Search - For Love of the Game on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Profanity, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 04/04/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 18 mins Studio: Universal Studios Total Copies: 28 Genres: Drama, Romance, Romantic Drama, Sports Drama See Also: For Love of the Game [HD DVD], For Love of the Game

Based on the novel by Michael Shaara, For Love of the Game brought Kevin Costner back to the world of baseball after his successes with Bull Durham (1988) and Field of Dreams (1989). Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is a star pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium and throwing what is shaping up to be a perfect game with the help of his best friend and catcher, Gus Osinski (John C. Reilly). However, Billy is having a hard time keeping his mind on the game; he's come to a crossroads in both his personal and professional lives, and he isn't sure what to do or where to go. He's learned that the Tigers are about to be sold, and the new owners intend to trade him at the end of the season, and that his girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston) is planning to leave him. For Love of the Game represents a change of pace for director Sam Raimi, best-known for the Evil Dead trilogy and the acclaimed suspense drama A Simple Plan (1998) (although Raimi, a baseball fan born in Michigan, doubtless enjoyed making a film featuring the Detroit Tigers). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Kevin Costner - Billy Chapel
Kelly Preston - Jane Aubrey
John C. Reilly - Gus Osinski
Jena Malone - Heather Aubrey
Brian Cox - Gary Wheeler

Though certainly not in the same class as Kevin Costner's other baseball movies, Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game is, if nothing else, a brave attempt to portray the sport with some degree of realism. Universal's DVD edition, though far from perfect, does the film many favors, offering good audio-visual quality and plenty of special features.
Although not as visually arresting as the Evil Dead films that made director Sam Raimi's name, For Love of the Game still illustrates his expertise with detail and movement, and the anamorphic widescreen picture looks particularly good during the game sequences. The sound is even better, with DTS and Dolby 5.1 tracks available, each offering lush audio quality. The extra features are led by the familiar "Spotlight on Location" behind-the-scenes featurette, which is 20 minutes or so of everyone involved in the film saying how great it is. Far better are the deleted scenes, which also run to over 20 minutes, and contain some very interesting moments (not least a "groupie" strand omitted from the final version). Given that Costner had a very public dispute with Universal over the final cut of the film, it is a shame that more background information about the final edit is not provided (and a shame for Costner fanatics that the fabled nude shot is nowhere to be seen!). A commentary by Raimi might have been interesting for the same reason, as well as to provide a better understanding of why he chose to direct such a commercial film. The remaining special features include the original theatrical trailer, some good production notes, DVD-ROM features, and cast and filmmaker biographies. Two more novel features are "The Perfect Game" and "On The Mound." The former is a bit of baseball background with some statistics, the latter a trivia game that lasts about 30 seconds. For Love of the Game is not an obvious film upon which to lavish such care and attention, but Universal should be given credit for delivering what is undoubtedly an excellent DVD. ~ Patrick Lee, All Movie Guide