| The
Review: |
Before there was Ron Howard's "A
Beautiful Mind," there was Robert Mulligan's "Fear Strikes
Out." Before there was Russell Crowe's commanding performance
as a man troubled by the images of his own thunderstruck psyche,
there was Anthony Perkins as an equally distraught man whose
love for his father was only usurped by his fear of him. Truth
be told, there are a great deal of similarities to be found
between the altogether-fictional Oscar-winning account of
John Nash's rise from mental health, and that of real-life
baseball great Jimmy Piersall (Perkins), who, in his very
first days with the Boston Red Sox, suffered a breakdown of
extreme proportions and underwent physical and psychological
therapy. ***
Anyone can plainly spot the cause
of Jimmy's suffering from the start: as a young boy his father,
John Piersall (Karl Malden), pushed and pushed for him to
learn the art of being the best of the best. No room for improvement,
is his attitude when it comes to rearing his son; he's got
to be the most outstanding one out there from the moment his
picks up his first baseball glove. This continues throughout
Jimmy's early adult years, when he goes off to play in the
minor league, believing that he'll be on his way to the pros
within a year's time. When that doesn't happen, he begins
pushing himself even harder, to the point that when he finally
does make it to the big league, he begins treating his fellow
teammates in the same manner that his father did him. ***
Although the film has a foot in
the baseball diamond, much of its main body is more relegated
to the fragile nature of the father/son relationship between
Jimmy and his dad. Much of what makes this film so compelling
is the fact that it doesn't portray John Piersall as a monster:
deep down, he's really a loving, caring father blinded to
the fact that in reality, he's trying to live vicariously
through his son. There is a very impactful moment when the
two come face-to-face with one another in Jimmy's hospital
room: Jimmy hugs his father and says "I love you, Dad, but
I can't see you right now." The looks on their faces speak
volumes of the years of emotional pain that have surfaced
in mere seconds. ***
Other aspects of Piersall's life
are also explored, like his marriage to Mary (Norma Moore),
a young nurse whom he courted during his minor days, and with
whom he bore a child. Their relationship serves as a life
force for Jimmy during the darker moments of his life, and
while we know that his striving to try harder is out of his
need to please his father, it could easily be said that he
is also coming into his own by learning the need of supporting
a family. Perkins and Moore make a fine screen couple whose
maudlin moments of tenderness are extremely warm and affecting;
when left to his own, however, Perkins delves deep into his
character's psychological disturbance and portrays him with
a high degree of uncertainty and fear that makes many moments
in the film nothing less than pulse-pounding. Mulligan, in
his first collaboration with producer Alan J. Pakula prior
to "To Kill a Mockingbird," directs with sensitivity and perception
to what works best for the film, and the combined efforts
of all involved make "Fear Strikes Out" a solid home-run.
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| Image
and Sound |
For an older film, this one looks
very good on DVD. The 1.85:1, black-and-white image looks
surprisingly clean, with only some minor dirt and speckles
that go largely unnoticed. Blacks and greys look very clean
for the most part, hampered only by some minor grain; contrast
and shadow detail are also acceptable. Edges are sharp with
no sign of enhancement artifacts. Not a complete home run,
but a strong base hit. ***
The sound, mastered in Dolby 2.0
Mono, is good for what it is, but still unimpressive. Dialogue
sounds fairly good with some slight blemishes here and there,
while the music and some of the more intense moments in the
baseball stadium tend to sound rather unclean in places. Thankfully,
there is a minimal amount of hiss and background noise.
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