Field of Dreams (1989)

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:

Iowa | Farmer | Baseball | Author | Ghost

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

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 Park	...	Dee, Mark's Wife (as Kelly Coffield)
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 SR

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:

W.P. Kinsella and J.D. Salinger, on whom the character Terence Mann is based, were friends. In fact, Salinger accompanied Kinsella to Chisolm, Minn. in 1975 in search of Moonlight Graham, who had died 10 years earlier. Kinsella said he chose Graham's character for his book "Shoeless" Joe Jackson because he was intrigued by his nickname when he came across it while thumbing through the Baseball Encyclopedia.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ray is driving around Boston, the weather jumps from sunny to rainy and back again between shots.

Quotes:

Annie Kinsella: Hey, what if the Voice calls while you're gone?
Ray Kinsella: Take a message.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kicking and Screaming (1995)

Soundtrack:

Daydream

"...and the memories will be so thick they will have to brush them away from their faces."

It's American. It's corny (pun intended, I'm sorry). When I stop and think about it, it's laughable but the immutable truth is that this is naively beautiful on almost every frontier. I have watched this film so many times and though inside I know the ladled sentiment should be cringeworthy-especially for a cynic such as I...it somehow never fails to utterly absorb me.

Horner's musical score is haunting and mesmerising and adds so strongly to the whole ethereal feeling that this film exudes.

The acting is extraordinary in that they pull off corny lines without provoking me to laughter or cringing, with the possible exception of James Earl Jones speech "...the one constant is baseball...".

I even have to admit that Kostner is good (painful though it is).

You may not like or understand baseball...it doesn't matter. This is not a film about baseball. Its about relationships (particularly about father son relationships) and it tugs on every heart string.

There was a review of this film which first intrigued me enough to watch it several years ago. I cannot remember who said it but if memory serves me well his summation of Field of Dreams was this...

"Could you ever really love someone who didn't cry at this film, even just a little?"

Nuff said.