Review of Eight Men Out (1988) by Ric R — 12 Nov 2007

The true story of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

Masterful direction by John Sayles and an awesome David Strahairn as star pitcher Eddie Cicotte, who took his money up front and a moving performance by John Cusack as Buck Weaver. Who knows about the fix and takes no money, but keeps his mouth shut. This is the main focus of the movie, should Weaver tell the truth and be seen as a bad teammate or should he kept the secert and hope his teammates 'come around' and start trying to win.

Of course Weaver does the latter and plays for it but being banned from baseball.

This a esemable movie and even the small roles stand out. For me, it was Sayles himself as reporter Ring Lauder that stand out. Ring is a reporter first and chases down the story of a lifetime when he and Hugh Fullerton (Studs Turkell) suspect a fix. He even taunts the players with a song about 'blowing ball games'. But in the end he reveals himself a fan of the team and baseball itself, like most reporters are.

A great movie by a great director.