The Babe Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)

The Babe is a 1992 biographical drama film directed by Arthur Hiller (Love Story, Silver Streak, Nightwing, Author! Author!, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil). It’s about the life of famed baseball player Babe Ruth. It was written and produced by John Fusco (Crossroads, Young Guns 1/2, Thunderheart, The Forbidden Kingdom, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny). It was produced by Bill Finnegan (Summer of Fear, Night of the Creeps, Reality Bites, ED, She-Wolf of London, and They Came from Outer Space). It grossed $19.9 million at the box office. The story begins in 1902 in Baltimore, Maryland, where seven-year-old George Herman Ruth Jr. troubled and not-so disciplined is sent to the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. Ruth is sent by his father, George Herman Ruth Sr. (played by: Bob Swan from Natural Born Killers, Rudy, Hoosiers, and Backdraft) who cannot handle raising the boy anymore. At the school, Ruth is schooled by Catholic missionaries and is made fun of by other children because of his large size. Brother Matthias Boutlier (played by: James Cromwell from Babe, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Spider-Man 3, The Green Mile, and L.A. Confidential) first introduces Ruth to the game of baseball. During a session of batting practice, Ruth hits several towering home runs. It jumps to 1914. A 19-year-old Ruth (played by: John Goodman from Roseanne/The Conners, Kong: Skull Island, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, and Raising Arizona) is on St. Mary’s baseball team. Ruth’s amazing skills come to the attention of Jack Dunn (played by: J.C. Quinn from C.H.U.D., Maximum Overdrive, At Close Range, and Days of Thunder). Since Ruth is underage, Dunn decides to adopt Ruth and sign him to a contract with the Baltimore Orioles. In the middle of the 1914 baseball season, Ruth is sold to the Boston Red Sox. Ruth begins to gain wide attention for his home runs and becomes popular in Boston. However, he angers Red Sox owner Harry Frazee (played by: Peter Donat from The Game, The X-Files, and School Ties) during a party, he demands a raise, and a suite for road games. Frazee ends up selling him to the New York Yankees over it to finance his Broadway shows.  Ruth becomes very popular in New York, as he helps the Yankees win the World Series in 1923. After divorcing his first wife Helen Woodford (played by: Trini Alvarado from Rich Kids, The Frighteners, and Little Women), he starts to go into a slump, while teammate Lou Gehrig (played by: Michael McGrady from Trancers, Invaders from Mars, Wyatt Earp, and Ray Donovan) becomes known as the “Iron Horse” and “The Pride of the Yankees”. He has trouble with the fans after that. He also takes a second wife Claire (played by: Kelly McGillis from Top Gun, Witness, The Accused, and Stake Land) while trying to get back in his prime. In 1927, Ruth returns to his old self and hits 60 home runs, breaking his old record of 59 home runs. In 1932, during the World Series against the Cubs, in Game 3, Ruth, during an at-bat, points to center field and hits a towering home run, “calling his shot”.  By 1934, Babe is well on the decline. He wants to pursue his post-career ambition of managing a baseball team but Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert (played by: Bernard Kates from Seedpeople, The Phantom, and Judgment at Nuremberg) has other intentions and releases the Babe. Babe signs with the Boston Braves hoping to become a manger but ends up as a mascot and a comedy routine for the team. Can he make a comeback to his once great self to the game or is he just a joke now????The Babe has all the big moments from the iconic baseball slugger but it stretches the truth at times for entertainment’s sake here. It’s still the best piece of cinema based on the legendary player after all these years. Director Arthur Hiller was doing lots of comedies at the time but he handled this sports drama with ease and it’s one of his most under-rated productions. Let’s be honest, John Goodman is the reason that you need to check this out. He gives his greatest acting performance here and he turned into Babe Ruth for this feature thanks to the top notch special fx here. It feels legit, like you are watching the real thing in this. The supporting cast is very impressive here which includes James Cromwell, Kelly McGillis, Michael McGrady, J.C. Quinn, W. Earl Brown (Scream), and Richard Tyson (Battlefield Earth). This is one of my favorite baseball movies of all time. Babe was such an entertaining and fascinating character in real life. It’s great to see all the different times in his life displayed here. If you are a fan of sports films or John Goodman, this one comes RECOMMENDED!!!!Let’s talk about the high definition presentaton from Mill Creek Entertainment! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is the exact same master from Universal that they used for the Best Buy exclusive blu ray release from a few years ago. It’s a huge improvement compared to the older DVD and VHS home video releases but it’s exactly what you would expect for an older catalog title to be honest. The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is solid and an upgrade compared to the past releases. All of the dialogue is very clean and and the music is elevated here with a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Unfortunately, it’s bare bones so don’t expect any extras. The original Babe blu ray from 2017 had a few Babe Ruth shorts on it plus a trailer. It does come with a very cool looking retro VHS style limited edition slipcover. This Mill Creek version is at a great bargain and the price is pretty cheap. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!