The Natural (Director's Cut) |  | Director: Barry Levinson
Actors: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.94
Buy New: $8.79
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Rating:  164 reviews
Sales Rank: 3333
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Japanese (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Japanese (Dubbed), Portuguese (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
MPN: TM2554
UPC: 043396184084
EAN: 0043396184084
ASIN: B000MNOX94
Theatrical Release Date: May 11, 1984
Release Date: April 3, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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 (Duvall), who eventually becomes instrumental in Hobbs' career. But a meeting with a mysterious woman shatters his dream. Years pass and an older Hobbs reappears as a rookie for 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. Available Subtitles: English, French, Japanese Available Audio Tracks: English (Unknown Format), Japanese (Unknown Format), French (Unknown Format) "A Natural Gunned Down" The stalking of Eddie Waitkus featurette"Clubhouse Conversations" featurette"Extra Innings 1: Slow Motion" featurette"Extra Innings 2: Uniform Color" featurette"Extra Innings 3: The Sandberg Game" featurette"Extra Innings 4: The President?s Question" featuretteThe mythology of The Natural featurette "The Heart of The Natural" featuretteThree "Creating The Natural" featurettesVideo Introduction by Barry LevinsonDigitally Remastered Audio and Video
Amazon.com essential video
From the sun-dappled heartland, a young man (Robert Redford, in soft lighting) emerges as maybe the best baseball player anybody's ever seen. On his way to the majors, he is cut down by an enigmatic black widow (Barbara Hershey) and vanishes for many years. When he reemerges, a silent mystery, he lands a spot with the New York team and begins tearing up the league--he's still the natural. Fans of the Bernard Malamud novel will be dismayed at the pure mythical hokum of this film, but baseball fanatics have been known to watch and rewatch this one; after all, it's constructed as a kind of shrine to the national pastime. Barry Levinson (Rain Man) directs the movie with an unabashed devotion to the game, although the film could use more of the realities of chewing tobacco and pine tar. Redford is fine, and Kim Basinger and Oscar-nominated Glenn Close are effective as the women in his life. The crowning touch is the soaring, extraordinary music by Randy Newman, the singer-songwriter turned orchestral composer. --Robert Horton
Amazon.com
Director Barry Levinson mentions in his video introduction the 1984 movie was rushed to theaters and this 2007 DVD is more the film he originally intended. This "director's cut" adds about 15 minutes of footage and deletes 5. It tightens the first third of the film, yet any fan of the lyrical prologue set in perfect synchronization with Randy Newman's score will be disappointed. Now the beginning is told in flashback as the elder Hobbs returns home. (It's also confusing to keep track of which Hobbs story you are watching when they are both on a train.) The changes do not improve the story or character; it simply packs in more information before Hobbs enters the Knight's dugout. After that, there are a few new scenes and many extensions, most involving Memo (Kim Basinger) and Red (Richard Farnsworth). None of the additions are exceptional. One could hope there is an Easter egg with the remastered original edition. What is on the second disc are above-average featurettes with interviews from most of the major talent. The best little ditties includes Newman's playful "lyrics" to his theme music and Levinson's divulgence that he is the radio play-by-play man. There's a good discussion on adapting (and changing) the novel, the allegorical myths, and the real-life inspirations including a heart-felt segment on Eddie Waitkus, a baseball player who was shot by an obsessed fan. A 5.1 Dolby soundtrack is now available and compliments an excellent video upgrade. --Doug Thomas
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 164
 Nostalgia February 6, 2010
Jack (Thelma KY)
On a recent road trip I remarked to my 20 year old daughter and her fiance that this film held some important lessons for some of the self deluded invincible atheletes of today. To my amazement neither had seen the film. I immediately ordered the film when I got home watched it again and forwarded it to them. This story is timeless and still carries a forceful message
wow February 2, 2010
Larry D. Zmolik
i love major league baseball and this is a good baseball movie 4 the whole family
One of the Greatest Movies ever made December 31, 2009
Ace
Just about everything positive that could be written about this film has, so I shall keep this one short. I saw the NATURAL when it was new & thought then, as I still do, that this is one of the finest movies ever made. The acting, cinematography, script, sets, wardrobe, editing and scoring are near or at perfection. Like fine art, this production even gets better with repeat viewings. In the early 1920s, a young aspiring baseball player is cut down by a creepy and mysterious female assassin who stalks and murders gifted athletes. Although our hero Roy HOBBS, (played by Robert REDFORD), survives, his recovery is insufficient to permit him to pursue his big league dreams. Following sixteen bitter years, he finds the courage and confidence to return to the game and claim his spot in sports history. During this course he faces his personal demons and discovers that he longs for home and the woman from his past that he still loves. Of interest to all who love a good movie with a strong moral base, this is one of those rare films that is practically all things to all people, as it is not only a moving drama but it has a magical charm that draws the viewer in. Indeed, Roy HOBBS' skill was near "magical" and the scenes involving the "Black Widow" and her silver bullet as well as the virtuous moral code that the film espoused, elevate this entry into a class all of its own. The NATURAL is so good, that it is one of the few films that both "chicks" and guys can watch together and enjoy. It also contains what is perhaps the most heart warming ending to a film that I have ever seen. This should be mandatory viewing (and study) in all film school courses. On a final note, I have seen both versions and believe that while the Director's cut was arguably not necessary, (the jury is still out on that one), whatever version you first see will probably be your favorite. If you become a rabid fan, you may welcome the additional details that the Director's cut adds to the story. This is Hollywood at its golden best and it leaves all other sports movies in the dust. Five out of five stars. This Gold Standard is most highly recommended!
Roy Hobbs path to glory will reel you in... August 12, 2009
Daniel H. Price (tucson, arizona)
Roy Hobbs path to glory will reel you in, in this outstanding baseball movie...it's all fiction...but it seems so real. In one scene Hobbs, played by Robert Redford, knocks the cover off the baseball and nothing is left but a gobbled mess of strings. The opposing players and coaches look on in amazement. And so will you as you follow Hobbs through an assortment of characters...including amazing character actors like Wilfred Brimley, Richard Farnsworth and Robert Duvall, just to name a few. The cast is wonderful and the movie is simply a "must see" for a baseball player, young or old.
 Overrated tripe July 23, 2009
One-Line Film Reviews (Easton, MD)
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Bottom Line:
A baseball movie that knows nothing about the sport (Roy Hobbs is a pitcher the first time we see him and, inexplicably, a slugging right fielder the next time he's on screen) and attempts to impose a larger-than-life mythological feel on a simple story that manifestly cannot support it, The Natural is an overlong, overrated, and unenjoyable film that didn't even have the guts to follow its source novel to the dark conclusion the plot warrants.
2/4
Showing reviews 1-5 of 164
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