Series/Themes: Featured, Special Guests, Spotlight Screenings, Staff Picks

Genre: Classics

Film Year: 1984

Locations: USA

Film Length: 138 min

Director: Barry Levinson

Featuring: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger

An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs (Redford) with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman. Nominated for four Academy Awards in 1984, director Barry Levinson’s film adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s 1952 baseball novel of the same name delivers a sincere testament to America’s national pastime. Discussion with director Barry Levinson and Michael Tackett of The New York Times

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