A Reel 30: FIELD OF DREAMS

“If you build it, he will come…”

This month marks the 30^thanniversary of Phil Alden Robinson’s FIELD OF DREAMS. 

It is a cultural milestone, piece of Americana, and often regarded as one of the best sports films of all time. Adapted from W.P. Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe, FIELD OF DREAMS told the story of a struggling farmer who tears down his crop and livelihood to build a baseball field…which leads him on a journey across the country with a reclusive writer to unravel a mystery rooted in baseball of the past and his own family; specifically, his dead and estranged father. 

Phil Alden Robinson, who had a reputation as a screenwriter, began pitching the idea of a film based on the novel as far back as 1981. Studios passed on it for fear of it being not commercial enough, but it was eventually accepted by Universal Studios in 1987. The film was shot with the novel’s title, but the studio decided to change it to FIELD OF DREAMS. Robinson hated the change but was told by the book’s author that the original title for the novel was supposed to be The Dream Field, and that it had been changed to Shoeless Joe by the publisher. 

The lead role of Ray Kinsella, the broke farmer and family man, went to Kevin Costner, who was fresh off another successful baseball movie, BULL DURHAM. Costner accepted the role believing that FIELD OF DREAMS could become a next-generation IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. In the book, Kinsella seeks the help of reclusive writer J.D. Salinger, but Salinger threated to sue if his name was used, so Robinson re-wrote the character as Terence Mann, with James Earl Jones in mind. Amy Madigan was cast as Ray’s wife Annie, and Burt Lancaster would sign on in what would be his final role. The character of infamous baseball player “Shoeless Joe” Jackson would go to Ray Liotta. 

Filming took place in Iowa in the spring of 1988 at various locations. The famed baseball field that Ray would build was built and shot on the farm of Don Lansing, and the field stayed put for decades as a tourist attraction. With this being several years before the CGI era, the scene with endless headlights pulling into the field at night was done with the cooperation of the community; The nearby town of Dyersville was blacked out, and extras drove countless cars to the field. James Horner provided the score. 

FIELD OF DREAMS was released in April of 1989 in just a few theatres and was gradually opened to more screens and would play in theatres up until December. Reviews were positive, and it would be nominated for three Academy Awards; Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Robinson would earn nominations from the Directors and Writers Guild. In 2017, FIELD OF DREAMS was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. 

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FIELD OF DREAMS is a film that wears many caps; it’s a baseball movie, but it also works as a family drama, father-son story, a ghost story, and a mystery. Far and away from the standard sports film, it is a character-driven story with the sport as the backdrop but finds a way to make that sport vital to the telling. Its innocence and earnestness gives it a wide appeal and makes it a lovable family film that all ages can enjoy. FIELD OF DREAMS has been one of the favorites of this Blogger’s family, and no one with a soul can possibly walk away without a wet face after the film’s final shot…of a father and son playing a long-overdue game of catch. FIELD OF DREAMS is indeed a place where dreams come true. 

“Wanna have a catch?”