"Field Of Dreams" 1989

“Field of Dreams”

Since I wrote about “Bull Durham” yesterday, I will write about the only other baseball movie that I like. Being from Iowa, it is almost a requirement to like it. But it is a good movie. I think I mostly like the supporting cast. Overall, Kevin Costner kind of irritates me, except his two baseball movies. My brother-in-law is crazy about “Dances With Wolves” and don’t get him started on “Waterworld”. He love Costner.

This is one of those movies that the movie is better than the book. In the book Ray, the character Costner plays, spends the whole time asking about his father to all the other players. He also has an identical twin brother that comes to help out. The ending would lose its impact if we knew Ray was expecting his father to show up sometime.

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.

Amy Madigan is great. She is smart, funny and passionate about the things she cares about. One of my favorite moments is when she stands up at a school meeting where they are talking about banning books.

Annie Kinsella: Terence Mann was a voice of reason during a time of great madness. Where others were chanting, "Burn, baby burn", he was talking about love and peace and prosperity. He coined the phrase, "Make love, not war". I cherished every one of his books, and I dearly wish he had written some more. And if you experienced even a little bit of the sixties, you would feel the same way, too.
Beulah: [indignantly] I *experienced* the sixties.
Annie Kinsella: No, I think you had two fifties and moved right into the seventies.

Shoeless Joe shows up, played by Ray Liotta. I love Ray Liotta. He is so cool and does a great job. He also offers a lot of the comic relief in the film. The quote below just isn’t the same without that laugh at the end.

Ray Kinsella: Where'd they come from?
Shoeless Joe Jackson: Where did WE come from? You wouldn't believe how many guys wanted to play here. We had to beat 'em off with a stick.
Archie Graham: Hey, that's Smokey Joe Wood. And Mel Ott. And Gil Hodges!
Shoeless Joe Jackson: Ty Cobb wanted to play, but none of us could stand the son-of-a-bitch when we were alive, so we told him to stick it!

Then James Earl Jones shows up as Terrence Mann. In the book it was J.D. Salinger, but he wouldn’t give his permission for the movie. James Earl Jones is a presence. Whether serious or funny, he is irresistible.

Terence Mann: I'm going to beat you with a crowbar until you leave.
Ray Kinsella: You can't do that.
Terence Mann: There are rules here? No, there are no rules here.
[advances with crowbar]
Ray Kinsella: You're a pacifist!
Terence Mann: [stops] $hit.

Finally there is Burt Lancaster as Archibald “Moonlight” Graham. This was one of his last movies. He still possesses that charisma that made him a star. That final wink near the end is perfect.

Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham: Well, you know I... I never got to bat in the major leagues. I would have liked to have had that chance. Just once. To stare down a big league pitcher. To stare him down, and just as he goes into his windup, wink. Make him think you know something he doesn't. That's what I wish for. Chance to squint at a sky so blue that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in your arm as you connect with the ball. To run the bases - stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third, wrap your arms around the bag. That's my wish, Ray Kinsella. That's my wish. And is there enough magic out there in the moonlight to make this dream come true?

My husband and I stop in Dyersville, Iowa once to see the field. When we drove up the road there was an event going on and we decided to pass by. From the road you could see the field and it was magnificent. A guy my husband went to school with is one of the baseball extras in the movie. You can see him running sprints in the background.

It is a great movie, but there is a plot point that bugs the crap out of me. Annie’s brother is pressuring Ray to sell the farm before he goes bankrupt and keeps bringing up the field and how terrible it is that he’s wasted rich farmland on a whim.

Mark: Admit it, Ray. You've never liked farming.
Ray Kinsella: That's not true.
Mark: It is true. You don't know the first thing about farming.
Ray Kinsella: Yes I do. I know a lot about farming. I know more than you think I know.
Mark: Then how could you plow under your major crop?
Ray Kinsella: [feigning puzzlement at this word] What's a crop?

The field took up an about three acres of farmland. In 1989 an acre of farmland in that area ran about $1300. On the average an acre produces about 183 bushels per acre and the average price per bushel was $2.54. This adds up to $1394.46. This would really put someone in that danger? He had a lot of working acres that still had corn. So, it doesn’t make sense. Sell a few acres to your neighbor and move on.

That aside, it is a great movie and one that still makes me cry at the end.