Long Gone (1987)
October 16, 2021 10:12 AM - Subscribe
Story of the Tampico Stogies, a low minor-league baseball team, and its star player and manager, Stud Cantrell (William Peterson), as they battle for the league championship amidst the corruption and racism of the American south. Possibly the most underrated baseball movie ever made.
Available (in the US at least) on YouTube.
Available (in the US at least) on YouTube.
@craigcalcaterra: Virginia Madsen tells a story about how Ron Shelton, writer of Bull Durham, was at the premiere, took notes and later copped to stealing from it. He denies it -- admits he was at the premier but that's all -- but let's just say the two movies are not dissimilar in many respects.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:53 PM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:53 PM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
I watched this YouTube version recently, once I saw that Nathan Rabin is writing up all of Virginia Madsen's movies (Class, Electric Dreams, The Prophecy, The Haunting).
When I watched the YT version, I noted that the uploader had muted the audio playing from a car radio in one scene. This is presumably to avoid a copyright takedown; though it's odd that Madsen's nude scene doesn't trigger the YT filters.
It's fun to note that this is the first time Madsen has played a character named "Dixie" who gets caught up in Southern American racism in the 1950's, but not the last (cf: Ghosts of Mississippi).
It's quite remarkable that this is so difficult to watch in the U.S., especially considering it was produced by HBO. It's another example of the fragility of aging cultural filmed artifacts.
posted by JDC8 at 3:30 PM on October 16, 2021
When I watched the YT version, I noted that the uploader had muted the audio playing from a car radio in one scene. This is presumably to avoid a copyright takedown; though it's odd that Madsen's nude scene doesn't trigger the YT filters.
It's fun to note that this is the first time Madsen has played a character named "Dixie" who gets caught up in Southern American racism in the 1950's, but not the last (cf: Ghosts of Mississippi).
It's quite remarkable that this is so difficult to watch in the U.S., especially considering it was produced by HBO. It's another example of the fragility of aging cultural filmed artifacts.
posted by JDC8 at 3:30 PM on October 16, 2021
I remember liking this when I was a teenager, when I suppose its levels of sleazy horniness did not stand out to me so much. I've always liked Petersen and Madsen probably because of this movie. (FWIW my spouse hates Mulroney's presence in movies and calls him "the Mulruinator").
It's a pretty mediocre movie that's not even two inches deep, though having the white players stand up to the KKK was good, and the general theme of men turning away from destructive masculinity is pretty decent. I like Petersen's face after he gives his usual bad masculine advice to Mulroney, turns away (towards Madsen) and is like, "Wait, no, that wasn't good." And he doesn't like to see Mulroney turn into a little version of himself. There's a little bit of thoughtfulness in it.
A moment I also like is when Peterson says to the teammates, "I'm going to show you how to be a hero," then he walks out and gets ferociously booed. He just grins and eats it up like a perfect heel.
posted by fleacircus at 9:24 PM on October 16, 2021
It's a pretty mediocre movie that's not even two inches deep, though having the white players stand up to the KKK was good, and the general theme of men turning away from destructive masculinity is pretty decent. I like Petersen's face after he gives his usual bad masculine advice to Mulroney, turns away (towards Madsen) and is like, "Wait, no, that wasn't good." And he doesn't like to see Mulroney turn into a little version of himself. There's a little bit of thoughtfulness in it.
A moment I also like is when Peterson says to the teammates, "I'm going to show you how to be a hero," then he walks out and gets ferociously booed. He just grins and eats it up like a perfect heel.
posted by fleacircus at 9:24 PM on October 16, 2021
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posted by chrchr at 11:26 AM on October 16, 2021 [2 favorites]