Jack Elliot, a one-time MVP for the New York Yankees is now on the down side of his baseball career. With a falling batting average, does he have one good year left and can the manager of the Chunichi Dragons, a Japanese Central baseball league find it in him?
Acting
Ken Takakura's stoic death stare could freeze hell itself.
Production
Actual Chunichi Dragons stadium shoots give legit Japanese baseball authenticity.
Writing
The bonsai tree metaphor is heavy-handed and I absolutely love it.
Director
Fred Schepisi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Tom Selleck did his own baseball scenes and reportedly insisted on multiple takes to look authentic, despite being 47 and clearly not athletic.
The film captures actual 1992 Japanese baseball culture so accurately that real NPB fans still reference it, even as it leans hard into American ignorance.
US
