In the first-ever production from TriStar Pictures, 1984's The Natural swings for the fences and succeeds. Starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger and Robert Duvall, it's difficult to imagine The Natural as being anything but a grand slam.
Roy Hobbs (Redford) crackles as the farm boy who possesses rare "natural" ability on the baseball diamond. Duvall is, as always, perfect as a sportswriter who chronicles Hobbs' career. Close and Basinger are marvelous as (respectively) Hobbs' childhood sweetheart and latter-day "object of desire" who happens to be his manager's niece.
Adapted from Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel, The Natural is a must-see, regardless if you're a baseball fan or not. Under Barry Levinson's deft directorship and beautiful cinematography which recreates the 1920s-30s
as perfectly as any other production, The Natural is a winner all around.
Best Baseball Movies
