Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
The summer of 1977 is one I remember fairly vividly for a variety of reasons. I was 11 at the time and our favorite place to ride bicycles was on the dirt trails along the Cross Island/Belt Parkway by Belmont Racetrack. This was about ten miles away from a parking area off the Parkway where the Son of Sam killer had struck, killing two people in a car. I can remember watching the helicopters hovering along the parkway at various times during the day, and sulking because I had been banned from riding in our favorite location.
It was also the summer of the infamous blackout. As luck would have it, I was with my father at Shea Stadium watching the Mets play when it struck. Getting home was quite interesting, although I fell asleep and don't remember most of the trip.
Memories like these were brought back when I first watched the ESPN series The Bronx is Burning based on the novel by Jonathan Mahler. Against the backdrop of everything else going on that summer, the Yankees had their own strife between their lunatic owner, George Steinbrenner (portrayed by Oliver Platt), fiery manager, Billy Martin (portrayed by John Turturro), and egotistical star outfielder Reggie Jackson (portrayed by Daniel Sunjata).
The infamous fight in the dugout between the manager and the star of the team starts off The Bronx is Burning. The Yankees are a half-game behind Boston in the A.L. East. A Saturday afternoon game against the Red Sox is being broadcast nationally. When Billy Martin pulls Reggie Jackson from a game, sparks fly between the two in an infamous confrontation.
Martin is shown to be a hot-head as he goes after Jackson even as Jackson is walking away. Steinbrenner demands his GM and co-owner, Gabe Paul (portrayed by Kevin Conway), fire the manager. This was midway through Martin's first tenure as manager of the Yankees.
The series then goes back to the beginning of that baseball season. The city was in transition. Two years earlier, that mayor, Abe Beame, had laid off a significant number of city workers. Back then, Steinbrenner liked Martin quite a bit. He liked his fiery nature and hired him over Paul's protests.
The series then chronicles the events of the season against the backdrop of all that was happening in the city that summer. It was a long, hot, crazy summer. Two climbers ascended the outside of the Twin Towers. Fires were prevalent all over the place, usually in abandoned buildings. The mayor's race was heated, with a then-unknown Ed Koch fighting off the likes of Mario Cuomo, Bella Abzug, and the disastrous Abe Beame. (For those who think Giuliani "rescued" New York City, you need to see in what desperate straits Koch inherited it and how far it came during his administration.) There were the FALN bombings in addition to the .44 caliber killer. It was a time of urban blight.
The Bronx is Burning works best when it’s intertwined with the events of the city. The last two episodes are primarily of the playoffs and World Series. I particularly liked the scenes of the detectives who were in charge of the investigation into the Son of Sam killings. In between, actual news footage and interviews with people on the street during that time period serve to augment what’s happening quite well.
The Bronx is Burning uses actual footage from the baseball games as well, intertwining it with new scenes featuring the actors. This works really good in some spots, such as when Howard Cosell is interviewing Steinbrenner during the World Series. At other times, it doesn't work so well.
The acting is superb. Oliver Platt deserved an Emmy for his portrayal of Steinbrenner. He is so believable, especially for those of us who lived in New York and remember the owner and his micro-managing of the team and appearances before the television camera and stories in the newspapers. Sunjata is terrific as Jackson, although he didn’t seem to have the bulk to fill out a uniform the way Jackson did. A few times when I saw him, I just kept thinking he looked too skinny in the uniform from the way I remember Jackson looking. It’s just a small nitpick that’s forgivable because of the terrific job he does in the role. He captures Jackson’s ego as well as the frustration.
John Turturro’s performance as Billy Martin is good as well, I just wonder if some of the story is more revisionist history and goes along with not speaking ill of the deceased. Based on my image of the man - a lot of it coming from his own autobiography - he’s not someone I find the least bit sympathetic a character. Listening to his son talk about him in the interviews included in the Bonus Material, I think this is where some of the image being tempered comes from. Don’t get me wrong, his foibles are shown including his heavy drinking and womanizing, particularly going after young woman (he was just shy of fifty years old in 1977). But the more sympathetic aspects are played up, including trying to create sympathy for Martin by having him praying not to lose his job. This scene seems a lot like the Director, Jeremiah Chechik, is painting Martin as almost Christ-like in the crucifixion angle after the argument with Jackson? It's overkill and if Martin actually saw himself that way, it's another reason why I just never cared for him.
The secondary characters are great and come off as individuals, rather than just generic Yankee players. Erik Jensen as the beloved Thurman Munson is terrific and made me even sadder that his career was cut short. Loren Dean as Fran Healy is also great as he was Jackson’s close friend and confidant on the team, so the two get a lot of time together. One thing I thought they missed out on that I remember would be playing up the role of Bucky Dent (portrayed by Evan Hart) and the rivalry that was present between him and Lee Mazzilli of the Mets at the time as both were matinee idols in the city over that summer.
Other than that, I think the accuracy of events is also pretty good. One need only look at the list of Consulting Producers, mostly sport-writers who covered the Yankees in New York and former players:
Marty Appel - sportswriter for Newsday Jimmy Breslin - writer for the New York Daily News Fran Healy - baseball broadcaster and member of the 1977 team Steve Jacobson - sports writer Graig Nettles - member of the 1977 team
Another plus for The Bronx is Burning is the soundtrack. It’s made up of music by The Ramones, and really is suitable to the hot, crazy time this is depicting.
I think The Bronx is Burning works best for people who remember that time, although it was recommended to me by a transplanted west-coaster. It also works best seeing it through in order as I caught a couple of episodes on ESPN and wasn’t dazzled until I watched it in order on the DVD release. The Bonus Material also makes it worth it, more for the interviews than anything else. There’s a Webisode involving Joe Grifasi as Yogi Berra that’s hysterical too. Even for this Yankee-hater, it was well worth purchasing.
Episode List:
Episode 1 - The Straw Episode 2 - Team in Turmoil Episode 3 - Time for a Change? Episode 4 - The Seven Commandments Episode 5 - CAUGHT! Episode 6 - The Game's Not As Easy As It Looks, Fellas Episode 7 - Past Combatants Episode 8 - Mr. October
BONUS MATERIAL:
• Player Bios • '77 Yankee Statistics • Deleted & Extended Scenes - can be watched with Commentary by Executive Producer Gordon Greisman • Outtakes • The Bronx is Burning Webisodes • The Interviews • On The Set Featurette • Stories of '77
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