Product Details

• Actors: Mamie Ruth Moberly, Hank Aaron, Bud Abbott, Roger Angell, Arthur Ashe
• Directors: Ken Burns
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS Paramount
• DVD Release Date: September 28, 2004
• Run Time: 1140 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BITUDO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #333 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #1 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Sports
  #2 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > By Director > Burns, Ken
  #2 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > PBS

• For more information about "Baseball - A Film By Ken Burns" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

On the DVD

Ken Burns's Baseball works magnificently on DVD, if only for the reason that scene selection in such a massive documentary is essential for viewing and re-viewing your favorite sections. The DVD menus are purely functional, and the timelines and baseball stats will appeal primarily to diehard fans of the game. Clicking on the PBS logo will take you to the stats and bios of players, although the bios are minimal. Each of the first nine discs contains these as well as trivia questions. Get the question right, move on to the next question. Get it wrong and a snippet of the documentary plays, showing you the correct answer. The real appeal of the DVD set (other than, of course, the fabulous documentary itself) is the 10th, "extra inning" disc. This final disc contains the documentary The Making of Baseball, as well as team info (which, again, is pretty basic) and episodes of Charlie Rose's talk show, in which he interviews Ken Burns, Bob Gibson, Yogi Berra, Bob Costas, and Rachel Robinson (the widow of Jackie Robinson). --Jenny Brown

Product Description

Ken Burns tops himself with this epic of American history, told in "nine innings," with a skilled narration by John Chancellor and the voices of Paul Newman, Jason Robards, Billy Crystal, and other stars. The series spans 150 years, starting with the myth-debunking tale of baseball's true beginnings -- when it was a game "one degree above mayhem." Then follow the growth of America's National Pastime through the decades of glory and record-setting achievements, as well as the scandals, the bigotry, and the big money. The series portrays the game as a mirror of America itself -- the passions, prejudices, and ambitions that have shape the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The consummate set of videos about Baseball., May 16, 2007

By	M. A. Filippelli "Marc12074" (Elk Grove, CA, US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Contained in these ten DVD's are just about every historical moment in baseball.

Inning 1 Baseball from its inception in the 1840's to the 1900's This explores baseballs roots from Abner Doubleday to the beginnings of what we know as modern day baseball.

Inning 2 1900 to 1910. The beginning of the World Series. Great footage and photos of old parks and players.

Inning 3 1910 TO 1920. Covers Babe Ruth, the Black sox, Grover Cleveland Alexander and more. Footage of Fenway being built

Inning 4 1920 to 1930 Really the beginnings of the Yankee dynasty but the Cardinals rule the Natonal league with the famed gass house gang.

Inning 5 1930 to 1940. More footage of all the great stars of the day, Ruth, Di Maggio, Williams and more.

Inning 6 1940 to 1950. The effects of war on the American pastime. The splendid splinter goes to war, he comes back and picks up where he left off.

Inning 7 1950 to 1960. The Yankee dynasty continues. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, The shot heard around the world, Don Larsons perfect game. The Giants and Dodgers pick and leave.

Inning 8 1960 to 1970. The Los Angeles Angels are born, The Kansas City A's become the Oakland A's, The Royals and Mets are born. The Padres are born and move into a small stadium outside of San Diego. And then there was the Seattle Pilots. Those amazin Mets win the World series. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax get agents but are unsuccessful in changing baseballs anti trust act and re sign with the Dodgers. Maris passes the Babe with an asterisk.

Inning 9 1970 to 1994. Curt Flood loses his war against baseball but the players eventually win. The players union gets stronger. The Reds come to power. The A's win a couple world series. Roberto Clemente's life cut short. Washington loses another team called the Senators.

The film also has some great commentary interspersed through out all of the DVD's. At the end of each DVD is a trivia game based on the decade that the DVD covered.


While the movie is based for the most part on New York teams this is truly a must for all baseball fans. There is no other collection of materials that covers baseball like this one does in terms of breadth and depth.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Viewing for Baseball Fans & American History Buffs, August 18, 2007

By	azjmc - See all my reviews

This set isn't cheap, but it's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Burns' storytelling is always fascinating, focusing on the evolution of not only the game of baseball, but in an indirect way, American history as well. It is particularly meaningful that he interviewed some baseball greats (Williams, Mantle, Buck O'Neil) before they passed on. My only complaint is that the series stops at 1994. (I would love to see a coda/epilogue made covering the achievements and scandals of the last 13 years.) If you are a baseball fan, this is defintely worth having. Some nice special features too.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Burn's Biased Baseball History, July 23, 2009

By	Charles E. Osborn (Atchison, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ken Burns does a brilliant job of covering the history of baseball teams from the New York area (including the Dodgers and Giants) and the Yankees - Red Sox rivalry while ignoring most other major league teams. He augments his slanted history with interviews of baseball writers and sundry celebrities almost all of whom are Yankee or Red Sox fans. This documentary does maintain a properly reverential attitude toward our national pastime throughout but his focus on his favorite teams is hard to stomach. The first thee "innings" covering early baseball are the best.