A League of Their Own

Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy offers a mainstream take on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a comeback team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was formed when WWII recruiting resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and Marshall's film depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) discovers a pair of hot prospects in small-town Oregonian sisters played by Geena Davis and Lori Petty, who are signed to play for the underdog Rockford Peaches in Illinois, under new manager Tom Hanks, a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. Boasting a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, and a colorful team of supporting players (including Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell), A League of Their Own is a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic risks), but the stellar cast, clever dialogue (Hanks' signature line, "There's no crying in baseball!" has become a favorite movie quote), and agreeable sentiment, lift this well above the genre's normal fare. DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, a fun commentary track (by Marshall, and co-stars Petty, Megan Cavanagh, and Tracy Reiner), 15 deleted scenes (36 minutes worth) with optional commentary by Marshall, the 52-minute retrospective “making of” documentary “Nine Memorable Innings,” and the Madonna music video “ This Used to be My Playground.” The one disappointing omission is Mary Wilson's 1987 half-hour documentary A League of Their Own, on which the feature film was based. (J. Shannon)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 9, 2012—Sony, 128 min., PG, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1992's A League of their Own sports a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the standard DVD release, including audio commentary (by director Penny Marshall, and costars Lori Petty, Megan Cavanagh, and Tracy Reiner), the retrospective “making-of” featurette “Nine Memorable Innings” (52 min.), 15 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Marshall (36 min.), and the music video “ This Used to Be My Playground” by Madonna. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for a solid comedy, currently only available as an Amazon.com exclusive][Blu-ray Review—May 2, 2017—Sony, 128 min., PG, $19.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1992's A League of Their Own features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras new to this release include a “Bentonville, Baseball & the Enduring Legacy” retrospective featurette (12 min.); extras carried over from previous releases include audio commentary (by director Penny Marshall, and costars Lori Petty, Megan Cavanagh, and Tracy Reiner), the “making-of” featurette “Nine Memorable Innings” (52 min.), deleted scenes with optional commentary by Marshall (36 min.), and the music video “This Used to Be My Playground” by costar Madonna. Bottom line: with only one new bonus feature, this is recommended only for those who don't already own the 20th anniversary Blu-ray edition of this beloved sports film.]