“Is this heaven?” Nope, just Iowa.
Release it on Blu-ray and they will come, or so a phantom voice whispered to me. Oops, forgot to take my medication and the voices start talking to me again. Actually it’s Kevin Costner who hears the voice and soon a baseball diamond is sprouting up in his cornfield in this heartwarming film that’s destined to be a classic.
Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is having trouble making ends meet on the family farm. One day while walking through the cornfield he hears a voice whisper, “If you build it, he will come” and sees a vision of a baseball field in the cornfield. Not wanting to be like his father, who lacked spontaneity, he decides he’s going to build the baseball diamond in the cornfield.
His wife Annie (Amy Madigan) starts off skeptical but ends up supporting her husband’s desire to mow down their cash crop and put in a baseball diamond. Her brother Mark (Timothy Busfield) is not so supportive. However, Ray does want he wants and a year passes without anyone coming. The Kinsellas are considering tearing out the field and replanting the corn to help with their financial situation when their daughter (Gaby Hoffman) spots a man on the ballfield.
Ray is shocked when he discovers that the stranger is Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), a long dead baseball player that his father idolized. Joe asks if he can use the field with some friends of his and Ray agrees.
Ray again hears the voice telling him to “ease his pain” and he thinks the voice is referring to 1960s author and activist Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones) who has become a recluse but had always wanted to see the Dodgers play on Ebbets Field, but was never able to. Mann thinks Ray is a nut job but gradually convinces him to attend a game at Fenway Park, where the voice instructs him to “go the distance.”
He sees a statistic for Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (Frank Whaley), who only played one major game but never batted. Mann’s curiosity gets the better of him and he and Ray travel to Minnesota to find Graham. They discover that “Doc” Graham (Burt Lancaster) died sixteen years ago and seemingly their quest ends. That is until Ray decides to go for a walk that evening and finds himself transported back sixteen years and meets Graham on the street.
Ray tells him that he can fulfill his dream of playing baseball again, but the elderly doctor refuses. Ray and Mann go back to Ray’s farm, but end up picking up a hitchhiker on the way back – the young Graham. More and more spectral ball players start coming to the field and one that Ray has an intimate connection with.
Such a powerful film, I’m just typing up the plot description and I get goose bumps. I’ve never been a sportsman or had much interest in baseball, but it’s the ability to fulfill missed dreams that gets a lump in my throat. We’ve all had them and that some mysterious force causes Ray to build a baseball diamond in the middle of an Iowa cornfield is just pure magic. It would be the same voice that told Noah to build the ark or it could be that Ray is nuts. Whatever the case the film is fantastic.
Kevin Costner cemented his everyman persona with this role. He and James Earl Jones are a perfect pairing and the presence of screen legend Burt Lancaster only adds to the gravitas. It would be Burt’s last screen appearance and what a film to go out on. Amy Madigan is the perfect counterweight to Costner as the wife who comes to understand her husband’s quest.
The ending will have a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat. Field of Dreams is destined to become a classic film in my humble opinion and certainly feels like a throwback to the classic films of yesteryear. Play ball.
Field of Dreams is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1). Special features are from the previous DVD release and are all in standard definition. There is some new here in that the film is BD-Live enhanced (that is if you’re player is the right profile) and you can go online for more goodies. First up is an audio commentary with director Phil Alden Robinson and director of photography John Lindley.
The 40 minute “From Father to Son: Passing along the Pastime” details the making of the film with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Next is a 30 minute “Roundtable Discussion” with Kevin Costner and baseball legends Bret Saberhagen, George Brett, and Johnny Bench.
The 6 minute “Galena, IL Pinch Hits for Chisholm, MN” tours some locations used in the film. The 13 minute “Diamond in the Husks” takes us back to the baseball diamond in the cornfield in Iowa as it’s become a tourist attraction. I guess the voice was right, they do still come.
The 46 minute “Field of Dreams: From Page to Screen” is a television special about bringing the novel to the big screen. There are also 15 minutes of deleted scenes and the “Field of Dreams Scrapbook” photo album.
Field of Dreams reminds me of the Hollywood film that has come to be called classic. Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, the legendary Burt Lancaster, and the rest of the cast are at the top of their game. It’s a homerun.
Field of Dreams [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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