Eight Men Out poster & wallpaper

John Cusack, Clifton James, Michael Lerner

Eliot Asinof's detailed book Eight Men Out illustrates how the system of American sports collapsed in 1919, the year the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. Filmmaker John Sayles worked o...( read more  read more... )n his script years before the 1988 film (or before he had the rights to make the film) as a labor of love. Sayles's adaptation proves one can make a historically accurate film in the day and age of artistic license. And what a story. Although many know about the "Black Sox," made famous--again--in the 1989 hit film Field of Dreams, the details of the saga are far less known. The center of Dreams, Shoeless Joe Jackson (portrayed correctly by D.B. Sweeney as illiterate and left-handed in Eight), is not the core of this film; it's ace pitcher Eddie Cicotte (Sayles favorite David Strathairn), who took the money, and third baseman Buck Weaver (John Cusack), who did not. The film fits nicely into Sayles's (Lone Star) strong suit: the ensemble drama. We are introduced to bickering owners, famous crooks, high-minded judges, lowlife gangsters, investigative reporters (played by Studs Terkel and Sayles himself), and, most of all, players who are at the breaking point when it comes to low salaries and degrading rewards. While some may feel the film is not as visceral as it should be, there is a great amount of verisimilitude when watching finely tuned athletes telling their bodies to play poorly--heartbreak on the nation's diamond. Beautifully detailed (like Sayles's previous labor-drama, Matewan), Eight Men Out gives us powerful lessons in which everyone lost: players, gamblers, and especially the fans who love the game. --Doug Thomas

Flixster Users

76% liked it

8,972 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

36 critics

PG, 1 hr. 59 min.

Directed by: John Sayles

Release Date: September 2, 1988

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DVD Release Date: May 8, 2001

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Stats: 448 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (448)

  • sainttom93
    July 5, 2007
    sainttom93
    Tis is a GREAT idealization (not always totally accurate) picture of what happened after the Black Sox scandle of 1919! Shoeless Joe belongs IN the Hall of Fame!
  • broadwaymo
    July 25, 2007
    broadwaymo
    One of the best sport/dramas ever produced is screenwriter/director John Sayles' interpretation of Eliot Asinof's book of the same title. A fact-based telling of the plot to throw the 1919 World Series by the Chicago White Sox, forever to be known as "The Black Sox Scandal". John...( read more) Mahoney, John Cusack, Michael Rooker and D. B. Sweeney head an all-star cast with David Straithairn turning in an outstanding performance as pitcher, Eddie Cicotte. One doesn't need to be a diehard baseball fan to appreciate this exceptionally well made film.
  • kristinam517
    July 12, 2009
    kristinam517
    I don't like it that much
  • glory1bobby
    July 1, 2009
    glory1bobby
    Hello My Dear

    My name is Glory.I am a female I was impressed when i saw your profile and will like to establish a long lasting relationship with you. In addition,i will like you to reply me through my private e mail box (glory01bobby@yahoo.com) Thanks waiting to hear from you so...( read more)onest.

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  • robinh4
    May 13, 2009
    robinh4
    Eight Men Out is somewhat of a good movie, but I found this movie very boring. Most of the scenes were dull and I really didn't like the ending that much either. But, I must say, John Cusack played his role great.
  • woulduaskpicasso2sellhisguitar
    April 4, 2009
    woulduaskpicasso2sellhisguitar
    Not interested in a baseball movie
  • sportboy
    March 29, 2009
    sportboy
    want to see at some stage
  • wolvesevolve
    February 15, 2009
    wolvesevolve
    John Sayles delivers well with this historical piece of the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal. One of the best baseball movies ever made, done on a fairly low budget, a wonderful screenplay and Sayles does an excellent job of keeping faithful to the time period and the biographical ...( read more)book from which the screenplay was based on.
  • MaximusAurelius21
    January 18, 2009
    MaximusAurelius21
    It is really good!!!
  • XaudreyXlynnXtaylorX
    January 18, 2009
    XaudreyXlynnXtaylorX
    Great movie about the 1919 world series where the black sox throw the world series

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Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's an insider's movie, a baseball expert's film that is hard for the untutored to follow. full review

View more Eight Men Out reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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  • The film Eight Men Out is about the 1919 Black Sox scandal. What was at the root of the scandal?  Answer »
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