The Natural
by Barry Levinson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Robert Duvall, Robert Redford, Wilford BrimleyDirector: Barry Levinson
Brand: MLB
Producer: Mark Johnson
Producer: Philip M. Breen
Producer: Robert F. Colesberry
Producer: Roger Towne
Writer: Roger Towne
Writer: Bernard Malamud
Writer: Phil Dusenberry
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
Published: 2001-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Natural
Movie Review: The Triumphant Return of the American Hero
Summary: 5 Stars
I have not read Bernard Malamud's novel on which this movie was based; I will admit that I have no desire to do so, as I have heard how it differs from the movie, and I am convinced that this movie is the only correct way the story can be told.
In a big country like the United States of America, we need big heroes, bigger than life, Achilleus-like in scope, touched (or at least favored) by the gods. Fairly or unfairly, since the dawn of the 20th Century, we've tended to select such heroes from the world of sport, traditionally from baseball, a game which, due to such much of it having been played before the advent of mass (or even general) media coverage, seems better given to legendary, even mythic historical representation.
The heroes from baseball's past consistently shade those of its present; the names of Ruth, Williams, Mantle, Mays, (Walter) Johnson are men whose accomplishments seem more and more impossible as time leaves them further behind...and as their successors consistently disgrace their legacy by self-centeredness, greed, and scandal -with the notable exception of Curt Schilling bleeding most "Natural"-like as commented by Bob Costas on the pitcher's mound while pitching the Red Sox to victories in Yankee Stadium and the World Series in the 2004 postseason.
In "The Natural" we have a mythical story of a fictional team, the New York Knights, a moribund franchise seemingly based on any of three traditionally bad teams, the old St. Louis Browns, the Washington Senators, and/or the Philadelphia Phillies. This team has nothing going for it; their star player ("Kill Bill" and ESPN's "Tilt" star Michael Madsen) is a whining prima donna, their manager (Wilfrod Brimley) is believed to be "jinxed", and their owner has just signed a 36-year old (well...a hard-living 36 if Redford's wrinkles are to be believed) with the intent of finishing last in order to bilk the manager out of his ownership share of the team.
But Redford's Roy Hobbs isn't the has-been/never-was he is taken for; he is "The Natural", the one for whom The Game seemingly was created. From an early age he displayed an uncanny knack for the game, a "phee-nom" of a lefthanded pitcher who, upon leaving his childhood sweetheart (Glenn Close) becomes distracted by a mystery woman (Barbara Hershey) and nearly pays with his life, losing "The Way" and floundering in obscurity for the better part of the next two decades.
In America, we not only love our heroes, we love tales of redemption. And it is this aspect of "The Natural" that is typically overlooked. We see our hero losing his focus not only on the way to realizing his dream as a young man, but also once he seemingly has his dreams realized as a supposedly more mature man (perhaps understandably under the influence of Kim Basinger). And, in his reunion with Glenn Close in Chicago, we see him again find the path, "The Way" that restores his harmonious place within the game and the universe.
Look for particularly slimy and conniving performances as well from "A Christmas Story's" Darren McGavin ("Gus") and all-career actor Robert Duvall (sports hack -uh, writer- "Max Mercy"), generally cast against type in roles that really make you dislike them; this is further proof of their genius and it only serves to make the conclusion of the story that much more rewarding.
It doesn't hurt that, aside from the glaring casting faus pas of having Redford and Close play their characters as Midwestern teenagers as well as their mature "present day" selves, Barry Levinson just absolutely shot the daylights out of this movie. Major League Baseball had a marketing campaign a few years back called "Baseball Like It Oughtta Be", but Levinson has trumped them at every turn with the cinematography that is itself every bit as much the star as the actors. The scenes that take place off the field are beautiful enough, but the game sequences are just incredible. And the score adds as much to it as the more memorable efforts of Ennio Morricone do to Sergio Leone's epic Westerns; is that REALLY Randy Newman's work? Every time Hobbs connects with the ball, the grandiose theme and slow-motion photography (very reminiscent of NFL Films' best work for the game of pro football) give the viewer the unescapable impression that there is an element of the supernatural at work with "The Natural". The cyclical rise, fall, birth, death, and rebirth (recovering from a recurrance of his earlier injury in a maternity ward? Get serious!) of Hobbs is irresistible to the baseball fan and the period of the film and the "Old Hollywood" flavor of the storytelling and pacing should be attractive to the non-sports fan as well. Entertainment at the movies just doesn't get any better than this.
Summary of The Natural
An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.Similar DVD Movies
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