The legend of Yogi Berra comes alive in a new documentary
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John Allen
- March 24, 2023
- 11:22 am
- One Comment
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Follow UsThe official trailer of It Ain’t Over, a documentary about baseball great Yogi Berra, has been released by Sony Pictures Classics. It eulogizes the Yankees legend and MLB player with the most World Series rings in the following words.
“He was the best baseball player who nobody ever heard of. He’s just a kind, gentle person…”
“It Ain’t Over,” a labor of love that took more than four years to make and made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, tells the story of Yogi Berra from his humble beginnings in “The Hill,” a working-class neighborhood in St. Louis.
In the first scene of the movie, Henry Aaron, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, and Willie Mays are introduced as baseball’s best players still alive. This scene takes place before the 2015 All-Star Game. Lindsay Berra remembers that she tapped her grandfather on the shoulder and asked, “Are you dead?” Berra replied in a way that only he could: “Not yet.”
This emotional and engaging 98-minute portrait of Yogi Berra, directed by Sean Mullin and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, goes beyond the stereotypes and “Yogi-isms” to show a full picture of a sports legend. This has interviews with Billy Crystal, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Joe Girardi, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Don Mattingly, Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson, Suzyn Waldman, and Lindsay Berra.
Here is the official trailer for Sean Mullen’s documentary It Ain’t Over, along with a poster, straight from SPC’s YouTube:
“It’s very important to me to keep grandpa’s name alive.” Lindsay Berra, who is Yogi Berra’s granddaughter said. “It’s most important to me that people remember what a great baseball player he really was, because I think a lot of his on-field accomplishments have been overshadowed by the Yogi-isms and the fact that he was this short, kind of funny-looking guy later in life.”
Yogi Berra was a “bad-ball hitting” catcher for the Yankees, but he was also a veteran of D-Day, a loving husband and father, a product endorser, and the original author of sayings that are now part of everyday life. It looks like a chance to build on the legacy of one of the most-loved Yankees. As usual, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.
The documentary was first shown at the 2022 Nantucket Film Festival last year. This year, it went to the Santa Barbara Film Festival and will be shown in a few theaters in May. The film gives “Yogi Berra his due by telling the story of his life.”
SPC’s official announcement about Yogi Berra movie
“An intimate portrait of Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra – one of baseball’s greatest superstars. As the brilliant catcher for the most storied franchise in Major League Baseball history, he amassed 10 World Series rings, 3 American League MVP awards, and a staggering 18 All-Star Game appearances. A native of St. Louis who saw combat in WWII, he resumed his baseball career during the golden era in NY when three teams battled for supremacy, going on to catch the only perfect World Series game in 1956. Yet for many observers of the national pastime, his prolific accomplishments on the ballfield were overshadowed by his extraordinarily appealing personality. Long before athletes endorsing products was normal, Yogi was starring in TV commercials and connecting with fans from every demographic. His unforgettable “Yogi-isms”, initially perceived as head-scratching philosophical nuggets, later became fashionable catch phrases that made him a national treasure and endearing figure on the American pop culture landscape.”
Yogi Berra won 10 World Series titles, three Most Valuable Player awards in the American League, and 18 All-Star caps.
In 1944, Yogi Berra was stationed on a rocket boat off the coast of Normandy to serve his country. In 1956, he caught the only perfect game in World Series history, and in 1972, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Yogi Berra said more than funny things like “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” or “No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”
The American filmmaker Sean Mullen is in charge of It Ain’t Over. He also made the independent movie Amira & Sam and the documentary Kings of Beer. Natalie Metzger, Matt Miller, Mike Sobiloff, and Peter Sobiloff are the ones who made it. This was first shown at the 2022 Nantucket Film Festival, and it also went to the Santa Barbara and Calgary Film Festivals. It Ain’t Over will be shown in New York and Los Angeles theaters for the first time on May 12, 2023.
“In the end, I want people to laugh a little, learn a little, and maybe even cry a little,” said Mullin. “I also want them to realize that Yogi was one of baseball’s all-time best players, even though most people won’t see him as anything but a caricature.”
Many of baseball’s best players were interviewed for the Yogi Berra movie. Also included are Billy Crystal, Bob Costas, Suzyn Waldman, and Vin Scully, as well as photos and eye-opening old footage from on and off the diamond.
“I want people to have a new appreciation for how good he was on the field,” Lindsay Berra said. “What I always say about grandpa is, as good as he was as a ballplayer, he was an even better human. Even though he was the very best at what he did, he never for a moment thought he was better than anyone else. That’s a refreshing thing in our heroes.”
“It Ain’t Over” starts showing in New York and Los Angeles theaters on May 12.
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- Categories: Documentary, It Ain't Over, Sony Pictures, Yogi Berra
- Tags: Documentary, It Ain't Over, Sony Pictures, Yogi Berra
