Product Description

A disillusioned war veteran, Capt. Rannulph Junah (Matt Damon), reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance (Will Smith), teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4871 in DVD
• Brand: Team Marketing
• Released on: 2001-04-03
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 126 minutes

Features

• Officially Licensed
• Highest Quality Recording

Amazon.com
The Legend of Bagger Vance doesn't break any new ground, but with Steven Pressfield's inspirational novel to guide them, director Robert Redford and screenwriter Jeremy Leven have tilled fertile soil with a graceful touch. Redford does for golf what A River Runs Through It did for fly-fishing: the sport is a conduit for a philosophy of living, and Redford achieves the small miracle of making golf a central metaphor that's visually compelling.

Set in Savannah, Georgia, during the early '30s, the story charts the redemption of disillusioned World War I veteran and former golf champion Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), who emerges from self-imposed obscurity in an exhibition match against legendary golfers Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill). Having earlier abandoned the socialite (Charlize Theron) who has organized the tournament to promote her late father's spectacular golf resort, Junuh now depends on the support of a young fan (perfectly cast newcomer J. Michael Moncrief) and the mysterious Bagger Vance (Will Smith), a smiling Jiminy Cricket who serves as Junuh's caddy, golf guru, and Socratic angel of mercy.

As Junuh regains the "authentic swing" he feared was lost forever, Redford guides his splendid cast through a spiritual journey that is specific to the discipline of golf and yet potently universal. As always, Redford also conveys his respect for nature and the rhythms of life as well as a sweet nostalgia for simpler times and purer values. With the casting of Jack Lemmon as the film's present-day narrator and elderly version of Moncrief's character, The Legend of Bagger Vance gains even greater dignity and, indeed, the glowing aura of legend. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Robert Redford, directing in pastoral-elegy mode: the light is golden, the colors are blended, and drama is nowhere to be found. He's made a tall tale about golf in the early thirties, with Matt Damon as a Savannah athlete demoralized by the First World War and Will Smith as an angelic black caddie who emerges from the gloaming and restores Damon by whispering incomprehensible remarks in his ear about feeling his way to an "authentic stroke." With Charlize Theron around, Damon shouldn't have any trouble restoring himself through love, but the movie is too dreamy and silly for sex. Again and again, the camera takes the point of view of a golf ball on simulated flights through the air. The ball lands with a thunk-and so does the movie. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

The rythm of the game is just like the rhythm of life.
I absolutely love this movie. I know it gets some mixed reviews but I think it is because the world is way too cynical. Redford does and excellent job with view of sport as Metaphor for life. Juna has lost his swing which in life terms is his soul and must get it back if he is going to get back in the game. Bagger is a spiritual sage (caddy) of some sort who is there to help him find his way.

The cinematography is just breathtaking. The golfcourse looks like the Garden of Eden. I love stories about larger than life characters on a great journey. This is certainly one of them. The movie just makes you feel good about life. I find the score enchanting as it especially enhances the golf scenes. A very pleasing movie indeed. Will Smith does a great job in his untradional dramatic role although he has a few rather humorous parts.

The best is Lemmon's ending line as narrator. "Bagger always said it is a game that can't be won only played. So I played. I play on. I play for the moments yet to come. Looking for my place in the field."

Hindu Philosophy meets Golf in the Deep South
One aspect of this film not brought up is the fact that it is loosly based on the Bhagavad-Gita (refered to my many as "the Hindu New Testiment"). Anyone who has read this great masterpiece of literature should see this movie, if they have not already!

Will Smith's Character Bagger Vance reprsents Krishna, who is also called "Bhagavan"; Matt Damon plays Randall Juna ("R. Juna") who represents Krishna's friend Arjuna. Instead of Arjuna's chariot driver, Bagger is Juna's caddy. While this doesn't follow the story of the BG exactly, for those who know the story and the philosophy, both shine through in a beautiful and endearing way. Juna has returned from WWI with a case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(called Shell Shock back then) and refuses to pick up his clubs and play golf in a tournement held in his hometown (like Arjuna's refusal to fight at the opening of the Barata War). Bagger tells Juna that "Inside each one of us is our one true authentic swing" and once, when someone asks him what is wrong with Juna, Bagger answers "The problem is, he still thinks he's Randall Juna!" Hindu philosophy is peeking out of ever dark corner in this film. It is truly a Gem, and I'm not usually a Will Smith or a Matt Damon fan...

If you're a student of Indian religion or philosophy, you MUST see this film!

Drama at its finest.
This is a drama. Don't watch it looking for action of a lot of laughs, but don't think you won't enjoy it just because it doesn't have tons of humor or action. It deals with very real pain and develops some very strong characters.

The movie is set in the Savannah, Georgia in the middle of the Great Depression. Rannulph Junuh, played by Matt Damon, is a war veteran and former golfer who at one time possesed a lot of talent, but has now lost his "swing", not to mention his faith. Despite this he has been asked to play in an exhibition match against the two greatest golfers of his day. His caddy is Bagger Vance, played by Will Smith. Bagger is an angel, Junuh's gaurdian angel. He is the guide who shows Junuh the way to rid himself of his inner demons, and move on with his life.

This movie is wonderful film, and another of Redford's works of art. The acting is superb, and will be hard to surpass. The casting was done very well, and the story extremely well written. Don't miss this one.