The Natural (1984)
Genre: Drama / Sport
Duration: 138 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Stars: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close
IMDb score:
7,4 (57.377)
Releasedate: 11 May 1984
The Natural plot
"He lived for a dream that wouldn't die."
An unknown batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past takes on a losing baseball team. Only now is he enjoying fame as a pitcher.
Actors and actresses
Roy Hobbs
Max Mercy
Iris Gaines
Memo Paris
Pop Fisher
Harriet Bird
The Judge (il giudice)
Red Blow
The Whammer ("Il Martello")
Gus Sands (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
Hannibal
-
- 9381 messages
- 3309 votes
Ugh, baseball. And then there's that sickening ending. It just looked like a parody of American sports movies, but it's not a parody. The 'full box', as I believe it is called, then another mistake for the tension, and then.... then he gets a super bat in his hands and hears that his son is watching! A Home Run!!! Straight through the stadium lights to make it all that much more spectacular! The lamps then explode a few dozen times and one can enjoy Robert Redford walking around in slow motion with the spectacle of the sparks from the lamps in the background that seems to be endless.
I really didn't like it. 
Translated from Dutch · View original
BBarbie
-
- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
Layered sports film full of intrigue. The scenario is well put together and the performances by Robert Redford and especially Kim Basinger are quite good. Fascinating film with a high entertainment value and clever camera work.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
-
- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Typical Levinson.
It is a director who fits very well with these types of films. Not that he does it constantly, of course, but I can't imagine him without these kinds of films. American to the bone, but neatly executed. That said, it's also a film that goes on for a long time but doesn't have much new to offer.
The film is still forgivable for the lack of originality, although you may wonder at the opening whether they even tried to make The Natural their own duck. You can't really get it more bloated than that. Furthermore, the film is no different in terms of elaboration, only it fortunately leaves out the bombastic soundtrack.
The advantage is that the film focuses for quite a long time on Redford and how hard he can hit the ball. It results in some funny scenes that are portrayed with enough exaggeration and conviction. No matter how hard you try, the games of basketball always remain interesting because Levinson surprisingly manages to throw a certain amount of professionalism through them.
The rest of the film is fairly open card. The introduction, some personal problems and a character where it all turns out all right in the end. The commercial strings to the game sometimes make the film a bit more surprising and the acting is decent, but once the film begins to fall into romantic scenes, the fun is quickly over. Nevertheless, the film is better than expected and manages to tick away the running time of 138 minutes with reasonable ease. However, it is not a good movie at all.
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