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Natural, The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
If one sport has consisently turned out great on the big screen, it would have to be baseball. "Field Of Dreams", "The Natural", "A League Of Their Own" and even the recent Kevin Costner picture "For Love of the Game" (ok, so "For Love" was only occasionally entertaining). There's something about the great American pastime that can really be visually satisfying and memorable - the deep greens of a newly cut field of grass, the crack of the bat, the cheers of the crowd. There's also the $30.00 tickets, $5.00 hot dog, $8.00 parking and $3.00 soda - but we won't go into that. Films like "The Natural" can remind us when the sport was good and pure, and didn't cost a ton of cash to watch.
Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, a prime baseball talent mostly sidelined after a tragic incident. Years later, he finds himself back in the big-time looked over by an angry, losing coach (Wilford Brimley). With a bat made from a tree struck by lightning, the older gentleman who walked onto the field proceeds to take the major leagues by storm.
Although "The Natural" isn't without a few things I would have fixed (the film's 138 minute running time is about 15 minutes too long), there's such a great deal to enjoy. The film is set-up as a bit of a sports "fairy tale", but rarely takes it too far away from reality, keeping events inspiring and engaging as we follow Roy as he attempts to be the best that he can be no matter what the odds. Deschanel's golden cinematography is nothing short of fantastic, and is a shining example of how excellent his work is.
The two pieces of the puzzle that stand-out among everything else though, are both Redford's excellent performance as well as Randy Newman's triumphant score, as engaging when subtle as when at its most intense. It's not flawless, but even years later, "The Natural" still remains a winner.
The DVD
VIDEO: Columbia/Tristar very rarely dissapoints in their presentations in terms of image quality. On the other side of things though, they can also take things far the other way to produce some truly beautiful efforts. Although not quite perfect, their work for "The Natural" is often gorgeous. Sharpness varies a little bit as Caleb Deschanel's old-fashioned cinematography looks intentionally rather soft at times, with fair detail. Still, rather than looking distractingly soft, the picture looks just fine.
A few little problems take away from the otherwise excellent picture quality. A couple of trace instances of pixelation appear, and a moment or two of slight shimmering. There are a few minor print flaws in the form of some marks and speckles to be found, although appearances of these are few and far between - less than I'd expected from a 17 year old picture.
Colors look excellent throughout the movie. Scenes often have a rather "golden" light to them, and the elements of the sequences all look bold and rich - the greens of the grass, the blues of the skies, everything looks crisp and vibrant. Although not without a few very minor concerns, this is certainly above-average work from the studio. Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai.
SOUND: "The Natural" is presented in both an English Dolby 2.0 presentation and a new Dolby 4.0 presentation. The film's most wonderful element is certainly the highlight of this 4.0 presentation - Randy Newman's classic score sounds nothing short of phenomenal here. Full, rich, crisp and clear, the score fills the room perfectly. There's also occasionally other minor use of the surrounds for ambient sounds such as a little bit of thunder off in the distance.
Audio quality seemed perfectly acceptable, if slightly lacking the smoothness and crystal clarity of a newer film. As previously mentioned, the score sounded excellent. Dialogue was a little thin at times, but certainly still easy to listen to and enjoy.
MENUS:: Although it would have been nice to have the score behind the menus, Tristar has still done a nice job with the non-animated menus. With backgrounds that look like old newspapers, the design at least proves to be a good intro to the movie.
EXTRAS:
The Heart Of The Natural: A new 44 minute documentary by Charles Kiselyak, who I also believe was the director of "Oliver Stone's America", the documentary included in the Oliver Stone DVD Collection. It's a terrific presentation, mostly starring famed baseball player (and very likely future Hall Of Famer himself) Cal Ripken, Jr. The baseball player talks in great detail about the film and how he feels about his life in baseball, as well. Director Barry Levinson contributes lightly to the proceedings, adding somewhat to the insights about the film. The majority of the documentary though is devoted to the thoughts of Ripken, Jr. and he's simply fascinating to listen to, bringing a great deal to the table as he speaks about his feelings on "The Natural" and the game in general. Absolutely worth a viewing.
Also: Talent files & trailers for "The Natural", "The Way We Were" and "Bugsy".
Final Thoughts: "The Natural" still remains a fantastic effort from director Barry Levinson as well as a top-notch cast and crew. Tristar's audio/video presentation is very pleasing, and although there aren't a wealth of extra features, there is one great one - the documentary. Highly recommended.
Redford's latest directorial effort, "The Legend Of Bagger Vance" also comes out on DVD the same day as the natural. You can read the review of that by clicking on this link: Review.
If one sport has consisently turned out great on the big screen, it would have to be baseball. "Field Of Dreams", "The Natural", "A League Of Their Own" and even the recent Kevin Costner picture "For Love of the Game" (ok, so "For Love" was only occasionally entertaining). There's something about the great American pastime that can really be visually satisfying and memorable - the deep greens of a newly cut field of grass, the crack of the bat, the cheers of the crowd. There's also the $30.00 tickets, $5.00 hot dog, $8.00 parking and $3.00 soda - but we won't go into that. Films like "The Natural" can remind us when the sport was good and pure, and didn't cost a ton of cash to watch.
Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, a prime baseball talent mostly sidelined after a tragic incident. Years later, he finds himself back in the big-time looked over by an angry, losing coach (Wilford Brimley). With a bat made from a tree struck by lightning, the older gentleman who walked onto the field proceeds to take the major leagues by storm.
Although "The Natural" isn't without a few things I would have fixed (the film's 138 minute running time is about 15 minutes too long), there's such a great deal to enjoy. The film is set-up as a bit of a sports "fairy tale", but rarely takes it too far away from reality, keeping events inspiring and engaging as we follow Roy as he attempts to be the best that he can be no matter what the odds. Deschanel's golden cinematography is nothing short of fantastic, and is a shining example of how excellent his work is.
The two pieces of the puzzle that stand-out among everything else though, are both Redford's excellent performance as well as Randy Newman's triumphant score, as engaging when subtle as when at its most intense. It's not flawless, but even years later, "The Natural" still remains a winner.
The DVD
VIDEO: Columbia/Tristar very rarely dissapoints in their presentations in terms of image quality. On the other side of things though, they can also take things far the other way to produce some truly beautiful efforts. Although not quite perfect, their work for "The Natural" is often gorgeous. Sharpness varies a little bit as Caleb Deschanel's old-fashioned cinematography looks intentionally rather soft at times, with fair detail. Still, rather than looking distractingly soft, the picture looks just fine.
A few little problems take away from the otherwise excellent picture quality. A couple of trace instances of pixelation appear, and a moment or two of slight shimmering. There are a few minor print flaws in the form of some marks and speckles to be found, although appearances of these are few and far between - less than I'd expected from a 17 year old picture.
Colors look excellent throughout the movie. Scenes often have a rather "golden" light to them, and the elements of the sequences all look bold and rich - the greens of the grass, the blues of the skies, everything looks crisp and vibrant. Although not without a few very minor concerns, this is certainly above-average work from the studio. Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai.
SOUND: "The Natural" is presented in both an English Dolby 2.0 presentation and a new Dolby 4.0 presentation. The film's most wonderful element is certainly the highlight of this 4.0 presentation - Randy Newman's classic score sounds nothing short of phenomenal here. Full, rich, crisp and clear, the score fills the room perfectly. There's also occasionally other minor use of the surrounds for ambient sounds such as a little bit of thunder off in the distance.
Audio quality seemed perfectly acceptable, if slightly lacking the smoothness and crystal clarity of a newer film. As previously mentioned, the score sounded excellent. Dialogue was a little thin at times, but certainly still easy to listen to and enjoy.
MENUS:: Although it would have been nice to have the score behind the menus, Tristar has still done a nice job with the non-animated menus. With backgrounds that look like old newspapers, the design at least proves to be a good intro to the movie.
EXTRAS:
The Heart Of The Natural: A new 44 minute documentary by Charles Kiselyak, who I also believe was the director of "Oliver Stone's America", the documentary included in the Oliver Stone DVD Collection. It's a terrific presentation, mostly starring famed baseball player (and very likely future Hall Of Famer himself) Cal Ripken, Jr. The baseball player talks in great detail about the film and how he feels about his life in baseball, as well. Director Barry Levinson contributes lightly to the proceedings, adding somewhat to the insights about the film. The majority of the documentary though is devoted to the thoughts of Ripken, Jr. and he's simply fascinating to listen to, bringing a great deal to the table as he speaks about his feelings on "The Natural" and the game in general. Absolutely worth a viewing.
Also: Talent files & trailers for "The Natural", "The Way We Were" and "Bugsy".
Final Thoughts: "The Natural" still remains a fantastic effort from director Barry Levinson as well as a top-notch cast and crew. Tristar's audio/video presentation is very pleasing, and although there aren't a wealth of extra features, there is one great one - the documentary. Highly recommended.
Redford's latest directorial effort, "The Legend Of Bagger Vance" also comes out on DVD the same day as the natural. You can read the review of that by clicking on this link: Review.
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