THE NATURAL: 4K Blu-ray (Columbia, 1984) Sony Home Entertainment

There is something utterly satisfying about the underdog – that rare breed of individual for whom history is all too quick to write off at a glance, and, the fates chronically conspire against, yet, cannot defeat. Through blind perseverance, a better than average aptitude and faith in one’s self, the underdog beats destiny at its own game – his chutzpah, to give the fates – if real they be – pause, if only for a wrinkle in time, an otherworldly affirmation for the near impossible dreams hard won. Permit us to worship, then, in director, Barry Levinson’s The Natural (1984) – that rare unicorn in the movie biz, still as timeless and rousing as its love for the game of baseball. The Natural is…well, a natural at playing on our heartstrings with shameless vigor for maximum manipulation. Here is the unlikeliest of heroes: Roy Hobbs – a man, seemingly with nothing to lose, railing against time itself, cruelly to have already deprived him of seventeen long years of his life’s ambition to play pro-ball. Thirty-five years after its theatrical debut, audiences continue to cheer, “There goes Roy Hobbs…the greatest there ever was.”  The Natural is an exemplar of the ‘sports-themed’ movie, not merely ‘done right’, but carried off with such flavorful panache for that one-of-a-kind/lump-in-your-throat visceral whamo! – bases loaded – that all movies used to aspire to, and occasionally did pull out of their varied bag of tricks.

One of the monumental joys in viewing – and re-viewing The Natural in 4K UHD is to experience Mel Bourne and Angelo P. Graham’s meticulous recreations of 1940’s pastiche; from bucolic Bible belt to bustling big cities, as though stolen wholesale from someone’s Kodachrome memories, and, brought back to life as authentic, radiant and changeless as anything revealed in Caleb Deschanel’s stunningly handsome cinematography. A lot of movies get ‘period’ right, only to somehow fumble the ball (pun intended) by revealing too much of the vintage in which they were made. Obviously created by people who can still smell the resin, chalk and freshly cut sod of the baseball diamond, and, with the essence of sun-filtered sincerity for those halcyon days coursing through their veins, The Natural emerges as one of the most accomplished ‘period’ pictures of all time. It just feels genuine from start to finish, regressing the audience in its magical time machine, back to an era where personal integrity – not just in sports – still stood for something, and, a man’s honor was sacred, among the highest intangibles and ideals. And Redford, an actor of immeasurable veracity, distilled in pop culture as ‘charm’, having weathered the decades (at age 48 in 1984) well past what is usually considered any actor’s ‘prime’, is precisely the fellow to embody weather-beaten Roy Hobbs, the character from Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel. To have his work translated to the screen so late in his life into such a rich example of American film-making at its finest, and, with its affirmation of life so firmly affixed – front and center – like a dream remembered, must have warmed Malamud’s heart. Indeed, the author claimed The Natural’s box office success ‘validated’ him as an author. He died 2 years after its release.

The Natural hails from Hollywood’s ‘silver age’, oft discounted by reviewers today; the 1980’s in general – on celluloid in particular – judged, mostly by those unborn then, and therefore, unknowing of its vivacity, remembered now as outrageous, silly and needlessly flamboyant. What can I tell you, folks? You had to be there. I was, and what a time it was to be going to the movies, experiencing such deftly made allegories about feat and failure in America: the beautiful.  Without a doubt, The Natural is the finest baseball movie ever made. Not that the critics of its time agreed. Indeed, the muck mostly heaped on The Natural in 1984, was in keeping with some critic’s highbrow and lofty discourse, gleaned from a certain ilk of self-anointed pomposity to be considered part and parcel of their stock and trade.  So, we had such back-handed compliments, such as Frank Deford’s inference that “The Natural almost manages to be a swell movie”, countermanded by National Review’s John Simon’s attack, “You have, not Malamud's novel, but a sorry illustration of its theme.” And then there was Richard Schickel who, self-inflated and caustic, could always be counted upon to tear down Hollywood’s glitterati (lest we forget, as host of the New York Critic’s screenings in 1970, openly – and rather embarrassingly - carpet-hauled David Lean for Ryan’s Daughter – calling it a “piece of shit”)  lamenting herein how Malamud’s intricate ending (a victory that appears as defeat) had been visually “vulgarized” with a display of fireworks. To hear Schickel tell it, watching The Natural was “all too often like reading about The Natural in the College Outline series.” How cleverly barbed, thoroughly misguided, and, deftly wounding of the picture’s stature and assets. Poor Schickel…he just could not let a good movie go down without a smart.

In spite of these critics, The Natural became a smash hit in 1984. It has since endured, precisely for its irresistible romanticizing of one man’s odyssey through the labyrinth of life – oft, and forever populated – occasionally, to be ruled – by our lessers; the power-drunk, ego-driven and officious sort – who cannot, and never will be able to comprehend the strength of sentiment. Unknowing of its beauty, The Natural is an anathema to cynicism, the latter powerless to dismantle its hold on those who see it for its many virtues and continue to be stirred – enough to over-look its occasionally weighty homage to baseball as America’s favorite pastime (or, at least, one of them). To give ourselves over to the sheer triumph that Levinson, Redford and the rest herein have wrought, uncorks a tonic on the heavy-hearted, if only for just an hour or two. Enchantment is ours - if we know where to look for it. The Natural does not make our search too difficult.  The picture was Oscar-nominated, for Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close), Cinematography, Art Direction and Music (Randy Newman). And while much of The Natural was shot on location in Buffalo, New York (at the War Memorial Stadium, built in 1937 but demolished only a scant three years after The Natural) and Buffalo's All-High Stadium (subbing for Chicago's Wrigley Field) also, South Dayton, for the New York and Lake Erie Railroad depots, The Natural’s ole-time flavor derives mostly from its ability to look and sound like a studio-bound product made at the height of Hollywood’s golden rein on popular entertainments around the world.

The Natural begins in 1910, on a sprawling farm in Nebraska. There, young Roy Hobbs (Paul Sullivan Jr.) refines his God-given talents to pitch and hit a baseball under his father, Ed’s (Alan Fudge) guidance. His progress is overseen by Iris (Rachel Hall) – the proverbial, girl next door, whom Roy makes a solemn oath to come home and marry after he becomes a famous ballplayer. Alas, fate intervenes. Ed is stricken with a fatal heart attack while chopping wood near a large oak, dying with his son at his side. Shortly thereafter, Roy observes as an impromptu thunderstorm splits the massive trunk of that same tree in two. Cleaving a block from its smoldering remains, Roy hews the wood into his signature bat, burning the name ‘Wonderboy’ into its barrel. We fast track to 1923 – the beginning of the end for Roy Hobbs, now 19 (Redford, a wee long-in-the-tooth to sell this prologue as it ought to have been sold). Innocently in love, Roy and Iris (Glenn Close) spend an evening in the barn before he departs for tryouts with the Chicago Cubs. She is certain he will succeed. And indeed, Roy – nervous, but cocky, quickly reveals his prowess with a ball and bat against a legendary player, ‘the Whammer’ (Joe Don Baker), whom sportswriter, Max Mercy (Robert Duvall) pits in a challenge, observed by a crowd attending a country fair.  In this gathering also is Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey), a woman of mystery, who latches onto ‘the Whammer’ as the greatest until she witnesses Roy effortlessly strike out the titan.

On the eve of his ‘audition’ with the Cubs, Roy receives a cryptic telephone call from Harriet. To Roy’s surprise, she has a room upstairs in the same hotel, and extends an invitation to attend her at his earliest convenience. Intrigued, Roy makes his impromptu entrance and finds Harriet standing in a slinky black negligee by an open window, adjusting a widow’s veil across her face. And although the newspapers have been riddled with recent lurid stories about a serial killer murdering professional athletes, Roy is, as yet, unknowing he has just walked into that same killer’s grotesque trap. Answering ‘yes’ to Harriet’s query, if he will go on to be ‘the best that ever was’, Roy is shot in the stomach by this demented, avenging angel, who then vanishes. We later discover, Harriet committed suicide immediately following this near fatal gunshot, leaping to her death from the open window. From this devastating setback we pick up Roy Hobbs’ story 16-years later in 1939. Now, 35 and considered by most any talent scout to be ‘over-the-hill’, Roy is signed to play ball for the New York Knights – a ball club desperately struggling to regain its former glory.

The Knights are managed by the curmudgeonly, but otherwise harmless, Pop Fisher (the inimitable Wilford Brimley), and his coach, Red Blow (the sublime Richard Farnsworth). Believing that the team’s talent scout has recruited Roy deliberately to undermine the Knight’s credibility, Pop takes an immediate dislike to this ‘middle-aged rookie’. By his own admission, Roy has never played ball professionally until only a few weeks prior to his being drafted to the Knights.  Pop has good cause to be suspicious. The Knight’s owner, ‘The Judge’ (Robert Prosky) is a wily sort, employing a notorious one-eyed gambler, Gus Sand (Darren McGavin) to bet against his own team, thus driving down the Knight’s morale. Aside: due to a bitter contractual dispute, McGavin’s name does not appear in The Natural’s credits, despite Levinson’s insistence. The Judge also has the team’s ‘star’ player, Bump Bailey (Michael Madsen) in his back pocket – a lucrative deal for Bailey to throw every game. Pop knows the Judge wants him out of the league and, under their agreement, if the Knights lose this season, Pop must resign as head coach. So, Pop elects not to play Roy for the first few games, asking Red to take Roy out to dinner and wheedle all he can about Roy’s background. Roy, however, is not revealing anything about his past, leaving Pop even more chary. Meanwhile, the Knights continue to lose badly. A quiet animosity begins to brew between Bump and Roy, the former hiding ‘Wonderboy’ in the team’s laundry cart, and using other subtle intimidation tactics.

Realizing Bailey is deliberately not playing at his best, Pop decides to bench him during the next game, offering Roy his first real chance to play. Determined to prove his mettle, Roy takes to the plate and delivers a solid home run that causes everyone to take notice of his powerful swing – the ball literally exploding, its leather cover torn clean off. This unexpected event takes the stadium by storm and garners the interests of sportswriter, Max Mercy, who cannot shake the feeling he and Roy have met somewhere before, but cannot place him as yet. Now, Pop challenges Roy to be at batting practice the next afternoon, to which Roy declares he has always been there, waiting for his opportunity. Bailey is no fool. He can see Roy means business and is poised to become the new ‘star’ of the team. Nevertheless, Roy has earned the team’s respect, right down to Bobby Savoy (George Wilkosz), their bat boy, whom Roy helps hand-craft ‘the Savoy Special’ – the sister bat to his Wonderboy.  Determined to prove his worth, Bailey desperately tears after a pop fly during the next game, crashing through an outfield wall to his death. After his funeral, Pop makes Roy his starting outfielder and the Knights regain their momentum, taking a cue from Roy’s love of the game. The team’s unprecedented winning streak raises cause for concern for the Judge and Gus, who also happens to be having an affair with Pop’s niece, Memo Paris (Kim Basinger). Erroneously reasoning that the way to ‘get’ to Roy is by offering him more money, the Judge invites Roy to his darkened office to discuss a payoff.

However, Roy is not interested in bribes. He only wants to play ball. Moreover, he now informs the Judge, not only will he not throw the season, but he fervently intends to see the Knights on to victory – to spite the Judge and spare Pop his job. So, the Judge hatches a more sinister plan. With Gus’ complicity, the Judge uses Memo to seduce Roy. She willingly agrees to this plot, and, occupies all of Roy’s leisure with distractions. Believing he is in love; Roy skips practice and his game begins to suffer. Meanwhile, Mercy sets out to unearth Roy’s guarded background. He pours over old newspaper clippings with little progress. Roy is a ghost – or so it would seem. This only fuels Mercy’s misgiving. Although Pop knows nothing of Memo’s deceit with Gus, he has a nagging intuition that girl is ‘bad luck’ and cautions Roy against pursuing their romantic relationship – advice Roy continues to ignore. As the Knights prepare to play Chicago’s Wrigley Field, an unlikely figure from Roy’s past emerges. Iris has been following Roy’s career in the papers. The one person still devoted to ‘the boy’ she loved in a hay loft long ago, Iris attends the game. Alas, Roy’s game continues to suffer – that is, until Iris stands up in the crowd. Noticing, but as yet not recognizing Iris, Roy is somehow stirred into his old self. He swings Wonderboy, striking the ball and sending it into the elevated scoreboard, shattering the giant clock. This brings the crowd to its knees. Determined to find out who this mystery woman is, Roy rushes toward the dugout. Momentarily inundated by a barrage of flashbulbs in his face, Roy and Iris are eventually reunited.

Roy cannot believe his eyes. Iris is a reminder of home; those golden afternoons spent in youth, playing catch with his father amidst amber waves of wheat. Iris takes Roy back to her apartment to catch up on old times. We learn, Iris works, never married, and, has a son whose ‘father’ lives in New York. As yet, Roy does not make the connection that he is the father of Iris’ boy, whom he has yet to meet. And she withholds this crucial piece of the puzzle, believing it can serve no greater purpose at this particular moment in Roy’s life. Nevertheless, their brief reunion reinvigorates Roy’s passion for baseball. His elite hitting streak returns. The Knights soar into first place. Coming off the field after practice, Mercy observes as Roy pitches a ball with such force it becomes wedged in the netting behind home plate. This stirs Mercy’s remembrance of the showdown between the Whammer and Roy. Yes – they are one in the same. Now, Mercy uncovers the truth – or rather, what he perceives it to be – the details of the shooting and Harriet’s suicide, that Mercy spins to the Judge and Gus as a sordid tale of passionate lovers caught in a murder/suicide pact. Revealing this to the public at large could definitely ruin Roy’s career. Certainly, it will sink the Knight’s newly minted morale and confidence in him.

Despite these threats, Roy refuses to bend. He tells Mercy to go ahead and make the story public. It’s all just a bunch of lies. He never even knew Harriet and can prove they were never lovers.  So, Gus throws a premature ‘victory’ party for The Knights at Memo’s posh apartment. While the team gets soused, Memo slips something in a pastry she feeds to Roy. He succumbs and is taken to hospital.  Awakening hours later in the maternity ward, Roy is informed by Dr. Knobb (Peter Potch) it was necessary to perform surgery, discovering a silver bullet lodged in his stomach - likely for years. If Roy continues to play ball, this old wound will likely kill him. Roy is also informed by Red that without him the Knights have once again regressed to their old losing ways, setting the team up for a one-game playoff against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, Memo arrives, encouraging Roy to accept the Judge’s bribe. This, the Judge has willingly agreed to quadruple. Still, Roy refuses, even as the Judge informs Roy, he already has another teammate on his payroll. Determined at any and all costs to play in the final game, Roy is visited by Iris, to whom he confides he feels he has never lived up to his potential, even as she insists, he is a great ball player. Returning to the dugout, and suffering a momentary relapse, Roy digs in and prepares to play, not only for the Knight’s honor, but to fulfill his destiny. Before this, Roy makes an impromptu visit to the Judge’s office and is dismayed to find Memo there with Gus. Realizing he has been played for a fool, Roy vows to get even by playing a good game.

With great sincerity, Pop informs Roy he is, by far, the greatest hitter he has ever seen. As the game against the Pirates progresses, Roy realizes the ‘other’ player on the Judge’s take is pitcher, Al Fowler (Ken Grassano). Calling for a ‘time out’, Roy implores Fowler not to throw the game, to which Fowler glibly replies he will start pitching when Roy starts hitting. Shortly thereafter, Fowler pitches more aggressively and the Knights begin to correct their losing streak. From their private box, the Judge, Gus and Memo look on in disbelief; the Judge, with sheer rage, Gus, in total disbelief, and Memo, tearfully, knowing she has lost Roy forever. Watching the game from the stands with their son, Iris writes a note she begs to be delivered to Roy in the dugout. This reveals to him the truth about the child they share. At the bottom of the ninth, the Knights trail the Pirates.  As the Pirates pitcher and catcher clearly notice that Roy’s wound has begun to hemorrhage, they make a concerted effort to harm him by throwing inside. Roy connects on the second of these inside pitches, but so hard, it splits Wonderboy in two. Now, Roy charges Bobby, the bat boy, to pick him a replacement. Bobby obliges by offering Roy his Savoy Special. Bleeding heavily through his jersey, Roy steps into the batter’s box and hits the winner to end all winners; the ball, sailing beyond the rafters and shorting out the stadium lights. The field is showered in sparks as Roy and his teammates triumphantly round their bases, winning the National League pennant and thus, fulfilling Pop’s dream. The Knights will advance to the World Series. However, the series’ outcome is never revealed. Instead, The Natural concludes with Pop’s job assured and Roy, having finally found his place in life, pitching balls to the son he and Iris share, on the farm where he grew up, as she looks on with admiration.

The Natural is an intensely felt, expertly made and thoroughly satisfying drama, teeming with the pluck and passion of the human spirit, tested to its limits. Despite some very fine films made after it, including 1987’s Good Morning Vietnam, 1988’s Oscar-winning Rain Man, and 1991’s Bugsy, arguably, Barry Levinson’s career never again reached such heights. The Natural is, in fact, a one off, not only for Levinson, but also as a sports’ movie, surely to appeal to those who have not even the slightest interest in baseball. Robert Redford, who modeled his swing on Boston Red Sox legend, Ted Williams, is the embodiment of this emotionally scarred dark horse, stepping into the light after a prolonged fallow period, and, whose reputation, while bloodied, remains unbowed. Redford’s cagey carriage, at once, translates as a steely cock-of-the-walk, yet soulful and introspective martyr. We can completely empathize with his Roy Hobbs; a man on the cusp of rediscovering his importance in life’s pantheon. And Glenn Close, who arrives late to this party (Iris doesn’t appear as an adult until almost a full hour into this movie) establishes herself as the absolute embodiment of wholesome and demurely feminine purity. At least part of the success in Close’s characterization is owed cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel and costume designers, Gloria Gresham and Bernie Pollack, who first present Close, majestically rising in the stands, in a virginal white ensemble, heavily filtered and angelically backlit by the golden rays of streaming sunlight. It is a stunning and iconic debut and, quite literally, it takes our breath away. We can definitely see why Roy’s faith in himself is almost immediately restored at the first sight of Iris in the stands.

Darren McGavin, Robert Prosky and Robert Duvall make for a triumvirate of villainous ‘fates’ – stirring their plotter’s caldron in futile attempts to derail a man’s career, reputation and life, simply because they can. McGavin’s fish-eyed gambler, in particular, is both menacing and malevolent. We do not see nearly enough of Wilford Brimley or Richard Farnsworth, but when they appear – mostly together, they reveal a seasoned professionalism that is pretty hard to top as two stalwarts of the ball club. Life itself is writ large on their craggy visages, these old guys having witnessed first-hand trials and tribulations in this passing parade of pro-players. Kim Basinger’s ‘bad girl’, who throws over love of a good man for the baubles afforded her unholy alliance with McGavin’s glass-eyed gambler, is the real tragic figure of this piece. What will become of Memo Paris when a man like Gus finishes with her is not to be wished – even on one’s worst enemy. Finally, Barbara Hershey’s Harriet strikes an indelible chord as the warped socialite/serial killer.  The Natural is told with such a strength of one man’s convictions, it succeeds as a ‘feel good’ almost by default. Roy Hobbs’ story is neither unique nor particularly inspiring at a glance. And yet, it becomes a rousing conquest of fate – perhaps, never entirely to conquered, though nonetheless delayed – for the love of the game, the art of chasing a dream, and ultimately the pure satisfaction of seeing one’s own destiny through. Bravo to this natural…and play ball!

The Natural from Sony, in 4K is absolutely stunning, perfectly capturing the subtly realized essentials in Caleb Deschanel’s cinematography. There are two cuts here: the original theatrical, and, Levinson’s approved ‘Director’s Cut’. The latter completely re-envisions the first act of the movie, sweetening Ray’s backstory. Although Levinson has added nearly 23 minutes of new footage, he only manages to grow the story by about 7 extra minutes. This was the movie as Levinson intended the public to see in 1984, although they never did get to see it until nearly three decades later. Comparisons between the two versions are best left to the first-time viewer to experience.  Both versions exhibit identical image quality: incredibly impressive clarity, so fraught with tangible textures that in projection The Natural is a stirring cinematic experience not to be missed. HDR color grading has yielded a brighter, more visually vibrant presentation where even the most minute detail is afforded complimentary contrast and crispness. Flesh tones are gorgeous. The old Blu-ray made them appear pasty. Now, we can see they are deliberately creamy and nuanced to evoke a sort of soft blush. The Natural was never a movie to illustrate ‘punchy’ colors. Deschanel’s work evokes the subtle richness of color – almost with a painterly brush – so true to life – he creates a mesmeric living homage to this bygone way of life.  I could spend hours and pages discussing the virtues here – but won’t. Suffice it to say, The Natural in 4K is perfect – period!

Sony's new Dolby Atmos mix rivals the images. Again, the original sound field was not an in-your-face experience, but sustained in its use of subtler effects, and, of course, Randy Newman’s iconic score.  All this sounds fantastic here.  Extras, save Levinson’s introduction and a theatrical trailer, are all isolated to the standard Blu-ray, also included. We get everything that was a part of The Natural’s DVD release. When Lightning Strikes: Creating The Natural, is an impressive ‘making of’, with featurettes also devoted to ‘deleted scenes’, and ‘conversations’ with surviving cast members.  We also get, A Natural Gunned Down: The Stalking of Eddie Waitkus’ a featurette on the famed Cub’s ballplayer, shot by an obsessed fan at the Edgewater Hotel in 1949. This incident inspired Malamud to write his novel.  Knights in Shining Armor: The Mythology of ‘The Natural’ and The Heart of The Natural are reflections on the movie’s lasting appeal that greatly augment our appreciation. Bottom line: The Natural is a seminal sports movie with few rivals. This 4K UHD Blu-ray is the best the movie has ever looked on home video. Even if you already own it, you will want to double dip for this one. Very – very – highly recommended!

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

5+

VIDEO/AUDIO

5+

EXTRAS

4.5