Review Of "The House Of Steinbrenner" 30 For 30

by Brandon C. on Sep 25, 2010 2:25 PM EDT in Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK - APRIL 16: The current Yankee Stadium is seen through the remaining structure of the old Yankee Stadium prior to the New York Yankees hosting the Texas Rangers on April 16, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

When checking the DVR for what to watch this morning, I noticed "The House Of Steinbrenner." With an hour to kill I decided to watch it.

The film was oddly put together, as director/producer Barbara Kopple often lost sight of her own goal within the film. To portray the Steinbrenners and Yankees tradition in film form.

Kopple bounced around from idea to idea, going from the Old Yankee Stadium memories, to opinions of the new Yankee Stadium, to historic former and current Yankees, to random fans.

Many of the people interviewed by Kopple sounded uncomfortable and forced into speaking. Kopple herself had possibly the most annoying voice ever, and spoke often during the film as an interviewer.

The film had another flaw in that it never gave one true opinion on Steinbrenner. Throughout the film he was portrayed as giving, ruthless, emotional, unpatient, among others. Those adjectives do not fit together.

The film was awkward at many points, as Hal Steinbrenner seemed to not want to speak to Kopple and seemed annoyed by the whole situation. His failed attempts at making jokes were not edited out, they were included at random points in the film.

Kopple promoted herself as much as the Yankees and Steinbrenners and just made herself look worse. The 30 for 30 was dissaponting, but I do suggest watching it. Despite the confusing set-up of the film, it does include highlights from the Old Yankee Stadium, and highlights of The Boss. I give it a 4 out of 10.

Poll

Which stadium do you like better?

Old Yankee Stadium

124 votes

New Yankee Stadium

43 votes

Neither are satisfactory and are equal in enjoyment

6 votes

Both are satisfactory and equal in enjoyment

61 votes

234 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

i didnt vote yet because im torn

I’ve seen some awesome games and had some incredible times at both stadiums.

but i got to my first postseason last year for game 2 of the ALCS. I took my girlfriend of over a year and we had a fantastic time. Not to mention A-Rod tied the game with a solo shot off Fuentes in the rain. Stadium went nuts.

End of the game was a little anti-climactic with the walk off win on an error, but it was still something i loved being involved in

I believe in the Church of Baseball

by Frank Campagnola on Sep 25, 2010 3:39 PM EDT reply actions

The old one for me

The new stadium is incredible, but no stadium in history can match the historic value and stature of the original Yankee Stadium. That ballpark is the one I grew up with. It’ll always be at the top of the list for me.

I hate all Boston sports teams

by nyyrocks29 on Sep 25, 2010 3:51 PM EDT reply actions

I like them both the same

by Yankees10 on Sep 25, 2010 6:07 PM EDT reply actions

Shouldn't the question be whether we liked or disliked the 30/30 episode?

In case you care, I really liked the episode. We learned about Hal and who he was. The fact that he was uncomfortable doing the interview was great b/c that’s who he is. He doesn’t want to be in the spotlight like his dad was. Did anyone know anything about him before besides the fact that he was George’s kid? We learned how people prepared to make the move to the new stadium. I liked the part about the “Captain’s Painting” and how Jeets finally saw it. I would recommend it to any Yankees’ fan.

by Mondoas on Sep 26, 2010 6:51 AM EDT reply actions