The Natural | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Name: The Natural
Released: 1984-5-11
Cast: Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Robert Duvall

The Natural

PG
2h 18m
1984

83%

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Nothing was going to stop Roy Hobbs from fulfilling his boyhood dream of baseball superstardom. Robert Redford stars in this inspiring fable that begins when 14-year-old Hobbs (Redford) fashions a powerful bat from a fallen oak tree. He soon impresses major league scouts with his ability, fixing his extraordinary talent in the mind of sportswriter Max Mercy (Robert Duvall), who eventually becomes instrumental in Hobb's career. But a meeting with a mysterious woman shatters his dream. Years pass and an older Hobbs reappears as a rookie from The New York Knights. Overcoming physical pain and defying those who have a stake in seeing the Knights lose, Hobbs, with his boyhood bat, has his chance to lead the Knights to the pennant and to finally fulfill his dream.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Producer:

Mark Johnson

Cast:

Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Robert Duvall

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

83%

Critics Consensus: Though heavy with sentiment, The Natural is an irresistible classic, and a sincere testament to America's national pastime.

Reviews

Reel Film Reviews

David Nusair

...ultimately fares much, much better than the often astonishingly tedious Bernard Malamud novel on which its based...

Barry Levinson's 'The Natural' is a sports drama that gives me a pleasant time for two hours that roll like a pitcher's fastball in the postseason. [Full review in Spanish]

When "The Natural" opened in 1984, I thought it was the best baseball movie ever made. Thirty-six years later (and after countless "Bull Durham" reruns), I find it falls far short of that original designation, but it's still got merit.

The script is one shockingly drab line after another, and nothing in the expensive 1930s period design can cover up the shabbiness of the moviemaking.

The lead's unwavering integrity is the movie's heart: The Natural does not glamorize vice but triumphs over it with a wholesome finale.

July 15, 2020

FULL REVIEW