Review of Bull Durham

Introduction

Kevin Costner plays Crash Davis, a catcher of some repute who joins the minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. He`s here to take the teams newest pitching sensation, Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), under his wing and guide the wild thing in the right direction. Meanwhile Annie Savoy takes a different approach. She takes on a player each year for coaching lessons and a little sweet loving too and this season she has her eye on Nuke, the guy with a "million dollar arm and a 5 cent head". The spark is there between Annie and Crash, but she`s firmly ensconed with Nuke for the season.

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, I thought there was room for improvement. There are signs of dirt, grain and there are quite a few scenes which just seem drab with somewhat muted colours. Detailing isn`t bad and there are signs of compression around actors moving quickly. There aren`t any particularly good locations so it just retains the look of the period, mid 80`s and looks plain.

Audio

This has a DD5.1 sound mix and it doesn`t really do much for the film. All sound comes from the front with the dialogue clear from the centre. The music came out loud and clear too. There aren`t any 5.1 surrounds effects which is a shame so the sound is just functional.

Features

Static menus lead to chapter selection, audio tracks, subtitles and an anamorphic theatrical trailer. Yet again MGM shortchange UK owners when it comes to this disc compared to the R1 DVD. The American disc has two commentary tracks. One with director Ron Shelton, the other with stars Costner and Robbins and I know this is something that I would have liked here. What`s the point including any extras when all it comprises of is a trailer? Very poor.

Conclusion

I`m not a big baseball fan, afterall, isn`t it is just a grown mans rounders? Joking aside, I did enjoy watching the film and though a passing interest in the sport might help, it`s not a pre-requisite to enjoying the movie. This was written and directed by Ron Shelton who`s responsible for a lot of sports based movies such as White Men Can`t Jump, Play It To The Bone and the other Costner movie, Tin Cup.

What Shelton has captured here seems to be the very essence of a minor league team; the players, the coaching, the banter and the whole feel for it. He has an eye and ear for sports and he strikes a fine balance between the goings on on the field and off (romance included). I liked the movie more the second time around and picked up the small things I missed, especially some of the humour which always raised a smile.

This is one of Costner`s better movies, his performance as catcher Crash Davis sees him back on the form of old and it`s a pleasant surprise to see. Along with the rest of the ensemble, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins too turn in very good performances and add something extra to the film. I think they`re well rounded and interesting.

American`s love this movie a lot and since it does contain one of their most prized sports, it`s not hard to see why. A witty and well observed script with good cast performances lead to an enjoyable film, however this R2 release leaves a lot to be desired with the omission of the R1 extras. If you want to see it, rent it. If you like it, buy the R1 version for the extras as well.