Field of Dreams (1989)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers (WGA):

W.P. Kinsella (book)
Phil Alden Robinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sport

Tagline:

All his life, Ray Kinsella was searching for his dreams. Then one day, his dreams came looking for him.

Plot:

An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Iowa | Farmer | Shoeless Joe Jackson | Hearing Voices

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5	2:30 PM	CMTV
Sun. July 5	8:00 PM	CMTV

Cast

Kevin Costner	...	Ray Kinsella
Amy Madigan	...	Annie Kinsella
Gaby Hoffmann	...	Karin Kinsella
Ray Liotta	...	Shoeless Joe Jackson
Timothy Busfield	...	Mark
James Earl Jones	...	Terence 'Terry' Mann
Burt Lancaster	...	Dr. Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham
Frank Whaley	...	Archie Graham
Dwier Brown	...	John Kinsella
James Andelin	...	Feed Store Farmer
Mary Anne Kean	...	Feed Store Lady
Fern Persons	...	Annie's Mother
Kelly Coffield	...	Dee, Mark's Wife
Michael Milhoan	...	Buck Weaver - 3B
Steve Eastin	...	Eddie Cicotte - P

Also Known As:

Shoeless Joe (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Spain:T | Iceland:L | West Germany:6 (f) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Gordon Company

Trivia:

During the "search for Terry" scene, Ray can be seen driving up Huntington Avenue in Boston, and in fact at one point, he's just a matter of a few blocks from the very site where the very first World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, which were played on what they at that time referred to as the "Huntington Avenue Grounds."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening montage, a graduation photo of Ray (who went to school in the 1960s) is shown. The version of the SPAM logo on Ray's shirt was introduced in 1987.

Quotes:

Ray Kinsella: I think I know what "If you build it, he will come" means.
Annie Kinsella: Ooh... why do I not think this is such a good thing?
Ray Kinsella: I think it means that if I build a baseball field out there that Shoeless Joe Jackson will get to come back and play ball again.
Annie Kinsella: [staring in disbelief] You're kidding.
Ray Kinsella: Huh-uh.
Annie Kinsella: Wow.
Ray Kinsella: Yeah.
Annie Kinsella: Ha. You're kidding.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Boys of Summer (2006)

Soundtrack:

Daydream

A cathartic film

I've just joined the club and the first film I felt the need to comment on was this, "Field of Dreams". Why? Because, firstly, it's haunted me since its release and secondly, because it had such a cathartic effect upon me. Like so many young people, I lost my dad when I was in my teens. I was fifteen. I'm fifty-nine now. The lost opportunity, the grief, cling to you like lead. When you need to discuss the paradoxes of this world with someone, you find they are gone. They will not return. Though by no means a perfect film - would we ever really want to see a perfect film? - it has heart, a centre to it that opens gateways for those bereft, even though unaware, by loss. I remember watching it the first time on the back row of a cinema with my ex-wife - long after back rows had any import - and, at the end, having to physically contain the need to sob uncontrollably. This had never happened to me before (unless you go back to Elvis riding into the hills at the end of Flaming Star when I was but a snivelling - and probably dysfunctional - early teen. The movie is a masterpiece in that it lives with you decades after its first viewing. In that you cannot analyse it, breaking it down cynically into manipulative parts. I've seen thousands of films and with each one that I feel has entered my soul I always ask myself, has it reached beyond Field of Dreams? In some respects the answer is yes, yet these are technical analyses of product. I've never had to do that with Field of Dreams. It is itself and defies scrutiny as would Gandhi defy psychoanalysis. It is, to itself, true. The cast are great. To this day, despite much, I like Kevin Costner. My sole concern is, why the hell can't I buy "Shoeless Joe", the novel upon which it was based and which I read in the late eighties? It contains much more background and is, in itself, an absorbing read. Dave Marshall