Field of Dreams (1989)

An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers:

W.P. Kinsella (book), Phil Alden Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Ray Kinsella
Amy Madigan	...	Annie Kinsella
Gaby Hoffmann	...	Karin Kinsella
Ray Liotta	...	Shoeless Joe Jackson
Timothy Busfield	...	Mark
James Earl Jones	...	Terence Mann
Burt Lancaster	...	Dr. Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham
Frank Whaley	...	Archie Graham
Dwier Brown	...	John Kinsella
James Andelin	...	Feed Store Farmer
Mary Anne Kean	...	Feed Store Lady
Fern Persons	...	Annie's Mother
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Dee, Mark's Wife (as Kelly Coffield)
Michael Milhoan	...	Buck Weaver - 3B
Steve Eastin	...	Eddie Cicotte - P

Storyline

Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. When the voices continue, Ray seeks out a reclusive author to help him understand the meaning of the messages and the purpose for his field.

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Plot Keywords:

iowa | farmer | baseball | hearing voices | ghost | 

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Taglines:

All his life, Ray Kinsella was searching for his dreams. Then one day, his dreams came looking for him.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shoeless Joe

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$64,431,625 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gordon Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Then unknown, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are among the thousands of extras in the Fenway Park scene, and are uncredited. Over a decade later, when Phil Alden Robinson welcomed Affleck to the set of The Sum of All Fears, Affleck said, "Nice working with you again." Robinson asked, "What do you mean 'again'?" and Affleck explained the connection.

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Goofs

Swede Risberg is listed in the credits as the White Sox catcher brought to the field, shown in catcher's gear. Swede Risberg played short stop primarily (397 games), as well as 29 at 1st, 12 at 2nd, 24 at 3rd base, and 3 at an outfield position. He never caught even one ball behind the plate in his career.

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Quotes

Ray Kinsella: I think I know what "If you build it, he will come" means.
Annie Kinsella: Ooh... why do I not think this is such a good thing?
Ray Kinsella: I think it means that if I build a baseball field out there that Shoeless Joe Jackson will get to come back and play ball again.
Annie Kinsella: [staring in disbelief] You're kidding.
Ray Kinsella: Huh-uh.
Annie Kinsella: Wow.
Ray Kinsella: Yeah.
Annie Kinsella: Ha. You're kidding.

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Crazy Credits

The Voice ................ Himself

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Road/Ninja Assassin/Old Dogs (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Daydream"
Written by John Sebastian
Performed by The Lovin' Spoonful
Courtesy of Buddah Records
by Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Beautiful Film

It is truly a rare movie indeed to which I would give a 10. But this is one of my all-time favorites.

This is a movie about themes like reconciliation, destiny, redemption, idealism, disappointment, the difficulty of relationships, especially that of the father-son relationship.

In this movie, the baseball field is where all such issues achieve resolution.

This is such a gentle movie, full of such sincerity, and moving emotions. Although it is by no means an upbeat movie, it is nevertheless ultimately a very optimistic and positive movie.

As some reviewers have noticed, some suspension of disbelief is required.

A movie with no guns, violence, gangsters, no gratuitous sex, just down-to-earth good people, and a good message. What a gem.

P.S. Interestingly, there really was a Moonlight Graham. See his baseball career stats here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/grahamo01.shtml. Some of the details of his life are altered in the movie; cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Graham.