The Natural

Without overly dwelling on the underlying Freudian trappings of Barry Levinson's 1984 adaptation of Bernard Malamud's novel about an aging baseball "natural" named Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford), who returns to the game with his bat (nicknamed "Wonderboy") some 16 years after being assaulted by a mysterious woman (Barbara Hershey), let's just say that The Natural--despite a few problems--is still one gorgeously shot, good old-fashioned yarn. Included on this nice widescreen transfer, backed by Dolby Digital 4.0 sound, is an interesting tribute documentary featuring commentary by baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Mar. 20, 2007—Sony, 2 discs, 144 min., not rated, $24.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1984's The Natural (Director's Cut) features a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras on this two-disc set include an intro by director Barry Levinson, the  “making-of” documentaries “When Lighting Strikes” (50 min.) and “The Heart of The Natural” (45 min.), “A Natural Gunned Down: The Stalking of Eddie Waitkus” (17 min.), “Clubhouse Conversations” (15 min.), “Knights in Shining Armor: The Mythology of The Natural” (9 min.), four “Extra Innings” segments on “Slow Motion,” “Uniforms,” “The Sandberg Game,” and “The Presidents Question” (7 min. total), and trailers. Bottom line: Levinson's new version adds 15 minutes—mostly from Roy's childhood, but also cuts some material, so the film is only six minutes longer, overall. Those who cherish the original will want to keep that one, but the bountiful extras and Dolby Digital 5.1 track here make this one worth adding as well.][Blu-ray Review—Apr. 13, 2010—Sony, 138 min., PG, $24.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1984's The Natural features a great transfer and a 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are almost identical to the previous standard DVD release, including the extensive featurettes: “When Lighting Strikes” (50 min.), “The Heart of The Natural” (45 min.), “A Natural Gunned Down: The Stalking of Eddie Waitkus” (17 min.), “Clubhouse Conversations” (15 min.), and “Knights in Shining Armor: The Mythology of The Natural” (9 min.), as well as four “Extra Innings” segments on “Slow Motion,” “Uniforms,” “The Sandberg Game,” and “The President's Question” (7 min. total), and trailers. New to the Blu-ray release are the “movieIQ” and BD-Live functions. Bottom line: a beloved baseball film makes a glorious debut on Blu-ray.]