HBO documentary chronicles title
12/07/2004 11:07 PM ET
By Alan Ginsberg / Special to MLB.com

HBO Sports' documentary "Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino" does not debut until Friday night at 8 p.m. ET, but some people got an early look at the film -- a revision of the Emmy-winning 2003 documentary "The Curse of the Bambino" -- Tuesday night at a screening at The Greatest Bar in Boston.
The film, which features no interviews with Red Sox players, instead chooses to focus on the relationship between Red Sox Nation and its team, and the curse -- or lack thereof -- itself.

"The history of the Red Sox is woven in the fabric of each of the six New England states," the film's narrator says soon after it starts.

"Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino" explores that history through interviews with fans and local media members, including Leigh Montville, Dan Shaughnessy, Jackie MacMullan and Bud Collins of The Boston Globe; Sean McAdam and Art Martone of The Providence Journal; authors Glenn Stout, Robert Creamer and Howard Bryant; radio personalities Glenn Ordway, Eddie Andelman, Mike Barnicle and Ted Sarandis; and celebrities such as Andover's Michael Chiklis, Boston's Mike O'Malley, Worcester's Denis Leary and Cambridge's Lenny Clarke and Robert B. Parker. Pawtucket Red Sox chairman and owner Ben Mondor also appears.

After the introduction, the documentary dives into the meat of its subject matter, beginning with the early history of the Red Sox and Babe Ruth's time with the club, airing comments from everyone from Creamer -- a Ruth biographer -- to Peter Casey of Worcester, who was born in 1900 and saw Ruth play for the Red Sox.

Soon, the film has progressed to the end of the 1978 season and Bucky Dent's three-run home run for the Yankees, propelling them past the Red Sox in a one-game playoff. Dent even appears, identified as "BF" Dent, a reference to the expletive middle name Dent acquired throughout Red Sox Nation following his home run.

After the documentary accelerates to fill in the gaps between the 1920 sale of Ruth to the Yankees and Dent's home run, including the 1946 World Series, the 1967 beaning of Tony Conigliaro and Carlton Fisk's walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, it digresses into a debate about the existence of the curse. Both Shaughnessy -- author of the book The Curse of the Bambino -- and Dave Kruh, the author of a play of the same name, speak early in the discussion.

Even late Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough argues against the curse, saying, "You give me the best team and you can have the curse on your side. We'll see who wins."

The Red Sox's history is quickly proposed as an alternative explanation for their struggles before the film turns its attention to 1986 as the genesis of the idea of a curse.

In that segment, the inning leading up to Bill Buckner's famous gaffe is recounted nearly pitch-by-pitch by several of the documentary's interview subjects.

After briefly stopping in 2003 for Aaron Boone's home run in Game 7 of the ALCS, the film jumps almost immediately to the 2004 ALCS before speeding through the World Series.

Some in attendance had hoped to see more about the World Series, but for many, the film evoked the same emotions they felt watching the postseason unfold.

"It brought the whole experience back to me," said Megan Gillespie of Brighton. "I didn't think the moment would be reinvented, but once again it did and gave me chills and sweats and tears."

"As a Yankee fan, I have to admit I got caught up in the whole fever of the World Series and the same here," said Michael Estefani, who moved to the Boston area from New York 12 years ago.

After its premiere, the hour-long film will air Sunday at 9 a.m. ET, Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Dec. 22 at 8 p.m., Dec. 24 at 10 a.m., Dec. 26 at midnight and Dec. 28 at 11 a.m.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

the film -- a revision of the Emmy-winning 2003 documentary "The Curse of the Bambino

I thought the first was pretty funny.  Dennis Leary is always classic when talking about the Sox.
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I just finished watching it. It was good even though they just added a little.
Also, I apologize for Graig catching the last out in 1978.
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I enjoyed the HBO special. It took a lot from "Curse of the Bambino" special earlier this year. They broke down a lot of the 1986 World Series, and of course the ending was wonderful. I like the narration that Liev Schreiber did. A tear came to my eye when they showed Sox fans in graveyards putting Sox flags on the graves of their departed loved ones. Nice way to close it out..........
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No way...I thought it was tonight!
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As someone who was in it, I thought George (the director) had to balance the anti-Curse people plike me with the CHB's of the world.  The nicest part of the project was that the entire curse was dispelled in the end as a hoax at best.  In other words. all we needed was better pitching and defense.
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Shaun, great job last night.  It was a good show-

And I never realized you were from Wellesley- I was born at Newton/ Wellesley.
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Shaun, great job again.  Your story about the night of Game 6 continues to be my personal favorite.

And JtB?  You're also a member of the BAN/W posse?
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As someone who was in it, I thought George (the director) had to balance the anti-Curse people plike me with the CHB's of the world.  The nicest part of the project was that the entire curse was dispelled in the end as a hoax at best.  In other words. all we needed was better pitching and defense.
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After its premiere, the hour-long film will air Sunday at 9 a.m. ET, Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Dec. 22 at 8 p.m., Dec. 24 at 10 a.m., Dec. 26 at midnight and Dec. 28 at 11 a.m.

Shaun, great job again.  Your story about the night of Game 6 continues to be my personal favorite.

And JtB?  You're also a member of the BAN/W posse?
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Hmmm... not sure what that is?
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snip
One question though ... did I ACTUALLY see CHB choked up when recalling the final out of the World Series and considering what it meant to Red Sox Nation? My first reaction was that he faked it, but I was torn between that snap judgment and feeling like I should give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Any thoughts?
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For those of you with Comcast On Demand, the documentary is now available in the HBO Sports section for a couple of weeks.
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Also loved the new narrator. A little more documentarian than Ben Affleck,



EDIT: One thing I wondered that maybe jacklamabe can answer was how they went about choosing the Sox fans who participated. Anyone have insider info? I'm curious.
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Not to worry, Reverse the Curse is scheduled to be released on DVD on March
29, 2005(all DVD release dates are subject to change).

Wasn't this the same great narrator who does the When it was a game series for HBO?  he brought a lot of value to the show
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It was Liev Schreiber, who does most of HBO's narration on sports docs.  He was in "The Manchurian Candidate" remake, one of the "Scream" movies, apparently, and some other stuff.  He's pretty good.


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