Field Of Dreams

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A long, long time ago...

I was a big LaserDisc person and this new little format called a Digital Versatile Disc was just released. In what now seems like a very strange twist of fate, my beloved Pioneer LaserDisc player died. I quickly went out to purchase a new unit, but much to my chagrin, only the new DVD Combo player was for sale. I decided to buy a pair of DVDs to go with the unit, figuring that since I had the capability I should at least try it out. Months later, I was enjoying what DVD had to offer and went out and bought "Field of Dreams." I don´t remember the details, but I submitted a comparison review to DVDTown.com to help spread the word that DVD wasn´t the crappy cousin of LaserDisc, but a viable replacement for a format I loved for a long time.

Almost ten years later, I find myself reviewing "Field of Dreams" again and once again, it is a review for a newer format that aims to replace a format I have collected for a long time. Instead of LaserDisc nearing obsolescence, DVD still has a lot of life. The era of High Definition is upon us and those of us who have decided to plunge into 1080 resolution, HD-DVD is one of two competing formats to select from. "Field of Dreams" was not necessarily the perfect comparison material to show off the highlights of DVD and it isn´t a title that will send tons of HD-DVDs from the shelf. But here I am.

Looking over my older review, it was quite thin on content. This is all I had to say about the film itself:

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Kevin Costner plays the title role of an Iowa farmer. This is the type of role where Costner really shines. He is best at playing the aging sports hero, or the typical American male. Here we have a taste of Kevin Costner playing a somewhat typical male who is impassioned about sports. Ray Liota and James Earl Jones provide very good supporting roles as well.

The story begins when an Iowa farmer (Costner) is out taking care of his cornfields. He hears voices coming from somewhere in the cornfield. The voice is telling him "If you build it, they will come." He then inquires to others about these voices and becomes somewhat of the town joke. The town does not portray him as a very good farmer and now they start to wonder about his sanity. Soon he comes to a hypothesis of what the voices are telling him. He believes the voices are telling him to build a baseball field where his cornfields exist.

This is when the movie begins to roll. He plows his cornfields and invests his life in building the ball field. The town then begins to seriously doubt his sanity, and he becomes a joke to them. Soon, however, the ghost of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (Liota) appears on his baseball diamond and wants to practice with Costner. Soon more players appear who want a chance to redeem themselves in the face of baseball.

After the players appear, Costner hears something new from the voices that send him on a cross-country journey to find a writer (Jones). He believes the purpose of this journey is to take the reclusive writer to a baseball game. However, at the game they witness an event that sends the two of them on a separate mission. Their new mission is to find a doctor that never had much of a chance in the major leagues. The problem is that the doctor has died. Eventually they find the ghost of the doctor (played by Frank Whaley) and bring him to the ball field of dreams.

Overall, this is a very good story that is about pursuing ones dreams and the wonderful happenings that can occur if one does so. If you are a baseball buff, this will be an entertaining movie, but is not a baseball movie in the same sense of Bull Durham. If you are a Kevin Costner fan, then this is definitely one to add to your collection.

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I suppose I did a decent job of providing a play-by-play for "Field of Dreams." As a decade has past and I´ve become older and wiser, I now view "Field of Dreams" as a story of not just chasing after your dreams, but also a film of redemption and closure. The ghosts of the players come to Kevin´s baseball diamond for redemption and to bring closure to their ball playing. Whether it be the Doc, Moonlight Graham, who finally got to have more than one at-bat or the grizzled writer who lost his love for the game, "Field of Dreams" shows people healing and coming to terms with something they love. The ultimate redemption and closure is that by Kevin Costner´s character – he finally plays catch with his father, but provides the love of baseball that his father had wanted to enjoy through his son decades earlier.

The film is a classic and stands up as time rolls by. I´ve watched it over half a dozen times and have owned it on three formats. Every time I place "Field of Dreams" in a player to watch or review, my attention is held for the entire running time. Costner is at his best here and the wonderful ensemble cast fills in any holes the film may possess. The story is definitely a stretch as we´ve yet to prove ghosts exist and they certainly aren´t going to come to a cornfield in Iowa to play baseball. If you want a baseball movie that is about the game and reality, then Costner´s "For the Love of the Game" is more your speed, but if you want to be entertained and be left with something after watching the film, then "Field of Dreams" is one of the best baseball films ever.

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