Archibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham was a real player, and so was his story. Born in North Carolina, he played one game of Major League Baseball for the New York Giants, he never had an at bat in that game, he played several years in the minors from 1902-08 . After retiring, he became a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota, which is where he died August 25, 1965. It's nice when movies/books can use a real story and incorporate it into their "fantasy" narrative.
The actor that played Ray's father, lost his father a couple days before filming that scene on the field. That moment makes the movies moment mean that much more.
I’m so happy more people are reacting to this. One of the all time great movies. Everyone cries. Every time. You know it’s coming but it doesn’t matter. The more you watch this movie the more poignant it becomes. Other scenes and lines start to get to you too.
Widely acknowledged as the " film most likely to make men cry " , you're not on your own, mate !! I'm English, never thrown a Baseball in my life but that ending brings me to tears everytime ....
Are you crying, are you crying? There's no crying in baseball. Rogers Hornby was my manager and he called me a talking pile of pig shit, and that was when my parents drove all the way down from Michigan to see me play the game, and did I cry? No, no and you know why? Because there is no crying in baseball...........Tom Hanks A league of there own.
I saw you complimented the set design. It’s a real farm next to a real field that was converted into a baseball field. I was lucky enough to visit. I played catch with my father-in-law, rolled a ball back and forth with my baby boy, and took fly balls in the outfield barefoot. It was one of the best days of my life. Sadly, MLB has built a stadium there, so it’s not the same. It was magical.
I've seen a number of reactions to this movie, and I haven't heard anyone mention one of the many subtle perfections this movie has. When Archie Graham bats he flies out but the runner on third tags up and scores. This is officially scored as a "Sacrifice Fly" moments before he sacrifices his dreams of baseball for his calling to be a doctor.
I've seen that comment a few times, but also that happens the night they arrive back in Iowa, and the other scene takes place the next morning, so presumably there was a fair amount of baseball happening between then. We just didn't see it.
It's interesting to realize that Ray's dad would have been 56 when he was born. That's pretty old to become a first-time dad. And then having to figure out being a single dad. And then having his kid grow up in the 60's... it would have felt like several generations in between them instead of just one.
Always had a fun theory that solved the Terrence Mann conundrum. When Terrence joked about writing a story regarding the whole experience with Ray and the field, look how he laughed at entering the cornfield moments later. He was given a chance to experience the great beyond... and live to tell the tale. We're watching the end result! The FIELD OF DREAMS story isn't from Ray's perspective. It's from Terrence after coming back to the world of the living! Ray would go on to fill Terrence in on the details of meeting his dad after he entered the cornfield. Ray would also detail the events leading up to his Boston trip to 'kidnapp' Terrence. All Mann had to do was just piece the chronological events into SHOELESS JOE COMES TO IOWA. The visualization of that story is what we outsiders get to watch. You're welcome...😂❤
That actually makes a lot of sense. The movie is based on a novel by a man named Kinsella. In the novel it was J.D. Salinger, but for various reasons the counterculture icon had to be renamed and fictionalized, hence Terrence Mann. The novel is titled "Shoeless Joe", and its writing style is clearly a tribute to Salinger's. I hadn't considered that the reason was because I was actually reading the fictional Salinger's account. Very cool.
RAY: "Is there a heaven?" JOHN: "Oh, yeah!, It's the place dreams come true." Then the glance at the Kinsella farmhouse gilded by the setting sun, and Karen's kid-giggle: RAY'S DREAM, RAY'S HEAVEN!!!
Everyone always craps on Mark on reviews but honestly if your sister went off and married a hippie from California, and the first year of owning the family farm he plows under the crop and builds a baseball field and sits there watching players only they can see, to the point of losing the farm and going bankrupt. Anyone would think he was insane. He was just doing what he thought was right and helpful.
In 2021 the White Sox and Yankees played an MLB regular season game at a newly built field near this one from the movie. It was a great game too and was fascinating to see home runs hit into a corn field. Kevin Costner was there and the players walked out from the corn onto the field wearing throwback uniforms styled from the year 1919.
This field actually exist in Iowa today. And it is open to the public. 3 other baseball movies that are real tearjerkers. 1 "AMAZING GRACE and CHUCK" The final scene is so emotional that the entire film crew was in tears. 2. PRIDE OF THE YANKEES: The story of Lou Gehrig> 3 THE NATURAL.
I saw this in the theater when it was released.........a lotta men (including me) were "coughing" with the "wanna have a catch" line.............tremendous movie. thanks for sharing.
Wonderful reaction guys. Having grown up in a baseball family this is the ultimate childhood fantasy - being able to play catch with your father when you were about same age. No man can get through that ending - "Hey Dad, want to have a catch?" - without that strong, heartfelt emotion.
Frankly despicable I watched this because it's a great film to see reactions, but after Karen falling I think they'd watch kitten snuff films and laugh
It was an odd reaction to that scene, not gonna lie... but obviously the filming technique caught her off guard and she found it amusing. Getting angry about it seems a bit much.
One of several great baseball movies out there. Others include The Natural, A League Of Their Own, 61, The Rookie, For The Love Of The Game, Bull Durham, 42, Cooperstown, Trouble With The Curve, The Bad News Bears and Major League. P.S. Field Of Dreams was written by Canadian author W.P. Kinsella.
I bought my first portable tape player when I lived in San Diego. They came with a single wired earpiece same as the transistor radios. The music wasn't in stereo yet, so it all came out of one speaker. You wear it in one ear, then switch sides after your ear was too sore to continue. That's just how those things were done. It got to be stupid to me after awhile, so I had an idea and wired two of them together. It's basically what you guys are wearing right now. So I made the first set of earbuds in 1973.
I understand your attachment to practicing a sport completely ❤ I come from a family of wrestlers and baseball/softball players and we all had so much fun and cared for each others health and mental well being by training with each other❤ Sports can be very healing and also life provoking if taught correctly. Thank y’all for sharing❤
Y'all told some good stories of how you're there for each other and all, but when you both started singing "Go the Distance", that's when I could tell you were perfect for each other.
I hate to exclude women from this and I understand there are father daughter relationships, but this movie hits a father son thing that can't be explained. Whether good or bad, positive or negative, absent or there, this movie hits hard.
That place really exists in Iowa. You can go visit it and run the bases. They also have played a couple of MLB games there. It’s a pretty majestic place. I recommend watching the intro to the first MLB field of dreams game. Costner gives the preamble, it’s pretty phenomenal
Great reaction! I am from Iowa. When this film was being made I was student at the University of Northern Iowa. Three friends and I were in one of cars in that long line at the end. I had no idea it'd be such a fond memory that I'd be looking back on for the next 30+ years! Thanks for doing this.. it's a great movie!
There is a specific reason why I relate so strongly to this movie, even after watching it dozens of times. Forty five years ago I was selected, by school tradition, to be the high school senior selected to conduct the orchestra in a concert. When I was selected for this honor I was understandably lifted up to the clouds. When my father did not attend any of my performances, and not even the honor concert when he promised, I had to walk home, alone in the dark, afterward. I was dropped to the deepest depths of hurt ever since. Things were never reconciled between us, even as he died not so long ago. I cry when I see Field Of Dreams because of the pain that things for me would never even out even close to the extent as it did for Ray.
No, the reason this movie is so popular has nothing to do with God, pro or con. It works because it comes full circle and closes all the loops. More than satisfying. It's perfect.
"Hey Dad... Want to have a catch?" I lose it every time. Also if you are looking for movie recommendations featuring Kevin Costner, I recommend the following: - Silverado (Western - This is the movie where I was first introduced to Costner playing the main character's brother) - No Way Out (Cold War Thriller with a Twist that you don't see coming at the end) - Bull Durham (Another Baseball Classic, he plays and aging minor league catcher who is brought in to mentor and prepare an up and coming pitcher for the Major League.) - The Untouchables (Based on the TV series of the same name, Costner plays the Federal Agent tasked with bringing down Al Capone during Prohibition-era Chicago - Robert DeNiro plays Capone and Sean Connery plays the veteran Chicago Cop assigned to the Task Force. Connery won an Oscar for this performance)
"If you build it, he will come." Fun Fact: Although his character delivers the movie's signature speech praising baseball, in real life, James Earl Jones hates baseball. Despite this, he would play another baseball enthusiast four years later in The Sandlot (1993). Location Location Fact: After the filming was completed, the family that owned the farm kept the field and added a small hut with inexpensive souvenirs for sale. Visitors are (as far as I know) free to come to the field and play baseball as they please between April and November. Baseball Camp Fact: Ray Liotta had no baseball experience and batted right-handed, although "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was a lefty. Phil Alden Robinson allowed Liotta to bat with his right, but still put him through several weeks of extensive training with University of Southern California baseball coach and former Brooklyn Dodger Rod Dedeaux in order to be convincing as one of the sport's greatest hitters. Liotta eventually developed a good swing. The scene where he hits a line-drive straight back at Kevin Costner actually happened. Costner's fall on the mound was real, and although it was a surprise, he stayed in character.
I haven't finished the reaction so I don't know if you mentioned this but the MLB held a field of dreams game where the teams enter from some crops and they play in cornfield. I think they're having another game in June this year.
Even though technically, maybe DMD was a better movie, but FOD is remembered and watched many more times and one of the greatest heartfelt and touching movies of all time. And the ending is pure magic kind of like Rocky II was.
I thought it was interesting on two fronts. 1. the guys reaction at the end was the same as every guy I have ever talked to about this movie. Plain and simple it brought tears. 2. His wife/GF's reaction to his reaction. She kept looking out of the corner of her eyes to see his reaction. I would love it if she would talk about her reaction to seeing her husband/BF's reaction. It almost, and I may be wrong, seemed as though she was afraid to see his reaction. I am not dissing her, it was just an interesting dynamic for those few seconds. Good on you sire for not being afraid to be a bit vulnerable.
Archie "Moonlight" Graham was an actual person and his life played out pretty much like in the film: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Graham Also, the field built for the film is still in service, and MLB has built a field next to it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_Dreams_(Dubuque_County,_Iowa)
I guess I should also add that this video is when Major League Baseball built a regulation baseball field on the Feild of Dreams movie site and played a regulation baseball game there in 2021 and they brought in Kevin Costner to open the game.
There's that one part of the movie where the music is just piano, and to sounds like he bangs the bottom key, and then comes in with these beautiful chords. James Horner.
I love Field of Dreams. It is a baseball movie, but it is a redemption story, a political statement, a love story, and a forgiveness story. I am glad that you both enjoyed this film. It is hard not to cry at the end of the film. It is just a beautiful moment that feels real. Like, it makes you want to do something with someone you love. Something innocent and fun. I would like to suggest a few more baseball movies and then other films to react too. Especially ones many reactors haven't done much of yet in hopes that you may enjoy them. Baseball - Bull Durham, The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Major League, Major League 2, Angels In The Outfield, 42 - The Jackie Robinson Story, Pride of the Yankees, The Babe, A League of Their Own and Little Big League. Other films - Hackers, Accepted, UHF, Elvira - Mistress of the Dark, They Live, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, The Bad Seed, S.O.B, Little Shop Of Horrors, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Night of the Living Dead, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men, Some Like It Hot, Stormy Weather, Boys on the Side, Akira, Once Bitten and Flight of the Navigator. Ones I have seen reactors do that I have a feeling you both would enjoy - Fried Green Tomatoes, But I'm A Cheerleader, Clerks, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle,Twister, The Birdcage and Jaws. If any you have already seen, obviously...no worries if you don't react to it. But I do hope that for all of the ones you haven't, that you will put them on your list. I know it is a lot of suggestions. But, but it does provide plenty of content for the next couple of years.
Ray Liottta did looked the part of an old time baseball player.When Shoeless Joe Jackson left the criminal court building in the custody of a sheriff after telling his story to the grand jury, he found several hundred youngsters, aged from 6 to 16, waiting for a glimpse of their idol. One child stepped up to the outfielder, and, grabbing his coat sleeve, said: "It ain't true, is it, Joe?" "Yes, kid, I'm afraid it is," Jackson replied. The boys opened a path for the ball player and stood in silence until he passed out of sight. "Well, I'd never have thought it," sighed the lad.
Great fun reaction guys❤. As a 55 year baseball fan this movie to me is a fantasy movie with great life lessons with baseball as a backdrop. Fun fact Kevin Costner was an outstanding baseball player coming out of high school and was recruited to play at one of the top collegiate programs in the US Cal State Fullerton in Southern California. He quickly found out he didn't have what it took to reach the next level and switched to theatre/acting. He channeled his love of baseball to some great movies including FoD. 😊
I LOVE this movie. I LOVE watching people react to it. I’m SO happy everyone seems to love it. But I think most people are pretty unfair to Mark and his family. I watch a lot of viewers apply rules from other movies to this one. It is never once said, implied, or shown in THIS film that “belief” or “childlike innocence” decides who can see the players or not. Other then Ray the people who see it, see it right away. No faith or belief necessary. Mark sees them once the doctor helps Karen and they need to keep the farm. Not because he suddenly “believes” but because we need him to see. The people who see are the people who need to see for their own sake, or whom we need to see to help us. It’s not a moral judgement on her family that they don’t see the players. And lots of people lie, make fun of, and pull pranks all the time. Not instantly 💯 believing anything anyone tells you right away is not you being a bad person. When watching a movie everyone thinks they’d believe in magic no question but in real life you might not. Also, they really are loosing the farm. They have no money, they are not making payments, the bank will foreclose. They don’t actually have the choice “just say no” and keep going the way they are. Not till Karen says people will come. That’s the first time they are given hope or an option that requires faith. It’s not that weird that her brother / parents are concerned. Yeah, he’s also trying to make a deal/ profit. But he’s not lying, cheating, stealing. And he’s not a bad person being punished because he doesn’t believe. He just doesn’t see them till the end because it’s not about him. 🤷♀️ (I’m not talking about the dropping Karen part. THAT is a whole other- someone please punch that d**k -thing. I’m only talking about everything leading up to it.)
Really good comment on crying because of the orchestra! Most people just let the music fly over their head, even though the music is a large part of what makes a movie. James Horner is responsible, and he's one of the best at eliciting crying.
Nachos, you have to get nachos at the ballpark! Even the movies just give you the nachos with the little cup on the side. I want nachos with the cheese on top. Lots of jalapenos. That's it, three-ingredient nacho is the best
Enjoyed the reaction and a new subscriber. If you haven't already seen it, "The Natural" with Robert Redford is another baseball film that combines elements of fantasy that I think you'd like. And if you liked the music in Field of Dreams, just wait...
Anything with Kevin Costner is worth watching.This was a beautiful movie , another beautiful movie with Kevin is Dances With Wolves.I highly recommend it.
MLB built a Major league field right beside the movie field, and they played a REAL MLB baseball game between the White Sox and Yankees. They needed to build a secondary field to accompany thousands of spectators. Kevin Costner and the teams came out of the actual cornfield with the music. Watch the intro. Makes a grown man tear up all over again. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jbmZ1Oz_nTg.html Drone camera at 7:54 in that video shows exactly how close it is to the movie set and house.
Many thanks to Meg and Caleb! ⚾ I saw this one in the cinema... love it. I was skeptical going in, as sports don't interest me, but, as you see, it's really more about the people and situations. 🧢 Top-tier storytelling you've witnessed. 💎