July 8, 2002
Bull Durham
One of the most popular sports movies of all time, Bull Durham is the story
of a veteran catcher sent to the lowest minors to chaperone a bonus
baby pitcher, someone with a "million dollar arm and a five cent
head". Director Ron
Shelton has created a real winner here, getting great perfomances
by the 3 leads, Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, while painting a realistic movie about baseball,
sex, and love.
Crash Davis, played by Costner with disarming charm and a veteran outlook, is sent to Single A, practically the lowest of the low in the minors. His job is to impart some baseball sense in the newly signed pitching sensation, Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh, played with a lanky ease by Robbins. They clash at all sorts of levels, including butting heads (and fists) over Annie Savoy, a baseball fanatic given full life by Sarandon. The Durham Bulls go on a long losing streak, teaching LaLoosh humility, but they follow it up by winning games, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the game of baseball once again.
While plagued with annoying factual errors (like LaLoosh getting called up because the major league rosters have expanded - in July, not September), which are doubly annoying when you realize that Shelton is an ex-minor league player himself, it still gives a pretty solid view of baseball. It shows the ups and downs, winning and losing, the superstitions and the humanity of the game. I like how he shows simple plays, like pop outs and ground outs, rather then just solid home runs and strikeouts.
It also has real good luck showing the relationships of the three major players, as well as the characters that surround them. There are some real funny moments (hitting the bull is one of my favorites), and plenty of real good lines ("Anything that goes that far ought to have a stewardess!", Crash remarks after one prodigous home run off of LaLoosh). Shelton wrote and directed a real winner here!
The Special Edition DVD is a real prize. It has 2 commentary tracks (one by Shelton, and one by Costner and Robbins), as well as a making of documentary and other neat toys. I, of course, haven't played with any of them, but they are on my to do list! The picture is stunning and the sound is wonderful, even if the surrounds don't get much use.
Buy Bull Durham (Limited Special Edition) from DVDPlanet
Tim Robbins, Kevin Costner, Trey Wilson, Susan Sarandon, Robert Wuhl
Rated "The #1 sports movie of all time" by Sports Illustrated. Posted by jdarnold at July 8, 2002 9:36 AM
