Receiving a 1990 Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, Field Of Dreams is as close to perfect as a movie can be. (Character "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's right-handed batting stance is about the only flaw that can be found.) Director Phil Alden Robinson provides a Frank Capra-esque performance with his brilliant adaptation of W.P. Kinsella’s remarkable book Shoeless Joe. A rare, family-friendly movie certain to captivate and inspire adults both young and old, Field of Dreams is an amazingly memorable film that transcended its sports theme and penetrated American pop culture. Even after almost two decades, variations of the famous whispering voice find their way into TV commercials, sketch comedies, and print headlines everywhere. Like Hoosiers, it provides the sports genre with a level of depth that such films oftentimes lack.
The film begins with the life narrative of Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), highlighting numerous events which shaped and defined his life – his father’s love of baseball (especially banned Hall-Of-Famer “Shoeless” Joe Jackson), estrangement from his father at a young age, the upheaval of the 1960s, and finally, Ray’s love affair with his wife Annie (Amy Madigan). In their mid-thirties, the couple takes a bold step when they purchase an Iowa corn farm and give birth to their first child, daughter Karin.
Following the narrative, the film moves to the present day where one of the most famous movie lines in cinema history is hoist upon the audience. While Ray tends to his cornfield, he hears a mysterious voice whisper, “If you build it, he will come…” Realizing he is the only one who hears the voice, Ray struggles with the idea that he may be going crazy. His thoughts are later reinforced when, late one night, he gazes out his bedroom window and envisions a baseball field emblazoned in the middle of his backyard. Under the impression that if he builds the baseball field, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) will come to play upon its surface, Ray acquires the blessing of his wife and sets out to make his dream a reality.
Article comments
1 - Bliffle
Sounds like a rather unreal premise: if you build it they will come.
Talking about the unreal, I just finished viewing "The Realm Of The Unreal", the story of Henry Darger, the strange man who worked his whole life as a chicago janitor, died in 1976 at 83, and left behind in his small chicago apartment a novel of 15,000 pages about 7 little girls, their adventures, and extensive artwork illustrating the girls and their adventures. this is one of the most unreal stories you will ever see, but it is all true. And it's utterly fascinating.
Highly recommended. "Realm Of The Unreal" is available from netflix.
2 - Lacy
I agree with you on this movie. I honestly wasn't anticipating it to be as good as it was. However there were a few moments that were not so family friendly. I would suggest watching this movie before the kids.