Product Details

• Actors: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt
• Directors: Bennett Miller
• Writers: Aaron Sorkin, Michael Lewis, Stan Chervin, Steven Zaillian
• Producers: Brad Pitt, Alissa Phillips, Andrew S. Karsch
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 10, 2012
• Run Time: 133 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (161 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0060ZJ7BC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #1 in Movies & TV > DVD > Sports
  • #14 in Movies & TV > DVD > Drama
• For more information about "Moneyball" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's amazing that Moneyball makes baseball statistics seem fascinating--but that's because it's not really a movie about numbers, and it's not really a movie about baseball, either. It's about what drives people to take risks--in this instance, Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland A's, who's just had his best players poached by teams that can afford to pay a lot more. Fed up with how money twists the game, he listens to Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), who persuades him that certain players are being undervalued for trivial reasons--that statistics reveal hidden strengths that could, when used in the right combinations, produce a winning season. Beane takes Brand's advice, then has to fight everyone else around him to follow it through. Moneyball skillfully takes the audience into Beane's psyche. Pitt is in excellent form; it's an understated but magnetic performance, the kind that rarely wins awards but should. Pitt has the physical presence of a former athlete and vividly expresses the mind of a man who's never achieved success but isn't ready to give up. Director Bennett Miller (Capote) shapes the supporting cast (Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, and others less recognizable but just as solid) as carefully as Beane shapes his team. Miller has a few flashy (and highly effective) moments of sound manipulation and editing, but Moneyball is carried by its superb performances. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) challenges the system and defies conventional wisdom when his is forced to rebuild his small-market team on a limited budget. Despite opposition from the old guard, the media, fans and their own field manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Beane - with the help of a young, number-crunching, Yale-educated economist (Jonah Hill) - develops a roster of misfits…and along the way, forever changes the way the game is played.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back Office Baseball: A Smart Screenplay And Grounded Performances Showcase The Business Of The Game, December 7, 2011

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moneyball (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy) (Blu-ray)

Every year, I get wary of the inevitable film set in a sporting arena where an underdog player or team must triumph against adversity to become unlikely heroes. As accomplished or heartwarming as many of these films can be, they never seem to be able to break free of the conventions that we've all seen a hundred times. While I can't say that "Moneyball" isn't inspired by the genre, I will say that it looks at the phenomenon from a decidedly different angle. Based on Michael Lewis's non-fiction account of the same name, this is actually an intriguing story ruled by the business of baseball as opposed to the emotions the game elicits. As such, it seems like something entirely new. Director Bennett Miller (Oscar nominee for Capote), along with heavyweight screenwriters Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, has created one of the brainiest and least sentimental baseball films you're likely to see. "Moneyball" tells the true story of how the Oakland A's GM Billy Beane rebuilt the team for the 2002 season with enormous financial constraints using computer analysis and statistics. While admittedly, this might not sound like a particularly sexy plot--it was a pivotal moment in sporting history well worth documenting. And despite knowing the outcome, the film is never less than fascinating.

"Moneyball" refers to the inherent unfairness in the sport as teams with deep pockets can rule the game by outspending their smaller competitors when selecting the top tier players. When Oakland lost its powerhouse line-up, the team was left scrambling for replacements. Eschewing traditional recruitment methods, Beane (Brad Pitt) placed his trust in a new assistant (Jonah Hill) that had a new way of looking at statistics to determine the game's most undervalued players. Against all advice, he assembled a team of misfits that no one thought could succeed--including his own manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who constantly challenged and opposed Beane. What happens at the start of the season only cements the team as a league (and national) laughingstock and has the country thirsting for Beane's sacrificial blood. But against all odds, things start to gel and history is made.

Pitt plays Beane with a world-weary grace. It may, in fact, be his most grounded performance to date. Aloof at first, we see how he thaws to his own superstitions to become an invaluable part of the club. Through flashbacks and interludes with his daughter, we see different sides of a man who has dedicated his life to the sport. Jonah Hill plays it straight as the assistant who is instrumental to the team's new direction. Hill is surprisingly good, deadpan even, and he and Pitt develop a chemistry that is as unlikely as it is effective. Hoffman has a small, but vital, role and is spot-on. The actors that comprise the team all turn in solid work as well, but fundamentally this is Pitt's picture from start to finish. And understatement is the name of the game. A smart screenplay, an interesting topic, effective performances--it's all handled with a refreshing minimum of schmaltz (a key element in many sport's films). By tackling the back office side of baseball, "Moneyball" sets itself apart as a true original. A film that doesn't just love the game, but really understands it (foibles and all). A rarity and a surprisingly adult entertainment, about 4 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 12/11.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The business of baseball, November 29, 2011

By 

Nicholas R.W. Henning (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moneyball (DVD)

"Moneyball" is based on true events, and provides valuable insight regarding the on-field and off-field dynamics of the Oakland A's Major League Baseball Club.

This film has the capacity to engage viewers who are familiar or unfamiliar with the sport, based on the avant-garde approach to managing resources that is utilised by Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), which any person in business can appreciate.

The narrative is also inspiring, as the viewer is presented with what seems like impossible circumstances for the A's to be successful, yet through innovative thinking high performance is achieved.

Brad Pitt provides a solid performance, as does the entire cast, and the viewer is entertained with plenty of humour and quality drama.

This movie is a win for baseball, as it has the capacity to introduce new people to the game from all over the world.

Nicholas R.W. Henning - Australian Baseball Author

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Tedious, January 30, 2012

By 

TheQ "Q" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moneyball (Amazon Instant Video)

I wanted this to be good! Brad Pitt is good in just about everything I have seen him in. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is good in mostly everything I've seen him in. I love baseball...heck, I even met Billie Beane onetime! However, it's hard for me to give it even three stars--except that if my expectations were not so high, it wouldn't have been so disappointing-so, with no expectations factored in, it was a 3 star movie.

What was wrong? The flashback scenes did not help make a connection to the character. I caught myself thinking, okay now is where I am suppose to feel sorry for Billy Beane. Nothing really happened in the flashbacks. There was never a sense that he loved baseball at all. So why build a career in it after failing as a player? Also, there was no sense that he loved being a GM. They didn't really use what could have made it an awesome movie: the relationship between him and the assistant GM. They wasted good chemistry between those two characters. There was no love for the game shown.

What was good: The thing that saves this movie is the relationship between Beane and his daughter. Their scenes together were very touching and there were too few of them.