61*

TV-MA

2001

2 hr. 8 min.

Drama

List

86%

28 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Aiming for one of the most famed records in sports history, a pair of very different baseball players hit home runs at an impressive rate. Roger Maris (Barry Pepper), a reserved sort, is much less popular than his hard-partying New York Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane), the player who many observers think will be the one to challenge Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in one season. But in the summer of 1961, Maris surges ahead of Mantle, making a run at Ruth's mark.

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Jester T

Unbelievable depiction of the ‘61 Yankees run for the single season home run record. The actors move like Mantle & Maris, bat like them, look like them, talk like them. Billy Crystal went to great pains to use CG to make Yankee Stadium look like it did then. If you never see another baseball movie this is the one to watch

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/24

Full Review

Fredric B

it's a trip back in time; thanks to Billy Crystal's fanaticism about Mickey Mantle,Roger Maris, & the New York Yankees. The actor's he found were the spitting image of the real thing, who were played by Barry Pepper (Roger Maris) Thomas Jane (Mickey Mantle) A must see for any Baseball fan!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

Steve D

I didn't think there was a whole lot there.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great acting, and great tribute to an amazing time in baseball

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/12/22

Full Review

Phil D

This movie is outstanding. A real human story of these two incredible baseball players.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/04/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Great movie with great acting. Every actor in this movie does a Stellar job. Gives true meaning to the saying “ no small roles”. I saw this movie as a kid and have rewatched it at least 5 times.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/08/22

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Billy Crystal

Director

Thomas Jane

Mickey Mantle

Barry Pepper

Roger Maris

Anthony Michael Hall

Whitey Ford

Richard Masur

Milt Kahn

Bruce McGill

Ralph Houk

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Nathan Rabin

AV Club

What begins as a lively, vibrant evocation of one of baseball's greatest seasons ends as a frustratingly conventional tale of sports heroism, a sort of upscale movie-of-the-week for the Classic Sports Network crowd.

Mar 25, 2020

Full Review

Ron Wertheimer

New York Times

This film is about more than a broken record. It's about a broken heart. Watch it, and yours may break, too.

Mar 25, 2020

Full Review

Tim Goodman

San Francisco Chronicle

The beauty of 61, the Billy Crystal film for HBO, is that it early on makes a few dangerous missteps and corrects them quickly, all the while benefiting from a story as riveting and freshly modern as any sports story ever.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 25, 2020

Full Review

Alan Ng

Film Threat

I enjoyed 61*, but then again, I'm a longtime fan of baseball.

Rated: 7.5/10

Jan 10, 2022

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Crystal delivers a nice looking sentimental television drama geared for the fan who looks to baseball as if it were a religion.

Rated: B

Mar 31, 2020

Full Review

Bob Bloom

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

A great baseball movie solidly directed by Billy Crystal. You can tell he's a Yankee fan, but also does not hesitate from showing the warts on some of his idols.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 12, 2007

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Synopsis

Aiming for one of the most famed records in sports history, a pair of very different baseball players hit home runs at an impressive rate. Roger Maris (Barry Pepper), a reserved sort, is much less popular than his hard-partying New York Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane), the player who many observers think will be the one to challenge Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in one season. But in the summer of 1961, Maris surges ahead of Mantle, making a run at Ruth's mark.

Director: Billy Crystal
Executive Producer: Billy Crystal, Ross Greenburg
Screenwriter: Hank Steinberg
Production Co: HBO Films, Face Productions
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 1, 2018

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