By Patrick Luce Jan 30, 2007, 20:02 GMT
Director Barry Levinson restores 15 minutes of never-before-seen footage for The Natural: Director’s Cut - debuting on DVD April 3rd in a two-disc collector’s set from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.95.
In addition to the added footage, the bonus materials for The Natural: Director’s Cut contains more than 10 featurettes - which include new interviews with Robert Redford and Glenn Close, as well as professionals from the sports broadcasting and baseball worlds.
"I was able to not just simply add a few more scenes to the Director's Cut, but to actually re-cut the first act as it was originally conceived,” said Levinson. “This version is much closer to what I envisioned and it was fantastic to finally bring it to fruition."
The critically-acclaimed, international box-office hit also has new color mastering by the Oscar nominated Director of Photography Caleb Deschanel. The film, starring Robert Redford, was nominated for numerous awards, including four Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close), Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Kim Basinger as Best Supporting Actress.
The featurettes consist of the four-part documentary Extra Innings, the three-part “making of” documentary When Lightning Strikes, A Natural Gunned Down: The Stalking of Eddie Waitkus, Clubhouse Conversations, Knights in Shining Armor: The Mythology of “The Natural,” and a video introduction by director Barry Levinson.
The Natural spins the magical tale of an unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs (Redford) who appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat hewn from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs experiences the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he was inexplicably shot by a young woman.
In addition to Redford, Close, and Basinger, the exceptional cast includes Wilford Brimley (Cocoon), Academy Award nominee Barbara Hershey (Best Supporting Actress, Portrait of a Lady, 1996), Robert Prosky (Mrs. Doubtfire), two-time Academy Award nominee Richard Farnsworth (Comes a Horseman, The Straight Story), Joe Don Baker (Walking Tall, Tomorrow Never Dies), and Michael Madsen (Kill Bill).
DVD Special Features Include:Featurette: A Natural Gunned Down: The Stalking of Eddie WaitkusFeaturette: Clubhouse ConversationsFeaturette: Extra Innings 1: Slow MotionFeaturette: Extra Innings 2: Uniform ColorFeaturette: Extra Innings 3: The Sandberg GameFeaturette: Extra Innings 4: The President’s QuestionFeaturette: Knights in Shining Armor: The Mythology of The NaturalFeaturette: The Heart of The NaturalFeaturette: When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural Part 1 – Pre-Game: A Novelist Steps Up to the PlateFeaturette: When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural Part 2 – The Line-Up: Assembling the Movie-Making TeamFeaturette: When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural Part 3 – Let’s Play Ball: Filming the ShowVideo Introduction by Barry Levinson
Cover Art has yet to be released. As the release date approaches, check back with M&C for more information.
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