The Natural

Play trailer

The Natural

PG

1984

2h 25m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

48 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

On the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, young baseball phenom Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, Hobbs returns to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights. Despite early arguments with his manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), Hobbs becomes one of the best players in the league, and the Knights start winning. But this upsets the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wants Hobbs to lose games, not win.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Though heavy with sentiment, The Natural is an irresistible classic, and a sincere testament to America's national pastime.

Read Critics Reviews

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

03/19/2013

4/4

Being a baseball fan involves repeatedly experiencing exquisite pain and exquisite joy. Well, there's a lot of both in The Natural.

Go to Full Review

Empire Magazine

03/25/2011

An otherwise fine sports fantasy is dragged down by an overindulgence in sentimentality.

Go to Full Review

Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

03/21/2011

Levinson must have felt he had to swing for the fences. He can be forgiven for choking up with all The Natural's fans looking on dubiously. In fairness, the official scorer must credit him with a single. And Redford with an RBI.

Go to Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Dugout Dirt

12/04/2024

5/5

The Natural has everything going for it--directing, acting, cinematography, and especially Randy Newman's iconic score.

Go to Full Review

Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

05/17/2024

4/5

It shouldn't work, but it does. It’s a great-looking movie with a true movie star at its center and a cast chock-full of fantastic character actors (40th anniversary)

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

02/21/2022

3/4

...ultimately fares much, much better than the often astonishingly tedious Bernard Malamud novel on which its based...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Nicole

Sep 23

Love this movie. It has romance, sports, inspiration and intrigue.

See more

Contrafilms

Sep 23

An absolute classic. The reason I miss films from the 70s (even though it was made in the 80s). It takes its time, tells a compelling story, doesnt bog you down in the "world" of baseball (even though I wouldn't mind that) and has a cast that is stellar. A real feel-good tearjerker.

See more

Al A

@RT36830200 Apr 7

Classic. The best baseball movie ever made, and one of the best sports movies ever made. Great performances by an outstanding cast.

See more

Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Mar 22

Didn’t land with me. Improbable, long winded, cheesy, badly acted and dull. Watched on Netflix.

See more

MC B

@RT23450091 Feb 26

Maybe the most over-rated movie of all-time. Redford is not believable as a baseball player and the baseball scenes are ridiculous. The mystic stroyline with Glenn Close is just silly. As a baseball fan this film was just disappointing. Don't believe the hype. The story is silly sentimental with really weak baseball scenes. Pass.

See more

alan g

@agenser Feb 4

Totally different from the book. Might as well be a different title. Acting is stiff and unrealostic.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Barry Levinson

Director

Robert Redford

Roy Hobbs

Robert Duvall

Max Mercy

Glenn Close

Iris Gaines

Kim Basinger

Memo Paris

Wilford Brimley

Pop Fisher

The Natural: Official Clip - The Final Homerun

2:13

The Natural: Official Clip - Savoy Special

2:06

The Natural: Official Clip - Batting Practice With Wonderboy

2:12

The Natural: Official Clip - The Lady in White

2:12

The Natural: Official Clip - Knock the Cover Off the Ball

2:12

The Natural: Official Clip - Let it Ride

2:12

The Natural: Official Clip - Striking Out The Whammer

2:11

The Natural: Official Clip - A New Right Fielder

2:13

View more videos

Places in the Heart

90%

83%

Places in the Heart

Watchlist

Rudy

80%

90%

Rudy

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Rudy

Race the Sun

22%

41%

Race the Sun

Watchlist

Avalon

86%

78%

Avalon

Watchlist

Phar Lap

88%

93%

Phar Lap

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Play Ball With RT’s Top Sports Movies!

"Shaun" Gang Warms Up for "Hot Fuzz"

Three Great Character Actors Gone in One Sad Weekend

View more photos

Synopsis

On the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, young baseball phenom Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, Hobbs returns to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights. Despite early arguments with his manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), Hobbs becomes one of the best players in the league, and the Knights start winning. But this upsets the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wants Hobbs to lose games, not win.

Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Mark Johnson
Screenwriter: Bernard Malamud, Phil Dusenberry
Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Pioneer Entertainment, RCA/Columbia
Production Co: TriStar Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 11, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Runtime: 2h 25m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)