Costner had a line in "Field of Dreams" about Shoeless Joe Jackson as one of the guys who threw the '19 World Series; and when I was growing up (at the height of my baseball fandom), that line was the extent of what I'd known about the scandal. It's such a small piece of dialogue and it's meant to reflect those tarred players in no uncertain terms.
"Eight Men Out" has a different agenda, depicting Jackson and the other seven not just as gods in America's favorite pastime, but also working stiffs; guys who pulled in the numbers on the field while the suits in the backrooms counted all the money. It makes a little more sense that these men weren't greedy so much as undervalued. And they still got the short end of the stick even after the deal was made; Buck Weaver most of all, who never got a say during the trial.
It's an attractive movie (warm light, period detail) though not an ostentatious one; even the show-stoppng catches are done with a matter-of-fact deference.
And it's a great story.
7/10
"Eight Men Out" has a different agenda, depicting Jackson and the other seven not just as gods in America's favorite pastime, but also working stiffs; guys who pulled in the numbers on the field while the suits in the backrooms counted all the money. It makes a little more sense that these men weren't greedy so much as undervalued. And they still got the short end of the stick even after the deal was made; Buck Weaver most of all, who never got a say during the trial.
It's an attractive movie (warm light, period detail) though not an ostentatious one; even the show-stoppng catches are done with a matter-of-fact deference.
And it's a great story.
7/10