Field Of Dreams

Poor Kevin Costner, he has been reduced to little more than a joke in Hollywood ever since the mid-'90s, when he decided to begin starring in horrible flop after horrible flop (The Postman anyone? I didn't think so). Yet one must try and remember that Mr. Costner used to be a major star (I know that's an odd concept) and even made good movies every once in a while. Case in point is 1989's Field of Dreams, which Universal Studios Home Video has just released a "15th Anniversary Edition" of. Field of Dreams tells the story of an Iowa farmer (Costner) who begins hearing voices ("If you build it, he will come") that tell him to plow his crops and build a baseball field for the "ghosts" of the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" players. Costner obliges, and what results is a film that although sometimes is unbearably sappy, defines the "feel good" family film of the late 1980s, displaying a poignant and touching ode to father-son relationships. Coming just in time for Father's Day, the digitally remastered DVD is loaded with extras, from a documentary about baseball's impact on American culture to feature commentary by the film's director, Phil Alden Robinson, and cinematographer John Lindley. Though the majority of these extras are both entertaining and insightful, they seem to narrowly focus on the film's relationship with baseball. Baseball is really just a metaphor for Field of Dreams' true theme: faith. And while it becomes easy for the audience to find themselves lost in their own disbelief of the rather ridiculous circumstances this theme manifests itself in, perhaps director Robinson says it best in his commentary: "If your internal tuning fork is on the same frequency as the story in the movie, then you'll love it. If it's not, then yes, this will be a dumb film to you." Plus: deleted scenes, more. (Universal)