The Natural (1984)
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A man with immense natural baseball talent navigates a long, interrupted career marked by a mysterious past and a physical burden.
The story
In the 1910s Midwest, Roy Hobbs discovers his immense baseball talent after his father's passing. By 1923, a promising career is nearly derailed by a mysterious incident involving a woman named Harriet Bird, leading to a long period of obscurity. In 1939, Roy is signed by the struggling New York Knights. As he rises to fame, he must navigate the pressures of the sport, the influence of a demanding owner, and the physical toll of a hidden injury. The story follows his journey to become a sensation while grappling with his past and the reality of his condition.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the 1910s, Roy Hobbs develops his baseball skills under his father's guidance. In 1923, a shooting by a woman named Harriet Bird leaves him with a hidden internal wound. Decades later, in 1939, Roy is signed by the New York Knights. He becomes a sensation after hitting a triple with his signature 'Wonderboy' bat. He eventually reunites with his former flame, Iris, and learns she has a son, Ted. Despite a medical warning that his internal wound is becoming fatal, Roy refuses to throw a crucial game against the Pittsburgh Pirates under pressure from a corrupt owner. In the final game, Roy hits a massive home run while bleeding from his uniform, winning the pennant. The film ends with Roy and Iris watching their son play in the same field where Roy and his father once played.
- First release year
- 1984
- Runtime (minutes)
- 138
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Barry Levinson
- Writers
- Roger Towne · screenplay; Phil Dusenberry · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Robert Redford · Roy Hobbs; Robert Duvall; Glenn Close; Kim Basinger; Wilford Brimley; Barbara Hershey; Robert Prosky; Richard Farnsworth
- Genres
- sports drama
- Themes
- success and failure; sacrifice; legacy
- Tone and mood
- fable; sentimental
- Setting
- The 1910s, 1923, and 1939 in the Midwest and Chicago, USA.
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; baseball; period piece
- Source material / true-story basis
- Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, described as an 'impeccably made ... fable' and 'arguably the best baseball movie ever made' by some critics, though others criticized its 'preposterous' ending and 'heavy' sentiment.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 83% · scale: percentage · review count: 48; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.2 · scale: 10; Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 19
- Production trivia
- The film was the first production by Tri-Star Pictures.; Several baseball scenes were filmed at the now-demolished War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo.; The score was compared to the styles of Aaron Copland and Elmer Bernstein.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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