 X 1 High Definition image was shot in real anamorphic
Panavision by Director of Photography John Bailey, A.S.C., which really helps
the film hold up in ways it would not if shot in lesser Super 35. Bailey (American
Gigolo, Ordinary People, Mishima, Cat People, Extreme Measures)
knows how to shoot a film and when he is given good material, especially with a
good director that lends itself visually to narrative storytelling, he delivers
like he does here. The depth and detail
in this transfer are top rate with few flaws.
I was surprised how good this looked, not having seen the film in a very
long time. This even has demonstration
moments all HD fans can appreciate.
The sound
mix is here in a good Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix and a surprisingly good Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 mix that includes another winning score by Basil Poledouris, proving
that his talents go beyond the action genre.
Though there are subtle moments, the sound delivers on an audiophile
level at times that is much more like the way back catalog titles should sound
at their best. Dialogue is clean and
clear, while the baseball scenes really benefit. The Digital Plus is good, but TrueHD is
preferred.
Extras
include the original theatrical trailer, Spotlight on Location installment on
the film, deleted scenes, Perfect Game
(static pages) and On the Mound Trivia
Game - includes Video Piece for Game Winner: Babe Ruth: Slide Babe Slide.
- Nicholas Sheffo
