Customer Reviews

Stealing Home [VHS]

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

She was older then him by almost 6 years. Their deal was to be best friends. When he was 10, she gave him a baseball pendant. This would always remind him that he was a ball player. When his father died the summer he was discovered by a scout, she was there for him to lean on. They became close. But who would be there for her? Katie was outwardly a rock, but inwardly a troubled and unhappy woman.In his mid thirties now, Billy Wyatt was in major slump. Not just a ball player slump, but a 14 year life slump. It was her death, that would once again, pull him back into life.

"Stealing Home" is one beautiful story that spans nearly 30 years. It is a story of family and friendship. A coming of age tale, that will be tugging at your heartstrings one moment and making you smile the next.It's a story of life. The cast is perfect and work well together. William McNamara is the teenage Bill, who has the most touching scenes with Jodie Foster, who plays Katie, an important and meaningful relationship in his life.Watch Foster's face, especially when she faces away from others. She is brilliant in her portrayal, you will see the pain she suffers, even as a young girl. Jonathan Silverman is the comic relief and wonderfully funny as the teenage Alan Appleby, Bill's pal, with one thing on his mind! He has some fabulous scenes with an "older woman". Mark Harmon as the older Bill,telling the story through flashbacks,as he must decide what to do with Katie's ashes,and Blair Brown, his mother, will touch you with their poignant performances. Harold Ramis, Christine Jones, Richard Jenkins,and Beth Broderick, all add their great talents to the story. Also, Helen Hunt makes an appearance, as the grown up sister of Billy.

The music is the icing on the cake for this delicious story. It frames the time era, especially defining the 60's("Poison Ivy","Baby, It's You","All, I Have To Do Is Dream") and will also leave you wanting more of the beautiful love theme, " And When She Danced".It tells their story well.I was going to go with 4 stars, but the more I wrote the more I realized how much I love this film. 5 stars to a film that stands up to many repeated viewings, and still warms the heart each time. One that says you can chose your own path and follow it.

The film is rated PG-13. It is very tastefully done, but the subject matter including suicide is very mature, so parents may want to view it first.

Well,I have got to have this soundtrackStealing Home: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, I'm headed over to add it to my cart.
Enjoy....Laurie

What a wonderful movie and what a wonderful set of reviews. Stealing Home has definitely struck a chord with a lot of thinking, feeling people.

The casting was a work of genius and every member of the cast, of whatever age group, gave 1000%. There are so many fine moments in this classic movie that I can only urge you to buy a copy ASAP. Yet through all the humour, drama, romance and teenage testosterone overload, the bitter-sweet tinge of loss and lost love gives Stealing Home a magical flavour.

One of the greatest things about high quality teen love and initiation movies such as Stealing Home and Summer Of 42, is that the viewer can experience the events and the people's lives vicariously. While I cannot relate directly to this type of movie, as I never had any physical relationships in my teens, I can thoroughly enjoy living those moments through the lives of the film characters.

This is a very sensitive and intelligent portrayal of the lives of a group of ordinary people, who shared some very special moments. In an industry filled with car chases and shoot outs, Stealing Home shines like a diamond and serves as a reminder of just how good a film can and should be.

A true classic.

One of my all-time favorites. I always believed that Stealing Home was unjustly overlooked by the viewing audience and critics alike. After reading the Amazon reviews, I realize that I was wrong. Clearly, the film has touched many people on a number of different levels. While Jodie Foster's screen time is limited, in my opinion, this film contains her finest performance to date (including her strong performance in The Courtship of Eddie's Father - TV series, not the film). Mark Harmon plays the lost soul to perfection (although he is not a very good smoker, a pet peave of mine, a non-smoker cannot fake it). Blair Brown, as always, rips it up. Fabulous cinematography. The film uses long shots to perfection, revealing inimate moments from afar rather than the standard close-up. This film reveals the emotion of the characters through their silent reflection, rather than explaining the same with a pile of unnecessary dialogue. A fine example of less is more. The only complaint I have is the quality of the DVD. I assume that the full-screen only release is not the original aspect ratio (if anyone has any information on the original aspect ratio, please contact me.) No extras whatsoever. The transfer is average at best. This film deserves the full treatment, including cast and director's commentary. Please, Warner Brother's, please, revamp and re-release the disc. My heartfelt thanks to the directors, cast and crew for a movie that moves me at every viewing.

I wrote and directed "Stealing Home" with my partner and good friend, Steven Kampmann. We'd both like to thank the people who wrote the reviews in amazon.com. We really appreciate the kind words. Nice to be remembered.

It seems that many reviews before me have all presented sentiments similar to my own about this movie. I saw it for the first time as a freshman in college, purchased it on video a few years later, and I'm now adding the DVD version to my wish list.

The story ties together a magical combination of love, friendship, family relationships, being lost/found again, spirituality, youth, and longing for understanding.

Obviously this movie has the power to touch people. How many other movies on Amazon have an *average* rating of 5 stars?

Buy it, watch it, love it. The soundtrack is also wonderful. It calms me and makes it seem like there are no worries in the world...

The first time I watched this movie was in the early 90s and I was deeply touched. Enoughed that I realized after watching it recently that inadvertently a year ago I wrote a short story using the basic plot. I purchased the DVD after a long-time friend committed suicide and I was searching for answers regarding her death. I didn't get them, but the movie offered some comfort and made me continue to respect the beauty of life. If any art can help someone do that, then it's accomplished a lofty goal.

Nothing much to add, as most reviewers have pointed out how "Stealing Home" came to touch our hearts in some way or another. Yet I want to express some of my feelings after watching this movie once again, this time on DVD. 1. The DVD itself kind of let me down due to its lack of so many features I'd expected (commentaries, producer's notes, deleted scenes etc...) Hopefully Warner Bros. will release a special or collector's edition to make up for that. 2. I may be wrong, but "Stealing Home" obviously tends to become a "classic" -- in the sense that it brings up a lot of memories or nostalgic sentiments to the viewer, just like what "Summer of '42" or "The Big Chill" always does to me. That being said, I got myself a pleasant surprise while going over all the reviews on Amazon.com and found one written by Katie Kampmann -- who played "baby Hope" and whom the main character played by Jodie Foster was actually named after. If this wonderful movie grows with the "real" Katie, well, it also grows with many other people -- no doubt about it. And whenever we feel lost in life ("... when things get confusing, and believe me Billy, they will"), we can always go back to the treasure chest of our memories to find a mystical face or smile that'd give us the strength to move on in the right direction...

In the 1000 words it says I have, I wouldn't even begin to be able to share how I feel about this movie and how it has affected my life. I wouldn't have enough space to write about how I listen to this movie or watch it almost daily or have even visited locations from the movie (Chestnut Hill, Margate, ect..) I first saw this movie when I was about 9-10 years old and am now 23.

I think I was something like 13 or 14 the first time I saw this movie and I fell in love with it. Now at 24, I've seen the movie enough times to mouth the lines and it still has guidance about love and life and never forgetting who you are. It has been and will always be my absolute favorite movie of all time. It's for old friends who never forget their bond and Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster, even cameo of, yes, ladies and gentleman, Helen Hunt as the pregnant younger sister of Mark Harmon's character. It also has great footage of Philadelphia (the Vet, riding on a SEPTA train, etc.) all things things a native (or not so as myself) would enjoy identifying with.

Not to mention, David Foster did an incredible job with the soundtrack, one of my personal favorites.

I highly reccommend the movie, it's love, life and baseball, you just can't get any better than that!

I first saw this movie in the early nineties when I was in my early teens. It's funny considering I can't even remember how or why I had the opportunity but I believe my sister was with me at the time and we both feel so lucky and thankful as it has cracked both of our Top 5 Desert Island lists.

I was fortunate enough to come across one used VHS copy about six years ago which I always thought I would treasure until the day I died. However, wise or not, I ended up sacrificing it to my sister as a peace-offering after a pretty heated argument shortly afterwards. I DO still have a cassette copy of the soundtrack, which I have dissected a million times on to numerous mix tapes. Needless to say, if I am ever able to find "And when she danced" at a karaoke bar someday, one of my goals in life will have finally been met shortly afterwards. Anyway, I had not thought about it again until last night when it played on the Diva channel here in Canada, at which point I recalled fondly how big of a crush I had on Jodie Foster once upon a time.

I am also a big-time baseball fan and a former Little Leaguer so one can understand how this movie has special appeal for me. Although I was never nearly as talented as Billy was, I always end up contemplating the possibility of getting back into the game after each and every time I see it.

The movie has even crossed immediate family lines as my older cousins have also seen it, about which I was unaware until only recently. Since then, at any family event, we are constantly quoting young Appleby, pleading with Billy to talk to Robin Parks for him and to "Be ... My ... Friend !!!"

I honestly can't understand how the critics did not enjoy this film ...