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The Natural

Play trailer Poster for The Natural PG 1984 2h 25m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 48 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
On the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, young baseball phenom Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, Hobbs returns to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights. Despite early arguments with his manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), Hobbs becomes one of the best players in the league, and the Knights start winning. But this upsets the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wants Hobbs to lose games, not win.

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The Natural

The Natural

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Critics Consensus

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

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Critics Reviews

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Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune 03/19/2013
4/4
Being a baseball fan involves repeatedly experiencing exquisite pain and exquisite joy. Well, there's a lot of both in The Natural. Go to Full Review Empire Magazine 03/25/2011
An otherwise fine sports fantasy is dragged down by an overindulgence in sentimentality. Go to Full Review Richard Schickel TIME Magazine 03/21/2011
Levinson must have felt he had to swing for the fences. He can be forgiven for choking up with all The Natural's fans looking on dubiously. In fairness, the official scorer must credit him with a single. And Redford with an RBI. Go to Full Review Danielle Solzman Dugout Dirt 12/04/2024
5/5
The Natural has everything going for it--directing, acting, cinematography, and especially Randy Newman's iconic score. Go to Full Review Stephen Silver The SS Ben Hecht 05/17/2024
4/5
It shouldn't work, but it does. It’s a great-looking movie with a true movie star at its center and a cast chock-full of fantastic character actors (40th anniversary) Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 02/21/2022
3/4
...ultimately fares much, much better than the often astonishingly tedious Bernard Malamud novel on which its based... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Nicole Sep 23 Love this movie. It has romance, sports, inspiration and intrigue. See more Contrafilms Sep 23 An absolute classic. The reason I miss films from the 70s (even though it was made in the 80s). It takes its time, tells a compelling story, doesnt bog you down in the "world" of baseball (even though I wouldn't mind that) and has a cast that is stellar. A real feel-good tearjerker. See more Al A @RT36830200 Apr 7 Classic. The best baseball movie ever made, and one of the best sports movies ever made. Great performances by an outstanding cast. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 Mar 22 Didn’t land with me. Improbable, long winded, cheesy, badly acted and dull. Watched on Netflix. See more MC B @RT23450091 Feb 26 Maybe the most over-rated movie of all-time. Redford is not believable as a baseball player and the baseball scenes are ridiculous. The mystic stroyline with Glenn Close is just silly. As a baseball fan this film was just disappointing. Don't believe the hype. The story is silly sentimental with really weak baseball scenes. Pass. See more alan g @agenser Feb 4 Totally different from the book. Might as well be a different title. Acting is stiff and unrealostic. See more Read all reviews
The Natural

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Cast & Crew

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Barry Levinson

Director

Robert Redford

Roy Hobbs

Robert Duvall

Max Mercy

Glenn Close

Iris Gaines

Kim Basinger

Memo Paris

Wilford Brimley

Pop Fisher

Movie Clips

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The Natural

The Natural: Official Clip - The Final Homerun The Natural: Official Clip - The Final Homerun 2:13 The Natural: Official Clip - Savoy Special The Natural: Official Clip - Savoy Special 2:06 The Natural: Official Clip - Batting Practice With Wonderboy The Natural: Official Clip - Batting Practice With Wonderboy 2:12 The Natural: Official Clip - The Lady in White The Natural: Official Clip - The Lady in White 2:12 The Natural: Official Clip - Knock the Cover Off the Ball The Natural: Official Clip - Knock the Cover Off the Ball 2:12 The Natural: Official Clip - Let it Ride The Natural: Official Clip - Let it Ride 2:12 The Natural: Official Clip - Striking Out The Whammer The Natural: Official Clip - Striking Out The Whammer 2:11 The Natural: Official Clip - A New Right Fielder The Natural: Official Clip - A New Right Fielder 2:13 View more videos

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The Natural

The Natural (1984) The Natural (1984) The Natural (1984) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis On the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, young baseball phenom Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, Hobbs returns to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights. Despite early arguments with his manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), Hobbs becomes one of the best players in the league, and the Knights start winning. But this upsets the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wants Hobbs to lose games, not win.
Director
Barry Levinson
Producer
Mark Johnson
Screenwriter
Bernard Malamud, Phil Dusenberry
Distributor
TriStar Pictures, Pioneer Entertainment, RCA/Columbia
Production Co
TriStar Pictures
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 11, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Runtime
2h 25m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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