Field Of Dreams Vs. The Natural (Ep. 0013)
The Movie Wars crew has sports on the brain as the NFL, college football, and baseball are in full bloom. Sports films are the perfect vehicle for tackling heavy subject matter. It only felt right to tackle two juggernauts of the sports films sub-genre: Field Of Dreams and The Natural.
Field Of Dreams
When Iowa farmer Ray (Kevin Costner) hears a mysterious voice one night in his cornfield saying "If you build it, he will come," he feels the need to act. Despite taunts of lunacy, Ray builds a baseball diamond on his land, supported by his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan). Afterward, the ghosts of great players start emerging from the crops to play ball, led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. But, as Ray learns, this field of dreams is about much more than bringing former baseball greats out to play.
Rating:
PG
Genre:
Fantasy
Original Language:
English
Director:
Phil Alden Robinson
Producer:
Charles Gordon, Lawrence Gordon
Writer:
Phil Alden Robinson
Release Date (Streaming):
Dec 16, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA):
$61.8M
Runtime:
1h 46m
Production Co:
Gordon Company
The Natural
On the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, young baseball phenom Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, Hobbs returns to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights. Despite early arguments with his manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), Hobbs becomes one of the best players in the league, and the Knights start winning. But this upsets the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wants Hobbs to lose games, not win.
Rating:
PG
Genre:
Drama
Original Language:
English
Director:
Barry Levinson
Producer:
Mark Johnson
Writer:
Bernard Malamud, Phil Dusenberry
Release Date (Streaming):
Apr 3, 2007
Runtime:
2h 14m
Production Co:
TriStar Pictures
Info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/natural
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/field_of_dreams