The Natural (film)
Encyclopedia
The Natural is a 1984
film adaptation of Bernard Malamud
's 1952 baseball novel of the same name
, directed by Barry Levinson
and starring Robert Redford
, Glenn Close
and Robert Duvall
. The film, like the book, recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, an individual with great "natural" baseball talent, spanning decades of Roy's success and his suffering.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close
), and nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger
). Many of the baseball scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York
's War Memorial Stadium
, built in 1937 and demolished a few years after the film was produced. Buffalo's All-High Stadium
stood in for Chicago
's Wrigley Field
in a key scene.
It was the first film produced by TriStar Pictures
.
with his father on the family farm. Roy's father dies suddenly while Roy is still young, collapsing under a tree. That tree is split in half by lightning
, and young Roy carves a baseball bat from it, on which he burns the image of a lightning bolt and the label Wonderboy.
In 1923, a 19-year old Hobbs (Robert Redford
) is granted a tryout by the Chicago Cubs
as a pitcher
. The train to Chicago makes a stop at a carnival and Roy is challenged to strike out "The Whammer" ("...a thinly disguised version of Babe Ruth
"http://books.google.com/books?id=iNReCd-bVlMC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=babe+ruth+whammer&source=bl&ots=g0mvYAf7LS&sig=oD4ceIj9Q0G9CQanY_wZsHz2aQw&hl=en&ei=9k8aTrCLMfDLsQK99fzBBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=babe%20ruth%20whammer&f=false) (Joe Don Baker
), the top hitter in the major leagues
. He does so in front of many people, including a sportswriter named Max Mercy (Robert Duvall
), who draws a picture of the event to put in the paper the next day. Just before Hobbs gets on the train, a young boy shouts, "Hey, Mister, what's your name?!" Roy Hobbs responds by telling the boy his name and throwing him a ball.
Back on the train, the naive Hobbs is seduced by Harriet Byrd (Barbara Hershey
), an alluring but sinister woman, who gravitates to him after judging that he, rather than The Whammer, is now the best baseball player in the world. Byrd lures young Hobbs to a hotel room, shoots him, and then jumps out the window to her death.
The story skips forward 16 years to 1939. A fictitious National League
team called the New York Knights has signed the now 35-year-old Hobbs to a contract, to the ire of the team's gruff manager and co-owner, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley
). With the Knights mired in last-place, Pop is angry about being saddled with a "middle-aged rookie
" and refuses to even let him participate in team practice. After a showdown in which Roy refuses to submit to Pop's judgement of him when angrily told he is to be sent back to the minors
, Pop is impressed and relents.
When finally allowed to practice with the team, Hobbs shows incredible hitting
ability. During the next game, the team's star player, Bump Bailey (Michael Madsen
), angers Pop with his chronic laziness in the field and Roy is sent to pinch hit. Pop encourages Hobbs to knock the cover off the ball, which Hobbs actually does, providing the game-winning hit for the Knights in a rain-shortened game. After a now-motivated Bump dies running through the outfield fence in pursuit of a fly ball, Roy takes over as the team's starting right fielder
and plays phenomenally, becoming the league's sensation and single-handedly turning the Knights' fortunes around.
Hobbs' spectacular success prompts Max Mercy to try and unearth details about his mysterious background, but Mercy's attempts to elicit information from Hobbs himself are unsuccessful. Mercy starts a rumor that Wonderboy is a loaded bat
, but the allegation is disproven when the league weighs and measures the bat, which meets specifications.
Roy is soon summoned to a meeting with the principal owner of the Knights, The Judge (Robert Prosky
). Beforehand, he is informed by Pop's assistant, Red (Richard Farnsworth
), that The Judge actually has an interest in the team losing, since Pop is obligated to sell his share of the team to his co-owner if the Knights fail to win the National League pennant
. To ensure that result, The Judge had secretly ordered his chief scout to stock the roster with unknown players like Hobbs. The Judge worries now that Hobbs' unexpected talent will foil his plans.
At the meeting, The Judge inquires about Roy's background but is rebuffed. The Judge then offers him a new contract as an implicit bribe to throw the season, but Hobbs makes it clear he is committed to winning the pennant for Pop. Hobbs leaves, at which point gambler Gus Sands (Darren McGavin
) emerges from the shadows and is revealed to be in league with The Judge. They realize Roy is not as greedy as Bump and devise a plan to manipulate him: Memo Paris (Kim Basinger
) is sent to seduce and distract Roy.
Mercy sees Roy playfully pitch to a teammate after practice one day and finally realizes where he saw Hobbs before. Mercy confronts him with the cartoon he drew way back after Roy had struck out The Whammer and offers him $5,000 for his story, but Roy isn't interested. Mercy takes Roy to dinner and introduces him to Gus and Memo. Memo seduces Roy and they begin seeing each other regularly. Roy actually cares for her and fails to see that he is being set up. Despite warnings from Pop that his niece is "bad luck," he continues the relationship. Hobbs soon falls into a slump.
The Knights are at Wrigley Field
in Chicago to play the Cubs and Hobbs, having another miserable game, comes to bat in the top of the ninth inning with the Knights trailing by one run with a man on third. With two strikes, he notices a woman dressed in white stand up in the crowd, illuminated by sunlight, and he promptly belts a game-winning home run that shatters the scoreboard clock. After the game, Roy realizes the mysterious woman in white is his childhood sweetheart, Iris (Glenn Close
), and they meet at a soda shop
and reconnect. She attends the next day's game, at which Hobbs hits four home runs. Afterwards, they go for a walk and Roy, for the first time, confides his shooting and how he subsequently lost his way in life. Iris is sympathetic and they return to her apartment for tea. Roy notices a baseball glove lying around, which Iris informs him belongs to her 16-year old son. Roy wonders where his father is and Iris tells him he lives in New York
. Roy is curious to meet the boy, who is a big fan, but Iris doesn't want Roy to miss his train and tells him he should leave.
Roy's encounter with Iris renews his focus. With Hobbs hitting again, the Knights surge into first place, needing just one win in their final three games against the Philadelphia Phillies
to clinch the pennant. Against Pop's admonitions, a victory party is held at Memo's, where Roy once again refuses a payoff from Gus. Memo then feeds Roy a poisoned éclair, causing him to fall ill. Roy awakens in a hospital bed a few days later and learns that the Knights lost their final three games of the season, setting up a one-game playoff against the Pittsburgh Pirates
for the pennant. The doctor informs Roy that the lining of his stomach has been gradually deteriorating due to his previous gunshot injury, which was discovered when they recovered the silver bullet head while pumping Roy's stomach. Hobbs is warned that his stomach could tear apart and kill him if he continues to play ball.
Memo visits Roy in the hospital and tries to persuade him to sit out and accept Gus' payoff. Roy later sneaks out of the hospital to take batting practice, but collapses after a few swings as The Judge secretly observes from his office. Later that night, The Judge appears at Roy's bedside and increases his offer to $20,000, even though he doesn't think Roy is in any condition to play. Hobbs refuses and The Judge threatens to ruin Roy's image by releasing police photographs from the Harriet Byrd shooting, which were obtained from Mercy. The Judge also informs Roy that he has a contingency plan in place, having bribed another key player on the team. The Judge leaves the money.
The day before the game, Iris visits Roy, who is glum. He still blames himself for getting shot and failing to achieve his full potential in baseball. Iris insists he's a great player anyway, but Roy responds that he could have broken every record and been "the best there ever was." Iris tells him her theory that people have two lives: "the life they learn with and the life they live after that". Roy tells her how much he loves baseball and asks whether her son is in New York with her. She says he is and Roy asks if they will be attending the game, but nurses enter and Iris leaves before giving an answer.
The day of the game arrives and Hobbs goes to The Judge's office to return the money, telling The Judge he intends to hit away. Memo draws a gun and fires at the floor. Roy takes the gun from her and throws it across the room, finally recognizing her similarity to Harriet Byrd. Echoing words said earlier by Roy's father, Gus tells Roy he has a great gift, but it's not enough. As Hobbs walks out, Gus calls him a loser and predicts the Knights will lose anyway. Hobbs heads to the locker room, where a nervous Pop is ruminating about the virtues of farming. Roy joins in the conversation and agrees there's nothing like a farm. Pop tells Roy that his mother wanted him to be a farmer, and Roy replies that his father wanted him to be a baseball player. Pop tells Roy he's the best player he's ever coached and the best hitter he ever saw, and tells him to suit up.
The game begins and Roy, both hurting and rusty, strikes out in his first at-bat. The Pirates take the lead when the Knights' starting pitcher
, Fowler, surrenders a two-run home run. Hobbs realizes Fowler is the player The Judge bribed and runs in from right field to meet with him on the mound. Roy tells him not to throw the game, to which Fowler replies he'll start pitching when Roy starts hitting. Hobbs is terribly overmatched in his next at-bat and strikes out again, falling to the ground. Iris is watching from the stands with her son and heads down near the dugout
railing. She has a message for Roy and asks the usher to deliver it. Hobbs receives the message, which explains Iris and her son are at the game and Roy is the boy's father. Shocked by the revelation, Roy peers out from the dugout but cannot locate them in the crowd. Meanwhile, Fowler has settled down and kept the Knights in the game.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Knights are still trailing 2-0 and are down to their final out. After the next two batters reach base, Hobbs comes up and the Pirates decide to make a pitching change, bringing in a young, hard-throwing, left-handed Nebraska farmboy resembling Hobbs as a youth. Hobbs fouls the first pitch back, breaking the glass to the press box
, where Mercy had been sketching a cartoon portraying Roy as a goat. Hobbs swings through the next pitch. Down to his last strike, he hits what looks like a home run down the right field line, but the ball hooks foul. As he jogs back to the plate, he sees that Wonderboy has split in two. He asks the batboy
to pick out a winner and the batboy hands him his own handmade bat, the Savoy Special, which Roy had earlier shown him how to make. As Hobbs digs in to the batter's box, his stomach starts to bleed through his jersey. The catcher
notices and calls for an inside fastball
to exploit Roy's injury. With lightning flashing in the sky, Hobbs crushes the pitch and sends it into the lights above the right field roof for the game-winning home run. The lights explode and sparks rain down upon the field as Hobbs rounds the bases. The Knights win the pennant.
The screen fades then opens to a wheat field bathed in sunlight, with Hobbs playing catch with his son as Iris watches them from afar.
This is in spite of the fact that Malamud's novel ends with Roy Hobbs striking out, rather than hitting a home run. A young boy later approaches Hobbs, aware of speculation about gambling, and says, "Say it ain't true, Roy", a reference to Shoeless Joe Jackson
and the Chicago White Sox
throwing the 1919 World Series
to gamblers. Roy's response to boy's interrogative reads as follows: "When Roy looked into the boy's eyes he wanted to say it wasn't but couldn't, and he lifted his hands to his face and wept many bitter tears." This despondence contrasts sharply with the film's home run victory and familial denouement.
Hobbs' hope that one day people will say "There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was" is inspired by Ted Williams
' - "A man has to have goals - for a day, for a lifetime - and that was mine, to have people say, 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived'." The number 9 Redford wore as Roy Hobbs in the film was a reference to his longstanding admiration for Williams.
Darren McGavin
was cast late in the process as gambler Gus Sands and was uncredited in the film. Another uncredited actor was the radio announcer heard from time to time throughout the picture; Levinson stated on the DVD extras for the 2007 edition that there had been too little time to find a bonafide announcer during post-production, so Levinson himself recorded that part of the audio track.
"Two-thirds" of the scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York
, mostly at War Memorial Stadium
, built in 1937 and demolished a few years after the film was produced. Buffalo's All-High Stadium
, with post-production alterations, stood in for Chicago's Wrigley Field
in a key scene in the film. Other scenes were filmed in South Dayton, New York
.
, the film has an 83% positive score based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.0/10. Variety
called it an "impeccably made...fable about success and failure in America." James Berardinelli
praised The Natural as "[a]rguably the best baseball movie ever made." ESPN
's Page 2 selected it as the 6th best sports movie of all time, and sports writer Bill Simmons
has argued, "Any 'Best Sports Movies' list that doesn't feature either Hoosiers
or The Natural as the No. 1 pick shouldn't even count."
While The Naturals reputation has enhanced over time, critics were not universally impressed when the film first appeared. Leonard Maltin
's annual Movie Guide said in its 1985 edition that the film is "too long and inconsistent". Dan Craft, long-time critic for the Bloomington, Illinois
paper, The Pantagraph, gave it three stars, while saying, "The storybook ending is so preposterous you don't know whether to cheer or jeer." Frank Deford
, reviewing the film for Sports Illustrated
, had faint praise
for it: "The Natural almost manages to be a swell movie." Both John Simon
of the National Review
and Richard Schickel of Time
were disappointed with the screen adaptation of Malamud's novel. Simon contrasted Malamud's story about the "failure of American innocence" with Levinson's "fable of success . . . [and] the ultimate triumph of semi-doltish purity," declaring "you have, not Malamud's novel, but a sorry illustration of its theme." Schickel laments that "Malamud's intricate ending (it is a victory that looks like a defeat) is vulgarized (the victory is now an unambiguous triumph, fireworks included)," and that "watching this movie is all too often like reading about The Natural in the College Outline series."
Roger Ebert
wrote a fairly negative review, calling it "idolatry on behalf of Robert Redford." Ebert's television collaborator Gene Siskel
praised its themes and acting performances, giving it four stars, and also putting down other critics that he suggested might have just recently read the novel for the first time.
In an analysis of the film as part of a lengthy article on baseball movies, Roger Angell
pointed out that Malamud had intentionally treated Hobbs' story as a baseball version of the King Arthur
legend, which came across a bit heavy-handed, "portentous and stuffy", in the film version, and that the book's ending should have been kept. However, he also cited a number of excellent visuals and funny bits, and noted that Robert Redford had prepared so carefully for the role, modeling his swing on that of Ted Williams
, that "you want to sign him up".
), Cinematography (Caleb Deschanel
), Art Direction (Mel Bourne
, Angelo P. Graham
, Bruce Weintraub
), and Music (Randy Newman
). Kim Basinger
was also nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
The "director's cut" was released on April 3, 2007. A two-disc edition, it contains the featurette "The Heart of the Natural," a 44 minute documentary featuring comments from Cal Ripken, Jr.
and Levinson; it is the only extra released originally with the 2001 DVD. Sony added a number of other extras, however, including: "When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural," a 50 minute documentary discussing the origins of the original novel and the production of the film; "Knights in Shining Armor," which addresses the mythological parallels between The Natural, King Arthur and the Odyssey
; and "A Natural Gunned Down" which tells the story of Eddie Waitkus
, a baseball player who was shot by a female stalker, paralleling Roy Hobbs. The film itself has been re-edited, restoring deleted footage to the early chapters of the story. These scenes expand on the sadness of Hobbs, focusing on his visits to his childhood home as an adult and his childhood memories.
The "gift set" version of the release also included some souvenirs: a baseball "signed" by Roy Hobbs; some baseball cards of Roy Hobbs and teammates; and a New York Knights cap.
of The Natural was composed and conducted by Randy Newman
. The score has often been compared to the style of Aaron Copland
and sometimes Elmer Bernstein
. Scott Montgomery, writing for Goldmine
music magazine, referenced the influence, and David Ansen
, reviewing the film for Newsweek
, called the score "Coplandesque." The score also has certain Wagnerian features of orchestration and use of Leitmotif. Adnan Tezer of Monsters and Critics noted the theme is often played for film and television previews and in "baseball stadiums when introducing home teams and players." It was also used in the John McCain presidential campaign
in 2008, when introducing Sarah Palin
.
The soundtrack album was released May 11, 1984 on the Warner Bros.
label. All music was composed by Randy Newman.
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
film adaptation of Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud was an author of novels and short stories. Along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, he was one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford...
's 1952 baseball novel of the same name
The Natural
The Natural is a 1952 novel about baseball written by Bernard Malamud. The book follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked when he is shot by a woman who seeks to kill arrogant athletes to "better the world"...
, directed by Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
and starring Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
, Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
and Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
. The film, like the book, recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, an individual with great "natural" baseball talent, spanning decades of Roy's success and his suffering.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
), and nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
). Many of the baseball scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
's War Memorial Stadium
War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo)
War Memorial Stadium is the name of a stadium that formerly stood in Buffalo, New York. The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area. Its main entrance was at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south...
, built in 1937 and demolished a few years after the film was produced. Buffalo's All-High Stadium
All-High Stadium
All-High Stadium is a football stadium in Buffalo, New York. It was opened in 1926 and was refurbished for the fall of 2006. It is part of the Bennett High School complex...
stood in for Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in a key scene.
It was the first film produced by TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
.
Plot
Roy Hobbs is a child, playing baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
with his father on the family farm. Roy's father dies suddenly while Roy is still young, collapsing under a tree. That tree is split in half by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
, and young Roy carves a baseball bat from it, on which he burns the image of a lightning bolt and the label Wonderboy.
In 1923, a 19-year old Hobbs (Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
) is granted a tryout by the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
as a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. The train to Chicago makes a stop at a carnival and Roy is challenged to strike out "The Whammer" ("...a thinly disguised version of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
"http://books.google.com/books?id=iNReCd-bVlMC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=babe+ruth+whammer&source=bl&ots=g0mvYAf7LS&sig=oD4ceIj9Q0G9CQanY_wZsHz2aQw&hl=en&ei=9k8aTrCLMfDLsQK99fzBBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=babe%20ruth%20whammer&f=false) (Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
), the top hitter in the major leagues
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He does so in front of many people, including a sportswriter named Max Mercy (Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
), who draws a picture of the event to put in the paper the next day. Just before Hobbs gets on the train, a young boy shouts, "Hey, Mister, what's your name?!" Roy Hobbs responds by telling the boy his name and throwing him a ball.
Back on the train, the naive Hobbs is seduced by Harriet Byrd (Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey , also known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema, in several genres including westerns and comedies...
), an alluring but sinister woman, who gravitates to him after judging that he, rather than The Whammer, is now the best baseball player in the world. Byrd lures young Hobbs to a hotel room, shoots him, and then jumps out the window to her death.
The story skips forward 16 years to 1939. A fictitious National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
team called the New York Knights has signed the now 35-year-old Hobbs to a contract, to the ire of the team's gruff manager and co-owner, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley
Wilford Brimley
Allen Wilford Brimley is an American actor. He has appeared in such films as The China Syndrome, Cocoon, The Thing and The Firm. He had a recurring role on the 1970s television series The Waltons...
). With the Knights mired in last-place, Pop is angry about being saddled with a "middle-aged rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
" and refuses to even let him participate in team practice. After a showdown in which Roy refuses to submit to Pop's judgement of him when angrily told he is to be sent back to the minors
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
, Pop is impressed and relents.
When finally allowed to practice with the team, Hobbs shows incredible hitting
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
ability. During the next game, the team's star player, Bump Bailey (Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
), angers Pop with his chronic laziness in the field and Roy is sent to pinch hit. Pop encourages Hobbs to knock the cover off the ball, which Hobbs actually does, providing the game-winning hit for the Knights in a rain-shortened game. After a now-motivated Bump dies running through the outfield fence in pursuit of a fly ball, Roy takes over as the team's starting right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
and plays phenomenally, becoming the league's sensation and single-handedly turning the Knights' fortunes around.
Hobbs' spectacular success prompts Max Mercy to try and unearth details about his mysterious background, but Mercy's attempts to elicit information from Hobbs himself are unsuccessful. Mercy starts a rumor that Wonderboy is a loaded bat
Corked bat
In baseball, a corked bat is a specially modified baseball bat that has been filled with cork or other lighter, less dense substances to make the bat lighter without losing much power. A lighter bat gives a hitter a quicker swing and may improve the hitter's timing...
, but the allegation is disproven when the league weighs and measures the bat, which meets specifications.
Roy is soon summoned to a meeting with the principal owner of the Knights, The Judge (Robert Prosky
Robert Prosky
Robert Prosky was an American stage, film, and television actor.-Life and career:Prosky, a Polish American, was born Robert Joseph Porzuczek in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Helen and Joseph Porzuczek. His father was a grocer and butcher...
). Beforehand, he is informed by Pop's assistant, Red (Richard Farnsworth
Richard Farnsworth
Richard W. Farnsworth was an American actor and stuntman. His film career began in 1937; however, he achieved his greatest success for his performances in The Grey Fox and The Straight Story , for which he received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor.- Early life :Farnsworth was born...
), that The Judge actually has an interest in the team losing, since Pop is obligated to sell his share of the team to his co-owner if the Knights fail to win the National League pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
. To ensure that result, The Judge had secretly ordered his chief scout to stock the roster with unknown players like Hobbs. The Judge worries now that Hobbs' unexpected talent will foil his plans.
At the meeting, The Judge inquires about Roy's background but is rebuffed. The Judge then offers him a new contract as an implicit bribe to throw the season, but Hobbs makes it clear he is committed to winning the pennant for Pop. Hobbs leaves, at which point gambler Gus Sands (Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
) emerges from the shadows and is revealed to be in league with The Judge. They realize Roy is not as greedy as Bump and devise a plan to manipulate him: Memo Paris (Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
) is sent to seduce and distract Roy.
Mercy sees Roy playfully pitch to a teammate after practice one day and finally realizes where he saw Hobbs before. Mercy confronts him with the cartoon he drew way back after Roy had struck out The Whammer and offers him $5,000 for his story, but Roy isn't interested. Mercy takes Roy to dinner and introduces him to Gus and Memo. Memo seduces Roy and they begin seeing each other regularly. Roy actually cares for her and fails to see that he is being set up. Despite warnings from Pop that his niece is "bad luck," he continues the relationship. Hobbs soon falls into a slump.
The Knights are at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago to play the Cubs and Hobbs, having another miserable game, comes to bat in the top of the ninth inning with the Knights trailing by one run with a man on third. With two strikes, he notices a woman dressed in white stand up in the crowd, illuminated by sunlight, and he promptly belts a game-winning home run that shatters the scoreboard clock. After the game, Roy realizes the mysterious woman in white is his childhood sweetheart, Iris (Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
), and they meet at a soda shop
Soda shop
A Soda shop, also often known as a Malt shop, is a business akin to an ice cream parlor and a drugstore soda fountain. Interiors were often furnished with a large mirror behind a marble counter with gooseneck spouts, plus spinning stools, round marble-topped tables and wireframe sweetheart...
and reconnect. She attends the next day's game, at which Hobbs hits four home runs. Afterwards, they go for a walk and Roy, for the first time, confides his shooting and how he subsequently lost his way in life. Iris is sympathetic and they return to her apartment for tea. Roy notices a baseball glove lying around, which Iris informs him belongs to her 16-year old son. Roy wonders where his father is and Iris tells him he lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Roy is curious to meet the boy, who is a big fan, but Iris doesn't want Roy to miss his train and tells him he should leave.
Roy's encounter with Iris renews his focus. With Hobbs hitting again, the Knights surge into first place, needing just one win in their final three games against the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
to clinch the pennant. Against Pop's admonitions, a victory party is held at Memo's, where Roy once again refuses a payoff from Gus. Memo then feeds Roy a poisoned éclair, causing him to fall ill. Roy awakens in a hospital bed a few days later and learns that the Knights lost their final three games of the season, setting up a one-game playoff against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
for the pennant. The doctor informs Roy that the lining of his stomach has been gradually deteriorating due to his previous gunshot injury, which was discovered when they recovered the silver bullet head while pumping Roy's stomach. Hobbs is warned that his stomach could tear apart and kill him if he continues to play ball.
Memo visits Roy in the hospital and tries to persuade him to sit out and accept Gus' payoff. Roy later sneaks out of the hospital to take batting practice, but collapses after a few swings as The Judge secretly observes from his office. Later that night, The Judge appears at Roy's bedside and increases his offer to $20,000, even though he doesn't think Roy is in any condition to play. Hobbs refuses and The Judge threatens to ruin Roy's image by releasing police photographs from the Harriet Byrd shooting, which were obtained from Mercy. The Judge also informs Roy that he has a contingency plan in place, having bribed another key player on the team. The Judge leaves the money.
The day before the game, Iris visits Roy, who is glum. He still blames himself for getting shot and failing to achieve his full potential in baseball. Iris insists he's a great player anyway, but Roy responds that he could have broken every record and been "the best there ever was." Iris tells him her theory that people have two lives: "the life they learn with and the life they live after that". Roy tells her how much he loves baseball and asks whether her son is in New York with her. She says he is and Roy asks if they will be attending the game, but nurses enter and Iris leaves before giving an answer.
The day of the game arrives and Hobbs goes to The Judge's office to return the money, telling The Judge he intends to hit away. Memo draws a gun and fires at the floor. Roy takes the gun from her and throws it across the room, finally recognizing her similarity to Harriet Byrd. Echoing words said earlier by Roy's father, Gus tells Roy he has a great gift, but it's not enough. As Hobbs walks out, Gus calls him a loser and predicts the Knights will lose anyway. Hobbs heads to the locker room, where a nervous Pop is ruminating about the virtues of farming. Roy joins in the conversation and agrees there's nothing like a farm. Pop tells Roy that his mother wanted him to be a farmer, and Roy replies that his father wanted him to be a baseball player. Pop tells Roy he's the best player he's ever coached and the best hitter he ever saw, and tells him to suit up.
The game begins and Roy, both hurting and rusty, strikes out in his first at-bat. The Pirates take the lead when the Knights' starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
, Fowler, surrenders a two-run home run. Hobbs realizes Fowler is the player The Judge bribed and runs in from right field to meet with him on the mound. Roy tells him not to throw the game, to which Fowler replies he'll start pitching when Roy starts hitting. Hobbs is terribly overmatched in his next at-bat and strikes out again, falling to the ground. Iris is watching from the stands with her son and heads down near the dugout
Dugout (baseball)
In baseball, the dugout is a team's bench area and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. In general, the dugout is occupied by all players not prescribed to be on the field at that...
railing. She has a message for Roy and asks the usher to deliver it. Hobbs receives the message, which explains Iris and her son are at the game and Roy is the boy's father. Shocked by the revelation, Roy peers out from the dugout but cannot locate them in the crowd. Meanwhile, Fowler has settled down and kept the Knights in the game.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Knights are still trailing 2-0 and are down to their final out. After the next two batters reach base, Hobbs comes up and the Pirates decide to make a pitching change, bringing in a young, hard-throwing, left-handed Nebraska farmboy resembling Hobbs as a youth. Hobbs fouls the first pitch back, breaking the glass to the press box
Press box
The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the on-field event as it unfolds...
, where Mercy had been sketching a cartoon portraying Roy as a goat. Hobbs swings through the next pitch. Down to his last strike, he hits what looks like a home run down the right field line, but the ball hooks foul. As he jogs back to the plate, he sees that Wonderboy has split in two. He asks the batboy
Batboy
A batboy is an individual who carries the baseball bats around to a baseball team. A batboy may also lay out the equipment and mud the baseballs to be used in the game.Mascots and batboys had both been part of baseball since the 1880s....
to pick out a winner and the batboy hands him his own handmade bat, the Savoy Special, which Roy had earlier shown him how to make. As Hobbs digs in to the batter's box, his stomach starts to bleed through his jersey. The catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
notices and calls for an inside fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
to exploit Roy's injury. With lightning flashing in the sky, Hobbs crushes the pitch and sends it into the lights above the right field roof for the game-winning home run. The lights explode and sparks rain down upon the field as Hobbs rounds the bases. The Knights win the pennant.
The screen fades then opens to a wheat field bathed in sunlight, with Hobbs playing catch with his son as Iris watches them from afar.
Production
The film's producers stated in the DVD extras that the film was not intended to be a literal adaptation of the novel, but was merely "based on" the novel. Malamud's daughter said on one of the DVD extras that her father had seen the film, and his take on it was that it had "legitimized him as a writer".This is in spite of the fact that Malamud's novel ends with Roy Hobbs striking out, rather than hitting a home run. A young boy later approaches Hobbs, aware of speculation about gambling, and says, "Say it ain't true, Roy", a reference to Shoeless Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
and the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
throwing the 1919 World Series
1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series...
to gamblers. Roy's response to boy's interrogative reads as follows: "When Roy looked into the boy's eyes he wanted to say it wasn't but couldn't, and he lifted his hands to his face and wept many bitter tears." This despondence contrasts sharply with the film's home run victory and familial denouement.
Hobbs' hope that one day people will say "There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was" is inspired by Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
' - "A man has to have goals - for a day, for a lifetime - and that was mine, to have people say, 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived'." The number 9 Redford wore as Roy Hobbs in the film was a reference to his longstanding admiration for Williams.
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
was cast late in the process as gambler Gus Sands and was uncredited in the film. Another uncredited actor was the radio announcer heard from time to time throughout the picture; Levinson stated on the DVD extras for the 2007 edition that there had been too little time to find a bonafide announcer during post-production, so Levinson himself recorded that part of the audio track.
"Two-thirds" of the scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, mostly at War Memorial Stadium
War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo)
War Memorial Stadium is the name of a stadium that formerly stood in Buffalo, New York. The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area. Its main entrance was at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south...
, built in 1937 and demolished a few years after the film was produced. Buffalo's All-High Stadium
All-High Stadium
All-High Stadium is a football stadium in Buffalo, New York. It was opened in 1926 and was refurbished for the fall of 2006. It is part of the Bennett High School complex...
, with post-production alterations, stood in for Chicago's Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in a key scene in the film. Other scenes were filmed in South Dayton, New York
South Dayton, New York
South Dayton is a village in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.The Village of South Dayton lies within the Town of Dayton by the southwest corner of the town and less than a mile from the county line of Chautauqua County.- History :The community...
.
Reception
The Natural currently stands as one of the most beloved sports movies of all time. On movie review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film has an 83% positive score based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.0/10. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called it an "impeccably made...fable about success and failure in America." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
praised The Natural as "[a]rguably the best baseball movie ever made." ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Page 2 selected it as the 6th best sports movie of all time, and sports writer Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
has argued, "Any 'Best Sports Movies' list that doesn't feature either Hoosiers
Hoosiers
Hoosiers is a 1986 sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship....
or The Natural as the No. 1 pick shouldn't even count."
While The Naturals reputation has enhanced over time, critics were not universally impressed when the film first appeared. Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
's annual Movie Guide said in its 1985 edition that the film is "too long and inconsistent". Dan Craft, long-time critic for the Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
paper, The Pantagraph, gave it three stars, while saying, "The storybook ending is so preposterous you don't know whether to cheer or jeer." Frank Deford
Frank Deford
Benjamin "Frank" Deford, III is a senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, author, and commentator for National Public Radio and correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO....
, reviewing the film for Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, had faint praise
Damn with faint praise
Damn with faint praise is an English idiom for words that effectively condemn by seeming to offer praise which is too moderate or marginal to be considered praise at all...
for it: "The Natural almost manages to be a swell movie." Both John Simon
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon is an American author and literary, theater, and film critic.-Personal life:Simon was born in Subotica, Bačka, County of Bačka, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later, known as Yugoslavia . He is of Hungarian descent...
of the National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
and Richard Schickel of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
were disappointed with the screen adaptation of Malamud's novel. Simon contrasted Malamud's story about the "failure of American innocence" with Levinson's "fable of success . . . [and] the ultimate triumph of semi-doltish purity," declaring "you have, not Malamud's novel, but a sorry illustration of its theme." Schickel laments that "Malamud's intricate ending (it is a victory that looks like a defeat) is vulgarized (the victory is now an unambiguous triumph, fireworks included)," and that "watching this movie is all too often like reading about The Natural in the College Outline series."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
wrote a fairly negative review, calling it "idolatry on behalf of Robert Redford." Ebert's television collaborator Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
praised its themes and acting performances, giving it four stars, and also putting down other critics that he suggested might have just recently read the novel for the first time.
In an analysis of the film as part of a lengthy article on baseball movies, Roger Angell
Roger Angell
Roger Angell is an American essayist. He has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker and was its chief fiction editor for many years...
pointed out that Malamud had intentionally treated Hobbs' story as a baseball version of the King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
legend, which came across a bit heavy-handed, "portentous and stuffy", in the film version, and that the book's ending should have been kept. However, he also cited a number of excellent visuals and funny bits, and noted that Robert Redford had prepared so carefully for the role, modeling his swing on that of Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
, that "you want to sign him up".
Awards
The Natural was nominated for four Academy Awards: Actress in a Supporting Role (Glenn CloseGlenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
), Cinematography (Caleb Deschanel
Caleb Deschanel
Joseph Caleb Deschanel, A.S.C. is an American film cinematographer and film/television director.-Early life:Deschanel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a French father and an American mother, who raised him in her Quaker religion. He went to Severn School for high school...
), Art Direction (Mel Bourne
Mel Bourne
Mel Bourne was an American production designer and art director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He was born Melvin B...
, Angelo P. Graham
Angelo P. Graham
Angelo P. Graham is an American art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for three more in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Graham won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and was nominated for three more:Won...
, Bruce Weintraub
Bruce Weintraub
Bruce Weintraub was an American set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Natural...
), and Music (Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
). Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
was also nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
DVD
The initial DVD edition, with copyright year on the box reading "2001", contained the theatrical version of the film, along with a few specials and commentaries.The "director's cut" was released on April 3, 2007. A two-disc edition, it contains the featurette "The Heart of the Natural," a 44 minute documentary featuring comments from Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
and Levinson; it is the only extra released originally with the 2001 DVD. Sony added a number of other extras, however, including: "When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural," a 50 minute documentary discussing the origins of the original novel and the production of the film; "Knights in Shining Armor," which addresses the mythological parallels between The Natural, King Arthur and the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
; and "A Natural Gunned Down" which tells the story of Eddie Waitkus
Eddie Waitkus
Edward Stephen Waitkus was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career . He played for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League and for the Baltimore Orioles of the American League...
, a baseball player who was shot by a female stalker, paralleling Roy Hobbs. The film itself has been re-edited, restoring deleted footage to the early chapters of the story. These scenes expand on the sadness of Hobbs, focusing on his visits to his childhood home as an adult and his childhood memories.
The "gift set" version of the release also included some souvenirs: a baseball "signed" by Roy Hobbs; some baseball cards of Roy Hobbs and teammates; and a New York Knights cap.
Blu-ray
The Natural was released in Blu-ray format on April 6, 2010. The special features from the two-disc DVD are included, but the film is the original theatrical cut, not the director's cut.Soundtrack
The film scoreFilm score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
of The Natural was composed and conducted by Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
. The score has often been compared to the style of Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and sometimes Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
. Scott Montgomery, writing for Goldmine
Goldmine (magazine)
Goldmine, established in 1974, is an American magazine that focuses on the collectors' market for records, tapes, CDs, and music-related memorabilia. Each issue features news articles, interviews, discographies, histories, current reviews on recording stars of the past and present. Discographies...
music magazine, referenced the influence, and David Ansen
David Ansen
David Ansen is a reviewer and senior editor for Newsweek, where he has been reviewing movies since 1977. He came to Newsweek after several years as the chief film critic at Boston's The Real Paper...
, reviewing the film for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, called the score "Coplandesque." The score also has certain Wagnerian features of orchestration and use of Leitmotif. Adnan Tezer of Monsters and Critics noted the theme is often played for film and television previews and in "baseball stadiums when introducing home teams and players." It was also used in the John McCain presidential campaign
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
in 2008, when introducing Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
.
The soundtrack album was released May 11, 1984 on the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
label. All music was composed by Randy Newman.
- "Prologue 1915-1923" – 5:20
- "The Whammer Strikes Out" – 1:56
- "The Old Farm 1939" – 1:07
- "The Majors: The Mind Is a Strange Thing" – 2:14
- "'Knock the Cover Off the Ball'" – 2:17
- "Memo" – 2:02
- "The Natural" – 3:33 (track not used in the film)
- "Wrigley Field" – 2:13 (two separate tracks spliced)
- "Iris and Roy" – 0:58
- "Winning" – 1:00
- "A Father Makes a Difference" – 1:53
- "Penthouse Party" – 1:10
- "The Final Game / Take Me Out to the Ball Game" – 4:37 (three separate tracks spliced)
- "The End Title" – 3:22