“The Natural” Odyssey-like myth created by “Wonder Boy” Redford

Mythical structure as a “Kishinryu setan”

The original story is the 1952 novel ``The The Natural'' by Bernard Malamud. However, many changes were made in making it into a movie. In the original story, Roy Hubbs takes bribes from the owners and participates in match-fixing. Although he changes his mind in his final at-bat, his misdeeds are leaked to the newspapers, leading to a tragic end.

However, Roger Towne and Phil Dussenberry, who were in charge of the script, changed the ending so that the story was about simply winning the pennant race, without getting involved in the devil's pact. The dark and cynical touch of the original work has been replaced with a bright and pastoral tone.

Robert Redford, a national star, would never play a character who is anti-moral, so even the main character Roy, who seems to lack moral sense in the novel version, gains sympathy from the audience. As in, Reborn is a character with a strong sense of justice and integrity.

"The Natural" (c) 1984 TRISTAR PICTURES.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

At first glance, ``The Natural'' seems like a typical Hollywood movie with somewhat opportunistic developments.

However, the story line of this work actually has a mythical structure. The main character, Roy Habbs, is probably similar to Odysseus, the main character in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey . Roy "finds his place" at the end of a long journey, but Odysseus also returns to his hometown after a long and difficult journey. This is a kind of aristocratic tale.

Max (Robert Duvall), The Journalist who says, ``The life and death of the players are in my hands,'' is probably Vulcan, the god of fire and forging. He always dresses in reddish-brown clothes, and by writing articles he can ``light a fire'' = ``expose Roy's social status by exposing his past,'' and ``cast'' = ``cast Roy.'' It can also push you to stardom.

New York Knights manager Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley) is Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus' sacred tree is oak, but bats carved from oak are always scattered around him. And Pop's uniform number is "1", which represents the pinnacle of everything.

"The Natural" (c) 1984 TRISTAR PICTURES.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The New York Knights' owner, the Judge (Robert Prosky), is Hades, the god of the underworld. The mysterious Gus Sands (Darren McGavin), who covered one eye and boasted that he would win Roy's money, is a one-eyed giant Cyclops (Gus's one eye is probably a prosthetic eye).

Iris, Roy's childhood friend and lifelong companion, is Penelope, the wife of Odysseus. She raised Roy's son alone for 16 years while Odysseus was away from home, and Iris also raised Roy's child alone for 16 years.

The outline of ``The Natural'' is also similar to `` The Legend of King Arthur .'' For the Fisher King, who was irreparably injured by the Spear of Longinus, the heroes search for the legendary Holy Grail and save the King. ``The Natural'' also features players dressed in Knigts uniforms fighting to win the coveted pennant for the unfortunate Coach Fischer, who was given up on winning the championship. .

A story of “those shrouded in light” and “those shrouded in darkness”