{"id":2312,"date":"2014-04-23T01:07:40","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T06:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/?p=2312"},"modified":"2023-03-22T21:31:11","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T02:31:11","slug":"if-you-film-it-they-will-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/23\/if-you-film-it-they-will-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Field of Dreams Turns 25 Proving If You Film it They Will Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday marked the 25th<\/sup> anniversary of the release of the movie Field of Dreams<\/i>.<\/p>\n

As noted during our Totally Subjective Top 10 Baseball Movie Countdown back in March, Field of Dreams<\/i> trails only Bull Durham<\/i> in terms of popularity here at the Gigaplex.<\/p>\n

Based on the book, Shoeless Joe<\/i>, by W. P. Kinsella, the movie follows the exploits of an Iowa farmer who hears voices that tell him to plow over his crop of corn and build a baseball diamond to allow the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson and his friends to play on it.<\/p>\n

The story also centers on making the most of second chances along with working through the grief that comes from the loss of a loved one.<\/p>\n

\"Last<\/a>
Last Monday marked the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie Field of Dreams which still has moviegoers longing to have a catch after a quarter of a century.
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With superb performances from Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, and Ray Liotta rounding out the cast, the film delves into topics of faith and belief in both a simpler time in baseball as well as each of us.<\/p>\n

There are elements in the movie that could never happen in real life regardless of how many voices we hear in the corn fields of life. However, the belief that things like the ones depicted in the movie could happen somewhere are part of what make the movie one of the all-time bests.<\/p>\n

What makes the movie so popular and relevant a quarter century after its release depends on who you ask.<\/p>\n

Each of our inner children want to believe that somewhere there is a \u201cfield of dreams\u201d where we can relive our happiest experiences and perhaps avoid some of the sadder times in life.<\/p>\n

For some, that field is a baseball diamond. For others, the field might be somewhere where we can spend a little more time with a loved one who is no longer with us.<\/p>\n

The movie tackles each of those elements perfectly and never really spends too much time explaining the supernatural elements of the film and they never seem too over the top.<\/p>\n

It just feels natural that there could be a cornfield in Iowa that is cosmically linked somehow to allow ballplayers to be young once more and enjoy the simple joy of \u201chaving a catch.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are certainly plenty of emotional moments in the movie and despite Tom Hanks\u2019 proclamation in A League of Their Own<\/i> that \u201cthere is no crying in baseball\u201d there are still certain scenes in Field of Dreams<\/i> that get me a little watery eyed each time that I see them.<\/p>\n

That is the mark of a good movie. Even after seeing it countless times over the past quarter century, the emotional elements still run true and can elicit a reaction despite knowing what is coming.<\/p>\n

While no big celebrations are planned this week to commemorate the anniversary, it should be noted that many of the prime cast and crew will be on hand at the baseball diamond in the corn field June 14 as part of Father\u2019s Day weekend.<\/p>\n

With its central theme of \u201chaving a catch\u201d with one\u2019s father it is only fitting that a Father\u2019s Day event is tied to the anniversary.<\/p>\n

In addition to events planned on the diamond, a Field of Dreams<\/i> 25th Anniversary Celebration Parade will take place in downtown Dyersville, Iowa on Saturday, June 14.<\/p>\n

With the anniversary upon us, it is only fitting to once again remember the nostalgic effect of baseball.<\/p>\n

Or to put it in the words of James Earl Jones\u2019 character, \u201cRay, people will come Ray. They\u2019ll come to Iowa for reasons they can\u2019t even fathom. They\u2019ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they\u2019re doing it. They\u2019ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won\u2019t mind if you look around, you\u2019ll say. It\u2019s only $20 per person. They\u2019ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they\u2019ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They\u2019ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they\u2019ll watch the game and it\u2019ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they\u2019ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it\u2019s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh\u2026 people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Perhaps no other sport is as linked with feelings of nostalgia as baseball. Field of Dreams<\/i> taps into that nostalgia in a way that is not over the top or judgmental. It just feels as comforting as a worn glove when the leather is broken in at just the right amount, or perhaps like a baseball cap where the bill is curved at just the right angle to keep the glare of the sun at bay.<\/p>\n

And if you happen to find yourself in Iowa Father\u2019s Day weekend, you should \u201cgo the distance\u201d and take a side trip to the Field of Dreams.<\/p>\n

Who knows, you might just catch a glimpse of Shoeless Joe Jackson emerging from the stalks of corn in center field.<\/p>\n

Now if you\u2019ll excuse me, I think I will go have a catch with my dad.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2014 R. Anderson <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday marked the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie Field of Dreams. As noted during our Totally Subjective Top 10 Baseball Movie Countdown back in March, Field of Dreams trails only Bull Durham in terms of popularity here at the Gigaplex. Based on the book, Shoeless Joe, by W. P. Kinsella, the movie … Continue reading Field of Dreams Turns 25 Proving If You Film it They Will Watch<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[374,399],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2312"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5505,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2312\/revisions\/5505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}