Field of Dreams - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[riley]

To get the most evocative visuals, director of photography John Lindley shot during the "magic hour" as the sun was setting. The term is a misnomer, as the right lighting lasts only about ten to fifteen minutes. Single scenes had to be shot over a period of several days each.

[amber]

Phil Alden Robinson had created a temp track which was disliked by Universal executives. When the announcement of James Horner as composer was made, they felt more positive because they expected a big orchestral score, similar to Horner's work for An American Tail (1986). Horner, in contrast, liked the temporary score, finding it "quiet, and kind of ghostly". He decided to follow the idea of the temp track, creating an atmospheric soundtrack which would "focus on the emotions".

[miriam]

Phil Alden Robinson and the producers originally did not consider Kevin Costner for the part of Ray because they did not think that he would want to follow Bull Durham (1988) with another baseball movie. Costner, however, did end up reading the script, and became interested in the project, stating that he felt the movie would be "this generation's It's a Wonderful Life (1946)". Since Robinson's directorial debut In the Mood (1987) had been a commercial failure, Costner also said that he would help Robinson with the production.

[lonnie]

According to Kevin Costner, due to it needing to be filmed at twilight, there was a limited window of time to film the closing scenes. The scene of Ray playing catch with his father had to be done in one take, and Costner said he felt under pressure not to drop or muff any catches, which would delay or ruin the scene. Costner added that while making the scene he faced directly against the helicopter used to film the ascending and overhead views of the field and surrounding roads to close the movie, creating a further challenge and distraction for him.