Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: May 12th, 2009
MSRP: $29.99

Director: David Ward
Stars: Tom Berrenger, Charlie Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, Rene Russo, Corbin Bernsen, Bob Uecker and Wesley Snipes.
Writer: David Ward
Theatrical release date: April 7th, 1989

In the real world, the Cleveland Indians of the 70s and 80s were a pretty wretched bunch. The fan base was a small, but loyal crew that hung in there no matter how stinky things were. There always was something wrong. At one point, the Indians had a strong line-up, but no pitching. Trades were made to strengthen the pitching, only to result in a weaker line-up with little pitching.

The movie Major League takes that legacy and applies some fiction to it: When the owner of the Cleveland Indians passes away, his former showgirl widow decides she has had enough of Cleveland and wants to move the team to a warmer climate. The team has an attendance clause that allows her to break the lease if the attendance goes below a certain number.

So she gives the staff a list of players that will be invited to training camp. The list includes convicts, has-beens, freaks and never-will-bes. After being informed that one of the guys is dead, she says simply” Cross him off then.”

When approached to take the job of coaching, Lou Brown (James Gammon) puts the GM on hold while he tried to sell a guy some tires.

Eventually the team finds out that they are expected to suck and will all be cut whether they win or not, the team comes together and makes a late season run for the play-offs.

Major League is a damn funny film. The cast has good chemistry and everyone seems to have fun. Add Bob Uecker as the radio announcer (Many of Bob’s quip’s have become Baseball legend) and you have a hell of a good time.

Video:
Major League is presented in a 1.85:1 ratio in 1080p. The is some grain and it is noticeable in some scenes, but the overall picture is ok. The HD aspect really stands out in some of the baseball scenes. The uniforms and grass look fantastic. I would not expect a comedy of this level to get a major overhaul, so I can’t really complain about the overall look.

Audio:
We get a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. The higher quality actually hurts it a little as some of the crowd sounds come across as being canned and not legit. That said, there is little audio gymnastics going on so the 5.1 never really comes into play.

Extras: They have carried over the stuff from the 2006 dvd release. This collection is full of fun stuff, including comments from not only the cast and crew, but also current (as of 2006) pro baseball players. The cast talks about the difficulties of getting in shape and learning to at least look like the they are the real deal.

Without Bob Uecker, Major League would be fun. With him? It is a must watch for anyone that claims to like baseball and have a funny bone. Do you need to upgrade? Not really, I don’t see anything here that makes this edition the definitive one. But, Major League is a very enjoyable film that certainly is worth having in some form.

Order the Blu-ray of Major League.

Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.