Product Details

• Actors: William Petersen, Virginia Madsen, Dermot Mulroney, Larry Riley, Katy Boyer
• Directors: Martin Davidson
• Writers: Michael Norell, Paul Hemphill
• Producers: Alan Landsburg, Arthur Fellows, Joan Barnett, Paul Kurta, Terry Keegan
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 1, 1992
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301648838
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,696 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kevin Costner might have had a hammerlock on baseball movies in the late 1980s with Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, but this 1987 HBO film with a few mid-level stars was (and still is) very good in its own way. William L. Petersen (Manhunter) is a player-manager for a 1950s minor-league team whose fortunes and hopes turn around during their battle for a championship. As with Bull Durham, this comedy has the feeling of taking place in a world larger than that of baseball, and thus provides useful perspective into why the game is so central in people's lives each spring. Another similarity is the farm-team milieu, a life of abridged hopes and stardom outside the Show--the thematic implication being that most of us have some kind of Show we can only admire from a distance. (Underscoring the point is a nice performance by Virginia Madsen as a small-town beauty queen.) But hope does come in Long Gone, and because of its sharp dialogue and enjoyable acting (by Dermot Mulroney, Larry Riley, Henry Gibson, Katy Boyer, and Teller) this film deserves to be included in anyone's collection of baseball features. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great feel for the game, November 26, 2003

By 

D. Golden (Savannah, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long Gone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I love baseball. I grew up watching AA and AAA ball in upstate New York. . This wonderful little gem of a film captures the feel of minor leaugue baseball better than any other film I have ever seen. Bull Durham is certainly a better known film, and Kevin Costner showed some real baseball skills, but it lacks the gritty humor of Long Gone. Petersen nailed his role as Stud Cantrel. He plays a man who has come to terms with his limitations but still has some fire left in his belly when it comes to the game. I agree with many of the other Amazon reviewers. This is the best baseball film of all time.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Put, April 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Long Gone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is by far the best baseball movie ever made. When do we get to see it on DVD? Cecil "Stud" Cantrel is not only the best character from a baseball movie; he may be the best character in any movie. William Peterson is the man. Is there two better movis than Long Gone and Manhunter? I doubt it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way Gone, December 14, 1999

By 

Todd Hack (Newport News, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long Gone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I feel this is the best baseball movie I have ever watched and it is a shame that not too many folks have ever seen it. Stud Cantrell is one of my favorite characters and the setting is great. This film gets you itching to get back on the diamond even if you've never played before. Minor league ball is about growing into the game and cuting a youngsters teeth with the help of a seasoned coach/player. In that sense it has the same chacteristics as Bull Durham except it has a lot more feeling. Besides you can almost smell the dust in Weeks' uniform and the perfume that Madsen is wearing. Rent it if you can find it, but definately buy it before spring for someone who loves the game of baseball.