History Film / FieldOfDreams

* {{Expy}}: While Terence Mann is a stand-in for Creator/JDSalinger (who filled Mann's role in the book), he does borrow some elements from the politically-active black writer Creator/JamesBaldwin.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The famously reclusive author Terence Mann was the famously reclusive author Creator/JDSalinger in the original book, but Salinger threatened to sue if he was featured in any adaptation of the novel. Also counts as a RaceLift.

* CoolOldGuy: Doc Graham. He was known in his town as a kind, caring man who always looked after his patients even when they couldn't pay and is fondly remembered by those who knew him nearly two decades after his passing. When he meets Ray, he shows himself as a sharp, humble and witty man who isn't at all resentful about missing out on playing more baseball, happy to have worked as a doctor. When he steps out from the field to save Karen, he even assures Ray that everything is fine and he was happy to get to play with legends even if it was just for one game before leaving. He was also played by Burt Lancaster in his final role, making him cool automatically and showing that he'd lost none of the wit or charisma that defined his career.

* BassoProfundo: Courtesy of James Earl Jones.

* ArcWords: "If you build it, he will come." "Ease his pain" and "Go the distance" are secondary arc words, but just as important.

* AndImTheQueenOfSheba: Mark introduces himself to Terence Mann as "the Easter Bunny".

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Along with the film ''Film/EightMenOut'', this film and the book that inspired it have been instrumental in sparking attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of Shoeless Joe Jackson. The film presents Jackson as a misunderstood and tortured soul with regard to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. This whitewashing ignores several facts, which get conveniently ignored. First, Jackson admitted via grand jury testimony (dated September 29, 1920) under oath that he accepted money to throw the Series, something court transcripts delineate plainly; he also changed his story regarding level of involvement with some frequency. Some observers point to Jackson's glowingly good stats in that World Series as proof that he wasn't actually participating in throwing games -- but this ignores that he only played well in games that were "on the level" (not every game in the 1919 Series was fixed) or in fixed games after a loss was assured. Inning-by-inning analysis of thrown games and perusal of "clean" games shows this clearly. [[https://sabr.org/journal/article/an-ever-changing-story-exposition-and-analysis-of-shoeless-joe-jacksons-public-statements-on-the-black-sox-scandal/ See this link for details]].

* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: When Ray goes out for a walk in Chisholm after learning that Moonlight Graham died in 1972, [[spoiler: Graham walks right past him in the background before Ray realizes that he's stepped back in time.]]

%% * NeverLiveItDown: [[invoked]] "You said your finger was a ''gun''!"

* AdultFear:
** Your farm is losing money, you have no savings, and the bank is getting ready to foreclose your mortgage, leaving you homeless.
** This one hits about as hard as possible: [[spoiler:your young daughter suddenly falls from the bleachers, and when she hits the ground, she stops breathing.]]

--> '''"Moonlight" Graham:''' Tell me, Ray Kinsella. Is there enough magic in the ''moonlight'' to make my wish come true?

-->'''Shoeless Joe:''' If you build it, he will come.

** Ty Cobb is described offhandedly as so unlikable a character, no one wanted to play with him and that being the reason he's not among the ghosts of other greats. While that's not entirely true (his teammates generally tolerated him at least), he was indeed roundly disliked around the league for such things as sharpening his spikes, the better to injure anyone trying to tag him out on a close play. He also had numerous unpleasant off-field run-ins with Blacks over trivial incidents that resulted in fisticuffs, and once went into the stands to beat the tar out of a crippled fan who had heckled him. In addition, he as well as Tris Speaker and Smoky Joe Wood were caught trying to fix and bet on a September 25, 1919 game; incredibly, the same Kenesaw Mountain Landis who banned Jackson and seven other Black Sox for life, did nothing to punish Cobb, Wood, and Speaker. Cobb's reputation as a complete jerkass who no one could stand is now generally accepted by baseball fans and historians to be largely overblown with a famous anecdote later discovered that Cobb was among the few players not to treat Shoeless Joe as persona non grata when the two happened upon each other years after Jackson's career ended.

** Ty Cobb is described offhandedly as so unlikable a character, no one wanted to play with him and that being the reason he's not among the ghosts of other greats. While that's not entirely true (his teammates generally tolerated him at least), he was indeed roundly disliked around the league for such things as sharpening his spikes, the better to injure anyone trying to tag him out on a close play. He also had numerous unpleasant off-field run-ins with Blacks over trivial incidents that resulted in fisticuffs, and once went into the stands to beat the tar out of a crippled fan who had heckled him. In addition, he as well as Tris Speaker and Smoky Joe Wood were caught trying to fix and bet on a September 25, 1919 game; incredibly, the same Kenesaw Mountain Landis who banned Jackson and seven other Black Sox for life, did nothing to punish Cobb, Wood, and Speaker.

* ShoutOut: "As a small boy, he had a bat named [[Film/CitizenKane Rosebud]]."

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: [[http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grahamo01.shtml Moonlight Graham]] was in fact a ballplayer who appeared in only one MLB game, before becoming a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota. The film takes some liberties with his story: Graham died in 1965, but producer Creator/FrancisFordCoppola wanted to see ''Film/TheGodfather'' on a marquee, so Ray goes back to 1972 to find him. His single game was also played in 1905, not 1922.

** The degree of Shoeless Joe Jackson's culpability in the Black Sox Scandal is in fact clear. He testified under oath to a grand jury that he was paid money to help throw games in the 1919 World Series and kept the money. Also, a detailed look at box scores shows that Jackson only played well in games that were "on the level" (not every game in the series was crooked) and in fixed games after a loss was assured. Any idea that Jackson was innocent in the matter has to ignore some extremely damning evidence to the contrary.
** Also, unlike what both this movie and the previous year's ''Eight Men Out'' claim, after he was expelled, he never played under "a made up name in some 12th rate league".
*** The reason for that last mix-up is probably the result of a story told well after his playing days. Jackson was the proprietor of a liquor store, and one day Ty Cobb (the Hall of Fame player) and Grantland Rice (legendary sportswriter) walked in to make a purchase. Joe never made any sign that he recognized them, even though they had crossed paths before during their playing days. Finally, Cobb had to ask:
----> Cobb: Don't you know me, Joe?
----> Jackson: Sure I know you, Ty, [[{{Tearjerker}} but I wasn't sure that you wanted to know me. A lot of them don't.]]
** Ty Cobb is also described offhandedly as so unlikable a character, no one wanted to play with him and that being the reason he's not among the ghosts of other greats. While that's not entirely true (his teammates generally tolerated him at least), he was indeed roundly disliked around the league for such things as sharpening his spikes, the better to injure anyone trying to tag him out on a close play. He also had numerous unpleasant off-field run-ins with Blacks over trivial incidents that resulted in fisticuffs, and once went into the stands to beat the tar out of a crippled fan who had heckled him. In addition, he as well as Tris Speaker and Smoky Joe Wood were caught trying to fix and bet on a September 25, 1919 game; incredibly, the same Kenesaw Mountain Landis who banned Jackson and seven other Black Sox for life, did nothing to punish Cobb, Wood, and Speaker.

* SecretMessageWink: Former baseball player Moonlight Graham tells Ray his one wish: if he ever got to bat in the major leagues, to stare down the pitcher and wink, "making him think you know something he doesn't." Later, Archie bats at his first game and gives a wink to the pitcher. Thinking Archie knows something he doesn't, the pitcher throws extra hard, nearly knocking Archie out.

* RealityEnsues: PlayedForLaughs with the case of Terence Mann; after Ray "kidnaps" him, the author's father makes repeated calls to his Boston residence and, when he doesn't answer, reports him as missing, which makes the national papers. Mann decides to contact him...then wonders aloud, "What do I ''tell'' him?"
** Also a baseball case for Moonlight Graham. If you try to psych out a pitcher, especially one from the earlier days of baseball, you will pay for it.

* PetTheDog:
** After the newspaper editor reads the obit she wrote for Graham in 1972, Mann tells her, "You're a good writer." She smiles and replies, "So are you."
** Joe calling after Doc Graham, "Hey rookie!... You were good."

* AdaptationDistillation: In the book, Ray meets [[spoiler:his father]] in the last third of story, rather than at the climax. Terence Mann in the film is a LawyerFriendlyCameo of Creator/JDSalinger in the book. In addition to Mann, Ray's goalie is his twin brother Richard and an aging ex-ballplayer named Eddie Scissons.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Along with the film ''Film/EightMenOut'', this film and the book that inspired it have been instrumental in sparking attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of UsefulNotes/ShoelessJoeJackson. The film presents Jackson as a misunderstood and tortured soul with regard to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. This whitewashing ignores several facts, which get conveniently ignored. First, Jackson admitted via grand jury testimony (dated September 29, 1920) under oath that he accepted money to throw the Series, something court transcripts delineate plainly; he also changed his story regarding level of involvement with some frequency. Some observers point to Jackson's glowingly good stats in that World Series as proof that he wasn't actually participating in throwing games -- but this ignores that he only played well in games that were "on the level" (not every game in the 1919 Series was fixed) or in fixed games after a loss was assured. Inning-by-inning analysis of thrown games and perusal of "clean" games shows this clearly. [[https://sabr.org/journal/article/an-ever-changing-story-exposition-and-analysis-of-shoeless-joe-jacksons-public-statements-on-the-black-sox-scandal/ See this link for details]].

** UsefulNotes/TyCobb is also described offhandedly as so unlikable a character, no one wanted to play with him and that being the reason he's not among the ghosts of other greats. While that's not entirely true (his teammates generally tolerated him at least), he was indeed roundly disliked around the league for such things as sharpening his spikes, the better to injure anyone trying to tag him out on a close play. He also had numerous unpleasant off-field run-ins with Blacks over trivial incidents that resulted in fisticuffs, and once went into the stands to beat the tar out of a crippled fan who had heckled him. In addition, he as well as UsefulNotes/TrisSpeaker and UsefulNotes/SmokyJoeWood were caught trying to fix and bet on a September 25, 1919 game; incredibly, the same UsefulNotes/KenesawMountainLandis who banned Jackson and seven other Black Sox for life, did nothing to punish Cobb, Wood, and Speaker.

Ray Kinsella (Costner) is an honest farmer with a nice family, but explains in the prologue that he had a falling out with his father (who was a baseball fanatic) and they were unable to reconcile before his death. One day, Ray was out in his corn field when he hears a voice saying "If you build it, he will come." Surprised, he is later given a vision that what he is supposed to build is a baseball field, and that "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (Liotta) would return from the dead to play baseball. For obvious reasons, Ray is wondering how he could ever get such a bizarre idea. But after a long talk with his wife Annie (Madigan), Ray decides that he wants to do something outrageous because it feels right and not because he is afraid of what others think.

Barely making a profit as it was, the cost of building the baseball field and the land it takes over puts them financially in trouble. But after a few months, Shoeless Joe does appear, bewildered himself but with an honest desire to play some baseball. Eventually more dead baseball players from his time period return to play. Unfortunately, Ray and his family are the only ones who see the players and the bank is looking down on them.

[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0825.JPG]]

It was nominated for several Oscars including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0825.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"If you build it, he will come."]]

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: [[http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grahamo01.shtml Moonlight Graham]] was in fact a ballplayer who appeared in only one MLB game, before becoming a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota. The film takes some liberties with his story; Graham died in 1965, but producer Creator/FrancisFordCoppola wanted to see ''Film/TheGodfather'' on a marquee, so Ray goes back to 1972 to find him. Additionally, while it's true that Graham did not get a chance to bat, he played two innings on defense instead of one.

A 1989 fantasy film directed by Creator/PhilAldenRobinson, starring Creator/KevinCostner, Creator/AmyMadigan, Creator/JamesEarlJones, Creator/RayLiotta, and Creator/BurtLancaster.

** When Ray hears "If you build it, he will come", [[RedHerring Ray assumes]] that "he" is Shoeless Joe Jackson. He also assumes that "Ease his pain" refers to Terrance Mann and "Go the distance" refers to Moonlight. When those ArcWords are said near the end of the movie (including by Jackson himself), the "he" being referred to is revealed to be someone else entirely.