Bull Durham (1988)

[Scottie]

Bull Durham (1988)

Former minor leaguer Ron Shelton hit a grand slam with his directorial debut, one of the most revered sports movies of all time. Durham Bulls devotee Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon)—who every year takes a new player under her wing (and into her bed)—has singled out the loose-cannon pitching prospect Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), a big-league talent with a rock-bottom maturity level. But she’s unable to shake Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), the veteran catcher brought in to give Nuke some on-the-field seasoning. A breakthrough film for all three of its stars and an Oscar nominee for Shelton’s highly quotable screenplay, Bull Durham is a freewheeling hymn to wisdom, experience, and America’s pastime, tipping its cap to all those who grind it out for love of the game.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Ron Shelton, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS‑HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
• Two audio commentaries featuring Shelton and actors Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins
• New conversation between Shelton and film critic Michael Sragow
• Between the Lines: The Making of “Bull Durham,” a 2002 program featuring interviews with cast and crew, including Shelton, Costner, Robbins, and actor Susan Sarandon
• The Greatest Show on Dirt, a 2008 appreciation of the film featuring former players, broadcasters, and sports-film aficionados
• NBC Nightly News piece from 1993 on the final season of baseball at Durham Athletic Park, where Bull Durham takes place and was shot
• Interview with Max Patkin, known as the Clown Prince of Baseball, from a 1991 episode of NBC’s Today
• Trailer
• PLUS: Excerpts from a 1989 piece by longtime New Yorker baseball writer Roger Angell, with new comments from the author

[RaynMan2142]

Seems good to me!

[jmat91]

Never seen this one.

[noirjunkie]

This is a waste of Criterion's time. It's a decent-but-not-great baseball movie. Nothing more.

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

This is a waste of Criterion's time. It's a decent-but-not-great baseball movie. Nothing more.

[Jexes23]

This one is super underwhelming. Movie is blah.

And Kevin Costner is good at playing Kevin Costner in everything he is in.

[gkolb]

Great extras, and I’ll buy it. On a sale.

But with a 4K scan, a UHD release would have been preferred by me.

[Scottie]

pre-order

[BuckNaked2k]

As perplexing as Tootsie.

[dig311dug]

Originally Posted by BuckNaked2k

As perplexing as Tootsie.

tootsie wasn't already released a billion times like this one.

[growsinwater]

People hate this movie? I think it's goddamn hilarious lol

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by growsinwater

People hate this movie? I think it's goddamn hilarious lol

Yeah it's one of my favorite movies....and I'm not even a baseball fan. One of Kevin Costner's best performances IMHO.

[Bronson13]

Awesome Cover Art.

Some of the best Criterion has put out IMO.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I consider it more of a movie with baseball in it.

This is exactly how I view Bull Durham as well.

[thatguamguy]

I am a big fan, but I still don't like what it means for physical media in general that Criterion keeps getting big releases that should just be put out by the studio that owns them.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

This is exactly how I view Bull Durham as well.

I've always enjoyed "Bull Durham". Check out the football classic "North Dallas Forty", which has some similarities. I'd love to see that get a BD, but I'm not sure that it will happen given that it's with Paramount.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by growsinwater

People hate this movie? I think it's goddamn hilarious lol

No, people (well, I can only speak for myself) don't hate it. I enjoyed it when I saw it. I just don't think it has anything in it that demands it be placed in the Criterion Collection.

[dressedtokill]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

No, people (well, I can only speak for myself) don't hate it. I enjoyed it when I saw it. I just don't think it has anything in it that demands it be placed in the Criterion Collection.

This again... It's The Breakfast Club all over again.

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by dressedtokill

This again... It's The Breakfast Club all over again.

That movie is quoted from and influenced a generation of people. The Breakfast Club is not like a mediocre baseball movie with Kevin Costner.

[BrandonJF]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

That movie is quoted from and influenced a generation of people. The Breakfast Club is not like a mediocre baseball movie with Kevin Costner.

Nobody has ever quoted Bull Durham, then? If that's the criteria....

Well reviewed and nominated for multiple awards, but a couple of people around here don't like it so it's undeserving of the Criterion Collection... whatever that means.

It's always odd when people put their own personal tastes and meaning into the criteria of what should be a Criterion release. It's even more odd that anyone cares, unless people actually have a "gotta collect them all" mentality and need every numbered Criterion release in order on their shelf.

This seems to happen any time Criterion releases something too commercial. Some people acted like they just got punched in the face when Criterion started partnering up with Michael Bay (which brought about two of the most awesome commentary tracks ever).