The Natural1984
The Natural (1984)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Though heavy with sentiment, The Natural is an irresistible classic, and a sincere testament to America's national pastime.
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Cast
as Roy Hobbs
as Max Mercy
as Pop Fisher
as Iris Gaines
as Memo Paris
as Harriet Bird
as The Judge
as Red Blow
as The Whammer
as Sam Simpson
as Ed Hobbs
as Young Iris
as Teb Hobbs
as Bump Bailey
as John Olsen
as Emil LaJang
as Doc Dizzy
as Bobby Savoy
as Coach Wilson
as Hank Benz
as Emil LaJong
as Allie Stubbs
as Gabby Laslow
as Al's Customer
as Al Fowler
as Cal Baker
as Maid at Party
as Pat McGee
as Hospital Doctor
as Stern Nurse
as Tommy Hinkle
as Newsreel Presenter
as Dutch Schultz
as Boone
as Murphy
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Knight
as Pirates Manager
as Pitcher Youngberry
as Pitcher John Rhoades
as Umpire Augie
as Umpire Babe
as Memorial Game Umpire
as Home Plate Umpire at Final Game
as Gus Sands
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Critic Reviews for The Natural
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (8) | DVD (10)
Being a baseball fan involves repeatedly experiencing exquisite pain and exquisite joy. Well, there's a lot of both in The Natural.
An otherwise fine sports fantasy is dragged down by an overindulgence in sentimentality.
Levinson must have felt he had to swing for the fences. He can be forgiven for choking up with all The Natural's fans looking on dubiously. In fairness, the official scorer must credit him with a single. And Redford with an RBI.
The Natural is an impeccably made, but quite strange, fable about success and failure in America.
I've just about had it with directors who use the mythic mode as an alibi for unshaded characterizations, simpleminded plotting, and swells of artificial emotionality.
Let yourself go and be rewarded by the sight of a hero running home to victory through clouds of fire.
Audience Reviews for The Natural
He lived for a dream that wouldn't die. Saw it again! Probably one of the best baseball movies ever made. Robert Redford nail his role as Roy Hobbs, amazing talent! Wicked story! Everything about this movie appears authentic. From the time period, to the baseball scenes. These guys really look like a baseball team. A touching story, without being hokey. You get the feeling you are watching something mystical and magical along with all the characters in the movie, and it is played with just the right note. Thrilling and inspiring. A well-made, well-acted film. Loved the end, one of the best endings ever! An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.
Super Reviewer
I won't call The Natural a bad movie but that doesn't mean I'm going to say that it lives up to its almost mythic status as a truly great movie. Robert Redford is likable and despite some weird aspects of the story (Barbara Hershey and Kim Basinger's bad luck superpower in general) you like him and you root for him. Despite the over 2 hour running time it feels like another 15 or 20 minutes could've smoothed some rough edges out. The mystery behind Roy Hobbs was kind of anticlimactic (I was ALMOST hoping he'd be a ghost or an angel or something.) The "bad guys" were either an unlikable shade of unlikable or just downright creepy (Darren McGavin and his glass eye.) Not great, not awful, but that final home run was pretty wild...
Super Reviewer
I remembered this being a childhood favorite, but I hadn't seen it for a long time. It has even gotten better with age, being such a classic example of a true American Dream. Robert Redford really did a great job as Roy Hobbs, a character that has your heart from the moment he appears onscreen. The story is extremely well told with a truly beautiful late thirties backdrop. You don't have to be a baseball fan or a sports fan period to love this movie and feel a sense of attachment to it, that's how strong it is.
Super Reviewer
The Natural Quotes
| Roy Hobbs: | Fred, it took me 16 years to get here. You play me, and you'll get the best I've got. |
| Pop Fisher: | It's the right thing to do. |
| Gus Sands: | your missing the whole point kid i already did |
| Gus Sands: | You're missing the whole point kid, I already did. |
| Bump Bailey: | [after failing to catch a fly ball] I lost it in the sun. |
| Pop Fisher: | [looks up at the cloudy sky] Blinding. |