This was the picture that propelled a Hollywood icon to stardom and remains a beloved star-studded fantasy epic adored by audiences and critics alike – and it’s gracing ITV screens tonight.

Kevin Costner starred as Iowa farmer Ray in the blockbuster Field of Dreams.

The ghostly baseball tale featured an ensemble cast including Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe Jackson, James Earl Jones portraying Terence Mann, Burt Lancaster in his swan song performance as Doc Archibald Graham, and Amy Madigan as Annie.

Phil Aiden Robinson directed this 1989 release, which drew inspiration from WP Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe.

Beyond its box office triumph, Field of Dreams earned critical acclaim, with one reviewer praising it as: “A work so smartly written, so beautifully filmed, so perfectly acted, that it does the almost impossible trick of turning sentimentality into true emotion.”

The picture secured three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Field of Dreams currently boasts an outstanding 88 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

One review says: “This is a story about passion, not just for baseball, but also a passion to do something with our one precious life even if people think it’s crazy.”, reports the Mirror.

Another wrote: “It’s hard to imagine a cynicism so hardened that it won’t crumble at the sight of a lush green baseball field nestled into an Iowa cornfield and at this movie’s final inspiring scene of youth and innocence recaptured.”

Meanwhile, a third said: “Too idiosyncratic and witty merely to wallow in sentimentality, Field Of Dreams will surely stand as a classic update of what made Old Hollywood so magical. It’s still a wonderful life.”

The picture also occupies a cherished spot in viewers’ hearts.

One said: “This film is pure magic! I have seen this movie probably a hundred times in my life.. I’ve just finished watching it again tonight and I still get the same feeling I got the first time I saw it.”

Another added: “One of the greatest films ever made. Men, get ready to cry. My favorite movies are ones that elicit an emotional response. “If you build it, he will come. “”.

A third enthusiast wrote: “This is still probably my favorite movie of all time after seeing it over 30 years ago. A lesson in the value of having faith and valuing family along with paying a homage to baseball when it truly was Americas pastime, it is sentimental nonsense in the best way, as Ray says to Terrence Mann when returning back to Iowa to after picking up Moonlight Graham, “It’s Perfect!””.

Field of Dreams is airing on ITV4 at 6.50pm on Sunday, January 4.

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