If you've never seen "Bull Durham" before, and are tempted to write it off as another sports flick, I beg you to rethink your position. Let me tell you my all-time favorite sports movie: "Hoop Dreams". What about it resonates with me so strongly? It's not a basketball movie --instead, it is a character drama that just happens to exist within a basketball court. In other words, where the story takes place is irrelevant; what dominates the picture is how the story (or real-life events) affects the characters (documentary subjects)."Bull Durham" might not belong in the realm of that classic, but skeptics shouldn't dismiss it simply because it involves baseball. Overlookers won't realize that it's a funny exploration of how people discover their own ambition; the dirt diamond & ball are circumstantial.
The story begins when a minor league team is joined by veteran catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner). Crash has been given the unenviable task of mentoring an immature pitcher whose deadly fastball "couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat". Tim Robbins plays the pitcher, Eddie Laloosh. Eddie soon takes the nickname "Nuke"; Crash decides "Meat" is a better way to condescend the undisciplined rookie.
Let me pause there, because this sound like we're going to get a fairy tale of how a cynical teacher and hotshot student will become better humans by the end of their journey. Thankfully, writer-director Ron Shelton was much smarter than this, and doesn't treat his story like a whimsical children's book. Crash and Nuke engage in some of the harshest (and funniest) banter in the history of comedies; the only times either learns anything from each other is because one just can't deal with the tension and submits. I won't give anything away, but if you've never seen this movie before, you'll thank me later when Nuke shakes off Crash's pitching calls --twice! If for whatever reason you don't like Costner or Robbins, their perfect chemistry will change your mind. It's been 20 years since "Bull Durham", and both actors have rarely been better.
When this unbearable pairing of Crash & Nuke begins, they soon meet Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). Annie is a strange blend of sexual creature and muse. She takes one player per season, and selects that player as her mate and student. In the hands of another actress or director, this would come off as sleazy & trashy. But once Annie begins to make her new choice stimulate his mind with poetry BEFORE satisfying his primal urges, it becomes clear that eroticism is not even a factor. You know, when I think of Sarandon, "sexy" is not the first word to come to my mind. But "Bull Durham" convinced me otherwise. Just look at the boxart! But then wait until you watch the performance: it's a treasure from her opening monologue to the emotional finale!
What results from the Crash/Nuke bickering, Annie's sensual tutoring, their bizarre triangle, and the adventurous Durham Bulls season is a movie that is achingly funny...but then Shelton gently pulls the curtain back to reveal some more layers.
I forgot the mention the Durham Bulls team name earlier because they're not the primary focus. I haven't revealed many plot points because the plot's mostly in the background. I can't recall any 'BIG GAMES' or 'TWISTS'. Hell, there's hardly any baseball for the last 30 minutes of the picture! What "Bull Durham" leaves with viewers are the characters & the little details. We don't care which games the Bulls won, but we remember the teammates' weird superstitions & conversations. Annie's teachings are incredibly silly, but she eventually acknowledges how ridiculous some of her behavior is. The three principals do discover their dreams, but in a most unlikely way. The romance is sweet, patient, and believable offbeat. Best of all, "Bull Durham" works on all paces --it speeds up to make us laugh, and still keeps our attention when it slows down for reflection.
"Bull Durham" is a hard movie to describe because there's really nothing else like it. Ron Shelton has created a small-town comedy that resembles something from Frank Capra's mind. It's as much a celebration of life as it is a parody of it. There are no grossout gags; just strong acting and intelligent writing. The game of baseball is merely a catalyst of more meaningful ideas. But have no fear: there's plenty of baseball comedy for sports buffs.
"Bull Durham" includes the good times of a "movie", but earns its place as a "film" --the perfect balance of entertainment and genius!
EXTRAS
This new DVD won't come out until March 18th. Here's what's been advertised:
* Audio Commentary from director Ron Shelton
* Audio Commentary from Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins
* "The Greatest Show On Dirt" featurette Twenty years later the cast, crew and fans remember Bull Durham
* "Diamonds In The Rough" featurette Explores minor league baseball
* "Between The Lines: The Making Of Bull Durham" featurette
* "Kevin Costner Profile"
I'll come back and review these special features. Just looking at these Extras convinces me that the earlier DVD release will soon be obsolete.
Susan Sarandon plays Annie Savoy, a slightly older woman who is a Durham Bulls groupie of sorts: once a season she picks out a promising young player and begins an affair with them. During that season the promising young player has the year of his life and gets called up to the big leagues, leaving Annie to look for next year's promising young player.
The Bulls also have a million-dollar prospect of a pitcher with a right arm who the gods reached down and turned into a thunderbolt. He also has less control than a seven year old with hyperactive attention deficit disorder without his Ritalin. He's as likely to throw it over the backstop as throw a strike, although his "stuff" is like Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson. Tim Robbins brings "Nuke" LaLoosh to life in his best comic performance.
Kevin Costner, in the best of his many baseball-movie appearances, plays "Crash" Davis, a power-hitting catcher with enough talent to be a leader on minor league teams, but only 21 days in "The Show" in years of minor league work. Crash is not only a competent minor league catcher though he also knows the history of the game, and he knows how to get into the heads of players who have mental blocks preventing them from achieving all they can as baseball players.
Crash, meet Nuke. Both of you meet Annie.
The dialogue is so witty and sparkling that more than a decade after the film's release, it still shows up frequently in discussions about baseball movies and on ESPN. Crash envies Nuke's god-given talent, and by degrees the clueless Nuke begins to appreciate Crash's baseball wisdom. Annie has the hots for both of them, and they for her, and the way this triangle evolves and resolves makes for a very satisfying baseball movie watching experience.
The movie would be worth watching if only for the hilarious little scenes that happen out on the playing field between catcher Costner and pitcher Robbins. Nuke has the million-dollar arm and the ten-cent head. Crash knows his job (and everyone elses as well) like the back of his hand. Whenever Nuke starts trying to think for himself, he quickly gets into trouble, frequently with active assistance from Crash.
Crash "calls" the game signalling to the pitcher which pitches to throw. When Nuke listens things go well. When Nuke doesn't listen, Crash whispers to the hitter what pitch is coming so that the batter can tee off on the pitch. Then as the batter circles the bases after his home run Crash goes out to the mound to remind Nuke not to try thinking for himself. "Boy, the last thing I saw fly out of here like that had a stewardess and passengers on it!"
Supporting parts are performed to hilarious perfection as well, with particular kudos to Trey Wilson as the manager and Robert Wuhl as a team coach. They have many entertaining scenes, including the one following Nuke's minor-league debut when he struck out 18..... but also walked 18 both league records! A must for grown-up baseball fans.
Buy Bull Durham (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) (1988) Now
If you love baseball, then odds are you've seen & love Bull Durham, a sexy fun dramady starring Kevin Costner, Susan Surandon & Tim Robbins. It's easily one of the best baseball movies ever made and the first of three in Mr. Costner's Baseball Trilogy (Field of Dreams & For Love of The Game would follow).The extra features included in this Special Edition are pretty nice. Plus I also enjoyed the extra outer packaging sleeve that comes with the DVD case. It's all white and looks like a big baseball. The classic picture of Kevin standing next to a car with a beer in one hand and a bat in the other, with Susan perched beside him is still what's on the actual DVD case. For the first time we actually get the trailers to Bull Durham and I really enjoyed watching the teaser & theatrical trailers. But does anyone remember the original TV spots which always ended with the bathtub scene and seeing the candles getting put out with a splash of water? The new making of documentary: Between the Lines, is a nice retrospective look back at the movie, with everyone involved, from Kevin, Susan & Tim, to director Ron Shelton himself, plus Robert Wuhl and others. What also makes it fun is real Bull Durham baseball players also comment on the film and really give you the dirt on how it measured up to really being in the minors. The other featurettes: Kevin Costner Profile & Sports Wrap are a little disappointing because they're very short (maybe 4 minutes each) and aren't new, just old featurettes made during the filming of the movie. But they're still nice to have. The Photo Gallery is nice too, but don't expect a lot of pics. There's about maybe a hundred or so. Now some of you will be surprised to learn that the Joe Cocker music video is not on the DVD. I mean it might be a hidden easter egg but I doubt it. More likely they were unable to get the rights to it and therefore not allowed to include it on the disc. Which is sad because it's a great song. I was lucky enough to get the soundtrack on CD which has been out of print for years. They really should re-release it because the songs are just wonderful!
The audio commentaries included are both fun & insightful. If you own the previous release of Bull Durham on DVD then you already have the Ron Shelton commentary which I enjoyed a lot. He gives a lot of great stories and explanations about the film that really open your eyes a bit more. But the real gem is the new commentary between Kevin Costner & Tim Robbins. One thing you'll notice right away is all the scenes Kevin talks about that didn't make the final cut. It's a real shame there's no deleted scenes section on this DVD so we could actually see them because they sound pretty good. There's a couple of freindly jabs from Kevin on how Tim was lucky enough to end up with Susan Surandon and how he didn't even know they were dating during filming. It does get a little intense when the love scene between she and Kevin comes up. Tim says "This is the part of the movie I don't like watching". But Kevin handles the tension nicely like a pro and talks about other things during the scene. It's a lot of fun. I wish these guys did another movie togeher! The ironic thing I noticed is that Ron Shelton states that, regarding the famous speech given by Kevin at Susan's house, that he doesn't really like it and would not've written it the same way had he made the film today. While Kevin, in his audio commentary says that it's a great speech but he didn't deliver it well enough and the strength of it lies with the words themsleves. That's what made it powerful, not his acting. Personally I think he's too hard on himself. Plus I always smile during the part of the speech when he says "I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone", since Kevin starred in JFK. It's a great speech and he does it perfectly.
For some reason MGM decided to give both a widescreen version and a standard pan & scan version for this DVD release, which means no cover art on the front of the disc. I don't understand why they needed the standard version since the film only has a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. But one reason you may want to consider keeping your old copy of Bull Durham on DVD is that the previous release was presented in THX for superior picture and sound quality. The new special edition version is not. And I think the THX version does look better too. Guess MGM didn't feel like using it for their release.
You don't have to be a baseball fan to love this movie. The acting is great, the characters are great, the music is timeless, & the romantic side is just as strong and touching as anything else. Pick up this special edition of Bull Durham. While your at it, pick up the rest of Mr. Costner's baseball trilogy on DVD and then watch 'em all back to back. You'll be glad you did.
Bull Durham -Rated the #1 Sports Movie of All Time by Sports Illustrated
"I'm the player to be named later" Kevin Costner as Crash Davis
Read Best Reviews of Bull Durham (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) (1988) Here
It's time for Major League Baseball players to get ready for "The Show", and yet I can't help but think about this funny screwball comedy about minor league baseball, written and directed by former minor leaguer Ron Shelton. For Shelton this was truly a labor of love, realistically depicting life in the minor leagues with ample doses of humor. Kevin Costner gives one of his finest performances as veteran minor league catcher "Crash" Davis, who has spent only 21 days in "The Show" (Major League Baseball) and is near the end of his own career. It is Davis' mission to train a promising young pitcher with a million dollar arm but a dim bulb of a mind to go with it, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). Robbins offers the funniest and among the best performances in his career as LaLoosh, whom the majors think may be the next Nolan Ryan or Sandy Koufax. Vying for their affections is English school teacher and diehard Durham Bulls fan Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), who seeks out the most promising rookie each season and has an affair with him; though this time, both she and Davis realize that LaLoosh doesn't deserve her affections. "Bull Durham" is a hilarious mix of metaphysics, poetry, love and baseball though not quite in this order that's blessed with an excellent cast, script and direction from Ron Shelton. It's among my favorite films from the 1980s and unquestionably one of the best baseball movies ever made.Want Bull Durham (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) (1988) Discount?
Back when Kevin Costner made good films, this terrific one about America's two favorite pastimes and the people who love them came out. With an onscreen heat you can practically feel, the film just screams sexy. The minute the opening monologue begins, it's a fascinating and funny insight into human emotion, sex and of course, baseball. Susan Sarandon proves the older woman is eternally sexy with her baseball groupie Annie Savoy. It's not that she's easy, she just picks one player a year to 'mature'. This year there are two promising candidates. One is a fiesty, talented but inexperienced pitcher who is not that bright; the other a seasoned catcher brought in to straighten the rookie out. Ultimately she chooses Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh (Tim Robbins, brilliant as an idiot), the dim but wild (hence 'Nuke') pitcher. The love triangle takes a backseat to baseball but always remains in the foreground. As the film progresses, a winning streak leaves Annie without a man and she soon begins to regret her decision. Finally a wildly sexy and romantic fling with Crash (a volcanic Kevin Costner), the rugged catcher, arrives. While it is the film during which Susan fell for Tim and she shares extraordinary chemistry with both men, the real attraction on-screen is the slow seduction between Annie and Crash. The film is so hot, it usually takes a nice shower afterwards to cool off. Good for those winter nights when baseball isn't in season. And hey, any film that makes baseball this sexy can't be that bad.Save 46% Off
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