Catching Hell

Catching Hell

2011
Documentary
1h 42m
When Chicagoan Steve Bartman fatefully deflected a foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, the city's long-suffering Cubs fans found someone new to blame for their cursed century without a World Series title. Director Alex Gibney explores the psychology of die-hard sports fans, the frightening phenomenon of scapegoating, and the hysteria that turned mild-mannered Bartman into the most hated man in Chicago. (Tribeca Film Festival)
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Catching Hell

2011
Documentary
1h 42m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 61.18% from 96 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(96)
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Rated 19 Aug 2012
77
63rd
The Bartman stuff is terrifically put together - they pace it out minute for minute, scrubbing back over the footage and breaking it down with the edit producer in charge that night. We see the crowd's slow descent into crowd madness in a really harrowing sinking ship way. Very well handled look at a ridiculous and shameful moment in sports history.
Rated 30 Mar 2013
68
65th
As a Cardinal fan this was great. This would not have happened at Busch stadium. That being said I was watching this game live and the reactions from the crowd were disgusting. It was Moises Alou who perpetrated the overreaction and rattled his team enough to commit errors etc blowing the lead. Fuck the Cubs and their shitty masochistic fans.
Rated 22 May 2020
5
81st
One of the best 30 for 30s. One you can put on for non sports fans as well and they will get a kick out of it. What an absolutely insane moment in sports history. I'm a fan of perennial losers in the four major NA sports (at least I have that one Seahawks win) so I get the frustration from the fans, but I think I would've just been a more of an "of course this happens" angry at the world or god instead of inflicting it on one sole person.
Rated 07 Mar 2014
50
39th
Much like how the media repeated coverage of Barton over and over and over again, Gibney does the exact same thing. Could have easily shaved 40 minutes off the run time and it would have been a much better film.
Rated 15 Oct 2013
85
78th
I really did feel for Steve Bartman.
Rated 09 Mar 2017
76
30th
It finds the central theme, scapegoats and mob mentality in sports, then does very little with it.
Rated 07 Jul 2017
82
81st
The one guy who almost grabbed the ball instead of Bartman comes off as such a douche. What a well put together piece of film making. Definitely didn't think there was anything I didn't know about the Bartman story but I was wrong. One major thing about this doc is they keep talking about when the Cubs win it won't matter to anyone but I'm sure as hell Bartman and his circle will always remember that night. Hell, Buckner still gets put on top ten blunder lists all the time.
Rated 11 Mar 2012
77
56th
Well put together and doesn't brow beat you quite as much as it could have. Incredibly well handled through and through and extremely interesting to someone who is at all a baseball fan, let alone a cubs fan. Slightly disturbing for an outlook on the world, too.
Rated 28 Sep 2011
70
56th
An intriguing documentary about how fan bases will often try to find scapegoats and then focus all their rage on them. It focuses mostly on Steve Bartman and Bill Buckner and shows the dark side of what fans are capable of. Certain moments can be somewhat tough to watch but it is a worthwhile experience for sports fan, even if it is a bit long and repetitive.
Rated 13 Aug 2012
80
69th
Far from perfect, but does a good job showing everything that went down from multiple angles and points of view as the action unfolded in game 6 of the 03 NCLS. Also a disturbing look at some truly disgusting people (Cubs fans and the media) who epitomized the "mob mentality."
Rated 04 Oct 2011
6
55th
Poor guy. Bartman did the same thing anyone would've done in the same situation and gets his life ruined for it. The Cubs are the most embarrassing franchise in sports history and using Bartman as a scapegoat is just pathetic, you're terrible get over yourselves. The movie itself is way too repetitive and lazy for its own good (director interviewing himself to convey a point). Interesting at times but falls short of being something worth revisiting ever again.
Rated 02 Jan 2014
66
82nd
A guy who loves his baseball team goes to watch a hopefully historic victory and purely because of where his seat is and the trajectory of one hit ball suddenly becomes the most hated man in Chicago and one of the most (in)famous in America. But hey,Cubs fans lighten up - Chicago did win the World Series two years afterwards!What?Oh.
Rated 16 Oct 2013
75
65th
Every single one of those idiots crying would've done the same thing if they were in Bartman's seat. Crazy sports fans are worse than Hitler.

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