Bull Durham [20th Anniversary Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. Crash Davis (Kevin Costner, showcasing his Midwestern charm) is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie (Susan Sarandon), the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay -- and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters. The film treats the sport of baseball with a sort of casual reverence, highlighting both the drama and the humor inherent in the game, illustrated by Annie's numerous references to baseball as "her religion." ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Audio commentary by director Ron Shelton
  • Audio commentary from Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins
  • The Greatest Show on Dirt
  • Diamonds in the Rough
  • Between the Line - The Making of Bull Durham
  • Kevin Costner profile
  • Sports Wrap

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1988 (Ron Shelton)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Original Song - 1988 (Joe Cocker)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com - 1988 (Susan Sarandon)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1987 (Ron Shelton)

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1988 (Ron Shelton)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Kevin Costner - Crash Davis
       Susan Sarandon - Annie Savoy
       Tim Robbins - Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh
       Trey Wilson - Joe "Skip" Riggins
       Robert Wuhl - Larry Hockett
       Jenny Robertson - Millie
       Max Patkin - Himself
       William O'Leary - Jimmy
       Alan Mejia - Chu Chu

• Director:

  Ron Shelton

• Producer:

  Mark Burg, Thom Mount

• Screenwriter:

  Ron Shelton

• Cinematographer:

  Bobby Byrne

• Songwriter:

  Mac Rebennack, Dave Alvin, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Danny Bramson

• Songwriter:

  James Campbell, Reg Connelly

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Convertino

• Songwriter:

  Vance DeGeneres, Jimmy de Knight, Pat di Nizio, "Dr. John" C. Dumont, Phil Everly, John Fogerty, Max Friedman, Rose Marks, Pat McLaughlin

• Featured Music:

  Edith Piaf

• Songwriter:

  Gina Schock, George Thorogood, Ike Turner, M. Vaucaire, Bennie Wallace, William E. Ward, Harry Woods

• Editor:

  Robert Leighton, Adam Weiss

• Production Designer:

  Armin Ganz, David Lubin

• Art Director:

  David Lubin

• Executive Producer:

  David Lester

• Set Designer:

  Kris Boxell

• Costume Designer:

  Louise Frogley

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Kirk A. Francis

• Makeup:

  Cynthia Barr

• Casting:

  Bonnie Timmermann

• Properties Master:

  Nino Candido

REVIEW:

• In Bull Durham, baseball is a religion, at once sacred and profane, simple and complicated. This is not the baseball of retractable roofs and million-dollar contracts, but the dusty world of minor-league ball, one which proves to be a perfect backdrop for comic drama. The three leads are flawless: Tim Robbins displays his very capable comic side as the new kid with the "million-dollar arm and the five-cent head"; Susan Sarandon is delightful as the groupie with more on her mind than just sex; and Kevin Costner's easy-going charm is perfect for the role of the aging ballplayer. While the sexual chemistry between Costner and Sarandon is particularly strong (unique in a film with older leads) it was Sarandon and Robbins who began a real-life relationship following production. The film's one real fault -- and not an insignificant one -- is that for a movie about sports and sex, Bull Durham runs on a little too long toward the end. Writer/director Ron Shelton spent five years in the Orioles' farm system as an infielder, and his love for all things baseball permeates the film. Those expecting a rousing jock adventure may be disappointed: Bull Durham uses baseball to tell a story that's about people first and the sport second. It is an uncommonly adult portrait of three disparate people brought together by fate, and in this case, that fate happens to be called baseball. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi