Farm boy Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is the best baseball player anyone has ever seen. His bat, handmade from the wood of a tree felled by lightning following the death of his father, is magic in his hands. But before his career can start, the mysterious Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey) inexplicably shoots him, sidelining him for more than a decade. Fifteen years later, Hobbs returns to play for the New York Knights, whose coach, Pop Fisher (Wilfred Brimley), begrudgingly accepts the aging rookie as a member of the team. Pop is as surprised as the rest of the team when Hobbs knocks the ball out of the park time and again and can still play a mean outfield as well. However, when the politics of the business side of the game get in the way, Hobbs has to make some life-changing decisions. Meanwhile, he becomes involved with Memo Paris (Kim Basinger), a sultry siren with her own agenda. Glenn Close plays Iris, the hometown girl whom Hobbs left behind but never forgot. Director Barry Levinson (DINER, RAIN MAN) manages to re-create the excitement of old-time baseball while telling an all-American tale of success and failure, based on the novel by Bernard Malamud.
I bought the DVD of the Natural with Robert Redford, ...because I couldn't rent it any longer.This is one of the best films done on baseball. It is a very well photographed films. There is a real beauty in the photography. Team that up with an all star cast of Redford, Glen Close, Barbera Hershey, Kim Bassinger, Wilford Brimley, Joe Don Baker, Darin McGavin, and Robert Duvall and you have a film that is very high in entertainment value. This film was made in 1984, and I don't think they could make this film today. Just look at the cast, and the kind of money these superstars would get today. The locations used, the subtile little touches like playing at Wrigley Field before the famous Ivy covered walls had fully matured. The lighting, costumes, and period correct set dressing makes this a very "pretty" film with a touching storyline. A must see for any real baseball fan.
if you want to learn the history of this country, i mean REALLY... learn the history of this country, you needn't go to Washington--even the the Smithsonian and the museum mall remain excellent reference points;
no, if you want to learn the truth about this country, go to Cooperstown--and then to Kansas City;
baseball is the fabric, the life the true history of this country, developed from the time of Native American lacrosse and through the Civil War (where it was mistakenly credited to Abner Doubleday) encompassing the rampant racism, desperate gambles of determined businessmen, the dirty business of underworld gamblers, the political machinations of antitrust exemption neatly summarising the political story of this country succintly;
against this background, "The Natural" brings out the interrelationship of baseball as part and pinnacle of everyday society, played by men of uncommon skill seeking the elusive balance inherent in the greatness of the game as in life;
there are some flaws--loaded bats are visible from scene to scene, electric circuits even in that period would hardly support such a display at the end, various editing gaffes--as well as the obvious lack of minorities in every venue and stopover save the trains, but the movie actually does capture the game in the perspective it was originally played, while lifting it to the mythical heights of a Greek tragedy, Chinese or Arabian Nights tale, like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or Alladin";
Kim Basinger plays herself flawlessly, Redford plays the troubled star effortlessly as Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck, even if he lacks their stature;
if you read the book, you will be as disappointed with the way the movie twists the original dark "Casey at the Bat" theme as were readers of "Jaws" were with the movie, but nowhere near as disgusted and despicable as Diana Ross attempting to portray Billie Holliday;
after you've seen the original thatrical release, by all means get the director's cut--it makes the movie much more coherent;
this may not be the best baseball movie--purists prefer the hoary old bio-tome of Lou Gehrig--oddly enough, also a Gary Cooper work, while most critics today prefer "Bull Durham"--but it is almost certainly the best movie to weave the fabric of baseball ever;
The natural is one of the best m...ovies you will ever see. It has honesty and character. You will love the story of Roy Hobbs journey through baseball and his final attempt at redemption winning the national league title for his team the New York Knights.
Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is a baseball player. His... dad always wanted him to be a baseball player too. He is a great pitcher and can hit and field also. He just may be the best there ever was! One night during a storm, lightening struck an old tree next to the barn and split it open down the middle. That same night his daddy died. Roy made a special bat from that tree and named it "Wonder Boy". After finishing school he is off to Chicago with an old scout to go and try out. His girlfriend, Iris (Glenn Close) is sad to see him go, but is excited for him. On the train he meets a famous player "the Whammer" who is supposed to be Babe Ruth. On a bet made by the agent escorting him, with a sportswriter, Max Mercy (Robert Duvall), Hobbs pitches against The Whammer and strikes him out on three pitches. Roy is very young and inexperienced with women, and is flirted with by a mysterious woman on the train named Harriet Byrd. She is a nut case stalking ball players, and when the old agent says that he will be the best ever, she later at his hotel shoots him in the stomach almost killing him. He is in recovery for more than a year and loses all confidence in his abilities. Fifteen years later he again tries baseball with a semi-pro team from nowhere. A big league scout for the New York Knights sees him and signs him to a contract. Now he's back, but the team manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), won't play him. Pop is majority owner of the knights, but had to enter into a deal with an old Judge, who is crooked and corrupt, and he will take over the team 100% unless Pop can get the team into the World Series. Pop doesn't want to trust a player from nowhere, who is retirement age, brought in by a scout friendly with the Judge. Hobbs wants to play, but is constantly ignored. Finally he and Pop have a showdown and Pop plays him. At the plate Hobbs hits everything, homers, tripples, doubles, etc. You name it Hobbs does it! The Judge tries everything to make Hobbs fail, even bringing a beautiful girl into his life named Memo Paris (Kim Basinger). She is also working with Max Mercy a crooked gambler and sportswriter. In a terrible slump, Hobbs just can't get on line, and Iris, his old girlfriend shows up at the ballpark to give him moral strength. He hasn't seen her since leaving the farm as a boy. She lives in Chicago and has a son who is about fifteen. Roy tells her about what happened years ago, about how his dreams were smashed, and how he has just gotten back to baseball. She really cares, and she makes him regain his confidence. Roy is beginning more and more to see that Memo is just like the woman who shot him years earlier, and no good. After a row with the Judge where he is bribed to throw the games, he makes a vow to win. He is suddenly poisoned or something at a party at Memo's place and winds up in the hospital. The last big game is coming up and if he can't play, the Knights will probably lose. The doctor recovered an old bullet from his stomach that had been there for fifteen years, and tells Roy that if he plays, he may die or never be able to play again. Roy decides to play and his batting wins the league championship and saves Pop's team. Roy gets back together with Iris, and finds out that her son is his son too. This is a good movie and very well acted.
This movie is a sports genre classic and my favorite
If you like sports movi...es, then you have got to love the Natural.
Ok, nothing realistic in any way shape or form about this movie. Its not based on a true story. It has no deep social message. Its not a romance to inspire the heart.
But if you're a kid at heart, who loves the game (any game) for the love of the game, you've got to love this movie.
By now, you've either seen this movie or you haven't. On the outside chance, you've seen the movie and decided not to add it to your DVD collection, what are you waiting for?
Come on, when Wilford Brimley's character (Pop Fisher) says to Redford's character (Roy Hobbs), "You're the best [ball player] I ever had and you're the best damn hitter I ever saw- suit up," you know you want to jump up. And when he finally hits the dinger to win the game and blows out the stadium lights...a classic sports genre movie.
