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| Director: David S. Ward
Actors: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon
Studio: Paramount
List Price: $9.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $9.94 (100%)
New (19) Used (94) Collectible (10) from $0.01
Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 11107
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 106
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
UPC: 097363227038
EAN: 0097363227038
ASIN: B000003KMM
Theatrical Release Date: April 7, 1989
Release Date: May 29, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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| Customer Reviews:
 "How's your wife and my kids?" July 13, 2005
This movie is hilarious, with the best one-liners i heard in a movie. Great humor, and a great ending. If you have never seen it, get the movie becuz youll be watching it more than once.
Great Sports Movie May 31, 2005
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you want to have some fun ... along the lines of watching the Miracle Mets win it all in 1969 ... this is a movie for you.
"Major League" is David Ward's baby. He wrote the story. He wrote the script. He even directed it. It's a story about the Cleveland Indians ... a collection of cast-offs and misfits ... who defy the experts (and their own team owner) and find the winning formula.
The script is very excellent. There are more than a few gems (really memorable or funny lines) but it is all a very believable dialog. Even the swear words (and there are quite a few of those here as well) are perfectly apt.
The casting is top-notch ... with selecting James Gammon to be the manager Lou Brown perhaps being the best hire.
The acting is superior, thoroughly superior, to most movies. We tend to discount the quality of the acting when it is in a comedy, but, for this movie, we shouldn't. Even the smaller roles are filled out with pretty good performances.
Tom Berenger as Jake Taylor ... the washed up ball player who gets one more taste of stardom ... is superb. We like Jake, we trust him, and we want him to win. He's been a carouser, but we know he's better than that, and will, given this new chance, make good. That is Tom Berenger doing a good acting job. Rene Russo as Lynn Wells (Jake's love interest) does a nice job of walking the line between her logic and her heart. Here she is caring and vulnerable ... wise but, at the same time, unwise. In short, she is lovable. Corbin Bernsen plays the overpaid ballplayer Roger Dorn, and he doesn't really make the part work. Dorn is supposed to be a prima donna, and he (Corbin) does all right with that part of it, but he never really comes across ... convincingly ... as a baseball player. He tries, but can't quite pull it off. Charlie Sheen as Rick Vaughn is my pick for the MVP (most valuable performer) of this movie. Vaughn is a punk ... "Wild Thing" ... a pitcher with an attitude problem (and a 97 mph fastball) ... and a fan favorite. Charlie doesn't have a lot of lines here, but he makes them count ... just a very excellent job of acting, I think. Margaret Whitton plays Rachel Phelps ... the mean lady team owner ... and she is ... wonderful. She has to lose all of her dignity to make the part work ... and she does. She spews hated and venom ... all within the framework of a comedy ... and is miserable (and delighfully so) when the team manages to win. Just a great job ... and a deft touch ... at comedic acting. Wesley Snipes plays Willie Mays Hayes, the speedster lead-off man. You can tell he (Wesley) tried hard to make the character believable ... and he succeeded. James Gammon as Lou Brown, the team's manager, is perfect for the part. His deadpan "I've seen it all" delivery is very much like the real life, over-seasoned, veteran baseball skipper he portrays. Bob Uecker as the announcer Harry Doyle keeps things moving with his witty and baseball-savvy commentary. And Chelcie Ross, who plays the aging pitcher Eddie Harris, gives a quite true-to-life portrayal, I felt.
The story moves along at a nice pace, and there is comedy in pretty much every scene. The crowd scenes in the stadium (near the end of the picture) are incredible. They must have done the filming at a real Indians game. And the "Wild Thing" song scene ... when Charlie Sheen's character walks in from the bull pen ... is absolutely great. Just an extremely fun moment for us movie watchers to enjoy.
Complaints? Yep. Two. The Cerrano character. He is a surly voodoo practicing defector from Cuba, and his surliness and voodoo are catered to in the movie. Also, we are force-fed high society and higher learning. OK. Here's what happens: Jake (the Tom Berenger character) takes Willie and Rick (Wesley Snipes and Charlie Sheen) to an expensive French restaurant, where the menu is even in French. Right. While there, he (Jake) spots his old flame (Rene Russo as Lynn Wells) and they re-connect. She is now into literature big-time, and she's also engaged to marry an incredibly rich attorney. She (later) chastises Jake for not having read at least some of the classics, and he, Jake, gives in and reads "Moby Dick". Right. This sort of scenario happens to a big league baseball player all the time. Why not just let Lynn be a regular gal ... someone who is trying to forge a decent life for herself ... when she falls (again) for the charming big leaguer?
Still, the romance between Tom Berenger and Rene Russo works quite nicely. They make a good on-screen couple ... and there's one song on the soundtrack that adds to the romantic atmosphere ... and when Lynn decides to dump the rich lawyer and go back with Jake (Well, I guess it could happen) ... and the team wins the big game ... it all makes for a very happy ending ... one that gives a substantial tug on your heartstrings.
A Truly Great Movie! May 8, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A truly great movie! It's just one of those movies with no original plot, about a boring down and out baseball team, that makes a great comeback. At first glance, you would think there is no way this movie could be entertaining.
But a masterful blend of perfectly cast actors, cinematography, and soundtrack makes Major League one of the greatest "fun movies" of all times.
Just Plain Fun for Baseball Fans April 20, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is not nearly as well written or deep in character as Bull Durham, but for sheer fun, Major League may actually be better. All the players are entertaining but the two who really sell the film are James Gammon as the manager, Lou Brown. The scene that truly epitomizes Lou's character is when he is first called by the Indian's personnel director. Lou is at his car repair shop and is offered the dream job of managing a major league team. He ponders and says, "I dunno, Charlie. I gotta rotate a set of tires." The other show-stealer in the film is absolutely Bob Eucker as the play-by-play announcer who manages to deliver with straight-faced sincerity lines like, "In case you haven't noticed and judging by attendance you haven't, the Indians are threatening to climb out of the cellar!" It is predictable and sometimes cliche as all get out, but you WILL laugh at this film, make no mistake.
Hands down, the best baseball comedy ever! April 20, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Featuring a motley band of eccentric baseball teammates, Major League ranks as one of the best sports comedies ever produced. Released in 1989, it covers the story of the hapless Cleveland Indians (winners of numerous division titles in the decade since) who are inherited by the dead owner's self-centered, bitchy wife, Rachel Phelps. Locating a clause in the team's contract with the city that will allow her to move the team to Miami if attendance falls below two million for the year, she decides to do everything in her power to make the Indians not just losers, but the worst team in history. The result is a memorable excursion in baseball playoff history...
Hiring ex-Toledo Mud Hens manager, turned tire-shop manager, Lou Brown (James Gammon) as the new manager of the Indians, Rachel Phelps begins to construct a team destined to lose - thus sending her to the far more preferable climate-friendly Miami. Bringing in a string of others misfits including Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes), a lightning bolt speedster who can't hit, Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), an aging catcher with bad knees, Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) a high-priced, low-talent free-agent acquisition, Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert), a power-hitter who can't hit a curveball to save his life, and Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), a fireball pitcher who can't hit the broad side of a barn - a pathetic display of baseball futility quickly ensues.
Longtime Indians announcer Harry Doyle (Bob Uecker) provides a plethora of hilarious one-liners and perfect comic relief as he (whiskey in hand) follows the beginning of a magical season for Cleveland's lovable losers. Off-the-field stories also crop up with Jake's pursuit of his old flame Lynn Wells (Rene Russo), and Ricky Vaughn's affair with rival teammate Roger Dorn's wife Suzanne (Stacy Carroll).
In the end, only one thing on earth can motivate and mold this ragtag crowd of rejects into a playoff contender - their mutual dislike of Rachel Phelps. Downgrading Indian facilities as punishment for each win, she eventually has them flying to games in antique bi-planes and traveling cross-country by bus. Amazingly well-written, Major League is a comedy classic that truly delivers. Love of baseball is a plus, but not necessary for one to enjoy this movie. Funny is funny, and laughter is laughter. They extend beyond the boundaries of sports.
The DVD Report
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