Customer Reviews

WRIGLEY FIELD: Beyond the Ivy

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

 

 

One of the most entertaining, humorous, insightful, and off-beat films that I've ever seen! This video has something for everyone, including people who don't even care all that much about baseball.

I liked it as much for the things that it isn't as much as the things that it is. Finally, someone has done a baseball-related movie that doesn't include scratchy film footage of great plays from long ago; or interviews with self-important millionaire ballplayers; or cliche-ridden pontification from journalists about the beauty of the game. Instead, the filmmakers have crafted a film about fans, fanaticism, obsession, and the atmosphere and excitement that is part of attending a ball game in one of the last remaining classic ballparks. "Wrigley Field: Beyond the Ivy" relegates the game and players to the background, and puts everyday people like you and me in starring roles.

We bought the video this summer as a souvenier of our visit to Chicago, where we attended our first Cubs game. And what a great reminder it continues to be about the neighborhood surrounding the ballpark. We catch new things everytime we watch. I crack-up with laughter every time I watch the part about the ticket scalper. My wife was moved to tears the first time she saw the section about the janitor who lives across the street from Wrigley. My son loves the comedy section with the poor fellow who can't find a place to park. And my daughter loves any time that William Peterson (from "CSI"), the host of the film, is on screen.

Anybody who has ever spent time in the Wrigley Field neighborhood, or who wants a lasting visual remnder of the beauty of the ballpark (afterall, it's not going yo be there forever) or who is a "people-watcher" should absolutely own this video. They will not be disappointed!

Every American deserves a few wild summers at the ballpark. My heyday as a grandstand "annie" was in the 1980's, when bleacher seats were still sold day-of-game. My friends and I would camp out overnight on Sheffield Avenue to get the front row on weekend afternoons. What I liked best - and what most Cub fans understand - is that the players, who come and go, really take second to the stories that unfold in the stands at every turn.

This movie captures those stories the way the Greeks captured Troy - by sneaking up on them. Some of the characters it depicts, I've actually bumped into at Wrigley. Others I've heard the rumors about. I have been that parking maniac! I have yelled out at those ball-hawks in the left-field bleachers. I have been that Clark Street sot (for a nite or two). I have scored seats off that ticket scalper! As for "Woo-Woo", the unauthorized Cubs mascot who screams like no one else: I have hearing loss from that guy! These, along with others in "Beyond the Ivy", are the people who make Wrigley Field into a living thing. The ball game becomes almost an alibi!

Of course I wished the Cubs would make it all the way this season. But I also knew that if they did, it would change the society of Wrigley, maybe forever. This movie gets inside our little society (of which I'm an alumna with frequent homecomings) through the stories of people who started going to the games about when I did, and never left. If the Cubs ever do win a World Series, this movie will be a time-travelog to remember the way it was.

And if losing does build character, then Cub fans have the strongest, strangest character or all sports fans. This movie proves it!

I hope there is a place like Wrigley Field in every city. (Each place like that should have its own movie.) If they haven't, they're welcome to visit ours, either in person or through "Beyond the Ivy". A nice-but-naughty valentine to our magical spot and its everloving goofball fans!

Like a lot of other reviewers I was expecting a history of Wrigley Field--info about its construction, teams, games, players etc. The usual documentary stuff.

Instead this is a very quirky time capsule which concentrates on the fans and the ambiance of the neighborhood circa 1998-99. There are chapters on a scalper, fans in the bleachers, a guy who lives across the street from Wrigley with his Mom, and the 'ball hawks' who spend their days waiting in the street for home runs flying out of left field.

There are also scenes made at several bars in the surrounding Wrigley area.

Also included is a documentary of the demolition of old Comiskey Park. This was a bit of a disappointment as it is only a poem read over still photos of the demolishing Comiskey.

There is quite a bit of time devoted to a guy who built an amazingly detailed replica of Wrigley Field in his apartment. It is about 10x10 feet or more and the guy has a time dismantling it so he can move it elsewhere. He has devoted all his time and energy and finances to making a sale of the replica.

I can kinda understand some of the reviewers being disappointed at this documentary. Personally I think it will be of even greater value 15-20 years from now when the characters and scenes portrayed here are long gone.

Being a lover of all sorts of baseball documentaries I loved it. It is not a quickie throw-together of old newsreel footage like a lot of documentaries often are.

It does seem a bit expensive compared to other similar documentaries.But there is value here.

I saw this film in a small theatre in Chicago a few years ago, and was delighted to find it available on DVD. I bought it wondering if it would be as enjoyable on home viewing without the aid of a full theatre crowd, and was not disappointed!

What still comes through for me is the filmmakers passionate immersion in the crazy Wrigley neighborhood culture and the various individuals they chose to spotlight. My favorite is the ticket scalper. It's rare to find such an in-depth (and hilarious) look at this hidden aspect of baseball. I could have watched him for another half hour!

Living in the Phoenix area, I've read about all the changes going on at Wrigley this year, which makes me twice as glad that I bought the DVD. It's a thoughtful document of the way it is - and the way it was.

A wacky in depth look at what makes Cubs park and its neighborhood tick! Smartly written, nicely shot, and frequently laugh out loud funny. Cub fan & TV star William Peterson narrates the film like he's lived it. I recommend this highly and consider it a must have for every baseball fans library.

I did not like this film. I wanted to learn the history of Wrigley Field and was very disappointed. It did not say anything about Wrigley Field, just about people who attended the games. I didnot like the films format and style.

If you are a Cubs fan you will be disappointed because you love anything about the Cubs but this DVD is slow and boring. Giving a so-so look at the ball park, a less than steller history of the Cubs, and no real salute to the fans makes you very annoyed. The only good part was the walk through of a day at the park and the narrator. If you are looking for a good 'past 100 years in Cubs baseball" don't buy this-but if you buy everything that relates to the Cubs you might as well get it. It is a slow boring documentary with moments of tolerence. Keep shopping.

Bad. I kept looking at the clock hoping that the DVD was almost over. A few inside chuckles IF you know Wrigleyville. No insight. Do these producers understand how much the Cub fans dislike Woo-Woo. More to Wrigley Field than the scalpers and ball hawks. Spend the money on an afternoon at Wrigley Field.

I was really looking forward to popping this into my DVD player and witnessing an in-depth look at Wrigley Field and the fans that make it tick. Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of the inner-workings of Wrigley, and the obssessive fans that we do see leave a lot to be desired. I don't argue with the inclusion of any of the fans in the documentary, as they are all interesting and are what make up an integral part of Wrigley Field and Cubdom. However, the few fans and people that are included are milked for every minute of screentime and dialogue that they can give, and that comes off as extremely boring. The director should have cut down the extraneous bits, gotten to the point, and included more people and more interesting people. I would have loved to have seen a little bit about the locker rooms, and the people who make them run, or the field maintenance crew, or something about clubhouse manager Yosh Kawano. Instead, we are left with an extra hour of unnecessary and boring video footage, several borderline-exploitative interviews of fans at the end of their wits, and poorly produced and scripted "dramatized" scenes by undramatized people. As well, the documentary seems to have very little to do with the teams that have actually played at the ballpark, presumably because the producers didn't have any official licensing from the MLBPA or the NFL (yes, the Bears did also play at Wrigley Field). There seems to be no cohesive theme to glue and tie the documentary together. It just meanders around, seemingly endlessly, as a bunch of video some guy took and decided to throw together to make a "film".

Another big beef I have with this DVD is the super amateurish production values. The budget for this production was extremely low, and it is painfully obvious and not cleverly hidden. Handheld cameras, excessive usage of strange and unappealing camera angles, very poor audio processing, terrible video editing, and cornball scripting and acted scenes left a very bad taste in my mouth. It was hard for me to sit through this DVD. I did sit through it because I love the Cubs and I love Wrigley Field. But at the end of the documentary I felt extremely let down. I'm still looking for a great documentary about the Cubs and/or Wrigley Field with high productions values like NFL Films knows how to put out.