The film version of The Natural pulls off the neat trick of conveying the spirit of the Bernard Malamud novel upon which it is based, even while changing both the outcome and the meaning of Malamud's closing chapters. In his first film appearance in four years, Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, a farm boy with a hankering to be a great baseball player. With his faithful homemade bat "Wonderboy" in hand, Roy heads to the big city. En route, he arouses the fascination of the mysterious Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). Luring the ...
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The film version of The Natural pulls off the neat trick of conveying the spirit of the Bernard Malamud novel upon which it is based, even while changing both the outcome and the meaning of Malamud's closing chapters. In his first film appearance in four years, Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, a farm boy with a hankering to be a great baseball player. With his faithful homemade bat "Wonderboy" in hand, Roy heads to the big city. En route, he arouses the fascination of the mysterious Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). Luring the boy to a hotel room, Harriet asks Roy what he wants out of life. Roy brashly responds he wants to be "the best there is," whereupon Harriet whips out a gun and shoots Roy down. Sixteen years later, a humbler Roy Hobbs emerges from the bush leagues to become a 35-year-old "rookie" on the 1939 lineup of the New York Knights. He soon becomes the team's star player, and in so doing once more attracts enigmatic woman Memo Paris (Kim Basinger), the glamorous niece of the Knights' manager Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley) and the mistress of Rothstein-like gambler Gus Sands (a curiously unbilled Darren McGavin). Roy's fascination with Memo compromises his ability to play, but this time he finds salvation in the form the angelic Iris Gaines (Glenn Close), his childhood sweetheart. From this point forward, the script for The Natural bears very little resemblance to the Malamud original. Without giving anything away, it can be said that Roy Hobbs is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compensate for the mistakes of his youth, despite the demonic intrusion of inexplicably spiteful sports writer Max Mercy (Robert Duvall). The Natural elevates the art of slow-motion photography to new heights; while this technique would become precious and boring in later baseball films, it works beautifully here, as does the decision by director Barry Levinson and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel to convey the symbolism inherent in the story in purely visual rather than blatantly verbal terms. (If the characters told you that the story was a retelling of the Camelot legend in baseball terms, would you have watched?) Another plus is the pastoral theme music by Randy Newman, which has been well utilized on sports broadcasts and "human interest" TV documentaries ever since. The baseball scenes in The Natural were staged at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Add this copy of The Natural: Director's Cut to cart. $1.48, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $2.59, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $2.92, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $3.24, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $3.50, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $3.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Natural: Director's Cut to cart. $4.16, like new condition, Sold by Ezekial Books, LLC rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Manchester, NH, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
Add this copy of 1984 the Natural Baseball Classic Sports Dvd Video to cart. $4.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Natural: Director's Cut to cart. $5.99, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007.
Even though the story is about a man who had extraordinary baseball ability, it is losely based on a true story of a major league baseball player who was shot by a crazed woman in a Chicago Hotel. Robert Redford does a nice job and the story keeps your interest. This is a great addition to my video collection.
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