The Natural (film)

The Natural
A man (Redford) standing in a field of waist high wheat, with a baseball ready to throw in one hand and a glove on the other
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Levinson
Screenplay by
Based onThe Natural
1952 novel
by Bernard Malamud
Produced byMark Johnson
Starring
CinematographyCaleb Deschanel
Edited byStu Linder
Music byRandy Newman
Production
company
Delphi II Productions
Distributed byTri-Star Pictures
Release date
  • May 11, 1984 (1984-05-11)
Running time
138 minutes
144 minutes
(Director's Cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$28 million
Box office$48 million[1]

The Natural is a 1984 American sports film based on Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson, and starring Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Robert Prosky and Richard Farnsworth.[2][3] Like the novel, the film recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, an individual with great "natural" baseball talent, spanning the decades of Roy's career. In direct contrast to the novel, the film ends on a positive tone. It was the first film produced by TriStar Pictures.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Close), and it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Basinger). Many of the baseball scenes were filmed in 1983 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York, built in 1937 and demolished in 1988. All-High Stadium, also in Buffalo, stood in for Chicago's Wrigley Field in a key scene.

  1. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 190. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  2. ^ Fimrite, Ron (May 7, 1984). "A star with real clout". Sports Illustrated. p. 92. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Deford, Frank (May 21, 1984). "The Natural: hit or myth?". Sports Illustrated. (Movies). p. 71. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2018.