A League Of Their Own (1992) (2024 Release) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Penny Marshall

Cast: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna

Release Date: September 3, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis:

It’s a home run with this hilarious and beloved comedy, starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna. With baseball lineups and locker rooms left empty during World War II, the newly-founded All-American Girls Baseball League brought talented women to the big leagues—and brought fans to the stands. The indomitable Dottie Hinson (Davis) finds herself leading a rag tag group of players who end up winning over the heart of their has-been coach, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks). Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell and Jon Lovitz round out the all-star roster. Based on the true story of the pioneering women who blazed the trail for generations of athletes.

‘A League of Their Own’ tells the moving story of the newly created All-American Girls Baseball League that saw women granted an unusual opportunity during the height of World War II and inspired athletes for generations. The film primarily focuses on Dottie Hinson and her sister Kit as they leave their farm-tending life behind and head to Chicago to try out for the Girls league and end up making the roster for the Rockford Peaches. With sparse crowds and not as much fanfare as the owners had anticipated, Dottie and the Peaches led by washed up player Jimmy Dugan find a wealth of talent and comradery as they fight their way to the world series, proving that girls can definitely play ball with the best of them.

Directed by Penny Marshall from a screenplay written by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel and based on a story by Kim Wilson & Kelly Candaele, Marshall does a marvelous job at the helm of ‘A League of Their Own’ guiding along the moving true story with heart, humor and care. The film’s star-studded cast includes Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall and Bill Pullman who each offer solid and capable performances in their respective roles that help to keep this emotional tale moving along beautifully.

‘A League of Their Own’ is a marvelous, moving and incredibly funny gem of a film and one of those great stories that will make you want to get up and cheer, even in your own living room. It does a commendable job of accurately capturing the specifics both large and small of the era, with everything from the bats, gloves and uniforms, to the everyday clothing, vehicles and various surroundings looking straight out of the past. Something that’s a real treat to behold and fortunately never detracts from the powerful story itself but instead merely complements it and allows the viewer to feel believably transported back to a drastically different time in our history.

‘A League of Their Own’ was first theatrically released in the states in the summer of 1992 and it still delivers the goods more than three decades later, offering a truly inspirational, moving and hilarious journey that’s almost impossible not to appreciate on multiple levels. It benefits greatly from the careful guidance of director Penny Marshall guiding it along and a truly talented cast led by Tom Hanks and Geena Davis only help to seal the deal and make this one something incredibly special that will surely stand the test of time for decades to come. If you’ve never had the pleasure of ‘A League of Their Own’ I can’t encourage you strongly enough to give it a shot, regardless of whether or not you might be a baseball fan.

‘A League of Their Own’ arrives home on 4K Ultra HD in a new standalone release for those who didn’t have the opportunity (or the funds) to purchase the Columbia Classics Volume 1 release that it was originally exclusively included with. The new standalone 4K UHD release features the film in full Ultra High Definition with Dolby Vision and restored from the original camera negative which looks utterly outstanding on the format. While I didn’t review the previous release from the Columbia Classics set, based on what I’ve been able to find it seems that that release did not include the Dolby Vision HDR grading that’s included here although I’m not sure if there are any other differences or notable alterations to the video presentation. The outstanding UHD video presentation is perfectly complemented by a nice Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that throws the viewer into the action, while also featuring hours of enjoyable extras. If you’re a fan of ‘A League of Their Own’ that’s anxious to own the film on 4K and don’t already own the previous box set it was exclusive to, then this new standalone release should leave you truly thrilled and it’s definitely highly recommended!

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘A League of Their Own’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 restored from the original camera negative and presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks phenomenal across the board and provides a clean, sharp and wonderfully filmic presentation from start to finish that’s rich with a nice grain structure and never suffers from any unexpected issues to be uncovered along the way. Detail is marvelous and noticeable on everything from the outdoor scenery and various interior details to the dirt and debris on character faces and clothing, while the Dolby Vision HDR contributes some breathtakingly realistic colors that stand out on the grassy fields and clothing along with more. Overall, this is a spectacular Ultra High Definition presentation that impresses at every turn and should have fans ecstatic.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack makes a tremendous complement to the viewing experience and offers a clean, crisp and fairly immersive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, crowd chatter and cheering, along with quite a bit more expanding throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while never causing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers splendidly throughout and should have viewers extremely pleased.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘A League of Their Own’ features a winning collection of bonus content, the majority of which can be found on the release’s included Blu-ray disc. The 4K Ultra HD disc itself includes ‘6 Theatrical Trailers’ for the film (running approximately 7 minutes in length altogether) including a Domestic Trailer, International Trailer and 4 Character Teaser Trailers.

The Blu-ray disc additionally includes an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Penny Marshall and Actresses Lori Petty, Tracy Reiner and Megan Cavanagh’, along with numerous ‘Deleted Scenes’ with an Introduction by Penny Marshall (running approximately 37 minutes combined), as well as the retrospective Featurette ‘The Enduring Legacy of A League of Their Own’ (running approximately 12 minutes) and the multi-part making of Documentary ‘Nine Memorable Innings’ (approximately 52 minutes). Also included are ‘3 Episodes of the 1993 A League of Their Own TV Series’ (approximately 71 minutes total) and the Music Video for “This Used to be my Playground” by Madonna (5 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 9.5/10

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‘A League Of Their Own’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘A League Of Their Own on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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