Field of Dreams

I've always considered myself a bit of a film buff, and have always been leery of baseball movies. Most are pretty stupid, especially when you get to see what a bunch of weenie-arms most actors are (OK, Charlie Sheen, Costner and Kurt Russell actually know how to play...) I did read all 170 of the comments about this movie, because I was intrigued to read what people who are undoubtedly from all persuasions think of it (even many from other countries). One thing that amazed me was the number of baseball fans who recommended Bull Durham, which I found just average and Major League, which was slapstick at its worst. Anyhow, I digress...

I've read a lot of user comments on this site and usually there is a widely divergent range of opinions. Not with this film, though. My rough estimate was about 160 "excellent/changed my life" to about 10 "overrated/corny/historically incorrect". That's a pretty amazing record.

That all being said, and I apologize if this has been a little long-winded, but this is a wonderful movie. I can relate especially now as I am about to move my family to New Hampshire (with few prospects) just because it will be a little closer to the ideal America I am looking for. I'd like to think this movie helped give me the courage.) Yes, this is about the only time Costner is perfectly cast. It seems he is playing himself. The others are excellent, as well.

I think this movie needs some revisionist historians to take another look. The conventional wisdom seems to be a 3 to 3.5 star film. No way, I say. It's much too magical to be anything other than 4 stars. The "It's a Wonderful Life" comparisons are apt. Perhaps it should be put in a time capsule. Another thing I thought was particularly interesting is that how many people who either don't like or understand baseball (their loss) seem to love this movie. They even go so far as to say "it's not even about baseball." What a great compliment, indeed, for a movie- that so many people get so much out of, for so many different reasons. Of course, if you do love baseball for the sheer beauty and grace of it, along with the undeniable impact/fabric it has had on America, then this movie does border on the religious experience (which many have alluded to).

All in all, I have greatly enjoyed all of your comments, (especially those from our UK, Aussie, and Kiwi friends), and the reason I have stopped watching Field of Dreams (in reference to my summary's title), is because I'm tired of how my wife laughs at me for always crying in the end...and by the way, I get along just fine with my Dad!!

I truly believe that every once in a blue moon, a film can contain a sense of wonder, magic, and the power of dreams. The title says it all. "Field of Dreams" is destined to become (if it hasn't already) an American classic, and easily one of the most engrossing films of the eighties. Throughout the decade, we have seen a crock of films that capitalized on getting as much of anything the characters could grasp (hence the "me decade"). This film, made in 1989, reaffirmed what we learned from Hollywood in the forties, that dreams can come true and people can be saved by what they choose to believe in. And to top it all off, baseball is its subject. The great American pastime takes on a mystical quality that is nothing but immortal.

Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a corn farmer that seems to be stranded in his life, only choosing his profession because it allowed him to get away from the idealized dreams of his father that never became reality. One day, while roaming aimlessly through his cornfield, he hears a unknown voice speak to him, saying the words that have become synonomous with the film itself, "If you build it, he will come." He is compelled by the strange message, and even convinces his wife what he heard was real and definite. He believes that the simple words mean he is to build a baseball diamond in his field, and he sets out to do just that, and he indeed does one heck of a job. After at least half a year passes, following endless strains on their patience, who should show up in the field but Shoeless Joe Jackson, the famous alleged criminal from the 1919 Black Sox Scandal who was dismissed from the game of baseball forever, until now...

After all that is said and done, the film takes a back road and curves it into this storyline brilliantly. Ray receives a second message which he deciphers as getting a famous civil rights writer, Terence Mann (played wonderfully by James Earl Jones), to come visit his new ballfield. Of course it is to be expected that Mann begrudgingly resists Ray to join him, but he too becomes propelled by the power of the field's magic, and his life (like Ray's) is changed forever. Even Burt Lancaster shows up out of thin air (literally), but that's a different part of the plot altogether that I wouldn't dare reveal in fear someone reading this review has incompetently not seen this picture.

"Field of Dreams" is one of the strangest films I've seen, and possibly one of the best. When it throws its subject matter at you, you wonder how a story so preposterous can ever work. But somehow, I was deeply moved like Costner and Jones were by the miraculous incidents put in front of me. This film is not like any fantasy film I've seen, but in a way, it is like many that I've encountered. Some of my favorite movies elicited such an amazing feeling of warmth and grace in me that I was afraid to analyse it for fear that it would ruin the awesome impact I received. "Field of Dreams" is exactly like that, an odd piece of moviemaking that overwhelms you with its wonder and positive qualities that in turn leaves no doubt it is a classic, just from the way it moves you while watching it. Therefore, I'm not going to try to pick it apart and attempt to show the world my "field" of brilliance. All I will say is this is the kind of movie Hollywood should be reeling out more often, a tiny masterpiece that lets others be refreshed in their faith and believe in their crazy little fantasies. Ray Kinsella did, and now, so do I. Rating: Four stars.

Even a baseball buff like myself realises this is not a baseball movie. And you don't have to be to appreciate it. Not one of my favourite films but one that touched me for a long time afterwards. I didn't know what to expect at the start but as the story took these unexpected twists and turns the more engrossed I got caught up in it. Ray's confrontation with Terence Mann, Ani Kinsella's spontaneous outburst at the PTA meeting, giving Archie Graham a lift to the game. It was all a mystery till right to the end.

The most heart rending moment I guess was at the end. Not a dry eye in the house. Enough said. Without giving the story away I can only add a wistful hope, if only everyone had a second chance at saying what we really feel to our loved ones...before its too late.

Let's talk about endings here for a moment (don't worry there's no spoilers here) - every minute of a film is building toward an ending, but so often films mess up all the great story they've built up in the last few minutes.

That's why I want to draw your attention to 'Field of Dreams'. I'm sure by now we're all familiar with the premise - an Iowa farmer hears a disembodied voice that says, "If you build it he will come", which in turn leads him to plow under his cornfield to build a full baseball diamond.

Many people have talked about the themes explored by this movie (and there are many - family, redemption, pursuit of dreams, etc.), or the very believable characters. All of that is great.

But what I especially appreciated about this film was the ending. Everything builds up to it, and like so many things in the film, it ends on a perfect, serene note. It would have been so easy to tack on an extra scene or two; so tempting to tie everything up with a nice bow; belabor the point; but one single shot sums everything up and fades to credits.

A crash lesson in endings done right.

Very rarely, you see a film that means one thing when your father is alive, and another when he is dead. When I first saw this movie, my father was still alive, we had not spoken for 8 years, and I thought, cute, but it knows nothing about real life ! When I saw it again, he had been dead for over a year, and I cried like a baby.

I'm English, so for me the baseball element was lost, but what did hit home was the awareness that we are all flawed people, and the expectations we have for our parents, are way and beyond what we achieve ourselves as we grow older.

The film is not about baseball, it is about a second chance ! An opportunity to say hiya Dad, I was didn't know then, but I'm older now and understand more about the way the world works.

In terms of the film, Cosner has never had a better role, Lancaster as Doc Graham finally showed what a great actor he really was, and James Earl Jones was simply perfect.

In short a great film, James Horner's theme music is wonderful, the visuals are fantastic, the acting is as good as you could hope to see.

For most this is a feel good movie, for me this is a reminder that it is never too late to make amends, I just miss my Father