The Curse of the Bambino (2003) (TV)

Director:

George Roy

Writer:

Steven Hilliard Stern (writer)

Release Date:

16 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Fenway Park | New England | Boston Red Sox | Baseball

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Narrator
Glen Ordway	...	Himself (WEEI Sports Radio, Boston) (as Glenn Ordway)
Steven Wright	...	Himself (Burlington, MA)
Michael Chiklis	...	Himself (Andover, MA)
Thomas Boswell	...	Himself (Washington Post, Sports Columnist)
Leigh Montville	...	Himself (Boston Globe)
Shaun Kelly	...	Himself (Wellesly, MA)
Jeffrey Sirkman	...	Himself (Haverhill, MA) (as Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman)
Mike O'Malley	...	Himself (Boston, MA)
Matt Wilson	...	Himself (Wakefield, MA)
Denis Leary	...	Himself (Worcester, MA)
Glenn Stout	...	Himself (Author, Red Sox Century)
Robert W. Creamer	...	Himself (Babe Ruth Biographer) (as Robert Creamer)
Dan Shaughnessy	...	Himself (Author, The Curse of the Bambino)
Peter Casey	...	Himself (Worcester, MA, Saw Ruth Play for Red Sox)
Ben Mondor	...	Himself (Owner, Pawtucket Red Sox)
Harvey Robbins	...	Himself (Chelmsford, MA)
Richard Hanson	...	Himself (Nashua, NH)
Jeffrey Lyons	...	Himself (Film / Theater Critic)
Eddie Andelman	...	Himself (WWZN Sports Radio, Boston)
Kieran Meagher	...	Himself (Reading, MA)
Art Martone	...	Himself (Providence Journal)
Sean McAdam	...	Himself (Providence Journal)
Jerry Thornton	...	Himself (Hanover, MA)
Mark Leccese	...	Himself (Boston, MA)
Cheri Giffin	...	Herself (Randolph, MA)
Mike Barnicle	...	Himself (96.9 FM Talk, Boston)
Bob McGarry	...	Himself (West Warwick, RI)
Lenny Clarke	...	Himself (Cambridge, MA)
Bucky Dent	...	Himself
Dave Kruh	...	Himself (Playwright, The Curse of the Bambino)
Paul Giorgio	...	Himself (Auburn, MA)
Michael Wisseman	...	Himself (Sunderland, MA)
Kevin Kennedy	...	Himself (Restoration Project, Acton, MA)
Robert B. Parker	...	Himself (Cambridge, MA)
Richard A. Johnson	...	Himself (Curator, Sports Museum of New England)
Clark Booth	...	Himself (Boston Journalist)
Bud Collins	...	Himself (Boston Globe)
Edward Cossette	...	Himself (Rochester, NH)
Will McDonough	...	Himself (1935-2003)
Ted Sarandis	...	Himself (WEEI Sports Radio, Boston)
Howard Bryant	...	Himself (Author, Shut Out: The Story Race and Baseball in Boston)
Ouisie Shapiro	...	Herself (Newton, MA)
John McKeon	...	Himself (Grafton, MA)
Ben Birnbaum	...	Himself (Brookline, MA)
Jackie MacMullan	...	Herself (Boston Globe)
Paul Francis Sullivan	...	Himself (Weston, MA) (as Paul Sullivan)
John Tobin	...	Himself (West Roxbury, MA)
Scott Cordischi	...	Himself (WSKO Sports Radio, Providence)
Luke Salisbury	...	Himself (Chelsea, MA)
David Preziosi	...	Young Babe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Luis Aparicio	...	Himself (archive footage)
Wally Backman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Marty Barrett	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Buckner	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bernie Carbo	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gary Carter	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tony Conigliaro	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dwight Evans	...	Himself (archive footage)
Carlton Fisk	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jimmie Foxx	...	Himself (archive footage)
Denny Galehouse	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nomar Garciaparra	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tommy Harper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ray Knight	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Lee	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim Lonborg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Willie Mays	...	Himself (archive footage)
John McNamara	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kevin Mitchell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tony Perez	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lou Piniella	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim Rice	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jackie Robinson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Babe Ruth	...	Himself (archive footage)
Calvin Schiraldi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Vin Scully	...	Himself (archive sound)
Enos Slaughter	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bob Stanley	...	Himself (archive footage)
George M. Steinbrenner III	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dick Stuart	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mike Torrez	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mookie Wilson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Yawkey	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
George Roy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Steven Hilliard Stern		writer (as Steven Stern)

Produced by
Rick Bernstein	....	executive producer
Bob Bodziner	....	associate producer (as Robert Bodziner)
Jacinda A. Davis	....	associate producer
Ross Greenburg	....	executive producer
Brian Hyland	....	coordinating producer
Erik Kesten	....	associate producer
George Roy	....	producer
John Stone	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Brian Keane

Cinematography by
Jim Grieco

Film Editing by
George Roy

Production Management
Lauren McDonald	....	production manager
Holly Peterman	....	production manager

Art Department
Brian Lockhart	....	graphics director

Sound Department
Jason Fox	....	sound designer

Camera and Electrical Department
Andy Allman	....	camera operator
Jon Hoffman	....	camera operator
Rob Newman	....	camera operator
Thom Stukas	....	camera operator: opening sequence
David Vottero	....	camera operator
David Zapatka	....	camera operator (as Dave Zapatka)

Editorial Department
Charles Marsella	....	on-line editor
Gary Scarpulla	....	telecine colorist (segments)

Music Department
Michael Halatyn	....	footage and music clearance
Mary Healy	....	footage and music clearance
Max Segal	....	footage and music clearance

Other crew
Vinnie Cintolo	....	production secretary
Frank Ferrigno	....	motion control: Frame Runner
Terri Finaro	....	infinit
Dan Shaughnessy	....	consultant
Florence Zissler	....	production secretary

Distributors

• Home Box Office (HBO) (2003) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

USA:59 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

The very next year after this was aired, the Red Sox "reversed the curse" and won their first World Series in 86 years.

Quotes:

Lenny Clarke: [after the Sox blew the 2-run lead on the Mets] I just turned to the bartender and said, "Give me everything on the top shelf and put it in a big glass."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Whose Curse Is Worse?: Red Sox and Cubs on Trial (2004) (TV)

Documentary is nonsense, and so is "The Curse"

There is no curse.

HBO spent an hour documenting something that doesn't exist, and they didn't even do a very good job of it. The Boston Red Sox have a long, colorful history, and it's true that part of the story is their inability to win a championship for nearly 90 years despite getting agonizingly close about once a generation. But that's only part of the story. 86 years since 1918 and the best HBO can come up with is "The Curse"? There's so much more than that to this team. If HBO wanted to make a documentary about the Boston Red Sox, there really was the potential for a meaningful examination of a historic club that has a very special bond with its fans all across New England.

Instead, we get an hour of sob stories set to depressing background music. I'm sure Affleck did this for a laugh, but he sounds like a fool narrating this nonsense. It's not even an accurate representation of the fans. One has to wonder how many hours of interviews they left on the cutting room floor, with most fans probably acknowledging that the team's had some bad breaks but that it just makes one anticipate the following season even more. Few Sox fans would say that Dan Shaughnessy speaks for them.

And even fewer believe in a curse.