You don't have to understand baseball to appreciate this one, which is probably just as well.
Comment
05/24/03
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
91
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:20
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: Bang the Drum Slowly is a touching melodrama that explores the inner workings of a baseball club and its players’ personalities with remarkable depth.
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Robert De Niro stars as Bruce Pearson, a baseball player stricken with Hodgkin's disease. During his illness, he befriends the team's star pitcher Henry Wiggin (Michael Moriarty), who not only... [More]
Starring: Robert De Niro, Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster
Director: John Hancock
Reviews for Bang the Drum Slowly
Top CriticProfessional baseball forms the setting for a realistic, sometimes touching comedy-drama that could find great favor with the public.
04/26/01
Top CriticA well-done if depressing film.
03/14/07
Top CriticA great baseball movie and a touching buddy film with De Niro showing the talent that has made him one of our best actors. Moriarity gives a fine performance as his star-pitcher friend.
01/07/04
No review available.
09/05/03
No review available.
09/27/05
No review available.
04/21/04
It was first filmed for television, where it seems best suited as a 'disease of the week' movie.
09/16/07
No review available.
06/29/05
Finally, a baseball melodrama with a full count of emotional impact. Hancock's narrative delivers the right pitch of intensity
06/24/04
It's a good film, avoiding all the obvious goop and the 'big game' cliché at the climax.
05/26/06
No review available.
04/30/03
It's a must-see for anyone, be they a fan of the grand old American pastime, or simply someone who likes being told a real classic human tale.
12/24/01
A funny, gentle and honestly sentimental movie that is easily one of the best of the year in any category, and very possibly the best movie about sport ever made in this country.
08/03/08
Top CriticNo review available.
09/21/04
Never before has a movie considered the game from the inside out.
10/23/04
Top CriticIt is one of those rare instances in which close adaptation of a good book has resulted in possibly an even better movie.
05/21/03
Top CriticMention this flick to any guy over 40 and watch him get all weepy.
03/21/07
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