Randy Newman's score for director Barry Levinson's 1984 adaptation of writer Bernard Malamud's baseball fable remains, like star Robert Redford's turn as the film's Roy Hobbs, somewhat mystic and decidedly larger than life. Newman's music flawlessly fuses overwrought Wagnerian grandeur with the more plaintive strains of Aaron Copland, arguably forming one of the film's most crucial narrative elements in the bargain. Perhaps because it's a score with a scale so broad and bold--the antithesis of Newman-the-songwriter's often terse, internalized musical monologues--the composer himself has since expressed reservations about the potent cues he's since dubbed "heromusik." Nonetheless, The Natural remains an impressive tribute to Newman's musical professionalism, even if his masterful craftsmanship produced something he's always seemed a bit wary of: a bona fide crowd pleaser. --Jerry McCulley
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Moving, Spectacular - a true orchestral classic!!:
Randy Newman? Wrote and performed "Short People" Part of Bachman Turner Overdrive if I recall.. However when put to the task of a soundtrack for a movie about a baseball "Natural" Mr. Newman pulled out all the stops. You'll hear the famous clips from this CD during a "best of" sports feature or maybe a biography of a great hero. It's a must have for a cinematic classical collector. The composition includes soft and pleasant textures like walking in a magnificient wheat field on a sunny day - some rinky... more info
By far one of the best movie soundtracks ever composed:
Randy Newman is known to the non-cinematically-obsessed public as the sourpuss composer and gravelly-voiced singer of the tart novelty hit "Short People," but here is the work for which he should have won his well-deserved Oscar (instead of for the trifle he composed for 2001's "Monsters, Inc.").
With "The Natural," which he not only composed but conducted, Newman manages the pretty neat trick of stepping into the enormous shoes left by Aaron Copland. Newman takes the perfectly American pasttime of... more info
A home run soundtrack! And I don't even like baseball.:
This the most magical soundtrack I have every purchased! I personally think it is Randy Newman's best work and as far as soundtracks go I put it up there with anything by Nino Rota. The way Newman uses the strings and paces the songs one would swear he was the prodigal son of Aaron Copeland. Of course he isn't but like Copeland's operas he definitely knows how to compose music which feels Americana. You can almost see wheat fields blowing and you'll certainly want t a piece of Apple Pie after hearing the... more info
Sweetly nostalgic, yet swingy and jazzy.:
Great movie music! The main theme is sweetly nostalgic of a simpler time, and the "Majors" theme is swingy and jazzy. The slower parts are relaxing to listen to, and the faster parts are great to dance to. Highly recommended.
![The Natural (Director s Cut) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NoMG7RWmL._SL75_.jpg)
