Field of Dreams
US (1989): Sports/Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. When the voices continue, Ray seeks out a reclusive author (James Earl Jones) to help him understand the meaning of the messages and the purpose for his field. (Scott Renshaw, IMDb)
Phil Alden Robinson directed and adapted W.P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe to the screen. Burt Lancaster made his last big screen appearance as Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. Universal built the baseball diamond on an actual farm in Dyersville, Iowa. After the filming was completed, the family that owned the farm kept the field, and added a small hut where you could buy inexpensive souvenirs. As of 1990, visitors were free to come to the field and play baseball as they please.
After the movie was completed test audiences didn't like the name Shoeless Joe because they said it sounded like a movie about a bum or hobo. Universal called director-screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson to tell him that "Shoeless Joe" didn't work, and the studio changed the title of the film to Field of Dreams. When Robinson heard the news of the change, he called W.P. Kinsella, the author of the book, and told him the "bad" news, but apparently he didn't care, saying that "Shoeless Joe" was the title the publishing company gave the book. Kinsella's original title was Dream Field.
The movie's line "If you build it, he will come." was voted as the #39 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
3 nominations
· Best Picture 1989: Lawrence Gordon & Charles Gordon - Producers (Gordon Co., Universal)
· Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium 1989: Phil Alden Robinson
· Music (Original Score) 1989: James Horner