Bull Durham

Kevin Costner Director: Ron Shelton Ron Shelton

Overview

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."

Product Details

Release Date:	03/18/2008
UPC:	0883904102922
Original Release:	1988
Rating:	R
Source:	Mgm (Video & Dvd)
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Time:	1:48:00

Special Features

Closed Caption; 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

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

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
Sid Aikens	Baseball Player
Craig Brown	Baseball Player
Wes Currin	Baseball Player
Butch Davis	Baseball Player
Paul Devlin	Baseball Player
Jeff Greene	Baseball Player
Kelly Heath	Baseball Player
Mo Johnson	Baseball Player
Todd Kopeznski	Baseball Player
John Lovingood	Baseball Player
Eddie Matthews	Baseball Player
Alan Paternoster	Baseball Player
Bill Robinson	Baseball Player
Tom Shultz	Baseball Player
Bonnie Timmermann	Actor
Sam Veraldi	Baseball Player
El Chico Williams	Baseball Player
David Neidorf	Bobby
Danny Gans	Deke
Tom Silardi	Tony
Lloyd Williams	Mickey
Rick Marzan	Jose
George "Buck" Flower	Nuke's Father
Greg Avelone	Doc
Robert Dickman	Whitey
Timothy Kirk	Ed
Don S. Davis	Scared Batter
Stephen Ware	Abused Umpire
Tobi Eshelman	Bat Boy
Henry Sanders	Sandy
Antoinette Forsyth	Ballpark Announcer
Shirley Anne Ritter	Cocktail Waitress
Pete Bock	Minister
Alan Mejia	Chu Chu
Garland Bunting	Teddy (Radio Announcer)
Dean Robinson	Dino
C.K. Bibby	Mayor

Technical Credits

Ron Shelton

Ron Shelton	Director,Screenwriter
Dave Alvin	Songwriter
Cynthia Barr	Makeup
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter	Songwriter
Kris Boxell	Set Decoration/Design
Danny Bramson	Musical Direction/Supervision
Mark Burg	Producer
Bobby Byrne	Cinematographer
James B. Campbell	Songwriter
Reg Connelly	Songwriter
Michael Convertino	Score Composer
Jimmy DeKnight	Songwriter
Vance DeGeneres	Songwriter
"Dr. John" C. Dumont	Songwriter
Phil Everly	Songwriter
John Fogerty	Songwriter
Kirk A. Francis	Sound/Sound Designer
Max Friedman	Songwriter
Louise Frogley	Costumes/Costume Designer
Armin Ganz	Production Designer
Robert Leighton	Editor
David Lester	Executive Producer
David Lubin	Art Director,Production Designer
Rose Marks	Songwriter
Pat McLaughlin	Songwriter
Thom Mount	Producer
Pat DiNizio	Songwriter
Dr. John	Songwriter
Gina Schock	Songwriter
George Thorogood	Songwriter
Bonnie Timmermann	Casting
Ike Turner	Songwriter
M. Vaucaire	Songwriter
Bennie Wallace	Songwriter
William E. Ward	Songwriter
Adam Weiss	Editor
Harry Woods	Songwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Bull Durham
1. Main Title/Baseball [:10]
2. Professional Debut [:18]
3. Crash Course [3:50]
4. Lesson #1 [4:34]
5. Crash's Beliefs [:30]
6. Love Lesson [2:44]
7. "Think Classy" [5:00]
8. At Bat [:15]
9. Loyalty [3:39]
10. Meat's Heat [3:28]
11. Coaching [1:18]
12. The Show [:27]
13. Losing Streak [3:55]
14. Rain-Out [3:27]
15. Catch [1:03]
16. Annie's Garter [5:01]
17. Winning Streak [2:37]
18. Hand-Eye Coordination [:28]
19. Stay Out! [3:38]
20. Huddle at the Mound [1:56]
21. The Wrong Guy [2:46]
22. Last Lesson [1:20]
23. Fear and Arrogance [3:19]
24. Hell of a Year [3:43]
25. Going Home [3:41]
26. Baseball Calls [3:37]
27. To Be [:21]
28. End Credits [2:54]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Bull Durham
   Play Ball
   Signs and Pitches
      Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround
      Audio: Spanish Dolby Surround
      Audio: French Mono
      Audio Commentary From Director Ron Shelton
      Audio Commentary From Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: Spanish
      Subtitles: None
   Innings
   Extra Innings
      Audio Commentary From Director Ron Shelton: On
      Audio Commentary From Director Ron Shelton: Off
      Audio Commentary From Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins: On
      Audio Commentary From Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins: Off
      The Greatest Show on Dirt
      Diamonds on the Rough
      Between the Lines - The Making of Bulll Durham
      Kevin Costner Profile
      Sports Wrap

Editorial Reviews

The National Pastime got quite a ribbing in this sexy, insouciant romp -- which still ranks among the best romantic comedies of the ‘80s. Bull Durham recounts the travails of North Carolina’s Durham Bulls, a bush-league baseball team hoping that recently signed pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) will lead the club to victory. Embittered veteran catcher"Crash" Davis (Kevin Costner, at that time a newly minted star) is assigned to work with the talented but undisciplined rookie. Susan Sarandon positively gleams in perhaps her most alluring characterization, that of a seductive groupie who bestows sexual favors on a different team member every year. (She’s picked Nuke as the current season’s lucky recipient, but she seems equally attracted to Crash.) Oscar-nominated writer-director Ron Shelton (Tin Cup) scripts this novel variation on the venerable "triangle" plot with great panache, and he also coaxes terrific performances from his exceptional cast. Smart, sassy, and saucy, Bull Durham wowed moviegoers in 1988 and continues to be a guaranteed crowd pleaser. The Special Edition DVD sports a recently shot making-of documentary, which includes new interviews with Costner, Sarandon, and Robbins. Shelton, Costner, and Robbins collaborate on the feature commentary, and there’s a "Sports Wrap" featurette as well.

Barnes & Noble

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.

All Movie Guide

Limber, funny and as in touch with the pleasures of the flesh as it is with the pleasures of the game, Bull Durham, the...baseball movie starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, eases up on you, lazy as a cloud, and carries you off in a mood of exquisite delight. To borrow W.P. Kinsella's phrase, it has the thrill of the grass. Hal Hinson

Washington Post

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