Field of Dreams (1989): Directed by Phil Alden Robinson

Given that the Major League baseball season has just recently begun, I thought it’d be a good time to break out the first Movie of the Week that is seasonally timely. There are a few really good baseball movies out there, some comedic and some dramatic. I went with Field of Dreams because it’s probably the most wholesome ode to America’s pastime ever put to celluloid.

Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a struggling Iowa farmer. One day while in the middle of his crops, he hears a voice that whispers the now infamous line, “If you build it, he will come.” So what does he do? What anyone else would do if placed in his predicament: he builds a baseball field where his crops are supposed to be, much to the chagrin of his wife Maggie (Amy Madigan). Before long, the ghosts of the 1919 White Sox are having practices on Ray’s field, most notably Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta).

From there, the plot takes some twists and turns that send Ray off on a journey in which he meets retired political activist/writer Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones) and together they travel to Minnesota to look up Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (Frank Whaley—young, Burt Lancaster—old) after both men are prompted by that same strange voice. All of this will eventually culminate into a tearjerker of an ending that cements with authority that there is magic in the game of baseball, and through the purity of the game, maybe, just maybe, one can apply that magic to their own lives. Each of these men possess some sort of regret about their pasts, and ultimately baseball is their only means of salvation to mend those regrets.

Despite the melancholy of that final scene, Field of Dreams is a feel-good movie. But what separates it from so many other types of these movies is the sincerity and subtlety of its intent. It doesn’t blatantly try to push your emotional buttons, but instead invests so much life into the story and characters that it sucks you in and won’t let go. This film makes you earn the catharsis at the end, but doesn’t leave you high and dry, either. You may shed a tear or two, but after you dry your eyes, you’ll walk away feeling much differently than when you sat down to watch it, whether it’s your first viewing or your twentieth.

Field of Dreams hits every right note and is undoubtedly one of the greatest sports films of all time. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to appreciate it, nor do you even have to be male. There is a universal appeal to this movie, part of which is due to the fact that it’s kind-hearted and fully realized. You can watch this alone, with your girlfriend, with your parents, or even with your kids. Everybody and anybody can pull something from this film. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to anyone in my life who didn’t like this movie, including females. It really is that well-crafted of a movie.

“Wanna have a catch?”

Previous Movies of the Week:

#1: Gladiator
#2: The Passion of the Christ
#3: Cool Hand Luke
#4: Fight Club
#5: American Beauty
#6: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
#7: Goodfellas
#8: Boogie Nights
#9: American Psycho
#10: Dr. Strangelove
#11: Dog Day Afternoon
#12: Unforgiven
#13: 2001: A Space Odyssey
#14: Do the Right Thing
#15: Reservoir Dogs
#16: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
#17: L.A. Confidential
#18: Big Trouble in Little China
#19: Out of Sight
#20: The Shawshank Redemption
#21: The Waterboy

This is in my top five favorite movies, always a contender when I'm asked for my favorite, and it almost always brings a tear, no matter how many times I've seen it.

I do have to disagree with you about one thing though, Frank. While I certainly know many women who enjoy this movie, I do think that it is going to be more meaningful to both baseball fans and to men, especially those with conflicted relationships with their fathers. My wife for example, just doesn't get this movie, and can't understand why I'll watch it every time I come across it on TV.

One big criticism, Ray Liotta bats and throws opposite from the real Joe Jackson. Bad casting.

great movie. i love the end when all the cars are lined up.

I'll agree with you on that to a point. Naturally men with father issues or male baseball fans will appreciate it more, but women can still enjoy it for what it is. I mean, I like the movie Terms of Endearment, but obviously a woman will pull more out of it because they're the target audience.

To rephrase, I'll say that I don't believe anyone - male or female - will dislike this movie, but men can appreciate it more than women.



I was wondering who'd be the first person to point that out. If our paths ever cross in either Philly or Arizona, I'm gonna buy you a cookie.

one of those great sports movies that you can watch over and over. that whole end scene with the cars is amazing.

I have some issues with this movie so i can never put it in the category of "great" films. The Joe Jackson batting righty is by far the worst one and annoys me so much. I also don't get the whole "emotional" part of the movie that everybody else seems to get. I'm a crier too if the movie presents a "moment" that lends itself to some tears, but i just don't feel it with this film. The whole "book burning" scene doesn't seem to fit either. It just seems thrown in out of nowhere in order to get James Earl Jones in the mix. I'm a huge fan of baseball movies(The Natural, Major League, 8 Men Out) but this one doesn't do much for me. I never have understood the acclaim

I don't want to derail too badly here, but what do you think of Bull Durham?

I like it a bit better than Field of Dreams but not by much. It has some very good scenes that i'll always laugh at,"I heard you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a fucking boat" but there's also some cheeseball stuff that i can't stand. It's a decent movie but nowhere near as good as The Natural or 8 Men Out. And it's not even as close to funny as Major League. I'm not a Costner hater either, I love The Untouchables, JFK, A Perfect World, etc..

I'm not saying Field of Dreams is a bad movie, it's a good movie. I just never got the crazy love for it.

Oh, OK.

I don't consider Bull Durham to be a comedy. I think it is the best movie about baseball ever made, because it is about all aspects of the LIFE of baseball player. It's deep. Not as deep as Susan Sarandon's character tries to make it seem, but her philosophy is supposed to be just slightly over-the-top in order to draw attention to the truths in it.

The comedy scenes are a nice touch, but it's not what the movie is about, so comparing it to Major League isn't really operative. As for The Natural, I like it. It's kind of a magical fantasy like Field of Dreams, but it doesn't hit me as much. 8 Men Out has a gritty realism, but I think it missed the mark somewhat as a film. I liked it better then most people did when it came out though.

Thanks for remining me of a few more films to add to the other thread...

IBTCostner

I absolutely and unequivocally hate this movie. It is horribly sappy, overacted and too much of a weak ass fantasy to have any effect on me. Costner's character is a hateable pussy, far from Crash Davis. It took everything great about Bull Durham and ruined it. ugh.

I really like this movie. It's almost in that class of movie for me that I can watch over and over again.

Where's the poll?

funny, im watching this on HBO right now

i just saw this for the first time a few months ago. I found most of the characters too underdeveloped to really care about them, and even the non-fantastic parts of the plot are pretty hard to buy into.

the book develops the characters quite nicely. In the book it is actually JD Salinger that is the author that is involved. I am 99% positive that there is a Kinsella in Catcher in the Rye, so thats why. I'm not sure why they changed the character for the movie.

I think Salinger objected.

The scene were "Moonlight" Graham steps off the field gets me every time.

"Hey rookie! You were good."

this is a good movie to watch with your dad

Very good movie, but not quite "great." Just a notch below. I love baseball movies, and this one is great, but has a few flaws, already mentioned that keep it from being perfect.

The Natural will always be my favorite baseball movie. I get chills everytime in that one. Always end up with a big smile on my face during certain other scenes. Field of Dreams is a touch over-sappy, but thats okay, because its enducing the mystique and legend aspect, like The Natural does, just not quite as good imo. And the baseball in The Natural is very real and well done. I guess my biggest complaint isn't so much this movie, but I just can't help but to compare it to The Natural, which it doesn't quite measure up to.

I'll still watch it anytime it comes on, though, don't get me wrong.

i've seen more films than anyone i know, but i've still never seen this