Roy Hobbs (Redford) has dreamed of being a great baseball player since boyhood. His bat is made from the wood of a tree split by lightning. But on his way to try out for Chicago, Roy is inexplicably shot by a crazy woman and disabled from playing. For 16 years he languishes out of the spotlight, then is picked up by the New York Knights in the late 1930s. His golden bat knocks run after run, redeeming himself and his losing team, though business and gambling interests complicate the picture. This 1984 picture was director Barry Levinson's second feature (after "Diner," before "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "Rain Man"); mixing a little fact (various stars of the early 20th century diamond, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Watkus who was indeed shot by a woman in 1949) and a lot of fiction (the plot is loosely inspired by Sir Percival of Arthurian legend), the film raises the sport to shiny, mythic proportions with the roseate, innocent glow of baseball's early years -- which may or may not appeal to a viewer more interested in the grit of a good game.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
Roy Hobbs is a 50-year-old former major leaguer whose career was plagued by his off-field problems. Among those, he's been known to chase many different women. Fifteen years after his career ended, Hobbs wants to get back into the majors, and he makes a bat out of a tree near his home. The bat gets struck by lightning one night, and it gives Hobbs the ability to hit home runs. The most memorable homer is when Hobbs, now with the New York Knights, drives the ball so high and so far that it smashes the ballpark lights and sends sparks flying down on the fans. (I'll bet Babe Ruth never dreamed of this in his lifetime!)
The review of this Movie prepared by Teddy
