Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BUll Durham remains a thoughtful baseball classic..., July 29, 1997
By A Customer
I recently saw Bull Durham for the first time, and I must admit, I was touched by something very profound within it, something that is of almost unspeakable power, a certain quality that only a few movies have: the ability to tell you something about yourself, something about all men, something about the world, and something about life, all at once. Something About Yourself- I played baseball for six or seven years when I was younger, and it still remains my favorite game. I remember collecting cards, discussing the undefinable "potential" some rookies had and others did not, and reading scores of books on the subject. I had a child's lovely obsession with the game. This obsession also drove me to learn a painful lesson, when I was caught shoplifting baseball cards one summer day. Yet even this did not kill the dream. I remain in love with the game to this very day. Bull Durham reminded me of all this and more. It unlocked memories of baseball camp, of the boyhood dreams of "making it", of feel of the bat, the smell of the grass, the look of the dirt, the sound of the sky... Bull Durham reminded me what baseball was all about, and brought back memories spanning the vast spectrum of my soul, both pleasent and not. Something About All Men- In Bull Durham there are several different characters, all driven by one force- ambition, the search for success, the need for glory. All the men in the movie want to reach "the show"- the major leagues. You see, Bull Durham tells the story of a minor league team, with all the men hoping they will make it big one day. This aspiration is the core of all men and women, and is almost distinctly human. Do wolves constantly search to better themselves? Do whales? All men have ambition, and the pain and pleasure is causes is what Bull Durham is all about. Something About The World- Some people say the world isn't fair. They are the right ones. The main character in the movie, Crash Davis, perennially has his dream defeated, after 12 years of waiting, while the young pitcher he is assigned to train, Nuke, makes it after not even one. Nuke has talent, the movie says, and the world loves talent. No amount of Crash's humility, his intelligence, his love for the game can deliver him, though by all means he deserves to make it. To be even crueller, life tempts him by allowing him 21 days in the major leagues, years ago. This taste of victory haunts him for the rest of his life. Bull Durham also shows that there is no sadder cathedral than a minor league ballpark, for it is there that the prayers of thousands of men die quietly into the night. It is there that these men watch there dreams rot and decay before them. It is there that the lucky few who ascend are less deserving than the damned who aspire rightly. It is there that the world is least fair. Bull Durham is one of the most profound movies I have ever seen, raising questions of Man's futility and the constant frustration at the unfairness of life. Throughout this review I have told almost nothing about the plot, the characters, the story. That's because they all take second place to the moral implications, and the themes this movie brings forth. Summary=I heavily recommend this movie to anyone who loves baseball, anyone who loves movies, and anyone who loves poetry and philosophy. A fantastic movie. Fans should check out Costners others baseball flick, Field of Dreams. Review= Evan Stephens END
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Minor League Baseball Masterpiece, July 10, 2004
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.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best sports movie ever (so far, anyway), November 13, 2000
This movie is that it's not really about baseball, but about baseball players. As such, the movie does NOT lead to an annoying, cheesy climax like most sports movies (i.e. the big game). Instead, it starts about a dozen games into the season and ends a few months later, with no mention of playoffs or championships. During this time, players are released/traded, get married, etc. The main characters are a veteran catcher (Costner) brought in to help mature the young gun with the big fastball and no brains (Robbins). Both are stellar performances by actors that were little known at the time.It is a very funny movie. The tone is maintained perfectly throughout the whole show, so you become absorbed and care about the characters, even the peripheral ones. The parallel story, about the relationship between the main characters and the team's groupie (Sarandan) is also entertaining, amusing, and interesting. I personally prefer the baseball story over the romance story - the romance well done, but standard. The director, Shelton, was a minor league player for several years, and there are numerous little details that make the story ring true - time on the busses, meetings on the pitcher's mound, etc. As for this DVD edition, there are not a lot of extras, except for a director's commentary. It's almost more of a writer's commentary, as Shelton also wrote the story. I'm always surprised at how candid directors are at pointing out scenes they don't like. Especially interesting are his description of scenes that were cut (unfortunately, these scenes are not included as extras), and why they were axed. He also relates the "true stories" behind a number of the antics that appear in the movie. There is one complaint of his that I can't agree with - he apologises a number of times for certain scenes that don't look as good as they could, but this is a strength of the movie. A movie about the minor leagues should have an unpolished look - it adds to the authenticity.
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