OVERVIEW: From the studio that brought you “Miracle” and “Remember the Titans,” comes the inspirational true story “Million Dollar Arm,” sliding home on Disney Blu-ray™, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand Oct. 7, 2014. Set against the backdrop of America’s favorite pastime, this must-own baseball drama stars Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” “The Town,” “Bridesmaids”) as a sports agent who sets out in search of the next great major league baseball pitcher and ends up discovering the true value of teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.

Cheered by audiences and critics alike, this “genuine crowd pleaser” (Pete Hammond, Movieline) delivers major league fun on Blu-ray and Digital HD with grand-slam high definition picture and sound that bring the excitement of the stadium experience right into viewers’ homes. The in-home release of “Million Dollar Arm” also steps up to bat with bases loaded with exciting bonus features, including an alternate ending, deleted scenes, outtakes

SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, sports agent JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) finds that business has changed and things aren’t going well for his career. In a last ditch effort to save his livelihood he concocts a scheme to find baseball’s next great pitching ace. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a major league baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called “The Million Dollar Arm.” With the help of cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout Ray Poitevint (Alan Arkin), he discovers Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku (Suraj Sharma), two young men who have no idea about playing baseball, yet have a knack for throwing a fastball. Hoping to sign them to major league contracts and make a quick buck, JB brings the boys home to America to train. While the Americans are definitely out of their element in India — the boys, who have never left their rural villages — are equally challenged when they come to the States. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball — JB, with the help of his charming friend Brenda (Lake Bell) — learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.

FILM REVIEW: Based on a true story, Million Dollar Arm is a heartwarming story of how two 18-year old boys from India with no knowledge of baseball, but instead knacks for throwing fast balls, win a competition and leave their country to travel to the United States with the goal of being signed in the major leagues. The movie tugs on your heart strings as you watch their journey unfold, facing the hardships of an unknown country, language, culture, and even food. As expected, the boys cling to each other as that's all they have that is familiar.

If you've never been anywhere in India, the film's depiction of Mumbai is on-point, complete with the multitude of vehicular and pedestrian traffic intermixed with each other, blaring horns, and sweltering heat. The Indian temperament is also captured quite remarkably, and is illustrated in particular by the boys' dedication to their daily baseball training sessions, though progress was crawling and the task at hand daunting. Also characteristic, is their steadfast loyalty to their "Mr JB Sir", despite him seeing them as dollar signs and treating them as such early on.

There are a couple of scenes which are sweetly comical - discovering pizza for the first time, and wanting to know if baseball mitts really are required for catching. It's hard not to fall in love with their innocence.

Worth mentioning, is the film score which was done by A. R. Rahman, an Indian composer probably best known for his music in "Slumdog Millionaire" and for which he won two Academy Awards.

In my opinion, there is very little that could be done to improve on this film. Million Dollar Arm has all the characteristics that make for a satisfying and memorable story - love, loyalty, perseverance, and victory, coupled with heartfelt acting by the cast. Five out of five stars is my rating, and you wouldn't do the film justice by waiting for it on DVD. This one is deserving of a trip to the theater.

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.39:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.39:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles - English, Latin Spanish, French-Canadian, English DVS/English, Latin Spanish, French-Canadian

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and hi-def sound. 

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away. 

Digital Copy provides consumers with a choice of formats from a variety of partners, including options to watch on iPhone®,
iPad®, Android, computers and more.

Making-of Featurettes:

Training Camp – Actors Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal faced the same daunting challenge that their characters Rinku and Dinesh did—learning how to pitch a baseball.

Their Story – The real JB Bernstein, Rinku and Dinesh explore the legacy of the Million Dollar Arm contest and its impact on the lives and aspirations of children in India...and their own lives as well.

Million Dollar Music by A.R. Rahman - The Oscar-winning composer (Best Original Score, “Slumdog Millionaire,” 2008) talks about creating music that encompasses two worlds—India and the U.S.

Alternate Ending

Deleted Scenes:

“JB’s Problem”
“Sold”
“I’d Take Ten Dollars”

Outtakes

And more!