Featured Audience Ratings

• Chris W

  
  This is writer/director John Sayles's historical drama about the infamous Black Sox Scandal in which eight players from the Chicago White Sox were paid to throw the 1919 WOrld Series- an event which is one of the mot notable and darkest moments in ports history. The retelling… More
  This is writer/director John Sayles's historical drama about the infamous Black Sox Scandal in which eight players from the Chicago White Sox were paid to throw the 1919 WOrld Series- an event which is one of the mot notable and darkest moments in ports history. The retelling here is pretty good, and qwuite insightful, yet not without its flaws. The story could have ued some more context and clearer motivations, and it helps to have at least a little prior knowledge of the story before seeing this, but even then, this is still an enjoyable look at just how different the sports world was way back when, as compared to the days depicted here where the players were true working class heroes not making millions of dollars, and were seen as truly being guys deserving of worship, making their screw ups all the more stinging and upsetting. I think the film also could have further detailed the labor history aspect of things, and the exact cultural impact the scandal had, but it does a decent enough job as it stands.

• Ken S

  
  Worth seeing even if you don't like baseball. Great performances all round. How can you not love Michael Rooker?

• AJ V

  
  This baseball drama is interesting, mostly because it's a true story, but also because it's got a lot of stars. The problem is, it gets really dull now and then. Overall, it's pretty good, though.

• Tom E

  
  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!

• Todd S

  
  Eight Men Out is the real life story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox's team that threw the world series for a big pay day. In the early 20th century, baseball players were barely payed enough money to live on, so when organized crime stepped in and offered a big pay day for… More
  Eight Men Out is the real life story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox's team that threw the world series for a big pay day. In the early 20th century, baseball players were barely payed enough money to live on, so when organized crime stepped in and offered a big pay day for throwing the 1919 World Series, half the team said yes. The film Eight Men Out is based on the book by Eliot Asinof, the first to officially tell the story of what happened. Until this book, people knew the outcome, but not the particulars. While the book goes into great detail, the movie does not. The film gives us the basics in a very simplistic form, in order to make it more dramatic, and that's the one part of this film I didn't really care for. The things I really wanted to know more about never seemed to materialize and a lot of what we saw in return was the Hollywood exaggeration effect. Don't get me wrong though, the film was very entertaining as it showed a lot of the action on the field and touched on some aspects of the scandal. The acting was stellar and it was really fun to see Charlie Sheen and John Cusack right as they were first starting out. As for the ending, well that was expected, but I still really enjoyed the sports action, back stories, and even the over the top dramatics surrounding the story. It may not be very in depth or even historically accurate, but seeing it again all these years later, I can now appreciate and understand why it is considered one of the top ten sports films of all time.

• John B

  
  John Sayles films have always been a rewarding experience for me and this film is no different. I had heard of the stories of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the thrown World Series but here we get a depiction of the issues surrounding baseball in this time period and how players were open… More
  John Sayles films have always been a rewarding experience for me and this film is no different. I had heard of the stories of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the thrown World Series but here we get a depiction of the issues surrounding baseball in this time period and how players were open for corruption.

• Wu C

  
  Very good biopic on the famous 'black sox' scandal.

• Doctor S

  
  Probably my 2nd favorite baseball movie behind <i>The Natural.</i> Great evocation of an era when baseball players were regular working men and the greatest game faced its darkest days.

• David S

  
  A great ensemble film (if they filmed it now it would have a cast that would be the equivalant af Oceans 11!) and an engrossing true story. A young John Cusack is the standout here but David Strathairn is also brilliant as the ageing pitcher. Even if you've got no interest in… More
  A great ensemble film (if they filmed it now it would have a cast that would be the equivalant af Oceans 11!) and an engrossing true story. A young John Cusack is the standout here but David Strathairn is also brilliant as the ageing pitcher. Even if you've got no interest in baseball it doesn't matter as the relationships between the characters is the main point of interest.

• Moe E

  
  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… More
  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 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.

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