The Natural (1984)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers:

Bernard Malamud (novel)
Roger Towne (writer) ...

Release Date:

11 May 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The best there was!

Plot:

An average baseball player comes out of seemingly nowhere to become a legendary player with almost divine talent.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Tree | 1930s | Lightning | Team

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Roy Hobbs
Glenn Close	...	Iris Gaines
Kim Basinger	...	Memo Paris
Wilford Brimley	...	Pop Fisher
Barbara Hershey	...	Harriet Bird
Robert Prosky	...	The Judge
Richard Farnsworth	...	Red Blow
Joe Don Baker	...	The Whammer
John Finnegan	...	Sam Simpson
Alan Fudge	...	Ed Hobbs
Paul Sullivan Jr.	...	Young Roy
Rachel Hall	...	Young Iris
Robert Rich III	...	Ted Hobbs
Michael Madsen	...	Bartholomew 'Bump' Bailey
Jon Van Ness	...	John Olsen

Runtime:

134 min | USA:144 min (Director's Cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:12 | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

All-High Stadium - 50 Mercer Avenue, Buffalo, New York, USA

Company:

Delphi II Productions

Trivia:

Frank Giroux, not Buffalo mayor Jimmy Griffin, briefly appears as an opposing team coach in the scene where Roy knocks the cover off the ball.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene depicting the team on a passenger train streaking across country as the Knights make their "run" at the pennant, the drumhead on the observation car says "Super Chief". This would make it a Santa Fe high-speed train running daily between Chicago and Los Angeles. Since the movie is set in 1939, they would not be riding that train because there were no major league baseball teams west of St. Louis in those days.

Quotes:

Roy Hobbs: The only thing I know about the dark is you can't see in it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Step by Step: The Un-Natural (#2.21)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

STAR SPANGLED BANNER

A delightful fable pulled off believably and

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It seems like the very embodiment of the Hollywood cliche - a noble hero overcoming difficulty to achieve his dream...but somehow, The Natural manages to pull it off in a very un-glamorized way. Take the hero - he's 35 years old! It just seems refreshing not to always have a dashing young fellow of twenty as the main character. And then - an ulcerated stomach? What kind of an obstacle is that? Not a Hollywood one, I'll tell you that. This hero is actually believable - and Robert Redford plays him handsomely. He makes Roy Hobbs a real person, and a gentleman. I recommend The Natural for any Robert Redford fan, baseball fan - and anyone who just wants to see a neat, entertaining movie with a main character you can really root for.