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Bang the Drum Slowly

In his Amazon.com review of "Bang the Drum Slowly," movie critic Tom Keogh states, "Only those with ice water in their veins won't get misty-eyed watching this moving film." Well, slap a poisoned apple in my hand and call me Snow White's stepmother, because the only thing that John D. Hancock's 1973 baseball drama moved me to was pangs of boredom. I give the film its performances, but they serve little purpose in bringing to life characters that we just don't get to know much about. ***

Take, for example, the lack of development of Robert De Niro's character, Bruce Pearson, the catcher for the fictional New York Mammoths whose fatal cancer is kept a secret by the team's pitcher, Henry 'Arthur' Wiggen (Michael Moriarty). He's a simple, somewhat child-like guy that we don't ever really acknowledge on a level above that which the story places him on; his disease never feels real, even as we watch Arthur try his damndest to keep the the other team members and their snoopy manager (Vincent Gardenia) from finding out about it. His actions are admirable and generate some warm fuzzies now and then, but the friendship is never truly solidified, and feels too brisk in the face of baseball politics and jargon (oddly enough, there's very little game play afoot). "Bang the Drum Slowly" features some good performances from Moriarty and De Niro, but in the end, their efforts are struck out by a lackluster story and uninvolving characters.

For a movie made in 1973, "Bang the Drum Slowly" hasn't aged too well, and this DVD image transfer is proof of that. While the picture is an admirable effort, there are a number of things wrong with it, most notably the presence of dirt and speckles in many instances, and some soft edges. On the plus side, colors look good and suffer not from bleeding, with solid blacks and admirable contrast, and there are no pesky enhancement artifacts to deal with. Won't win Transfer of the Year, but those looking to purchase the film may not be too disappointed. ***

The soundtrack, however, is much worse. Mastered in Dolby 2.0 Mono, the track features dialogue that sounds harsh in many places, and little range with its use of music or sound effects. Anyone who knows mono knows what to expect here.