Don Shanahan
In this very inflated theatrical landscape, where blockbusters and mega-studio offerings rule the roost, not many microbudget movies find footing with audiences and even critics. Like its deceptive off-speed pitch namesake, Eephus is one success story to beat those odds. Backed by Music Box Films, the film respectably made over a half million dollars at the box office and won best film and screenplay awards during its festival run last year, which included scoring a Director’s Fortnight spot at the prestigious 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Not bad for a movie about no-names playing baseball! Continuing to grow its success, Eephus now arrives on DVD and Blu-ray disc, giving even more folks a chance to see this gem. Film Obsessive was granted an advance copy of the Blu-ray disc by Music Box Films for this new edition of our “Off the Shelf” series covering physical media.
THE MOVIE
America and the world are currently in the throes of the 2025 Major League Baseball season, as the “boys of summer” approach the All-Star break in early July, their unofficial halfway point of the marathon season. While the professionals are doing their thing, the summer season brings players of all ages to local ball diamonds for all types and levels of play. Deep in those levels, you’ll find the setting of Eephus.
The film is set in the 1990s and follows the imminent final game between a pair of recreational Massachusetts baseball teams. For longer than anyone locally can remember, the River Dogs and Adler’s Paint have met to play ball on Sunday afternoons at the dusty and dated Soldier’s Field. Times have shifted where their tradition is folding up, giving everyone involved one last chance to salute America’s pastime and all those dedicated individuals—on the field and off—who have made their competitive appointment more than simply quality time with family and friends on the weekends.
Eephus is the directorial debut of Carson Lund and was written by the trip of Lund, veteran industry camera assistant Michael Basta, and Nate Fisher of 2019’s indie Ham on Rye. The movie features a wide ensemble cast of performers, each manning their all-important ballfield positions and the embodying their community reputations for their common citizens. Film Obsessive’s Jay Rohr reviewed the film during its theatrical run in Chicago, and Eephus proudly earned a place from our staff on our site’s “Best of 2025 So Far…” list from the first half of the year.
THE DISC
This past month, Eephus became available for on-demand rental and digital purchase from Amazon, Apple, Fandango, Google Play, and YouTube. Music Box Films followed that up with DVD and Blu-ray disc offerings which arrived on store shelves and online outlets June 24th. Both disc editions of Eephus boast two jovial commentary tracks and a nice handful of special features.
The first is a cast commentary featuring the men who played the Alder’s Paint and River Dog teams. Group commentaries can be tricky, juggling voices both known and unknown, but this hearty bunch makes the viewing experience a blast. It’s a hoot to hear in-character trash talk translate to actors busting a few chops on their own craft. The second commentary track is spoken by the trio of writer-director Carson Lund, co-writer Michael Basta, and director of photography Greg Tango. Their conversation combines a love letter for the story and history with the nuts and bolts of indie filmmaking to pull Eephus off on the shoestring budget they had.
After the commentaries, both the DVD and Blu-ray disc apparently has, for the sharp-eyed menu surfers, 12 hidden easter eggs to go with a few more special features to bolster the depth of collector’s set.
- Behind the Scenes camcorder video
- “Extra Innings” Deleted Scenes
- “Big Whiffs” Blooper Reel
- Pickup baseball game footage at East River Park, NYC
- Storyboards and Image Galleries
- Inside Baseball – An essay by author and film historian Caden Mark Gardner
The best version of Eephus is the Limited Edition Blu-ray and Baseball card bundle, exclusively available from the Music Box Films website. The personalized treat for this fan edition is a baseball card pack featuring the full lineups of River Dogs and Alder’s Paint. The protected shrink-wrapped pack has 21 matte-coated cards, measuring 2.5” by 3.5”, complete with player stats and fun facts that go beyond the film’s plot. Attention collectors, only 1,000 copies of this baseball card bundle are available.
After the cards, the Limited Edition Eephus Blu-ray gathers one extra interview and a pair of talks with director Carson Lund. First is an exclusive interview with former All-Star big leaguer Bill “Spaceman” Lee. The second two feature Lund with a director’s Q&A recorded live at the Jacob Burn Film Center in Pleasantville, New York and an “In Conversation” piece at the Harvard Film Archive. No matter how you measure it, this is a grand treatment given to a dynamite little film.
