Classic Movie Picks: ‘Field of Dreams’ Is a Heartwarming Classic That’s as Much About Family as Baseball

With this week’s classic pick, I’m doing the best I can to honor June Dairy Month. However, since there are not many riveting movies about milk, I decided to go dairy-adjacent, and keep it on the farm. Do you recognize this famous movie line? 

“If you build it, he will come.” 

If not, it’s most likely you have not seen this week’s pic which is Field of Dreams. I highly recommend you check it out or, if you’re like many people, you’ve already seen it multiple times and might be due for a rewatch – in honor of June Dairy month! It also doesn’t hurt that baseball season is now in full swing. Get it? 

Kevin Costner plays Iowa corn farmer Ray Kinsella, a man going through a bit of a midlife crisis as he never realized his own dreams and whose father, a huge baseball fan, passed away before they were able to reconcile after a falling out, leaving Ray with a sense of longing and emptiness.

The story starts rolling when Ray is in his cornfield one night and hears the voice that utters that famous line, “if you build it, he will come.” This is followed by a vision of disgraced former White Sox player Shoeless Joe Jackson who is played by a young Ray Liotta. Jackson was pivotal in the 1919 World Series scandal where he and seven other White Sox players threw the game at which point the Black Sox scandal was born. Ray convinces his wife Annie, played by Amy Madigan, that he has to build a baseball field in the middle of their cornfield, which will cut into the farm’s profits. The film also could have been called ‘Ray’s wife thinks he’s Crazy.’ 

After the meeting with Shoeless Joe, Joe asks Ray if he can come back. Ray says sure and the next day he shows up with the seven other Black Sox members. Ray eventually connects with controversial author Terrence Mann played by James Earl Jones. Mann wrote a book with a character named John Kinsella, the same name as Ray’s father. The two embark on a road trip and watch baseball together before John finally appears to Ray and his family. Yes, this movie is a fantasy and implausible but heartwarming nonetheless.

Despite not bringing home any Oscars in 1990, The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture and Best Original Score. During filming, Iowa was in the middle of a drought so the cornfields surrounding the diamond had to be given lots of extra water in order to grow tall enough for the actors to disappear into the stalks. As a result, the corn grew too fast and too tall for shots of Kevin Costner who would just disappear completely when entering the corn. Production ended up building a plank that would raise Costner up a bit so we could see him. 

Like with many movies, it seems the lead actor was not the first choice. Tom Hanks was offered the part of Ray Kinsella but turned it down. Reba McEntire auditioned for the part of Annie. In Hollywood, there is a pecking order. When you work with a legend, you tend to just do what they say within reason. Actor Timothy Busfield took orders from the legendary Burt Lancaster, who didn’t know Busfield was part of the cast. He kept asking Busfield to do things like get him some water or a chair. The two shared a laugh, when Lancaster realized who Busfield was when they had a scene together.

The movie’s line “If you build it, he will come” was voted as the number 39 most famous movie quote by the American Film Institute. The film ranks number six on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Fantasy.” And finally, when you shoot a film in welcoming and friendly but unsavvy Iowa you have to roll with things…Amy Madigan sure did as she was offered a job as a bartender by the local bar who had no idea who she was. A great folksy behind the scenes story to go with a great folksy movie.

Editor’s note: For more movie and entertainment talk, join Pete Schwaba weeknights from 6. to 8 p .m. for “Nite Lite” on the Civic Media radio network.