Cheap Mr. Baseball (DVD) (Tom Selleck) (Fred Schepisi) Price

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Customer Reviews of Mr. Baseball

Perhaps the most underrated baseball movie ever
I've watched a number of baseball movies over the years, and "Mr. Baseball" is among the best of them all and probably the most underrated. Anyone who's studied Japanese baseball will recognize the accuracy in which the game there is portrayed, as well as the culture shock most American players go through (and often never get over). Tom Selleck is a great choice for the role of Jack Elliott, an ex-Yankee sold to the Chunichi Dragons, much to his dismay. Dennis Haysbert is solid in a supporting role as a fellow American player on the Dragons who tries to help Jack adjust, and Aya Takanashi is gorgeous and classy as Jack's love interest. This video is absolutely worth buying, since you really don't have to be a fan of the game to enjoy it. I rate "Mr. Baseball" in the same class as "Bull Durham" and "A League of Their Own" and much better than either of the "Major League" movies, "Angels In The Outfield," or any of the other more recent baseball flicks.

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WOW!!!!!!
at first i was skeptical about tom sellick coming out of the role of magnum "from magnum pi" but once i started watching mr baseball, wow the way it brings japanese and american culture togather has not been seen since the karate kid 2. one of the most heartwarming scenes is when he goes to his girlfriends fathers house and his girlfriends father is his manager that he did not get along with.they have a discussion about baseball and life that will stick with you for the remander of your days. this is the most epic film in the history of modern cinima.with his performance in mr baseball tom selleck has catapulted his name into the list of greatest actors. now when you think pacino, brando, bogart you have to also put sellick in that list if not at the top. to say mr baseball changed my life would be an understatment. mr baseball changed the world.

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Worlds collide, no one leaves unchanged
Tom Selleck plays Jack Elliot in this funny and insightful comedy about an American baseball player 'demoted' to the Japanese league. It has all the cultural in-jokes that you'd expect including "Taking a bath before washing", "Wearing shoes indoors", and "You say one thing, the translator will make it sound nice".

But at the heart of the movie, the story is all about accepting foreign culture. Jack butts heads with Japanese culture. He is loose, relaxed, and immature. The Japanese are tight, uptight, and very serious. As long as everyone sees him as an outsider, they will respect him in public but doubt him in private, and he will never truly fit in.

After a series of humiliating losses, he finally reaches the point where he realizes that his strength and skill are not enough to defeat his problems and he turns to the coach and Japanese culture to help him overcome his ego. The coach admonishes him to stop feeding off of his past successes lest he eat all those successes away, look only to the future in other words. He does so and the rest of the movie shows Elliot becoming stronger in the stadium and spiritual world. By embracing the Japanese Way, he becomes a better person.

However, the flip side to this movie is that the Japanese Way has led to a failing baseball team. Despite the coach's best efforts to harangue the players into playing well, they are too gunshy to play their best. It isn't until the coach accepts that the softer method of coaching based on encouraging the players and fostering a team spirit that the team's slump ends. Jack Elliot made his own mark on the team by bringing trademark American-style attitude to the team.

In the end the message is clear. At the micro-level, the Japanese style of living with its emphasis on detail, cooperation, and austerity is beneficial, and the American style emphasizing laziness, freedom, and individuality is detrimental. At the macro-level, though, the message is quite the opposite. Success is brought by each individual's freedom to make mistakes, being relaxed, and not having an oppressive culture looming above.

It's a fun movie with a lot of insight into the Japanese culture as well as insight into American culture. Well worth renting at least once.