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All rights reserved.The Natural (2007, DVD)
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The Natural: "You've got a gift, Roy... but it's not enough."Review created: 06/17/01
by: mkp51 -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
Excellent baseball scenes and an important social commentary on the price of success.
Excellent baseball scenes and an important social commentary on the price of success.
Cons:
Sometimes slowly paced and hard to follow.
Sometimes slowly paced and hard to follow.
Father s Day, 2001. I am in cinematic heaven on this cool, overcast coastal Maine Sunday morning. I ve just finished watching the DVD version of The Natural, which I received as a Father s Day gift from one of my kids. What a way to begin a Sunday...great weather, a loving family, and a wonderful movie! A wonderful baseball movie on top of everything else!
To say the least, I am a rabid baseball fan. I love the Boston Red Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs (the Florida Marlins Double-A team). I love reading books about baseball, and I especially love baseball movies. Among baseball movies, my favorite has always been The Natural.
Starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, and Wilford Brimley, The Natural is based on the 1952 novel of the same name, written by Bernard Malamud. It s a tremendously enjoyable, although somewhat flawed film well acted and written, with wonderfully designed costumes and sets; but at the same time, slowly paced, and, in places, hard to follow. It certainly must rank as one of the most offbeat baseball movies ever made!
Our story begins in the earliest decades of the twentieth century (circa. 1908.) Amidst the corn fields and wheat fields of the great Midwest, we see a youth of perhaps 12 years old beginning to display immense natural talents as a baseball player. He can throw, run, and pitch with almost supernatural skill. Nurtured by a loving father, who encourages the proper development of his gifts, the youth seems predestined for greatness...
...Not even his father s untimely death deters young Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) from pursuing his dream of becoming a big league ballplayer. Now, by 1920, encouraged by his lifelong sweetheart, Iris (played by Glenn Close), his dreams seem closer than ever to being realized. The Cubs have invited him for a tryout!!
For the first time in his life, young Roy boards a train and heads east. While on his journey, he encounters several people who will eventually have a profound effect on his future: the famous "Whammer," a Babe Ruth-like character who pits his hitting strength against Roy s pitching arm in an impromptu contest of skill and power; Max Mercy, a nationally syndicated sports reporter; and a mysterious woman with large, inviting eyes, a sulky voice, and a tempting body...
When he gets to Chicago, before he ever gets that tryout with the Cubs, the course of Roy s life is suddenly and forever altered by a bullet from a gun in the hands of Harriet Bird, that seductively mysterious woman on the train...
Fast forward sixteen years...New York, 1936. The New York Knights are the worst team in the league. Nobody comes to the ballpark to watch them play. Every player on the team bumbles, stumbles, and lurches his way toward inevitable defeat. The team s manager, Pop Fisher, is about to throw his hands up in despair. "I shoulda been a farmer," he whines. "I always liked pigs and ducks and billy goats."
Into this morass steps a grizzled, middle-aged Roy Hobbs, freshly signed to his first major league contract by a scout for the Knights. No longer a pitcher, Roy can still hit and field with the best of em perhaps better than the best of em but Pop Fisher isn t interested. "I ll pay his contract," Pop says. "But I ll never play him."
Circumstances soon dictate otherwise. Before long, Roy finds himself permanently ensconced in the outfield and in the cleanup position in the hitting lineup. The team s fortunes are suddenly reversed, and the Knights begin a long, steady climb in the standings...
...Which is exactly not what the team s owner, "The Judge," (played by Robery Prosky) wants. He d rather see his team lose, so he give his manager (and business partner) Pop Fisher the boot. Aided by his niece, Memo Paris (Kim Basinger) and a gambling associate (Darren McGavin in an uncredited role), "The Judge" seeks to influence Roy Hobbs through bribery, sexual seduction, and blackmail.
How will Roy react to these seductions? Will he heed another siren call or accept "The Judge s" money? How will threats of blackmail affect Roy s judgment? What role does Iris play in the entire drama now unfolding? Watch The Natural and find out!!
As I said earlier, The Natural is a very good, if somewhat flawed film. All members of this strong cast give characteristically excellent performances. Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, and Darren McGavin are especially noteworthy, as are Glenn Close (Iris) and Kim Basinger (Memo).
The Natural is set mostly in the mid-1930 s, an era seen by some as one of the most nostalgic in the history of baseball. This was the time of the Great Depression. Older, established stars like Babe Ruth and Grover Cleveland Alexander were gone; new stars like Joe DiMaggio and Dizzy Dean had taken their place. Baseball was one of the few things holding Americans together during a time of economic crisis. The Natural conveys the atmosphere of the 1930 s fairly well. Even though we never actually see the face of poverty, the feeling is pervasively there. It is indelibly stamped on the face of Roy Hobbs as he arrives in New York to take up his contract with the Knights.
If you left The Natural right there, it would be tempting to regard it as just another average, although somewhat unconventional baseball movie, appealing mostly to hard-core baseball fans like me. However, The Natural isn t "just" another baseball movie. It's unlike many other notable films in this genre... The Babe Ruth Story, Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams, and For Love of the Game. While these movies either chronicled the lives of great men who played baseball, or some of the events which shaped its history, The Natural does neither. It does something far more significant. It uses our great national pastime to make an eloquent social commentary on the glories and prices of success in our great nation.
That social commentary is embodied in the person of Roy Hobbs. Here s a man with those prodigious natural gifts: good looks, and an almost preternatural ability to throw a baseball as fast and as accurately as possible. Reared by a loving father who encouraged the proper development of those gifts, Roy soon finds himself on the threshold of achieving his boyhood dream of making it to the big leagues. Then, with success nearly within his grasp, his own fallibility rears its ugly head, and success is denied him.
Roy Hobbs is not one to be denied easily. Failure, in the form of the circumstances of life, may have stolen success for a time, but Hobbs has the tenacity and long-term vision to continue striving toward his dream. Even after escaping death by a hair s breath; even after struggling for sixteen years to recuperate from his injury and regain some semblance of his former athletic prowess, Hobbs forges ahead. He s ultimately rewarded with a long dreamed for big-league contract with the New York Knights.
Roy s trials are far from over, however. He must contend with a manager who doesn t want to play a "middle-aged rookie;" a sports reporter whose dim memories of seeing Hobbs in former days of youth are beginning to become more brightly lit; the despicable attempts of a team owner and his gambling associates to bribe him; and the siren call of another femme fatale. Now, with sixteen years of struggle behind him in the full knowledge that he can still be "the best that ever was," even though his playing days are numbered will Roy Hobbs be able to resist the temptations of a cynical and corrupt world and see his way to the total fulfillment of his lifelong dream?
Herein lies the central message of The Natural, a message as relevant today as it was when Bernard Malamud first wrote the book in 1952, and when the movie was released in 1984. The message: success requires from each person many things, and often exacts a heavy price. Perhaps the least important requirement for genuine success is natural ability, although success obviously begins there. Two attributes matter even more to our ultimate success than innate physical or intellectual prowess: our dreams, and our ability to persevere through the storms of life with our eyes always fixed upon our dreams. In Roy Hobbs, we see the embodiment of that person residing within each of us; a person filled with idealism and imbued with whatever gifts we ve been given in our lives; always struggling to lead us to success, despite having to wage a constant battle against our other, less ameliorable, more skeptical selves. Only when we allow the "Roy Hobbs" within us the freedom to reach for the stars do we come to understand that the price of success, while very high, is indeed a price well worth paying.
A word or two about the DVD:
Here are the features included on the DVD version of The Natural:
* Anamorphic widescreen format (approximately 1.85:1 aspect ratio)
* Dolby Surround and Dolby 4.0 Discrete Surround
* Multi-language subtitles
* Cal Ripken Jr. Featured in short documentary/commentary on the film
* Theatrical trailers included
My verdict: Despite a few flaws, a movie well worth seeing... and more than once!! A movie with a wonderful message about the true meaning and price of success. Enjoy!!
To say the least, I am a rabid baseball fan. I love the Boston Red Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs (the Florida Marlins Double-A team). I love reading books about baseball, and I especially love baseball movies. Among baseball movies, my favorite has always been The Natural.
Starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, and Wilford Brimley, The Natural is based on the 1952 novel of the same name, written by Bernard Malamud. It s a tremendously enjoyable, although somewhat flawed film well acted and written, with wonderfully designed costumes and sets; but at the same time, slowly paced, and, in places, hard to follow. It certainly must rank as one of the most offbeat baseball movies ever made!
Our story begins in the earliest decades of the twentieth century (circa. 1908.) Amidst the corn fields and wheat fields of the great Midwest, we see a youth of perhaps 12 years old beginning to display immense natural talents as a baseball player. He can throw, run, and pitch with almost supernatural skill. Nurtured by a loving father, who encourages the proper development of his gifts, the youth seems predestined for greatness...
...Not even his father s untimely death deters young Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) from pursuing his dream of becoming a big league ballplayer. Now, by 1920, encouraged by his lifelong sweetheart, Iris (played by Glenn Close), his dreams seem closer than ever to being realized. The Cubs have invited him for a tryout!!
For the first time in his life, young Roy boards a train and heads east. While on his journey, he encounters several people who will eventually have a profound effect on his future: the famous "Whammer," a Babe Ruth-like character who pits his hitting strength against Roy s pitching arm in an impromptu contest of skill and power; Max Mercy, a nationally syndicated sports reporter; and a mysterious woman with large, inviting eyes, a sulky voice, and a tempting body...
When he gets to Chicago, before he ever gets that tryout with the Cubs, the course of Roy s life is suddenly and forever altered by a bullet from a gun in the hands of Harriet Bird, that seductively mysterious woman on the train...
Fast forward sixteen years...New York, 1936. The New York Knights are the worst team in the league. Nobody comes to the ballpark to watch them play. Every player on the team bumbles, stumbles, and lurches his way toward inevitable defeat. The team s manager, Pop Fisher, is about to throw his hands up in despair. "I shoulda been a farmer," he whines. "I always liked pigs and ducks and billy goats."
Into this morass steps a grizzled, middle-aged Roy Hobbs, freshly signed to his first major league contract by a scout for the Knights. No longer a pitcher, Roy can still hit and field with the best of em perhaps better than the best of em but Pop Fisher isn t interested. "I ll pay his contract," Pop says. "But I ll never play him."
Circumstances soon dictate otherwise. Before long, Roy finds himself permanently ensconced in the outfield and in the cleanup position in the hitting lineup. The team s fortunes are suddenly reversed, and the Knights begin a long, steady climb in the standings...
...Which is exactly not what the team s owner, "The Judge," (played by Robery Prosky) wants. He d rather see his team lose, so he give his manager (and business partner) Pop Fisher the boot. Aided by his niece, Memo Paris (Kim Basinger) and a gambling associate (Darren McGavin in an uncredited role), "The Judge" seeks to influence Roy Hobbs through bribery, sexual seduction, and blackmail.
How will Roy react to these seductions? Will he heed another siren call or accept "The Judge s" money? How will threats of blackmail affect Roy s judgment? What role does Iris play in the entire drama now unfolding? Watch The Natural and find out!!
As I said earlier, The Natural is a very good, if somewhat flawed film. All members of this strong cast give characteristically excellent performances. Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, and Darren McGavin are especially noteworthy, as are Glenn Close (Iris) and Kim Basinger (Memo).
The Natural is set mostly in the mid-1930 s, an era seen by some as one of the most nostalgic in the history of baseball. This was the time of the Great Depression. Older, established stars like Babe Ruth and Grover Cleveland Alexander were gone; new stars like Joe DiMaggio and Dizzy Dean had taken their place. Baseball was one of the few things holding Americans together during a time of economic crisis. The Natural conveys the atmosphere of the 1930 s fairly well. Even though we never actually see the face of poverty, the feeling is pervasively there. It is indelibly stamped on the face of Roy Hobbs as he arrives in New York to take up his contract with the Knights.
If you left The Natural right there, it would be tempting to regard it as just another average, although somewhat unconventional baseball movie, appealing mostly to hard-core baseball fans like me. However, The Natural isn t "just" another baseball movie. It's unlike many other notable films in this genre... The Babe Ruth Story, Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams, and For Love of the Game. While these movies either chronicled the lives of great men who played baseball, or some of the events which shaped its history, The Natural does neither. It does something far more significant. It uses our great national pastime to make an eloquent social commentary on the glories and prices of success in our great nation.
That social commentary is embodied in the person of Roy Hobbs. Here s a man with those prodigious natural gifts: good looks, and an almost preternatural ability to throw a baseball as fast and as accurately as possible. Reared by a loving father who encouraged the proper development of those gifts, Roy soon finds himself on the threshold of achieving his boyhood dream of making it to the big leagues. Then, with success nearly within his grasp, his own fallibility rears its ugly head, and success is denied him.
Roy Hobbs is not one to be denied easily. Failure, in the form of the circumstances of life, may have stolen success for a time, but Hobbs has the tenacity and long-term vision to continue striving toward his dream. Even after escaping death by a hair s breath; even after struggling for sixteen years to recuperate from his injury and regain some semblance of his former athletic prowess, Hobbs forges ahead. He s ultimately rewarded with a long dreamed for big-league contract with the New York Knights.
Roy s trials are far from over, however. He must contend with a manager who doesn t want to play a "middle-aged rookie;" a sports reporter whose dim memories of seeing Hobbs in former days of youth are beginning to become more brightly lit; the despicable attempts of a team owner and his gambling associates to bribe him; and the siren call of another femme fatale. Now, with sixteen years of struggle behind him in the full knowledge that he can still be "the best that ever was," even though his playing days are numbered will Roy Hobbs be able to resist the temptations of a cynical and corrupt world and see his way to the total fulfillment of his lifelong dream?
Herein lies the central message of The Natural, a message as relevant today as it was when Bernard Malamud first wrote the book in 1952, and when the movie was released in 1984. The message: success requires from each person many things, and often exacts a heavy price. Perhaps the least important requirement for genuine success is natural ability, although success obviously begins there. Two attributes matter even more to our ultimate success than innate physical or intellectual prowess: our dreams, and our ability to persevere through the storms of life with our eyes always fixed upon our dreams. In Roy Hobbs, we see the embodiment of that person residing within each of us; a person filled with idealism and imbued with whatever gifts we ve been given in our lives; always struggling to lead us to success, despite having to wage a constant battle against our other, less ameliorable, more skeptical selves. Only when we allow the "Roy Hobbs" within us the freedom to reach for the stars do we come to understand that the price of success, while very high, is indeed a price well worth paying.
A word or two about the DVD:
Here are the features included on the DVD version of The Natural:
* Anamorphic widescreen format (approximately 1.85:1 aspect ratio)
* Dolby Surround and Dolby 4.0 Discrete Surround
* Multi-language subtitles
* Cal Ripken Jr. Featured in short documentary/commentary on the film
* Theatrical trailers included
My verdict: Despite a few flaws, a movie well worth seeing... and more than once!! A movie with a wonderful message about the true meaning and price of success. Enjoy!!
Review ID: 10000000004046449
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