The Natural (film)

Infobox_Film
name = The Natural


caption = Promotional poster of The Natural
imdb_id = 0087781
writer = Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry,
(based on a novel by Bernard Malamud)
starring = Robert Redford
Robert Duvall
Glenn Close
Kim Basinger
Barbara Hershey,
Darren McGavin,
Wilford Brimley
Richard Farnsworth
director = Barry Levinson
cinematographer = Caleb Deschanel
editing = Stu Linder
producer = Mark Johnson
distributor = TriStar Pictures
released = May 11 1984
runtime = 137 Min
144 Min Director's Cut
language = English
music =
awards =
budget = $28,000,000

"The Natural" is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name. The film was directed by Barry Levinson and stars Robert Redford. The film, like the book, recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, an individual with great "natural" baseball talent, spanning decades of Roy's success and his suffering.

"The Natural" was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close), and nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger). Many of the baseball scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York's War Memorial Stadium, built in 1937 and demolished a few years after the film was produced. Buffalo's All-High Stadium stood in for Chicago's Wrigley Field in a key scene.

It was the very first movie produced by TriStar Pictures.

Plot

The beginning of the movie introduces Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) as a child, playing baseball with his father. Mr. Hobbs dies suddenly while Roy is still young, collapsing under a tree. That tree is split in half by lightning, and young Roy carves a baseball bat from it, on which he burns the image of a lightning bolt and the label 'Wonderboy'.

At age 19, Hobbs is recruited by the Cubs. On the train to the tryouts, he wins a wager to strike out "The Whammer" (Joe Don Baker), the top hitter in the major leagues. Back on the train, the naive Hobbs is seduced by Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey), an alluring but sinister woman who gravitates to him after judging that he, rather than The Whammer is now the best baseball player in the world. Bird lures young Hobbs to a hotel room and shoots him.

The story skips forward 16 years. A fictitious and bumbling team called the New York Knights has signed the now 35-year-old Hobbs to a contract, to the ire of the team's gruff manager and co-owner, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley). For a time Pop will not allow him to play, but after impressing in batting practice, Hobbs literally knocks the cover off the ball in his first major league game. Hobbs rises to stardom and reverses the Knights' fortunes.

The corrupt principal owner of the Knights, The Judge (Robert Prosky), tries to persuade and bribe Hobbs to fail. A contractual agreement will enable The Judge to gain full ownership from Pop if the team fails to win the pennant. Hobbs refuses to throw any games, but a gambler associate of the judge introduces Hobbs to the beautiful Memo Paris (Kim Basinger). The beginning of their relationship marks the beginning of a decline in Hobbs' baseball performance. He is turned around by a chance encounter in Chicago with his childhood sweetheart, Iris (Glenn Close), but the old bullet wound is aggravated 3 days before the end of the season. Hobbs is sidelined, and the Knights fall from first place, needing to win a one-game playoff to take the pennant.

Roy comes to bat in the bottom of the ninth with, a chance to win the game. Lightning flashes as Hobbs hits a long drive that twists foul, and sees that Wonderboy, his "magical" bat, has shattered. The young bat boy brings Hobbes a bat that they made together. Hobbs hits a towering shot, a pennant-winning home run, which soars into the stadium's lights and starts a chain reaction of sparks that rain down onto the field. The Knights won the pennant. The final scene shows Hobbes playing catch with his son in a sun-dappled wheat field, with Iris proudly standing by.

Production

The film's producers stated in the DVD extras that the film was not intended to be a filmization of the novel, but was merely "based on" the novel. Malamud's daughter said on one of the DVD extras that her father had seen the film, and his take on it was that it had "legitimized him as a writer."cite video |people= Janna Malamud Smith (daughter of Bernard Malamud) |date2= 2007-04-03 |title= When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural |url= |format= |medium= Documentary |publisher= Sony Pictures Entertainment |location= |accessdate= |accessmonth= |accessyear= |time= |quote= ]

This is in spite of the fact that Malamud's novel ends with Roy Hobbs striking out, rather than hitting a home run. A young boy later approaches Hobbs, aware of speculation about gambling, and says, "Say it ain't true, Roy," a reference to Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Chicago White Sox throwing the 1919 World Series to gamblers. Roy's response to boy's imperative reads thusly: "When Roy looked into the boy's eyes he wanted to say it wasn't but couldn't, and he lifted his hands to his face and wept many bitter tears." This despondence contrasts sharply with the film's home run victory and familial denouement.

Darren McGavin was cast late in the process as gambler Gus Sands and was uncredited in the film. Another uncredited actor was the radio announcer heard from time to time throughout the picture; Levinson stated on the DVD extras for the 2007 edition that there had been too little time to find a "bona fide" announcer during post-production, so Levinson himself recorded that part of the audio trackcite video |people= Barry Levinson (director) |date2= 2007-04-03 |title= When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural |url= |format= |medium= Documentary |publisher= Sony Pictures Entertainment |location= |accessdate= |accessmonth= |accessyear= |time= |quote= ] (and probably also that of the scout, who appears in just two lines, over the phone).

Many of the baseball scenes were filmed during the summer of 1983 in Buffalo, New York's War Memorial Stadium, [cite news | last = Pomerantz | first = Gary | coauthors = | title = Buffalo Knocks Softly On Baseball's Door | work = | pages = | language = | publisher = The Washington Post | date = 1985-06-02] built in 1937 and demolished a few years after the film was produced. Buffalo's All-High Stadium, with post-production alterations, stood in for Chicago's Wrigley Field in a key scene in the film. [http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/305911.html] Other scenes were filmed in South Dayton, New York.

Release

Critical reception

Critics were not universally impressed when the film appeared. Leonard Maltin's annual "Movie Guide" said in its 1985 edition that the film is "too long and inconsistent." Dan Craft, long-time critic for the Bloomington, Illinois paper, "The Pantagraph" (May 19, 1984), gave it three stars, while saying, "The storybook ending is so preposterous you don't know whether to cheer or jeer." Frank Deford, reviewing the film for "Sports Illustrated" (May 21, 1984, p.71), had faint praise for it: "The Natural" almost manages to be a swell movie." Both John Simon of the "National Review" and Richard Schickel of "Time" were disappointed with the screen adaptation of Malamud's novel. Simon contrasted Malamud's story about the "failure of American innocence" with Levinson's "fable of success . . . [and] the ultimate triumph of semi-doltish purity," declaring "you have, not Malamud's novel, but a sorry illustration of its theme." [cite magazine | last = Simon | first = John | coauthors = | title = The Natural | volume | issue = 36 | pages = 51-2 | language = | publisher = National Review | date = 1984-07-13] Schickel laments that "Malamud's intricate ending (it is a victory that looks like a defeat) is vulgarized (the victory is now an unambiguous triumph, fireworks included)," and that "watching this movie is all too often like reading about "The Natural" in the "College Outline" series." [cite magazine | last = Schickel | first = Richard | coauthors = | title = The Natural | volume | issue = 123 | pages = 91 | language = | publisher = Time | date = 1984-05-14]

Roger Ebert fairly savaged it, calling it "idolatry on behalf of Robert Redford."cite web | last = Ebert | first = Roger | authorlink = Roger Ebert | coauthors = | title = The Natural | work = | publisher = rogerebert.com | date = 1984-01-01 | url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19840101/REVIEWS/401010363/1023 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-10] Ebert's television collaborator Gene Siskel praised its themes and acting performances, giving it four stars, and also putting down other critics that he suggested might have just recently read the novel for the first time. [cite news | last = Gene | first = Siskel | coauthors = | title = 'The Natural': Redford scores in an uplifting celebration of the individual | work = | pages = D A1 | language = | publisher = Chicago Tribune | date = 1984-05-11 | url = | accessdate = 2008-01-19]

Awards

"The Natural" was nominated for four Academy Awards: Actress in a Supporting Role (Glenn Close), Cinematography, Art Direction (Caleb Deschanel), and Music (Randy Newman). [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Academy Awards Database: The Natural (57th-1984) | work = | publisher = Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences| date = | url = http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1200879955474 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-20] Kim Basinger was also nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.Fact|date=January 2008

DVD

The initial DVD edition, with copyright year on the box reading "2001", contained the theatrical version of the film, along with a few specials and commentaries.

The "director's cut" was released on April 3 2007.cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = DVD - The Natural (Director's Cut) | work = | publisher = Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. | date = | url = http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/archive/dvdarchive.php/The_Natural_%28Director%27s_Cut%29/10359 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-20] A two-disc edition, it contains the featurette "The Heart of the Natural," a 44 minute documentary featuring comments from Cal Ripken, Jr. and Levinson; it is the only extra released originally with the 2001 DVD. Sony added a number of other extras, however, including: "When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural," a 50 minute documentary discussing the origins of the original novel and the production of the film; "Knights in Shining Armor," which addresses the mythological parallels between "The Natural", King Arthur and the "Odyssey"; and "A Natural Gunned Down" which tells the story of Eddie Waitkus, a baseball player who was shot by a female stalker, paralleling Roy Hobbs.cite web | last = Tezer | first = Adnan | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = DVD Review: The Natural (Director’s Cut) | work = | publisher = Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. | date = 2007-04-01 | url = http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/reviews/article_1285572.php | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-20] The film itself has been re-edited, restoring deleted footage to the early chapters of the story. These scenes expand on the sadness of Hobbs, focusing on his visits to his childhood home as an adult and his childhood memories.The "gift set" version of the release also included some souvenirs: a baseball "signed" by Roy Hobbs; some baseball cards of Roy Hobbs and teammates; and a New York Knights cap.

oundtrack

Randy Newman's dramatic, Academy Award nominated score has often been compared to the style of Aaron Copland. Scott Montgomery, writing for "Goldmine" music magazine, referenced the influence, and David Ansen, reviewing the film for "Newsweek", called the score "Coplandesque." [cite magazine | last = Montgomery | first = Scott | authorlink = | coauthors = Gary Norris and Kevin Walsh | title = The Invisible Randy Newman | volume = 21 | issue = 18 | publisher = Goldmine | date = 1995-09-01 | url = http://www.randynewman.info/biography/a10.html | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-20 | quote = "The Natural", a 1984 Robert Redford vehicle based on the classic Bernard Malamud novel about a baseball player, features some of Newman's most inspiring movie music — his first score to feature synthesizers prominently in string arrangements. Leaning gently on Copland, Berlin and his uncle Al, the dramatic title theme (which has been heard in virtually every baseball-related film trailer since the movie's release) earned Newman both an Academy Award nomination for best soundtrack and a 1985 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental.] [cite magazine| last = Ansen | first = David | authorlink = David Ansen | coauthors = | title = The Natural | journal = | volume = | issue = | pages = | publisher = Newsweek | date = 1984-05-28 | url = ] The score also has certain Wagnerian features of orchestration and use of Leitmotif. Adnan Tezer of "Monsters and Critics" noted the theme is often played for film and television previews and in "baseball stadiums when introducing home teams and players."

The soundtrack album was released May 11 1984 on the Warner Bros. label. All music was composed by Randy Newman. [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Natural (1984 Film) [SOUNDTRACK] | work = | publisher = Amazon.com | date = | url = http://www.amazon.com/Natural-1984-Film-Randy-Newman/dp/B000002L6A/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1200861432&sr=1-1 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-01-20]

# "Prologue 1915-1923" – 5:20
# "The Whammer Strikes Out" – 1:56
# "The Old Farm 1939" – 1:07
# "The Majors: The Mind Is a Strange Thing" – 2:14
# "'Knock the Cover Off the Ball'" – 2:17
# "Memo" – 2:02
# "The Natural" – 3:33 (track not used in the film)
# "Wrigley Field" – 2:13 (two separate tracks spliced)
# "Iris and Roy" – 0:58
# "Winning" – 1:00
# "A Father Makes a Difference" – 1:53
# "Penthouse Party" – 1:10
# "The Final Game / Take Me Out to the Ball Game" – 4:37 (three separate tracks spliced)
# "The End Title" – 3:22

References

External links

* [http://www.forgottenbuffalo.com/thenaturaltour.html A website with photos of various locations used for filming]