The Natural

1984

Directed By: Barry Levinson

Screenplay By: Roger Towne; Phil Dusenberry

Starring: Robert Redford; Robert Duvall; Glenn Close; Kim Basinger; Wilford Brimley; Barbara Hershey; Robert Prosky; Richard Farnsworth

Based On: The Natural by Bernard Malamud

The Natural is a 1984 sports drama. It is a film adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinso. The film, as the book, recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, an individual with great “natural” baseball talent, spanning decades of Roy’s success and his suffering. It was the first film produced by TriStar Pictures.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close), and nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger). Many of the baseball scenes were filmed in Buffalo, New York’s War Memorial Stadium, built in 1937, demolished a few years after the film's production. Buffalo’s All-High Stadium stood in for Chicago’s Wrigley Field in a key scene.