The 1989 Movie Field of Dreams Is Still a Classic Today

by Lewis Robinson

If there’s any game that is quintessential American, it’s baseball. It might have had its origins in Europe and Ireland, but it was the United States that made baseball the game it is today. Over 200 movies about baseball have been made. Kevin Costner has starred in three. His second, Field of Dreams, made in 1989, is a great movie about baseball that has withstood the test of time.

Field of Dreams Plot

Ray Kinsella, played by Costner, lives on a corn farm in Iowa. Kinsella is at a time in his life when he’s concerned about his legacy. He is reflecting on his troubled relationship with his late father and the game of baseball. One evening when he is walking through the cornfields, he sees a vision of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who died almost 40 years ago. Jackson tells Kinsella, “if you build it, they will come.”

Kinsella takes part of his farm to build a baseball diamond, risking his financial future. He shares his love of baseball with his daughter over the several months it takes to build the field. His family doubts his decision. Finally, Shoeless Joe returns with other players from the disgraced Black Sox team, accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. No one except Kinsella can see the players.

Kinsella goes on a road trip on which he meets up with many characters involved in baseball. Terrance Mann, played by James Earl Jones, is a recluse writer who agrees to attend one game. Mann had once wanted to play for the Dodgers, but it was an unfulfilled dream. During the game, Kinsella and Mann hear a voice that says, “go the distance.” They see a statistic on the scoreboard referring to Archie “Moonlight” Graham, a 1922 New York Giants player who didn’t even get to bat in the only game he played. They drive to Minnesota to learn more about Graham. Graham had died in 1972.

On the way back to Iowa, Mann and Kinsella pick up a hitchhiker, a young Archie Graham. They talk about their childhoods. Kinsella and his father drifted apart after Ray read one of Mann’s books. His father taunted Ray about having a criminal as a hero. Their relationship never healed.

When they get back to the farm, the bank is ready to foreclose. Graham joins the game, getting a chance to get to bat. Ray’s daughter falls off the bleachers. Graham steps off the field to save her, as he had been a doctor after his baseball career. He knows he can never go back, but he has no regrets. Old Doc Graham is played by Burt Lancaster in his final film role.

A Great Movie to Watch With The Family

On the surface, the movie is about baseball. Look beyond the leathered baseball gloves and ghosts to see a movie about parents and children. Ray didn’t reconcile with his father during his lifetime, but the baseball player ghosts gave him the opportunity to see his father as a young man. The parents you know aren’t the same people they once were. Ray was stuck because of his regrets, but his baseball field brought some reconciliation, not only in his own life, but in others. The lesson of the movie is to remember that you can change your future, but you may have to confront your past.

Field of Dreams was nominated for three Academy Awards, but it did not win any of them. Even so, in 2017 it was selected as an annual addition to the National Film Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress. AFI cited the film as the sixth best one in the fantasy genre in 2008.