Field of Dreams
Created | Updated Nov 20, 2002
"Field Of Dreams" is a wonderful 1989 film set in Iowa. It stars Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta, Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones1.
At first glance it appears to be a film about baseball, like other Costner films e.g. "Bull Durham" and "For the Love of The Game", but it is really a film about following our dreams to avoid them becoming unfulfilled.
The storyline follows farmer Ray Kinsella (Costner) who after hearing a voice while out in his corn, ploughs up the field and builds a baseball diamond. The ghost of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson then returns to play ball on the field, bringing along with him the other members of the Chicago "Blacksox" that were banned for throwing the 1919 World Series.
As the film progresses, Kinsella and his wife (played by Madigan) plunge into financial crisis and have to decide whether to keep the field and risk losing the farm, or give up their dream.
The ending eventually brings us back to where the film begins and you either love this film or hate it. To some it's the Eighties equivalent of Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life"2 for its nostalgic, but sad feel, while to others it's schmaltzy and sickening.
Classic quotes
- "Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa"
- "If you build it, he will come"
- "Go the distance"
- "Oh, people will come Ray. People will most definitely come"
