‘Bang The Drum Slowly’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Robert De Niro’s Overlooked Baseball Heartbreaker

Bruce Pearson (Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver) and Henry Wiggen (Michael Moriarty, The Last Detail) are friends and teammates, playing on The New York Mammoths as catcher and pitcher, respectively. Henry is pulling double duty as an insurance salesman on the side, selling policies to other baseball players, while engaged in a contract dispute with the baseball team’s ownership. When Bruce is diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, realizing he is terminally ill, Henry wavers from his ongoing negotiations to make sure Bruce can be his catcher for one last season.

Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Harris, who adapted it into a screenplay for this film, BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY is often cited as one of the great sports films of all time. Featuring a talented ensemble cast, including an Oscar-nominated turn from veteran character actor Vincent Gardenia (Moonstruck), and deft direction from stage and screen director John Hancock (Let’s Scare Jessica to Death), Cinématographe is proud to bring this iconic baseball film to UHD and blu-ray, both world debuts, in a new 4K restoration of its original 35mm camera negative, supervised by director John Hancock.

For thoughts on Bang The Drum Slowly, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required: 

Video Quality

Cinématographe presents Bang The Drum Slowly with a stellar 2160p Dolby Vision/HDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K restoration of the Original 35mm Camera Negative supervised by director John Hancock. The impressive thing about this release is that not only is the film making its 4K UHD debut, but also its Blu-Ray debut. The label avoided a lot of ire from fans by believing this one was worthy of the superior format while also providing a Blu-Ray disc from the same 4K master. This new 4K UHD Blu-Ray is replete with thick, organic film grain with no signs of unsightly DNR. The encoding appears to be devoid of any digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or other such shortcomings. Even sunny skies avoid excessive spiking, swarming, or other stray encoding issues. 

The utilization of Dolby Vision for advanced color output fine-tunes the mesmerizing nature of the picture. The brilliant hues of the baseball field are represented with unbelievable precision. The colors within some of the uniforms and other design elements are similarly dialed into the perfect shade. Black levels are firm with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights are steadfast with no blooming in play. The transfer never comes up short when it comes to textures in the costumes, production design, and various landscapes. We did not spot any lingering damage such as stray specks thanks to the careful restoration process. Cinématographe continues to be one of our favorites in the game. 

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of the film comes with the original DTS-HD 1.0 Master Audio mono track which holds up every bit as well as one would hope. Dialogue comes through without serious signs of sibilance or other shortcomings. It also comes through without being overwhelmed by the music. The score from Stephen Lawrence establishes the appropriate mood that flows out of the speakers with consistent fidelity. All of the various sounds seem faithfully executed so that nothing ever feels unnatural. A few moments during the game liven up the speakers, but this is far from a kinetic outing. This presentation keeps any hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear to a minimum. Cinématographe has done a first-rate job of making it sound as strong as possible. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided. 

Special Features

The Limited Edition version of Bang The Drum Slowly comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer slipcase that opens up to a MediaBook that includes a bound booklet featuring new essays by film critic Noah Gittell, author of Baseball: The Movie; film critic Glenn Kenny, author of Anatomy of an Actor: Robert De Niro; and writer and filmmaker Dan Mecca, editor of The Film Stage; plus select archival photo reproductions. These essays delve into the film from multiple angles and provide a great analysis in a thoughtfully written style. The on-disc special features are as follows: 

Disc One (4K UHD)

• Audio Commentaries: Two new commentary tracks are provided which give insights into the creation of the film, where this fits into the subgenre of baseball movies, the conflicting creative vision between the main players, details about the shooting locations, the background of the performers, and much more that puts things into context. 
  • Audio Commentary #1: Director John Hancock moderated by Cinématographe’s Justin LaLiberty
  • Audio Commentary #2: Film historian Jim Hemphill

Disc Two (Blu-Ray)

• Audio Commentaries
  • Audio Commentary #1: Director John Hancock moderated by Cinématographe’s Justin LaLiberty
  • Audio Commentary #2: Film historian Jim Hemphill

• Interview with Director John Hancock: A new 12-minute interview with the filmmaker who talks about working on Bang The Drum Slowly, continuing to learn early in his career, becoming an “actor’s director” in his career, working with the ensemble, and more. 

• The Early Films of Robert De Niro – Video Essay by Chris O’Neill: A great 18-minute visual essay is provided in which the insightful film historian discusses the early career of Robert De Niro, how it set the stage for what would come after, the impressive filmmakers he worked with, and more. 

Final Thoughts

Bang The Drum Slowly is not your typical baseball film, and we love it for that reason. As with all great baseball movies, it is rarely the game itself that makes a movie a classic. The low-key drama finds great complexity within the relationship between the characters played by Michael Moriarty and Robert De Niro. Even before the latter became the icon we know him as today, he was such a captivating presence on screen, and Moriarty nearly always rises to the occasion to meet him on this level. The film does not attempt to trick you or manipulate you–it simply tells the story it wants to very well. This film is never mentioned within the pantheon of baseball movies or even within the career of Robert De Niro, but we hope this release gives it the attention it deserves. Cinématographe has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation and a solid assortment of special features. Recommended

Bang The Drum Slowly is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray. 

Disclaimer: Cinématographe has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.