The Greatest Game Ever Played
by Bill Paxton
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DVD details
Actor: Elias Koteas, James Paxton, Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Tom RackDirector: Bill Paxton
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Cinematographer: Shane Hurlbut
Editor: Elliot Graham
Producer: David Blocker
Producer: David Steinberg
Producer: Larry Brezner
Producer: Mark Frost
Writer: Mark Frost
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Published: 2006-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-11
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Product features:
- IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 The second film directed by actor Bill Paxton is a marked departure--in both form and content--from his debut, 2001's FRAILTY, a shadowy, gothic tale of murder. THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED is a sports movie slash Horatio Alger rags-to-riches tale with undertones of consciousness and social critique. The story is based on a real-life event--the 1913 U.S. Open go
DVD Reviews of The Greatest Game Ever Played
DVD Review: The first underdog story in the history of American sports
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Greatest Game Ever Played" refers to the true story of the playoff in the 1913 U.S. Open, in which 20-year-old Francis Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf, "Holes") went up against the British golf champion Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane, "The Hours"). There was one other golfer in the playoff, and there were other golfers in the tournament, but the title and this 2005 movie both come down to Ouimet and Vardon. The book on which it is based is, in full, "The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf." Mark Frost, who I first remember as a writer on "Hill Street Blues" and then later as the co-creator of "Twin Peaks," wrote the book and then the screenplay. As he constantly explains in his commentary track, there is a remarkable fidelity of the finished film to what really happened, apparently more so than any comparable sports film. "The Greatest Game Ever Played" calls itself the first underdog story in the history of American sports, but of course by now we have seen so many of those, from "Seabiscuit" to "Glory Road" (just to keep the focus on the last few years), that the oldest such tale can no longer seem new. But that does not stop them from being effective on their own terms.
Having recently watched "Cinderella Man," where the underdog's opponent was personified as a vicious man-killer, it was refreshing to see that Vardon was not cast as a villain. Frost's book is essentially a dual biography of Ouimet and Vardon, and while the movie clearly focuses more on Ouimet, there is ample reason to root for Vardon, who repeatedly proves himself to be the epitome of a good sportsman. The parallels between the two are heightened in the movie, which portrays both as coming from poor families and running into the class prejudice against them daring to play a gentlemen's game. Ouimet has to put up with the imposing barrier presented by his father (Elias Koteas), who strongly disapproves of his son playing a game, especially as an amateur who will not earn a dime from winning the U.S. Open.
There is a sense in which Vardon and Ouimet are known by the company they keep. Vardon has the misfortune of being urged on by Lord Northcliffe (Peter Firth), a newspaper magnate who demands a British golfer win the U.S. Open cup for what anyone but a British lord would know are all the wrong reasons. Meanwhile, fate saddles Ouimet at the last minute with a 10-year-old caddy, Eddie Lowery (Josh Flitter), who is half the size of the bag he has to carry. But Eddie proves to be as wise beyond his years, while Northcliffe will never understand the game as long as he lives. There is a minor sub-plot that verges on the romantic concerning Ouimet and a young society girl (Peyton List), but that ultimately becomes more a question of class and acceptance rather than love, and all such things take a backseat to the golf once the tournament begins.
I did not keep a stopwatch on this movie, but it seemed like at least half of it takes place on the golf course. Even if that is not true I suspect there is more happening on the links here than in either "The Legend of Bagger Vance" or "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius" (or, for that matter, in either "Caddyshack" or "Happy Gilmore"). Knowing that he has a strong cast and solid performances from both LaBeouf and Dillane (especially while on the course), director Bill Paxton focuses his attention on period detail and on showing us golf in a way we have not seen before in the movies. His creativity regarding the latter might become a bit too much, but he is certainly trying to bring something to the table. For me the key shot was during the 4th round of the Open, when everybody's attention is on Ouimet. Vardon and the other Brits are standing in the middle of the gallery and when Ouimet hits his shot every head turns to follow the ball--except Vardon's. There is never an explicit recognition in the film of the fact that when Ouimet was seven, he got to meet Vardon and the champion showed him the proper way to grip the club. But in this shot it becomes clear that Vardon knows they are playing the same game.
I round up on the DVD because in addition to the "On the Set of The Greatest Game Every Played" featurette on the making of the movie, and the one that uses footage from the film to explain the historical background of the "Two Legends and the Greatest Game," they have a really classy third extra. "From Caddy to Champion: Francis Ouimet" was a special put out by a Boston television station in 1963, fifty years after this particular U.S. Open. Filmed in black & white, the entire show is an interview with Ouimet, who shows us some of his mementoes (including not only the three balls used by the three players during the playoff but a copy that Dwight Eisenhower made of a painting of Ouimet showing him as the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews). Ouimet shows us how golf clubs have changed over the years, and then walks the keys hole of the back nine on the course, explaining in some detail what happened where. You see that and you wonder why it took Hollywood another forty years to make a movie about what happened at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1913.
Description of The Greatest Game Ever Played
From Walt Disney Pictures comes THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED . . . the crowd-pleasing underdog epic that's based on an inspirational true story! Young amateur golfer Francis Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf -- HOLES, I ROBOT) has nothing but talent and a seemingly impossible dream to challenge the world's greatest player, his idol Harry Vardon. Soon, with the help of his spunky 10-year-old caddy Eddie, Francis boldly breaks down all barriers with a thrilling display of unrivaled drive, skill, and heart . . . and challenges the golf pro for the U.S. Open Championship!You wouldn't think a movie that uses the game of golf as a metaphor for class struggle could be so entertaining. The Greatest Game Ever Played stars the charming Shia LaBeouf (Holes) as Francis Ouimet, a golfer who, in 1913, rose from caddy to U.S. Open champion at the age of 20--despite the resistance of the powers that be, who thought it unseemly for a lower-class plebian to play the sport of gentlemen. Ouimet's main competitor is Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane, The Hours), a British professional, still considered one of the greatest players of all time, who fought his own class battles. The two go head to head in a genuinely gripping match, deftly balanced against the juxtapositions of their personal struggles. Is it sentimental and formulaic? Is the outcome a foregone conclusion? Yes, but it doesn't matter--formulas exist because, when executed with verve and dexterity, they work. Bill Paxton, best known as an actor (One False Move, Apollo 13), steps into the director's chair and hits all the right notes, aided by an excellent cast playing colorful characters, a vivid recreation of the time period, glowing cinematography, and an expert pace. The Greatest Game Ever Played works. --Bret Fetzer
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