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Robert De Niro, Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Ann Wedgeworth ... see more see more... , Heather MacRae , Danny Aiello , Barbara Babcock , Donny Burks , Selma Diamond , Marshall Erwin Efron , Hector Elias , Ernesto Gonzalez , Barton Heyman , Tom Ligon , Alan Manson , Pierrino Mascarino , Patrick McVey , Tom Signorelli , Nicholas Surovy , Maurice Rosenfield , Jack Hollander , Andrew Jarrell , Tony Major , Hector Troy

A guaranteed tear-jerker, Bang the Drum Slowly centers on professional baseball player Bruce Pearson (Robert DeNiro) and his team mate Henry Wiggen (Michael Moriarty), who supported Bruce to the bitte... read more read more...r end after learning that the young catcher was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and would soon die. When hayseed Pearson first joined the team, he and Wiggen, the team's red-hot pitcher were oil and water. The other team members were none to thrilled to have Pearson on their team. Wiggen changes his attitude when he learns of Pearson's illness, and when the other team members find out, they too become more helpful until the inevitably teary ending. Look for popular character actor Danny Aiello in his feature film debut. The story is based on a novel by screenwriter Mark Harris and was first filmed for television. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Flixster Users

59% liked it

3,404 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

25 critics

PG, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: John D. Hancock

Release Date: August 26, 1973

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DVD Release Date: March 4, 2003

Stats: 151 reviews

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Vincent Gardenia in Bang the Drum Slowly Bang The Drum Slowly Vincent Gardenia in Bang the Drum Slowly
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Flixster Reviews (151)

  • ajv2688
    December 29, 2010
    ajv2688
    The most boring baseball movie I've ever seen, and I like baseball, but I couldn't get into this movie. The plot is predictable, and the characters aren't interesting.
  • bottcorecords1
    April 16, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    It's a slow-paced little movie about ball players, and one happens to be dying of an incurable disease. It doesn't jump off the screen and captivate viewers, but only because the writing is so pedestrian. DeNiro's performance isn't particularily noticeable, but that's only beca... read moreuse of how low-key it is. In fact, all the performances are lowkey, and it's only when Moriarty smashes up a locker room after being confronted with the pain of his friend dying, that we see a spark of life here. The entire team squabbles a little, but as each team member learns of the catcher's disease, they become more empathetic towards one another, until by the end of the movie, they're all singing songs together. This movie had a definite potential, I just don't feel it reached it.
  • michaelcorleone
    March 13, 2009
    michaelcorleone
    A sweet, compassionate picture that ultimately comes out mediocre. Failing to find a nice balance between comedy and tragedy, the movie meanders along without leaving a lasting impression. That being said, it's fairly entertaining and Robert De Niro is outstanding.
  • maryjanejones
    May 18, 2010
    maryjanejones
    "He wasn't a bad fellow, no worse than most and probably no better than some, and not a bad ball player neither when they gave him the chance, when they laid off him long enough. From here on in, I rag on nobody."
  • rnelsonbaseballfan
    March 22, 2010
    rnelsonbaseballfan
    Robert DeNiro as Bruce Pearson a catcher for the NY Mammoths who contracts Hodgkins disease. Heart wrenching and comical.
  • reruntext
    February 26, 2009
    reruntext
    Pretty disappointing film. The baseball talk is great and some of the most real and intelligent that I've seen in a sports movie, but the story plods along and is trying. It has some nice moments, such as when a dying catcher's teammates find out he has a lethal disease midway ... read morethrough the season and befriend him for the first time, and DeNiro is good in this early role, but mostly forgettable.
  • scrambledegg7
    November 9, 2008
    scrambledegg7
    This is not the movie it thinks it is. While it's supposed to about de Niro's character, the star of the film is very clearly Michael Moriarty and his character, scheming and working to make things go smoothly for his friend. It also isn't quite as touching as it thinks it is. It... read more's too scattered and confused to tell the intimate story it's attempting. It's not a BAD movie, it just overreached.
  • gmen68
    June 1, 2008
    gmen68
    I never heard of it before I watched it. It turned out to be a pretty good movie. Kind of like the "Brian's Song" of baseball.
  • supdawg1985
    May 22, 2008
    supdawg1985
    An early film that perhaps propelled Robert DeNiro effectively into stardom is 1973's "Bang the Drum Slowly". He plays none to bright baseball catcher Bruce Pearson who befriends fellow teammate Henry Wiggen and is shown the ropes of the major leagues. They grow deeply attached... read more as roommates, and it even reaches the point in which Wiggen has a clause put into his contract stating that where Pearson goes, he goes. Midway through the good times take a tumble when it's discovered that Pearson is dying from Hodgkin's disease. Not too bad of a story, but it seems to go to waste a little because it almost becomes Wiggen's show. On top of that, it doesn't easily give us much insight because things are painted with such broad strokes and the baseball game scenes were also nothing special. This is pretty much in the same vein of another overrated sports movie in my mind : "Brian's Song". Not altogether horrible, just not entirely memorable. DeNiro's goofy smile was great though!
  • FangsFirst
    October 15, 2007
    FangsFirst
    It's nice to sometimes have an intimate movie with no blustering madness, no crazy effects, no huge names (for the time, at least!) and no bombast at all. No pretensions or maddeningly complex and luxurious craft, but no signs of amateur work either.

    Michael Moriarty (Larry Cohe... read moren regular, as I know him) is Henry "Author" Wiggen, a pitcher for the New York Mammoths, and Robert De Niro is Bruce Pearson, a catcher. We begin the film by seeing the two of them walk out doors labelled "Mayo Clinic," and are soon informed that Pearson is dying. Wiggen uses the clout of his talent and charm to convince the team to take him on with the stipulation that no trades or losses can occur to either of them without the same happening to the other, thus guaranteeing Pearson a spot in the club as well. He makes it a point not to inform anyone as to why he is so insistent on Pearson's presencem and spends a lot of the movie defending Pearson and his choice to include him.

    The team rags on Pearson because he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, as he himself will admit. He's not great at putting things together, mentally speaking, and is often unable to keep up with his fellow players at mental exercises. Wiggen is not a fan of this approach, especially knowing how little time he has left. Vincent Gardenia (known to me as Mr. Mushnik) is Dutch Schnell, who takes it upon himself, for the good of the club, to discover why it is that Wiggen sticks so close to Pearson, and what it is they spent the summer doing. Wiggen gets more and more creative in explaining away how they spent the time (including a fishing trip to a lake with ice nine feet thick and a hunting trip that they changed their mind about upon reaching it) with Pearson doing his best to keep up with the wild lies and exaggerations.

    It's just a movie, really, about Wiggen and his friendship with and loyalty to Pearson, why he has it and what it means to him, and almost more importantly, what it means to Pearson.

    I've noted Moriarty recently as being a total nutjob as a human being (mostly thanks to his insane and near-incomprehensible interpretation of Larry Cohen's Masters of Horror episode Pick Me Up), but he's a fine actor, especially here. De Niro, unfortunately, continues to show that there is one thing that he simply cannot get around: he is from New York. Pearson is from Georgia, and sometimes has an accent, but De Niro is just unavoidably rotten at them. While he's good enough that often you can ignore the inappropriate (and occasionally even anachronistic) accent for his characters, it's by no means subtle. The accent comes and goes, and isn't very strong to start with. But, all the same, he's excellent at portraying the timid, naïve and earnest Pearson, imbuing him with a palpable sense of desire to fit in, belong and be accepted. This especially comes trhough in the games of "TEGWAR"--a card game with no real rules, which some might feel is reminiscent of Calvinball formed as a cardgame--which he desperately tries to understand at first and leaving him mocked mercilessly for his inability to do so, then becomes quite good at it once he grasps the concept. His only stupidity, as Wiggen tells him, is that he was dumb enough to believe it when someone called him stupid.

    An interesting relationship and an amusing movie and all, with nothing standing out in the ways first mentioned, though nothing really standing out in quality either. But, it doesn't seem like it needs that. It's, as I said, an intimate film, and it does just fine at that.

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Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel
August 3, 2008
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

A funny, gentle and honestly sentimental movie that is easily one of the best of the year in any category, and very possibly the best movie about sport ever made in this country. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Never before has a movie considered the game from the inside out. Full Review

Roger Greenspun
May 21, 2003
Roger Greenspun, New York Times

It is one of those rare instances in which close adaptation of a good book has resulted in possibly an even better movie. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
March 3, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

This sports melodrama about a dying athlete is sentimental and predictable, but it's also very well acted by the young De Niro, Vincente Gardenia and Michael Moriarty. Full Review

Charles Cassady
September 23, 2010
Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media

Talky, leisurely, and poetic baseball drama. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
September 16, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It was first filmed for television, where it seems best suited as a 'disease of the week' movie. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
March 21, 2007
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Mention this flick to any guy over 40 and watch him get all weepy. Full Review

March 14, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A well-done if depressing film. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 26, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

It's a good film, avoiding all the obvious goop and the 'big game' cliché at the climax. Full Review

Mike Barkacs
July 5, 2005
Mike Barkacs, Bullz-Eye.com

Unfortunately, no real relationships are ever developed in this film, so, even with Robert DeNiro playing the lead, something always seems to be lacking. Full Review

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