Customer Reviews

Bang the Drum Slowly

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the Mark Harris novel (which I suggest you read before watching the movie) Henry Wiggen, the narrator, often says to himself "Lay it on thin, boys." He fears that Bruce, the terminally ill catcher, may suspect false sentiment if his teammates treat him too well, as he has been the butt of their jokes in the past. Bang the drum "slowly" suggests only a modicum of fanfare, and that is exactly what makes this film great.

Against the backdrop of Big League baseball, the viewer is given only small glimpses of DeNiro's character's pain. Too many films dealing with death as the major theme pour it on heavy. Who wants to sit and cry for an hour and a half, for God's sake? What's the point in that? It's as much what you DON'T see that gives the film its depth, and that is, in itself, a breath of rarefied cinematic air.

Excellent performances abound here. The young DeNiro is nearly perfect as the slow - witted yet big - hearted country boy. Moriarty shines as Henry Wiggen, the big time pitcher, card hustler, insurance salesman, author and ultimately big brother to the doomed catcher. Vincent Gardenia is just plain hilarious as the manager of the fictional New York Mammoths, a team loaded with talent, yet fraught with eccentric players and inner turmoil.

What begins as a secret (Bruce, the catcher's, illness) is ultimately leaked to the other members of the team, and in the end, he unknowingly pulls them together.

Moriarty and DeNiro "lay it on thin," each giving subtle, yet dead on performances. Watching the friendship of the two characters grow is one of many things that makes Bang the Drum Slowly a special film. Your heart will not be torn out at every turn. On the contrary - there are more comic scenes than dramatic ones. But this mixture works amazingly well, and for that reason you'll remember this film, and the narrator's final words, for a long time.

"He wasn't a bad fellow. No worse than most and probably better than some."

Simple as that. "Lay it on thin."

"Plain old mother talk aint no ways strong enough to describe such a terrible mixup is life, Arthur. But I swear, my son's been handed one s**t deal!"

One of the finer movies of its era, Bang the Drum Slowly is the story of a big-league pitcher, superbly played by Michael Moriarty, and his roommate, a catcher dieing from Hodgkin's disease played by a young Robert DeNiro in a wonderful performance that will come as a surprise to many used to the, by now familiar, DeNiro persona. Here he is a dumb-as-dirt, but amiable Georgia farm boy and he is absolutely believable in the role.

A touching story told with great humor, I think it one of the best baseball movies made, though it really isn't about baseball. This is the 70's, before super star salaries and temperaments have forever changed the game, when Managers were still King and the top salary of an ace pitcher was 100K. The film is told at a leisurely pace, 70's style, somewhat episodically, which will put some off.

Quite frankly I loved the sidetrips and distractions, because it allows a great cast to all have their moments. Vincent Gardenia as Dutch, the prototypical big league Manager "Never mind the facts, give me details" a cigarette forever planted on his lower lip, ashes dripping down his chest; Phil Foster hooking unsuspecting fans to play TEGWAR (The Exciting Game Without Any Rules)with himself & Arthur; Patick McVey as the father; Marshall Ephron as the weasely Bradley; the scheming Ann Wedgewood: Selma Diamond, Danny Aiello and others.

The story is narrated by Moriarty, and that narration and much of the dialogue is done in beautifully articulate mangled English. It feels lived-in. The story is told with an odd mixture of dead-pan delivery that is unsentimental and yet is very touching in the last analysis. Bittersweet.

Although they avoid the big emotional "moment", the film builds its emotions slowly and carefully, and when it is done if you haven't been moved by this funny/sad story, well....too bad for you. Well worth your time, for some laughs, some tears, an insight or two and some sterling performances by Michael Moriarty and Robert DeNiro who hit all the right notes.

"I don't know why you don't live it up all the time when dieing's just around the corner, but you don't. You'd think you would, but you don't." 4-1/2 Stars all the way.

I first saw this movie some twenty years ago and certain of the images have stuck with me all that time. This is not a baseball movie in the conventional sense so if you're expecting to kick back and enjoy the game, forget it. This movie has the same relationship to baseball as does "The Natural". Baseball is the backdrop for two friends, one a pitcher destined for stardom the other a somewhat simple minded roster player, his catcher. Unfortunately for the catcher, played very, very well by a young DeNiro, fate has intervened in the form of Hodgkins disease. The grittiness, competitive nature, raw desire and humor necessary to make it through what he knows will be his last season should be a lesson to us all.

I bet in twenty more years I'll still have the memory of Moriarty and DeNiro running across the outfield together with that incredible music in the background. It leaves a lump in my throat. What a fantastic image.

This is the film that you will not forget.This is a story of two roommates attempting to get through one final season. Michael plays the role of a pitcher who is the roommate of Robert DeNiro who plays the role of the catcher.DeNiro is
diagnosed with Hodgkins disease. Michael as his roommate and
intimate friend helps DeNiro cope with Hodgkins as well as
make the season to the end. This is one of the more touching
films that I have watched.It would compare to "Brian's Song"
as far as being emotional.DeNiro,in this movie definitely showed
signs of great things to come for him.And,who could ever forget
the haunting song that accompanied the movie.A definite must see.

Bang the Drum Slowly is a film for anyone who loves sublime acting, droll humor, and a moving story that celebrates the human spirit. If you're a baseball fan, it's an added plus.

The two stars--Michael Moriarty and Robert deNiro--debuted as leading men in this film and just watching these two youthful actors giving brilliant performances (as a likeably egocentic pitcher and his unsophisticated teammate) is a joy for movie fans. Vincent Gardenia is equally effective (and wonderfully funny) as the team's coach. The story---while dealing with the impending death of the team's pitcher played by deNiro----is never obvious, overdone or sentimental. Instead, the film affirms the values of friendship and teamwork with great subtlety and intelligence.

Bang the Drum Slowly recently appeared on the NY Times list as one of the 1,000 greatest films ever made. I say the choice is right on.

Bang the Drum Slowly is quite possibly the best baseball film ever. It rivals Sayles' 8 Men Out and Field Of Dreams and stands alone as a very complex and emotional portrayal of a sick man playing out his dream. Robert DeNiro plays a somewhat reserved character in comparison to his Scorsese roles, and succeeds alongside Michael Moriarity in relaying the deft emotion constructed between the two baseball players. Sports films are always either horrible or excellent (Celtic Pride and Bad News Bears respectively) and this film is far beyond any rote definition of excellency. ZD

"Bang the Drum Slowly" is a line taken from the cowboy dirge "The Steets of Laredo" which is about a cowboy dying young."Bang the Drum Slowly" which is based on a novel by the same name, is about a dying dim-witted, country boy catcher and a sophisticated, star pitcher. The catcher (Pearson), played by Robert DeNiro, is dying from Hogkin's disease and the only one who knows about it is the Michael Moriarty character (Arthur). The story goes on how Arthur is suddenly nice to Pearson. No one knows why and everyone becomes more resentful of Pearson. Slowly everyone learns that Pearson is dying and starts to treat Pearson nicer. In addition, the team, a talented but bickering group of ballplayers, are finally united because of Pearson's condition and go on to win the series. The continued subtle references to the business side of baseball pulls us back to the harsh reality of life and prevents the movie from being too corny. The movie is superb, but the DVD would have been better if some extras were included especially if there were something about history of free agency in baseball. $124,000 is not even the the base pay of today's rookie major leaguer, but in 1974 (when the movie was made) this was a huge amount of money. 1974 was also significant because this was the year that Andy Messersmith of the Dodger's challenged the reserve clause and became the first free agent.

'Bang the Drum Slowly' is the best type of film. It is engaging while you are watching it, and you still think about it days after you last saw it. Solid acting and a well-written, theme-laden story immediately snag the audience's attention. The film is humble in the scale of its focus on baseball and friendship, but the snapshots of romance, family and business add an emotional element to the story that would not have been there if the two main themes were stuck to. DeNiro and Moriarty do a great job with the two main characters. DeNiro does a great job aside from occasionally lapsing from a Southern GA accent to his typical NY Drawl (really, this is only evident a few times). Moriarty gives his character many facets as an all-star pitcher and an estute business man, but his facial expressions seem to be to stoic to me to really convey his emotions- the character is still very effective. In addition, I enjoyed the little things about this film. The music, use of slow motion, and well-placed comic relief were all used masterfully in this film. To close, a great baseball movie, and a great movie overall.

To say the book and this movie is not really about baseball is not quite right. Yes, it is about more than just baseball, but baseball provides the rhythms, the spring, summer and ultimately the winter for us all. Baseball is the only major sport where time is not a factor, it can be played into infinity. That said, the cut aways from the actors to the real ballplayers was pretty well done. I did think it was strange for the Yankees to be playing the Reds and the Pirates. I wish DeNiro had spent as much time on baseball as he did on the accent. Also, Harris wrote four books with Henry Wiggins as the main character, from rookie to veteran on his way out. I highly recommend his books. "From now on I rag nobody." Good words to live by.

There was nothing hokey overly melodramatic about this story, and usually you get that with a sports story or about a good person dying. In this case, we have a combination of the two.
This is simply a mellow, sweet-natured human interest story well-acted by the two main stars: Michael Moriarity and Robert De Niro. Both are nice to watch, playing very easy-going non-offensive characters.
Moriarty plays a pitcher on a pennant-contending team who lovingly looks after his not-so-smart-but-dying teammate and friend (De Niro). By today's standards, it's slow-moving but I never got bored with it in several viewings. As nice a film as it is, there is one warning: a lot profanity by the manager (Vincent Gardenia) but it's not a kids' movie anyway.
I watched it years ago and then again recently when it came out on DVD. It's hard to get excited about it, yet it's a memorable story that I could never get out of my head. We all wish we had friends like the one Moriarty portrays here.