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WSR Detailed DVD Review
Bad News Bears
Special Collector's Edition
Genre: Comedy

Reviewed In Issue 105 (Feb 2006) Of Widescreen Review®

Stars:
Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear & Marcia Gay Harden

WSR Review Scores
WSR Picture Rating: 3.5
DD Sound Rating: 3.5
DTS Sound Rating: NR
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score: 3
Internet Links


Special Features
Special features include audio commentary by director Richard Linklater and screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, an At Bat With The Bears 12-minute featurette, a 10-minute highlight on Writing The Bad News Bears, a 10-minute Scouting For The Big Leagues casting featurette, a five-minute Spring Training featurette, five deleted scenes and three outtakes with optional commentary, the theatrical trailer, and previews. There is also a fantastic video baseball card feature, in which each character from the movie has their own introduction and a flipside of the card card that includes actor biography info as well as character stats! Very cool!


 DVD General Information

(Studio/Distributor): Paramount Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number): 34457
(MPAA Rating): PG13
(Rating Reason):

For rude behavior, language throughout, some sexuality, and thematic elements
(Retail Price): $29.99
(DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
(Widescreen Edition): Yes
(Full Screen Edition): No
(Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
(Running Time In Minutes): 113
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Regional Coding): 1
(Theatrical Year): 2005
(Theatrical Release): Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release): No
(DVD Release Date): 12/13/05
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

 Credits Information

(Director): Richard Linklater
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  DVD Picture Information

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  DVD Sound Information

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  WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
When he's not drunk, exterminating vermin, or trying to get in the sack, Morris Buttermaker (Thornton) is on the ball field yelling at a bunch of kids who can't play baseball worth a damn. But Buttermaker makes it his goal to find some talent in all of these losers and show Coach Bullock's (Kinnear) Yankees what "Bad News" these "Bears" can really be. This is a hysterical and quite-worthy remake! Fans of Billy Bob in his dirtball best will enjoy this one. Based upon the film written by Bill Lancaster that starred Walter Matthau in the role of Buttermaker. (Suzanne Hodges)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD picture is quite colorful, with a color palette that is suitable for the lighthearted storytelling. Fleshtones are nicely rendered and hues are well-saturated. While sometimes the picture looks a bit smeared, sharpness and details are often adequate. Unfortunately, finicky viewers will notice some edge halos around objects in higher contrast environments. Some pixelization is also detected. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby