Bull Durham: Special Edition

Ron Shelton's earthy, erotic, and endlessly quotable ("candlesticks always make a nice gift") 1988 ode to the fringe players of our national pastime threw audiences a curve with its focus more on "matters of the heart" than any big game (making it as much a hit with women as with men). Kevin Costner heads the all-star cast as "Crash" Davis, a weary veteran assigned to mentor pitching prospect Calvin LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), a hotshot with a million dollar arm and "five-cent head." Playing with that head is Susan Sarandon's Annie Savoy, a baseball groupie who has her own memorable form of spring training with one lucky ballplayer. This truly "special edition" covers all the bases with commentary by Shelton, a "making of" featuring cast and crew interviews, and a knock-it-out-of-the-park second commentary by Robbins and Costner (who is engagingly folksy and self-deprecating). One for the DVD Hall of Fame, this is highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson) [DVD Review—Mar. 18, 2008—MGM, 108 min., R, $14.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1988's Bull Durham (Collector's Edition) sports a nice transfer and Dolby Digital surround sound. This release includes the same DVD extras as the earlier edition along with the new production featurettes 'The Greatest Show on Dirt' (19 min.), and 'Diamonds in the Rough' (16 min.). Bottom line: if you own the earlier release, you don't really need to add this one.] [Blu-ray Review—Aug. 17, 2010—MGM, 108 min., R, $24.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1988's Bull Durham sports a decent transfer with Dolby DTS-HD 5.1 sound. This Blu-ray/DVD combo features extras identical to the previous DVD release (all on the DVD disc), including two audio commentaries (one with director Ron Shelton; the other with costars Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins), a 'making-of' featurette (30 min.), the production featurettes 'The Greatest Show on Dirt' (20 min.) and 'Diamonds in the Rough' (16 min.), a 'Sports Wrap' promotional featurette (3 min.), and a profile of Costner (2 min.). Bottom line: a baseball favorite makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 24, 2018—Criterion, 108 min., R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1988’s Bull Durham features an excellent transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 audio on Blu-ray. Extras include two audio commentaries (by director Ron Shelton; and by costars Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins), a 2001 'making-of' featurette (30 min.), a 2008 'The Greatest Show on Dirt' retrospective (20 min.), a 'Going to the Show' segment with Shelton and film critic Michael Sragow (19 min.), a 1991 excerpt from NBC’s Today show with 'Clown Prince' Max Patkin (4 min.), a 1993 excerpt from NBC Nightly News on the ballpark location (3 min.), and a booklet featuring excerpts from a 1989 piece by New Yorker baseball writer Roger Angell. Bottom line: the definitive edition of this contemporary classic cinematic love better to America’s pastime.]