Welcome back to another episode of the Video Store Podcast! As baseball season is winding down, we’ve selected four more baseball films to help you get through the post-season, especially if your team isn’t looking quite as good as they were at the start.
Batting first is 1988’s Bull Durham, written and directed by Ron Shelton. This film is a wonderful snapshot of minor league ball in the late 80s and reminds the audience that it’s not just about the game. It’s about figuring out who you are and what you want out of life, regardless of your occupation. Starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins, it’s a drama that will keep you swinging for the fences.
Next up is 1989’s Major League. A wealthy divorcee obtains the Cleveland Indians in the divorce but wants to relocate the team to a warmer climate. However, the escape clause only triggers if attendance drops below a certain threshold. Stacking the team with nobodies and has-beens, she hopes to move to Miami by the end of the season. When the team learns why they’ve been dealt the hand they’ve dealt, they rally to show her what they’re really made of. It’s a cheeky comedy that will make you stand up and cheer.
Batting third in our line up is The Natural from 1984, starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Darren McGavin, and Robert Farnsworth. Adapted from a book of the same name by Bernard Malamud, The Natural is a 4-time Academy Award-nominated film about finding your purpose, even in less-than-ideal circumstances, and knowing that you could be “the greatest that ever was.”
On clean-up duty is 1989’s Field of Dreams. If you podcast it, they will come, and they hopefully will check out this film. Field of Dreams is about creating space, both literally and figuratively, for the unimaginable. It’s about making peace with your past, and moving towards a better future. It’s a truly beautiful film, nominated for three Academy Awards, and boasts an incredible cast of performers, including Kevin Costnery, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Gaby Hoffmann, and Tim Busfield, among others. Grab a hot dog and watch the game with us here at the Video Store Podcast.
Batter Up II