|
Amazon.com Kevin Costner might have had a hammerlock on baseball movies in the late 1980s with Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, but this 1987 HBO film with a few mid-level stars was (and still is) very good in its own way. William L. Petersen (Manhunter) is a player-manager for a 1950s minor-league team whose fortunes and hopes turn around during their battle for a championship. As with Bull Durham, this comedy has the feeling of taking place in a world larger than that of baseball, and thus provides useful perspective into why the game is so central in people's lives each spring. Another similarity is the farm-team milieu, a life of abridged hopes and stardom outside the Show--the thematic implication being that most of us have some kind of Show we can only admire from a distance. (Underscoring the point is a nice performance by Virginia Madsen as a small-town beauty queen.) But hope does come in Long Gone, and because of its sharp dialogue and enjoyable acting (by Dermot Mulroney, Larry Riley, Henry Gibson, Katy Boyer, and Teller) this film deserves to be included in anyone's collection of baseball features. --Tom Keogh ... Read more Reviews (17) 
Best ever? Tough call
My goodness, Bull Durham or Long Gone? Both have their moments...Bull Durham has better athletes that make the movie seem more realistic, but Long Gone isn't too shabby, except for a couple scenes where Dermot Mulroney can't quite pull it off. However, William Peterson does a great job, and the storyline is great. For true baseball movie fans that can spot poor baseball, this movie will not disappoint. I'm not ready to label it the best baseball movie of all time, but it is definitely in my top 3, and I am very discriminant. You cannot claim to be a TRUE baseball movie fan without watching this one.
Way Gone
I feel this is the best baseball movie I have ever watched and it is a shame that not too many folks have ever seen it. Stud Cantrell is one of my favorite characters and the setting is great. This film gets you itching to get back on the diamond even if you've never played before. Minor league ball is about growing into the game and cuting a youngsters teeth with the help of a seasoned coach/player. In that sense it has the same chacteristics as Bull Durham except it has a lot more feeling. Besides you can almost smell the dust in Weeks' uniform and the perfume that Madsen is wearing. Rent it if you can find it, but definately buy it before spring for someone who loves the game of baseball.
Second Best Baseball Movie Ever
The first, of course, was The Natural, for pure 'love of the game' beauty and drama. But, hot diggedy DAWG, this is the best good time baseball movie ever! You can tell it was crafted with love and reverence by BASEBALL guys. The characters are loud and larger than life, while the Florida panhandle of the 50's swelters away, in all it's heavy, backroads charm. Petersen as Studs Cantrell is tour de force performance, Virginia Madsen glows with all the longin' of a small town girl just lookin' for a way out, and the rest of the cast is just as fabulous. The baseball sequences are first rate, alive with all the intrigue of the good ol' boy bush leagues of the time. And what do you mean, they couldn't play after being in a bar all afternoon? A guy named Babe Ruth made a career of it! We've been watching a grainy old VHS we taped the night it first aired on HBO, and can't wait for a DVD to finally be available.
THIS MOVIE SUCKS!
This movie was the worst baseball movie i had ever seen. It had a very predictable plot line and not very good acting (except for william peterson). The ending is the most fake ever. There is no way two guys can play a baseball game after sitting in a bar for half a day!!!! So i would not recomend this movie at all. If you want a baseball movie similar to this, that is a lot better and more realistic, get Bull Durham.
William Petersen
I couldn't believe that this was the same man you see on CSI where he's so low-key-soft-spoken & mellow-- in this he's rowdy-nasty- loud & obnoxious-curses-swears & drinks Jack Daniels- but what an exciting character!! looks great in tight jeans- this movie, shows his versatality as an actor- love him--he's delicious!!!
... Read more |
