I’m going to beat you with a crowbar until you leave. – Field of Dreams (1989)
Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Field of Dreams (1989). I am reviewing this movie as a small tribute to Ray Liotta, who passed from this life on May 26, 2022, at the too-young age of 67.
Classic People, I sure could use a couple of new reviews. Your support is greatly appreciated.
This movie, along with another director by Costner, Dances with Wolves (1990), has been listed on the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically.”
This movie, which makes me cry, has a pitiful 7.5[1] rating on iMDB.com. It should be a lot higher. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has an 87 percent on the Tomatometer and 86 percent audience approval.[2] That’s closer to how it should be.
New York Times film critic Caryn James wrote in an April 21, 1989 review:
“Kevin Costner, as an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella, looks across his cornfield and sees a vision that glimmers like a desert mirage. On a blazing-bright baseball field are men in old-time white uniforms, translucent as ghosts.
The short route that has led to this point in “Field of Dreams” goes to the heart of a work so smartly written, so beautifully filmed, so perfectly acted, that it does the almost impossible trick of turning sentimentality into true emotion. Before envisioning the field, Ray had heard a distinct, spectral voice say, “If you build it, he will come.”
While he is puzzling out the voice’s meaning, Ray walks into his kitchen and catches on television a glimpse of James Stewart in “Harvey,” explaining that he has heard the voice of a six-foot-tall white rabbit. “The man is sick,” he tells his young daughter, not knowing that his own six-foot-tall white apparitions are on their way. “Field of Dreams” is an idealistic film that treasures America’s icons – baseball, the farmlands, Jimmy Stewart heroes, even the 1960’s – and carries their emotional weight into the 1980’s.
Mr. Costner does not make one false move. When he hits some balls to Shoeless Joe, he is boyish enough to grin, nervous enough to hit the ball so it lands at his own feet, adult enough to try to act calm. He says, “I am pitching to Shoeless Joe Jackson,” with restrained excitement rather than sappy wonder. …
There are moments when “Field of Dreams” goes over the edge, indulging in rhapsodic, excessive dialogue from the novel. Mr. Jones gives a long, unnecessary speech that states bluntly what the film is about. “This field, this team, is a part of our past, Ray,” he says. “It reminds us of what was good and what can be again.” It is a Capraesque speech dropped whole, without modern revision, into a 1980’s film.
But even when the film loses its balance, “Field of Dreams,”… leaves little room for ambivalence. Audiences will probably believe in Mr. Costner’s illusion or not, love or hate this film. It seems much easier to fall into “Field of Dreams” than to resist its warm, intelligent, timely appeal to our most idealistic selves.”[3]
Actors – Field of Dreams (1989)
Returning
The fantastic actor Burt Lancaster takes on the role of Dr. Archibald ‘Moonlight’ Graham, a man that has a second chance to change his life. This great actor was first covered in the crossbar motel film Birdman of Alcatraz (1962).
I was surprised to see Anne Seymour popup as the newspaper publisher in Chisholm. This actress was first covered as the long-suffering wife of the king in All the King’s Men (1949).
New
Kevin Costner played 1960s liberal and current corn farmer Ray Kinsella. Costner was born in 1955 in California. Costner was from a modest background, with his father working for an electrical company and his mother was a welfare worker.
Costner graduated from high school in Villa Park, California, in 1973. He then attended California State University at Fullerton, majoring in business. Costner was also studying acting. Costner worked in marketing until a chance meeting with Richard Burton convinced him to try acting full-time.
Costner moved to Hollywood, where he worked odd jobs such as Disney River Cruise operator, truck driver, tour guide to the stars, and working on a fishing boat. His first film was soft porn called Malibu Hot Summer (1981). Costner made a decision to only work in mainstream films from then on.
Costner first appeared on my radar with The Big Chill (1983). Wait, was he in that film? Yes, in fact, he was the dead friend, Alex, they had all come to bury. All his scenes, except for the dressing of the body in the casket, were cut from the film.
Costner gets beat up for many of his films and has gotten more than a few Razzies. However, I like just about everything he has done, except that water movie. Costner appeared in the modern western Silverado (1985) and was pretty impressive as the young gunman.
This movie was followed by American Flyers (1985), a tale of bicycle racing and family, The Untouchables (1987), which I feel is a genuinely great modern police procedural, and it has Sean Connery, No Way Out (1987), a terrific story of espionage, Bull Durham (1988), one of the funniest baseball films ever, Field of Dreams (1989), the subject of today’s review, the Costner directed Dances with Wolves (1990), that won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, as well as five others, JFK (1991), the less said, the better, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), which was really good and had Alan Rickman as a villain, The Bodyguard (1992), I’m still not sure what that was all about, Wyatt Earp (1994), not as good as Tombstone (1993), Waterworld (1995), I hated it, Tin Cup (1996), off the charts funny and up there with Caddyshack (1980), the post-apocolypic The Postman (1997), I thought is was great, For Love of the Game (1999), Thirteen Days (2000), where Costner showed the Kennedy brothers how to handle the Russians and yet a good movie, Open Range (2003), a gritty and very good western, The Upside of Anger (2005), Draft Day (2014), McFarland, USA (2015), where he teaches disavantaged Mexican-Americans long distance running, Hidden Figures (2016), and The Highwaymen (2019).
Costner also directed The Postman (1997) and Open Range (2003). I would be most remiss if I didn’t mention Costner’s work on television’s “Yellowstone” 2018-2022. It is excellent and over the top with violence in the modern era. The show also has some fair-to-middling spinoffs.
Ray Liotta played the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson, allegedly one of the greatest baseball players to ever live. Liotta was born in New Jersey in 1954. Liotta was adopted from an orphanage when he was six months old. His parents owned a chain of automotive stores.
Liotta attended Union High School before studying acting at the University of Miami. Liotta began working in television movies and series in 1980. This continued until he was successful in Something Wild (1986). The industry immediately wanted to cast Liotta in more over-the-top roles. The actor, instead, choose to be in Dominick and Eugene (1988). Good performances led him to be cast in Field of Dreams (1989). He was now a star.
Liotta worked to get the role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas (1990), making him a superstar in the gangster genre. If you haven’t seen it, stop listening now and go watch it. But come back.
Liotta was in Article 99 (1992), Unlawful Entry (1992), where he was super creepy as he tried to steal Kurt Russell’s wife, played by Madeleine Stowe, Operation Dumbo Drop (1995), which I thought was going to bring Disney to its knees. I mean, I was shorting the stock. It turned out to be an excellent, fun movie with a lot of big stars, Unforgettable (1996), Blow (2001), Hannibal (2001), Narc (2002), Wild Hogs (2007), where Liotta had just the right amount of crazy and a special dad, and Marriage Story (2019).
As I said earlier, we were shocked by the early death of Liotta in May 2022. He will be missed.
Amy Madigan plays the co-owner of the corn fields Annie Kinsella. Madigan was born in Chicago in 1950. Her father was a political talking head often seen on television. She graduated high school in Chicago before getting a philosophy degree from Marquette University. At some point, she studied acting with Lee Strasberg.
Madigan began getting television movie and series roles in 1981. Her first film role came in 1983. However, she was not well noticed until the release of Streets of Fire (1984). This movie shows a fantasy world of rock and motorcycles with many big stars.
Madigan has another big release that year with the depression-era farming story Places in the Heart (1984). During the making of this film, she dated and eventually married actor Ed Harris. Madigan went on to make nine movies with her husband.
Some of Madigan’s other films are Alamo Bay (1985), Field of Dreams (1989), the great John Candy comedy Uncle Buck (1989), playing the long-suffering girlfriend of Buck, The Dark Half (1993), Needful Things (1993), Riders of the Purple Sage (1996), Pollock (2000), Just a Dream (2002), Winter Passing (2005), Gone Baby Gone (2007), Frontera (2014), and Rules Don’t Apply (2016).
James Earl Jones played Terence Mann, a type of J.D. Salinger character with a tie to baseball. Of course, Jones is from my home state. He was born in 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. That’s a real place name. Jones was the son of actor Robert Earl Jones, who played Luther in The Sting (1973).
Jones studied acting and speech to help with his stuttering and behavior. Jones was raised in Dublin, Michigan, and graduated from Kaleva-Norman-Dickson High School. Jones attended the University of Michigan, studying pre-med on an ROTC scholarship. In 1953, Jones served as a Lieutenant in the Army during the Korean Conflict. He was also trained as a Army Ranger. Never to be confused with a Park Ranger.
After leaving the military, Jones studied acting at the American Theatre Wing in New York. He also finished his degree at the University of Michigan in 1955. Jones began working on television, and his first film was as Lt. Lothar Zogg in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). He worked extensively, but his next significant role was boxer Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope (1970). He was in the baseball Negro League show, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), Swashbuckler (1976) with Robert Shaw, The Greatest (1977), and then Star Wars (1977) as the voice of Darth Vader.
Other movies include the comedy, The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), my favorite role of his, Thusla Doom in Conan the Barbarian (1982), all that other Star War stuff, whatever they are calling it, Soul Man (1986), Gardens of Stone (1987), Matewan (1987), the great Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), Best of the Best (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), a television movie that is so good I have to include it “By Dawn’s Early Light” (1990), The Sandlot (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The Lion King (1994), again creating an iconic voice. He was also in two sequels, The Lion King (2019) and Coming 2 America (2021).
Jones won an Oscar for Best Actor in The Great White Hope (1970) and was given an Honorary Oscar in 2012. He is also an EGOT, having all four major awards.
Story – Field of Dreams (1989)
The voice of Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) narrates over pictures of his father’s life, telling he was of Irish descent, served in World War I, settled in Chicago, and was crushed by the Black Sox scandal in 1919. The father, John Kinsella (Dwier Brown), played a little minor league ball, moved to Brooklyn, married Ray’s mother, and was an old man working at the shipyard by the time Ray was born in 1952. Ray’s mother died when he was three, and his father raised him on tales of players like Shoeless Joe Jackson. Ray rioted against his father’s beloved Yankees. The narration continues that the youth and the father fought until Ray left for Berley in California.
As Ray continues his experiences in the 1960s, he meets Annie (Amy Madigan), who is from Iowa. The couple married in 1974. Ray’s father died later that year. The couple had their daughter Karin (Gaby Hoffmann) a few years later. They run a farm in Iowa. It all changed when Ray heard the voice.
They live in a rural house completely surrounded by corn. Ray walks through the field as the sunsets. I am informed that Iowa’s people spend vast amounts of time walking, drinking, fighting, and sleeping in the field. Ray hears a voice saying, “If you build it, he will come.” Annie and Karin were on the porch and didn’t hear anything. The voice repeats, but only Ray can hear.
Annie calls Ray inside for dinner. He tells Annie about the voice he heard in the corn field. She takes it pretty well. That night, as the couple is sleeping, Ray is woken by the voice repeating the phrase.
In the morning, Karin is watching Harvey (1950), the movie where Jimmy Stewart can see a 6-foot tall invisible rabbit, is on the television. Ray turns the television off and says that the man is sick. He plans on taking Karin to school, and Annie, like a good wife, asks what to do if the voice calls while he is gone.
Ray goes to the co-op and asks an old farmer if he ever heard voices in the field. When they hear that Ray is hearing voices in the field, they all stare while “Crazy” by Patsy Cline plays in the background. Ray says he is hearing tractor noises and will oil the machine.
He goes back to work in his field. The voice repeats the message, and Ray starts yelling back. The words of the voice never change. Ray then sees a vision of a baseball field with lights near the house. There is a lone baseball player in the vision. When the player is shown in closeup, the player is Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta).
As supper, Ray tells Annie that he believes he should build a baseball field. Annie is very skeptical and asks Ray if he is having an LSD flashback. He says he never took any. The couple talks about Shoeless Joe dying in 1951. Shoeless Joe was banned for life following the Black Sox scandal.
Ray confesses that he has issues with becoming his father. He says he never forgave his father for getting old. Ray thinks this is his last chance to do something about his life. Annie gives the okay to build the field.
Crowds of onlookers watch Ray plow his cornfield. Ray rides Karin on the tractor and tells stories of Shoeless Joe and other great players. Ray tells how the 1919 White Sox were paid by gamblers to throw the World Series. Shoeless Joe took the money but played pretty well in the series. Some people see this as mitigation for his taking the payoff.
A Chicago jury found Shoeless Joe and his teammates innocent in 1921. However, the Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned all eight players for life, saying, “Regardless of the verdict of juries,” Landis declared, “no player that throws a ballgame; no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame; no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.”[4] This is also where the phrase, “Say it ain’t so, Joe,” originated.
Ray, Annie, and Karin build the field with lights and bleachers. Ray continues the very positive and modified Shoeless Joe narrative to his family.
Ray is distracted as he waits for something to happen in the field. The seasons pass, and winter comes and goes without any action on the field.
In the spring, Annie and Ray believe they may just break even on the farm because the field has reduced their growing acreage. I have some issues here that I will discuss in the Conclusion. Ray is short with Karin when she interrupts, but she finally says that someone is outside on the lawn.
Ray looks at the field, and Shoeless Joe is standing there in the dark, looking around. Annie sends Ray out to meet his hero. Ray turns the field lights on before heading out to meet the player. Shoeless Joe takes a fielder position, and Ray tries to hit balls to him. He muffs it on the first try. Ray finally starts hitting.
Shoeless Joe fields a few before trotting. The two men introduce themselves. Shoeless Joe is amazed looking at the bats. Shoeless Joe says that being thrown out of baseball was like losing part of himself. Ray pitches balls for Shoeless Joe. Shoeless Joe sends a lot of balls into the cornfield. Shoeless Joe reminisces about the game and smells.
Annie and Karin come down to the field. Shoeless Joe comments on the lights and how owners make baseball a business, not a game. Shoeless Joe can’t leave the boundary of the ballfield. Karin asks if Shoeless Joe is a ghost. As he begins to leave, he asks if he can return. Ray says yes and that he built the field for him (Shoeless Joe). Shoeless Joe asks if this is heaven, and Ray says no, it’s Iowa. Shoeless Joe disappears into the corn.
Annie’s brother Mark (Timothy Busfield) tells the couple they will lose their farm if they keep the ballfield. Mark makes an offer to Ray and Annie to buy the farm before it is foreclosed. Karin arrives and tells Ray that the baseball game is on.
The eight banned White Sox/Black Sox players come out of the corn and begin playing baseball like a bunch of kids. Ray and Karin sit in the bleachers and watch the game. Mark, his wife, Annie, and their mother come out to the field. Only Ray, Annie, and Karin can see the players. The inlaws think Ray has gone nuts.
The players visit regularly, and Ray bonds with the men. At the end of each practice, they fade into the cornfield. One evening, Ray hears the voice say, “ease his pain.” Ray doesn’t understand and is very frustrated.
Ray contemplates the new message while he and Annie go to a PTA meeting about banning books. One of the books being discussed is a book by Terence Mann (James Earl Jones). The crowd is saying the book is porno and he is a communist. Ray starts to get the idea that he must see Terence. Finally, Annie can’t take it anymore and rages on the book burners. The lady attacks Ray for building a baseball field. Annie says she is a Nazi book-burning cow. As Annie is enjoying her victory, Ray hauls her out so he can continue his quest.
Ray has to undertake research because he does not know of any connection between the author and baseball. Terence is making software for children. Ray’s evidence is that one of his characters is named John Kinsella. Terrance had also had an interview about his love of baseball. Terence said he wanted to play for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn. Ray tells Annie that he has to take Terrance to Fenway Park. She reveals that she dreamed that Ray was at the game with Terence. Ray says he had the same dream. Annie helps him pack.
Ray drives his VW microbus to Boston. Ray ends up in a very Jewish neighborhood and finally finds Terence’s apartment. Terence opens the door with a, “who the hell are you.” He slams the door in Ray’s face. Ray knocks again, and Terence says he has no answers for Ray. Terence grants Ray one minute. Terence says to Ray, “You are from the 60s,” and chases him outside with a bug sprayer.
Ray goes back inside and pretends to have a gun under his jacket in the best Film Noir fashion. Terence pulls a crowbar to defend himself until Ray shouts that he is a pacifist. Ray says he is kidnapping Terence for a single baseball game. Terence denies saying that he wanted to play baseball. Terence finally decides to go to the game with Ray. Terence wants to be left alone and has lost faith in all causes.
The pair sit in the stands and watch the game. Ray hears the voice say, “Go the distance.” On the scoreboard, stats for Archibald “Moonlight” Graham appeared. It says he is from Chisholm, Minnesota, played one game for the New York Giants in 1922, and had zero at-bats. Terence sits stonefaced and unmoved.
Since Terence didn’t see or hear anything, Ray agrees to drive him home. As Ray drops Terence off, Ray says the message was “that the man has done enough, leave him alone.” Terence stops Ray from driving away and says, “Moonlight” Graham. Ray asks what the message means, and Terence says they are going to Minnesota to find Graham.
The pair take the microbus to Minnesota. Ray calls Annie and tells her the plans. After she hangs up, her brother Mark and his partners are there about buying the farm before it is foreclosed.
When they get to Chisholm, Ray gets to work looking for Archie “Moonlight” Graham. Terence takes Ray to the local newspaper, where the publisher (Anne Seymour) tells them they are probably looking for Doc. Graham had a short baseball career and then went to school to become a doctor. Sadly, the publisher says that Graham died in 1972. She then reads about Graham aiding the poor or needy as he worked for decades in the town.
Terence thinks something is missing from the story. He interviews people in town that knew the doctor. Graham was devoted to his wife. Terence could not find any bad habits that Graham had. That night, Ray reads in the paper that Terence’s father thinks he is missing. Ray goes for a walk through the quiet town.
Suddenly, the town goes back in time to 1972. There are Nixon posters, and The Godfather (1972) is being shown at the theater. Ray sees Dr. Graham (Burt Lancaster) strolling through the town, carrying his customary umbrella. Dr. Graham confirms that he is Moonlight, but no one has called him that for 50 years. The two walk together, and Moonlight explains that it was the last day of the season and his team was way ahead. The coach put him in the game. No balls were hit to him, and he never got a chance to bat. Since he didn’t want to return to the minors, he gave up baseball.
Ray finally asks Moonlight what it would be if he had a wish. Moonlight says he wants one major league at-bat and to wink at the pitcher during the windup. Ray asks Moonlight if he wants to go to the field, but Moonlight says his work as a doctor was too important.
Ray tells Terence what happened with Moonlight, and they decide to leave town the next day without Moonlight. Ray gets a message to call Annie, and she has to tell him that the note on the farm has been sold to her brother Mark and his firm.
Outside of town, Ray and Terence pick up a hitchhiker. The young man says he is a baseball player and introduces himself as Archie Graham (Frank Whaley). Terence asks about Ray’s father and is told that he stopped playing catch with his father at the age of 14. Ray said it happened after he read Terence’s book. Ray told his father he could never respect a man who had a criminal, Shoeless Joe Jackson, as a hero.
As the three return to Iowa, Terence can see the lights on the field burning. Annie and Karin come to greet the men. The number of ghost ballplayers on the field has more than doubled. Shoeless Joe welcomes Ray back. Moonlight is awed by the famous players on the field. Shoeless Joe says they wouldn’t let Ty Cobb come because they couldn’t stand him when they were alive. Shoeless Joe invites Moonlight onto the field to play baseball.
Moonlight finally gets to bat. Moonlight winks at the pitcher during the windup, and the pitcher throws one at his ear. The pitcher throws the second one at his ear. Shoeless Joe tells Moonlight that the first two pitches have been high and tight, so look for low and away. Also, watch out for in your ear. Moonlight hits a sacrifice to center field and gets credited with an RBI.
One day, Mark shows up while the players are on the field. He starts telling Ray he needs to give up the field. Mark doesn’t believe that Terence is a famous author. Mark says if Ray sells, they will leave the house, and Ray and his family can live there rent-free. Karin, who is eating a hotdog, says they don’t have to sell the farm. Mark tells Karin to be quiet. She says people from all over will come to see the field and give the family money. Karin continues that it will be like old times.
Mark gives Ray the foreclosure papers. Terence says people will come, longing for the past and paying for the privilege. Terence and Mark take the roles of an angel and a devil on Ray’s shoulders. Ray refuses to sell.
Mark goes to pick up Karin, his niece, and Ray goes for his daughter. She falls off the bleachers and stops breathing. Annie begins to go for help, but Ray stops her. Moonlight runs to the edge of the field. He pauses before stepping off the field. When he does, he turns from Moonlight the ballplayer to Doc. Graham. Doc easily saves Karin’s life.
Ray realizes that Doc can’t go back and be a ballplayer. As he leaves, the ghost players all treat him with respect. Mark asks, when did these ballplayers get here. Shoeless Joe tells Doc that he is good. Mark says, “do not sell this farm, Ray! You have to keep the farm.”
The players begin to leave for the day. Shoeless Joe asks if he wants to come with them. Ray thinks he is being asked, but the invitation is only for Terence. Ray gets a little upset and wonders why he did all of this. Terence tells Ray he has to stay behind with his family. Terence goes to the corn. He giggles as he enters.
Shoeless Joe is still standing on the field. He says, “if you build it, he will come.” He nods toward the home plate, where a catcher is taking off his gear. It is Ray’s father as a young man full of life and dreams.
John thanks Ray for building the field. Ray introduces Annie and Karin. Annie and Karin leave the men at the field. They walk and talk. John thinks the ballfield is heaven. Ray asks John to play a game of catch. Ray calls the man dad, and they both tear up as they play ball. A long line of cars can be seen winding their way toward the field.
I cry!
Conclusion – Field of Dreams (1989)
There is an unconfirmed report that Amy Madigan’s husband, Ed Harris, was the voice in the field. I couldn’t tell from listening. It has also been stated that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were in attendance of the game at Fenway Park when the film was shot there.
As good as Costner, Madigan, and the others are, Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones are the heart and soul of this film. They represent two extremes of American society that are tied together through baseball. Both men are good and are excellent role models.
I looked it up, and major league fields without stands and facilities average around 4.5 acres. So for math’s sake, let’s say 5 acres. Ray said the land was worth $2,200. That comes to $11,000 total. In 1987, an acre of corn sold for at most $235 or $1,175 for the 5 acres. Then you must subtract seed, water, fertilizer, equipment, and time. It seems like Ray could have saved money by not growing corn. I know farming is hard, but this is awful close to the edge.
Finally, when Shoeless Joe brought the extra players to the field, he said they wouldn’t let Ty Cobb come because they couldn’t stand him when they were alive. I have always heard that Cobb was mean and sharpened his spikes to hurt other players. The legend also said he was racist and once killed a black man in a dispute. Current research says these rumors are false and came from a single source. Also, there are letters to the Baseball Commissioner by Cobb asking that cleats be checked for dullness prior to games.
World-Famous Short Summary – Listen to the voice and happy father’s day
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/
[2] Field of Dreams – Rotten Tomatoes
[3] Review/Film; A Baseball Diamond Becomes the Stuff of Dreams – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
[4] ESPN Classic – The Chicago Black Sox banned from baseball
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