Customer Reviews

Bull Durham: Special Edition (Widescreen/Full Screen) [Import]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), a groupie who has affairs with a minor-league baseball player each season, meets two men, LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) and Crash (Kevin Costner), the experienced catched assigned to LaLoosh. A comical story about baseball and sex. After all, "what else is there?"

Great roles for Sarandon, Robbins and Costner. Can't imagine anyone else playing these roles. Robbins is excellent as the dim "Nuke" LaLoosh.

Even if you don't know anything about baseball (like me), this drama is still decent, enjoyable... and pretty much a classic.

Ron Shelton spent some time in the minor leagues represented in his screenplay for Bull Durham, so he knows about the baseball things represented. But he also clearly has a gifted ear for the tempo of real life, and he knows about hopes and desires and the things that make human beings tick. The setting for this film with the minor league Durham Bulls works, and works perfectly, but the characters, especially among the central love triangle, could just as easily have been traveling salesmen or race drivers or con artists or gangsters.

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.

4.5 stars. Time passes, and what was once a sparkling 5-star film in the year 1987, shows its age. However, the script is still spectacular! There is so much quotable dialogue here as to seem ridiculous. But there is also a fine cast of excellent actors who bring the words and characters to life, even though they have eighties haircuts and wardrobe. This is a charming film about baseball, romance, (...) baseball, breathing through you eyelids, and baseball. This is smart filmmaking in every respect.

The story revolves around a woman named Annie Savoy ( Susan Surandon). Every year she selects one member of the Durham Bulls to sleep with, and teach him about the finer things in life. This year gets interesting for Annie however, when she meets an up- and- coming pitcher named "Nuke" Laloosh ( Tim Robbins), and a veteran minor league catcher that is assigned to train Nuke named Crash Davis ( Kevin Costner). She informs the two, that they are this year's "draft picks". When Crash passes up the offer, Nuke eagerly awaits to start up with Annie. But Crash's jealousy soon takes over, and he convinces Nuke that sex with Annie will jinx the Bulls winning streak...

"Bull Durham" has been a favorite of mine for a while now. The baseball action is realistic and fun to watch. The overall story of Nuke and Crash fighting over Annie is great. Not to mention the fact that Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Surandon are all outstanding. The best thing about the film perhaps is the relationship between Nuke and Crash. They are best friends one minute, and fighting each other the next. You gotta love Costner telling the hitters what's coming for Nuke shaking him off. Susan Surandon gives the best performance of her career with Annie Savoy. She is intelligent, extremely sexy, and hillarious. Watching her relate sex to baseball is outstanding. One of the funniest things you will ever see, is when she convinces Nuke to wear garders to enhance his sexual energy on the playing field. But the film has one MAJOR flaw, which is why I could not give it five stars. While I do enjoy the games played in the bedroom, I am a baseball fan first. "Bull Durham" is a love story with baseball thrown in. I would have liked it better if there was more focus on actual baseball.

Overall, "Bull Durham" is a great film. The baseball action is realistic, there is non stop laughs, and the acting is superb. If there could have been a little bit more baseball, it would have been as good as "Major League". The Special Edition DVD has some pretty good extras. The making of documentary was great, and I absolutely loved the commentary with Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins! Great stuff there. This is definately a must own for anyone's DVD collection.

Highly entertaining movie. A baseball film, yes, but more than that. Susan Surrandon's character is learning so much about herself even as she imagines she is teaching a young man. Kevin Costner's character is as smooth and cool as they come--No wonder Susan's character wants him oh-so-badly! Tim Robbins does a great job as a young doofus who still has our interest and sympathy. Funny and touching.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this movie was the realism. It showed how cruel the business of baseball can be while also highlighting how much fun the game can be. The director really made this more about the life of a minor leaguer and less about baseball. You get a great look at off-field stories that go on in the "bus leagues" highlighted by Kevin Costner's character mentoring the character played by Tim Robbins. In addition, a great job in casting was done because the baseball action was also very good too. The actors all looked like they could play.

This is my favorite sports movie and, I think, Kevin Costner's best movie. (Well, he's also great in "Tin Cup," an underrated masterpiece.)

"Bull Durham" is vastly superior to the weepier "Field of Dreams" because it really is about baseball, not about some doofus who puts his family at risk in order to play catch with Daddy (I really hate that movie). Ron Shelton made "Bull Durham" for adults, not cringing inner children. It knows that sex and baseball make for a better mix than mysticism and baseball. That's why it is the better film.

What's not to love? Costner, loose and funny and supremely athletic, delivers his "beliefs" speech. Tim Robbins pitches wearing a garter belt. The "Bermuda Triangle" dialogue. The Walt Whitman seduction. The meeting on the mound. And Susan Sarandon. Yes, Susan Sarandon.

Great scenes: Crash Davis, introducing himself as the player to be named later. The coach, instructing his players on the basics of baseball. Crash telling the batter what pitch Nuke is going to throw. The two fight scenes. Crash's private note to Annie. And of course: the great "Martian conversation with a Fungo" scene.

What I'm saying is this: "Bull Durham" has great writing. Not just adequate writing that gets the plot from point A to point B, but beautiful, philosophical dialogue that establishes the personalities of the characters. You don't get that kind of writing today. It just rarely happens anymore.

"Jerry Maguire" and "Tin Cup" come close in the sports movie realm, but "Bull Durham" established the tradition, and it is still the best.

this movie is a classic American film of a down an out baseball team that pulls together to become a great team. The movie also shows how the minor leagues of baseball can be a stopping ground on the way to major League stardome as in Nukes case or a long tough journey as in Crash's case. This movie is a good movie for almost anybody guys will like it for the baseball and girls will like it for the romance in it but overall this is a great movie

An adult baseball movie with a love triangle to annoy some and to thrill others. Snappy dialogue, good characters (major and supporting) all with the science,philosphy, and religion of baseball in the foreground and background. The film that's one of Kevin Costner's signature roles as an intelligent, macho, aging baseball player is the highlight of the film, also bringing Tim Robbins into the forefront, and lastly, gave Susan Sarandon one of her final "sexy leading" performances. Good support performance from Robert Wuhl and from the game of baseball itself . Note: One interesting scene in the film... Kevin Costner's character, Crash Davis states (in one of his witty rants during one of the awkward "love triangle" scenes) "...I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone...!". A few years later, Kevin Costner plays Jim Garrison in JFK in which this character believes in the conspriracy theory of the John Kennedy assassination.

If you are a baseball fan and have not seen this movie, you may be the only one that hasn't.

Buy this for the classic lines.
Buy this for the wonderful baseball insights
Buy this for an amazingly sexy performance by Susan Sarandon.

And buy this special edition for the commentary from Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner. Both huge baseball fans and obviously friends, it's one of the most enjoyable commentaries I have heard on DVD.