MovieChat Forums > The Natural (1984) Discussion > One of the best baseball movies ever?

One of the best baseball movies ever?

posted 13 years ago by HenryHillisatattletale
34 replies | jump to latest

I am a huge baseball fan and I love movies, naturally I have seen and enjoyed many baseball movies and I always enjoy the debates about which is the best/worst. The Natural was one movie I have seen on lots of best baseball lists but never got round to watching, until the other night (I found it on VH1 Classic of all channels - LOL)

Now, I realize it is fantasy but even so, I just could not buy into the character or the story, the acting was good, the direction was good etc etc but I just could not buy into the whole premise, I know that the stories were all told in the end but I too (like many I have read on here) felt like I was missing things throughout the whole movie.

Redford was 48 when he made this movie and he is playing a 36 year old, not a good start!!! All in all, I am glad I can say I have seen it but it will NOT feature in my top 10 baseball/sports movie list.

FYI - MY personal choice for #1 baseball movie is Bull Durham :)

'Look, I know you're a smart lawyer - very smart - but don't get smart with me'

[–] Van-Fro 13 years ago

It might be a movie that gets better with each viewing. I'd say try it again before you decide. It is really a fantastic baseball movie.

What are your top 10 baseball movies?

[–] ZevII 13 years ago

No argument here.

I put The Natural up with Eight Men Out and A League of Their Own among my favorite baseball movies.

[–] turtletommy 13 years ago

It's my favorite baseball movie by far, bares up well to repeated viewings.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 7 years ago

I really need to rewatch Eight Men Out.

[–] Hendry_William_French 13 years ago

The last 10 minutes alone make this film the greatest sports movie ever. The symbolism and imagery of Roy Hobb's home run smashing into the lights is overwhelming and a highlight in motion picture story telling.

Pizza? Thin or thick? Chicago.

[–] Blueghost 13 years ago

Not just a great baseball film, but a great movie all around period.

[–] einsteinfile 13 years ago

EASILY!

[–] treeskier802 13 years ago

I don't understand how this movie didn't win the Oscar for best movie in 1984. It got robbed. I wonder if it was even nominated. This movie stands the test of time, has some great lines in it, and really is a great story about life in general--not just a mere baseball movie.

[–] ReidRoshdy 13 years ago

I'd put it behind Feild of Dreams as far as baseball movies go. That movies brings a tear to my eye all the time. But The Natural, while it sure is a fantasy, is a really good movie.

The only time that Redford's age bothered me was when he was playing the 20 something Roy Hobbs.

[–] ndirish5567 9 years ago

I don't understand how this movie didn't win the Oscar for best movie in 1984. It got robbed. I wonder if it was even nominated. This movie stands the test of time, has some great lines in it, and really is a great story about life in general--not just a mere baseball movie.

Robbed? It wasn't even nominated for an Oscar and it shouldn't have been. It's a vastly overrated film. Vastly overrated. There's a reason it's sitting at 7.6 and that's even with nutty baseball fans giving it 10s all over the place which is laughable.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 7 years ago

What were the films nominated in 1984?

[–] kronosq 13 years ago

It's as much a baseball movie as Star Wars is a science fiction movie.

These are mythological tales, with elements of the supernatural and the allegorical. The settings are secondary.

So I'd rather consider it fantasy/mythology. If you watch it for that reason, it comes to life a lot more. Look for symbolism, poetic representations, metaphors, etc. Bull Durham is an entirely different type of film. Apples and oranges.

I'd say Field of Dreams is in a similar vain. Different story altogether, but has that fable quality.

[–] ja227 12 years ago

True, but it is still a baseball movie, and Star Wars is still sci-fi.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 7 years ago

True but that's what I love about it. I love mythological or legendary films like this.

[–] DUKEJBM 13 years ago

No doubt a great film.

Miguel Cabrera one of the best ever?

A natural just homered!

[–] brentnevers 12 years ago

I am both...a baseball fan and a movie buff. The problem with most of these baseball movies is that they are "dumbed down" so the can draw a bigger audience.

Put Robert Redford, or Kevin Costner in a baseball movie so wives and girlfriends will "let" their husbands or boyfriends take them to see a baseball movie.

The Natural and Field of Dreams are not baseball movies, in that they suck when it comes to accuracy in terms of baseball history and accuracy. Bull Durham is overrated too....

The best baseball movies...are

Mr. Baseball
Litte Big League
The Sandlot
Major League
Eight Men Out....fantastic movie about the 1919 Black Sox scandal and completely overlooked by the critics and the masses because it was too complex for them to understand...!

[–] HenryHillisatattletale 12 years ago

Eight Men Out is an AWESOME movie, 2nd in my all time list of Baseball Movies

Look, I know you're a smart lawyer - very smart - but don't get smart with me.

[–] Kevin_Finnerty 12 years ago

There are few good movies about baseball. I think Bull Durham and Eight Men out are the only two on my list. The Natural is a silly movie if you really pay attention to the game. But it's fun to watch Redford's impossible home runs. Newman's music is rousing. Did Roy Hobbs ever hit any singles? Doubles? Nope. Just walk off home runs. I guess it's a fun Sunday movie and I love Redford.

[–] patkav6 12 years ago

Mr.Baseball? You must be joking.

[–] theater_dreamer 12 years ago

So much dumb in this thread.

The Natural is a great baseball movie, and my all-time favorite sports movie.

It's an homage to the game. It's allegory. It's not meant to be taken literally. But anybody that truly loves the game can see the magic in the film.

[–] chiaro_di_luna 12 years ago

It's a true American myth - much as many westerns are.

[–] HenryHillisatattletale 12 years ago

stop being nasty, opinions on the arts are never dumb.

Look, I know you're a smart lawyer - very smart - but don't get smart with me.

[–] ChicagoToffee 12 years ago

"Major League" = best (and most realistic) baseball movie

[–] mcfly-31 12 years ago

Actually always enjoyed the film for its *non* baseball aspects: cinematog, period detail, cast, score. So much of the film is muddled in soap operatic junk (the shooting wacko, corrupt owners, girl from the past, evil girl in the present) that it ranks as a "good" baseball film for me. Hobbs is a fairytale for redemption and inspiration, which is what carries the film. Strikeout/homerun/strikeout gets old as does the conniving Basinger (why would some chick cause a guy a slump?)

But the final five minutes nearly make the entire film legend, with Newman's score and Levinson's pyrotechnics.

"If I had ya where I wanted ya, they'd be pumpin your ass full of formaldehyde!"

[–] dimsum73-1 12 years ago

The Sandlot and Little Big League? LOL

All my favorites come within a five year period of each other.

The Natural (1984)
Eight Men Out (1988)
Bull Durham (1988)
Major League (1989)
Field of Dreams (1989)

BTW, Why isn't EMO out on Blu-ray?