1989 Hit Film Ranked Among 'Best Kevin Costner Performances'

Kevin Costner has been making headlines in recent years after exiting Yellowstone, trying to bring his Horizonmovies to audiences and more.

But the Academy Award winner, 71, was a good old-fashioned movie star in his heyday, let’s not forget. Back in the 1980s and ’90s, it was all about starring in high-profile films for Costner.

Sure, he scooped up Oscar gold in 1991 thanks to his stunning work behind the lens for Dances With Wolves. But two years earlier, another one of his finest films had hit the masses — and offered perhaps a finer performance.

Field of Dreams would also receive multiple Academy Award nominations, and in 2022, Variety ranked it at No. 2 on its list of 10 Best Kevin Costner Performances, writing: “His Ray, an Iowa farmer who’s inspired to pursue his dream, hits on every cylinder, including a finale that stands as one of the best to close out the 1980s.”

Cut to 2026, and the baseball-centered fantasy film is now celebrating a 37-year milestone, having been released on April 21, 1989. It holds an impressive 88% average critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and certain generations can surely recall watching the classic on TV through syndication again and again over the years.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis: When Iowa farmer Ray hears a mysterious voice one night in his cornfield saying “If you build it, he will come,” he feels the need to act. Despite taunts of lunacy, Ray builds a baseball diamond on his land, supported by his wife, Annie. Afterward, the ghosts of great players start emerging from the crops to play ball, led by “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. But, as Ray learns, this field of dreams is about much more than bringing former baseball greats out to play.

Costner would go on to star in another acclaimed baseball film, For Love of the Game, 10 years later opposite the late, great Kelly Preston.