Review of Field of Dreams (1989) by Jj S — 03 Aug 2013

Put Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, and baseball in a movie and you know I will watch it. There are not many things I love more in this world than baseball and movies. Field of Dreams is hands down the best baseball movie ever made. With the great acting from Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones is backed up by the great writing and interesting and mystical story. I first saw this movie when I was very young and The Voice scared me but I manned up and watched it, and I loved it. In case you don't know the story, Ray, a farmer from Iowa, hears a voice that changes his life. This embarks him on an adventure where dreams can come true and the sport of baseball ties in perfectly.

Kevin Costner narrates the first scene and he gives am awesome backstory to Shoeless Joe Jackson, himself, his father, and his family. I love that scene for introducing everything we need to know about the movie. I never heard of Joe Jackson or the 1919 Black Sox Scandal so that was cool. The movie starts with the voice saying "If you build it, he will come," lines that everybody who has seen or even not seen the movie knows. These lines made this more than a baseball movie introducing mysticism and a higher power into the real world. The voice scared me and in a way it still does, its creepy and I put myself in Ray's position and I don't know what I would have done.

My favorite scene is the first scene with Ray and Joe Jackson. Ray follows his gut and the voice by deciding to plow over a chunk of his corn to build a baseball field. He built it, and Shoeless Joe came. The scene itself is subtle as Jackson stands in left field, his actual position when he played, Ray then picks up a bat and hits balls to him. After a few hits Jackson comes in they talk a little and then Jackson takes the bat and he hits. There is no music in this scene, it is the natural sounds of the night and the crack of the bat. It was beautifully shot and the sound captured the imagination of the situation. Ray was pitching to a ghost. Then the writing came in. The way Jackson described the game of baseball was perfect. He says something along the lines of, "to me it wasn't a game, it was life." Being a huge fan of baseball I know exactly what he means and he was so right.

The voice comes back and brings Costner to Boston to find James Earl Jones. The field took a huge chunk out of their money and Ray was going broke. This added the major conflict in the story. It is a race against time and money so Ray takes a bigger risk and goes to Boston to find Terrance Mann. Terrance Mann is an author from the 60s and this movie ties so many generations together so well. The old days with Jackson, the 60s with Mann and the present day of the film. Mann also has a strong connection with baseball so he ties in perfectly. James Earl Jones brings his loud and strong voice to this character. This is my favorite role he has played as his character has so much depth.

Nothing made me happier than seeing old Fenway without the green monster seats. Fenway Park is the best stadium in major league baseball and was the perfect choice for this movie, and that's coming from a Yankee fan. They could have went for Yankee Stadium and possible touched on the history of the stadium and the sport, but no, they chose Fenway and I couldn't have been happier.

The mind boggling in this movie is crazy with the twists and turns are hard to believe. There are elements of time travel and what is in the corn field which I am still trying to figure out. Another famous quote, "Hey, is this Heaven?" "No, it's Iowa." The fact that they deny that its heaven is interesting because to the men the field affected it seemed like heaven. I would have called it heaven. Ray's brother-in-law can't see the player so that is an interesting factor that obviously is used to keep the problem relevant but other than that this movie is flawless.

Overall, Field of Dreams is one of the best movies ever made. It molded careers in Costner and made James Earl Jones' even greater. The "People Will Come, Ray" speech was one I could listen to over and over and is another piece of beautiful writing. The description of baseball and the effects it has on people is 100% true. The score to this movie is also fantastic and fits each scene perfectly. Field of Dreams is a baseball story but also so much more so for that it gets the WillyT Seal of Approval.