Part of Staff Picks and programmed by Tyler, who says “Coinciding not only with the World Series, but also the 100th anniversary of the infamous events of 1919, I'm overjoyed to finally show my favorite baseball movie of all time. An adaptation of Eliot Asinof's 1963 book Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series, it’s more like a mob film than anything to do with sports, and is more for fans of ‘Boardwalk Empire’ than FIELD OF DREAMS. Go Reds!”

Writer/director John Sayles' dramatization of the most infamous episode in professional sports—the fix of the 1919 World Series—is considered by many to be among his best films and arguably the best baseball movie ever made. Chicago White Sox owner Charlie Comiskey (Clifton James) has little inclination to reward his team for their spectacular season. When a gambling syndicate led by Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) gets wind of the players' discontent, the syndicate bribes a select group of stars—including pitcher Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn), infielder Buck Weaver (John Cusack), and outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (D.B. Sweeney)—to play bad and throw the Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Sayles added a colorful supporting cast that includes Studs Terkel as reporter Hugh Fullerton and Sayles himself as Ring Lardner. 

“As he spins his mesmerizing story of the fixing of the 1919 World Series, John Sayles moves to a new level of dexterity…weaving complex strands—moral, psychological, political, journalistic, personal—into a watershed American drama that’s rich and clear.” —Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times 

“A portrayal of sports team owners as men who view their players as chattel… Writer-director John Sayles…takes more pains to empathize with the players who accepted the bribes than with a moral code that selling out the national pastime is a sin.” —Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune

The Belcourt Theatre does not provide advisories about subject matter or potential triggering content, as sensitivities vary from person to person.

Beyond the synopses, trailers and review links on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb, as well as through general internet searches.