Search - The Babe on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations Movie Release: 1992 DVD Release: 07/01/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 55 mins Studio: Universal Studios Total Copies: 1 Genres: Drama, Biopic [feature], Sports Drama

John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of "Little Johnny", the largely fanciful tale of the invalid boy who promises to get well if Babe hits him a homer (as in Pride of the Yankees, the cured Johnny makes return a appearance as grownup). The most amusing fabrication is the casting of narrow James Cromwell as the Babe's orphanage mentor Brother Mathias, who in real life weighed 300 pounds. Many of the characters are composites, notably Bruce Boxleitner's Jumpin' Joe Dugan. At least Ruth's two wives--Trini Alvarado as Helen, who suffers Babe's many peccadilloes and dies under strange circumstances, and Kelly McGillis as Claire, who keeps Babe on a very short leash-are depicted with a modicum of accuracy. The baseball sequences are well handled (though there could have been less slo-mo) while Elmer Bernstein's charmingly old-fashioned musical score is right in tune with the film's approach to its subject. The Babe is rated PG; had this been the whole truth and nothing but, and R rating would probably have been in order. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Goodman - George Herman "Babe" Ruth
Kelly McGillis - Claire Hodgeson-Ruth
Trini Alvarado - Helen Woodford-Ruth
Bruce Boxleitner - Jumpin' Joe Dugan
Peter Donat - Harry Frazee

This biography of baseball legend Babe Ruth gets a crackerjack presentation on this DVD release. The Babe has been transferred to disc in its original widescreen aspect ratio, which appears in letterboxed form on conventional televisions and is enhanced for 16 x 9 playback on windscreen monitors. The audio, in English, has been mastered in Dolby Digital Surround Stereo; optional French and Spanish subtitles have also been included. Bonus features include a featurette on the making of The Babe and the film's original theatrical trailer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide