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Laramie Movie Scope:
Official 2013 World Series Film

A must for Red Sox fans

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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November 26, 2013 -- The Official 2013 World Series Film from A+E Networks Home Entertainment and Major League Baseball Productions is a must-have for Boston Red Sox fans. There are other teams in the film, of course, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The vast majority of this film is dedicated to the Red Sox, the team that beat them all.

In addition to the Blu-Ray and DVD versions of this film available through Lionsgate Home Entertainment, there is also a digital version of this film, available across numerous online digital outlets. This review is based on a 2.5 gigabyte MP4 file accessed online. It is available from ITunes, Amazon.com, Xbox and vudu.

This is a wonderful summary, not just of the playoffs, but the whole season, starting in spring training and taking note of the terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. The team's “Boston Strong” response to the bombings not only brought the team together and gave it incentives to win, it helped heal a wounded city. The Red Sox had two bad years before this and were picked by the experts to finish last in their division. Instead, the team won its division and finished tied with the Cardinals for the best record in baseball.

The film then runs through the playoff games, but spends the majority of its time on the World Series, noted for some of the strangest endings ever seen. One game ended when third base umpire Jim Joyce called obstruction on Will Middlebrooks of the Red Sox and awarded home base to Allen Craig, who scored the winning run for the Cardinals. No World Series game had ever ended like this. The next game ended on a pickoff play. No World Series game had ever ended on a pickoff play before.

All those kinds of memorable moments are recorded in this show, including the great catch in right field made by Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, taking a home run away from Boston's David Ortiz. That same right field fence in front of the bullpen had seen another memorable play. Earlier in the playoffs Detroit right fielder Torii Hunter flipped over the same fence going all out while trying to catch a ball that ended up just out of his reach, over the wall for a grand slam home run by Ortiz. In these playoffs Ortiz set records. He was one of the hottest hitters ever to appear in the playoffs.

The film includes the Boston victory celebration, including the moment when Boston players put the World Series championship trophy at the Boston Marathon finish line, draping a “Boston Strong 617” jersey on it (617 is the downtown Boston area code). The championship was especially sweet for players like David Ross, Jake Peavey and Ryan Dempster who had played in the major leagues for many years without ever getting to play in a World Series before.

There are some nice behind-the-scenes segments in the film, too, like David Ortiz's young son hitting in the Red Sox indoor batting cage. Other segments include players and coaches talking during the game. Sometimes they have a knack for predicting what is going to happen later in the game. There are lots of interviews with players, coaches and others. This film has a very complete package of these kinds of features.

I played this show on a computer screen, on a big screen high definition TV and through a high definition projector on a much bigger screen. It looks full, sharp and crisp any way you want to look at it. I didn't see any pixilation or graininess in the image, or any indication I was seeing anything less than a high definition picture (the video image is 1248x702 pixels, which is at the low end of high definition). Files that are less than high definition don't look very good when you put them up on big screen. I originally saw some of these same playoff games in lower resolutions when I watched them via streaming video at home earlier this fall.

Full disclosure: I have been a Red Sox fan since the 1960s and I used to live in Brookline Village, not too far from Fenway Park. If you had told me right after the 2003 season that in the next 10 years the Boston Red Sox would win the World Series three times, I would have called you crazy. These are wicked good times to be a Red Sox fan, and this is the film to get. I already own DVDs of all four 2013 world series games won by Boston. This film is a great addition to that collection because it sums up the season and the playoffs so well, and so concisely. This film rates an A.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2013 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)