In 1918 the Boston Red Sox won their fifth World Series, thanks in great part to a young pitching and hitting sensation from the slums of Baltimore, named George Herman Ruth, a.k.a. The Babe, or The Bambino. A year later, ... more »after not advancing to the playoffs, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the Babe to the New York Yankees. In turn, the Bronx Bombers went on to win an incredible 26 World Series titles. Die-hard Red Sox fans who have lived their entire lives lamenting this trade have come to refer to it as the Curse of the Bambino. The Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino features new footage from the devastating '03 pennant loss, the highlights of the historic '04 playoff victories and the World Series sweep. In addition, this acclaimed documentary combines unforgettable archival footage with contemporary interviews that focus on the true Red Sox fans who have been dreaming of the day they could see the Curse put to rest, once and for all.« less
"The first 50 minutes of this documentary are sheer agony, as the Sox' historic failures are recapped in excruciating, repetitive detail. During the final, triumphant 10 minutes of the program the tears will stream from your face."
A MUST for all Red Sox fans
C. Wheeler | 12/31/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This documentary weaves history with the 2004 season and the ALCS win over the Yankees. It also shows highlights of the World Series win over the St. Louis Cardinals. It is a tribute to the relationship the fans (past and present) have with their Red Sox team. Any Red Sox fan will enjoy this."
Telling the whole story...
Brian Lowery | Henderson, NV USA | 06/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Some people may be bummed out at the first 3/4 of this doc. It deals with concepts like paranoia, deafeatism, karma, and agony. But to a lifetime Sox fan like myself, that was a daily routine for me from my first baseball game in 1983 to Aaron "F" Boone's walk-off home run in 2003.
No great story begins with "...and they lived happily ever after." You have to have heroes and villains. The villains walk all over the heroes for most of the novel because the hero hasn't learned how to defeat the bad guys.
This is a great story. It begins with happy times(the first great Red Sox dynasty of the early 1900's). Then there is a tragedy(Babe Ruth is sold off). There is strife and struggle(1946, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1997, 2003). There are fools and follies(Tom Yawkey's racist attitude, Dan Duquette guts the team). Then the heroes meet some fine allies(John Henry, Larry Luchino and Theo Epstein take the club in a totally new direction by signing Terry Francona, Keith Foulke, and Curt Schilling among others). The heroes charge the gates(the Sox defeat the Angels in four straight). They encounter the Royal Guard and suffer many casualties(they lose three straight to the Yanks). One small band of men charge the Royal Guard and defeat them(David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, and Dave Roberts play key factors in the Sox winning the next four games and going to the World Series). The heroes encounter the King, who tries to fight them off to no avail(the Cards go down quietly in four games) and the heroes claim the prize(the Sox win the trophy). The villagers rejoice and peace is restored to the land(the Sox ride duck boats through the streets of Beantown with hundreds of thousands of fans showing their love).
So you see, it makes the happy ending much sweeter when it is borne of an unhappy past. I LOVE THIS DVD! And I love Red Sox Nation and their fans."
So worth the price. buy with delight
Paul Beauparlant | east coast USA | 04/11/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i am basically a new york yankees fan but i'm not one of those arrogant yankee fans who thumb their noses at the arch rival red sox and revels in their past unluck.
on the contrary i enjoy the rivalry and i feel for the long suffering bosox fans of new england.
and this dvd tells their story well.
i recommend this, along with the movie i saw last night "Fever Pitch" with jimmy fallon and drew barrymore.
this is an excellent documentary.
the editorial review and description above give you a very good overall view of what this doc consists of so i will just chime in with that i've watched it and can NOT recomment it enough!
'tis perfect.
"
The one to buy...
WDX2BB | New York State | 10/23/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A few DVD's came out on the Red Sox' championship season in 2004. This is the one you'll watch later on.
It's a remake of an HBO documentary shown early in 2004, going over the Red Sox list of heartbreaks from 1918 to 2003. A variety of people are interviewed on that show, including fans, entertainers (Steven Wright, Denis Leary) and media types.
A little editing took that portion down to 45 minutes or so for this new version. Then comes the revision, all about the 2004 playoffs.
The producers were smart enough to back to the same people for their comments. As you'd expect, they were thrilled. Speechless at times. There are plenty of great shots of the games, but even better are the pictures of the family connections involved here.
Particularly moving is a scene at a graveyard, in which a woman tells her parents about the Red Sox victory and places a balloon by the gravestone. A sign saying how someone's late parents and grandparents thank the team also draws emotions.
I've got a copy of this, but I always stop to watch it when I happen to see it on HBO. Yeah, it's nice to see Dave Roberts steal second again, and David Ortiz walk off a winner, but this captures the feelings that came out of the bottle after 86 years of shaking. If you are a long-time Red Sox fan, spend your money on this one."