When It Was a Game

When It Was a Game (1991)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

This incredibly unique documentary originally aired on HBO and features nothing but 8 and 16mm footage shot between 1934 and 1957 by fans and players. The film really gives one a great look at baseball players in the olden days and it's really remarkable being able to see this footage. Of course, when this was released in 1991 it was even more spectacular because since then more footage (and two more films) have been released but there's still no question that the magic is still here just by watching the footage. Fans of baseball are certainly going to enjoy watching this because you get some great footage of some of the all-time great players like Babe Ruth, Willie Mayes, Joe DiMaggio and countless others. The film also gives you a look at what the players did in between games and there's even some footage of them on board a train going to the next game. Also very special is some 16mm footage from the 1938 World Series, which is in color and we also get a pre-game parade. Some other special footage includes some in-game contests that the players did during WWII just to reach the audience a little bit better. It's clear that this era in baseball was a lot different than that of today and it's interesting just to see the gloves, the uniforms and just the way the game was played. Peter Kessler adds some great narration and we get some voice overs by the likes of James Earl Jones, Jason Robards and Roy Scheider.