Andrew Towne A bunch of kids who live on the wrong side of the tracks in a Florida town want to play baseball. But the only decent baseball field is on the "right" side of the tracks where the rich people live. The kids can only play there if they join a league, which means getting a coach.They pay an older man in their neighborhood (who turns out to be a drunk) to be their coach, and he reneges on the deal without giving their money back.Then, at the last minute, a mysterious man (Burt Reynolds) wanders into the dug-out on the baseball field.He is unshaven, dirty, and doesn't say a word.When the man in charge of the field shows up, the kids tell him that the mysterious stranger is their coach. The man says okay, and the kids start playing with some other kids.Finally, the mysterious stranger offers them tips on playing the game. It turns out he not only knows baseball, but can hit a 95 mph fast ball.The rest of the movie concerns his helping the kids with their personal problems, including giving some good old-fashioned beat-downs to the neighborhood bullies and the abusive father of one of the kids.One of the kids plays match-maker, getting the coach to date his single mom.All in all, this is a heart-warming movie with a message: It's not what you have or what you are, but who you are (your character) that really counts in life.The kids are charming and fun, so it is easy to sympathize with them while they confront life's problems.In the end, it turns out that the mysterious stranger is an amnesiac who has a very high position in his former life.He leaves to go back to his old life, but doesn't stay away long. He has found his true family in these kids and in this humble neighborhood on the "wrong" side of the tracks.This movie is obviously not a high-budget feature, and a lot of questions about the man's former life are not answered.But if you don't mind these minor flaws, this is a wonderful movie.Burt Reynolds does a great job (he produced the movie); so do all the other actors, the writers, and everyone else involved in making this film.It's nice to see a movie that promotes "family values" while still portraying the world realistically.

swecue You might shed a tear, and the film has it's points, but Mr Reynolds have definitely done better. Not too bad a TV-movie, but the ending is oddly shortened and has scenes that are put in there to tie it all together I guess, in a hurry! Kids from the poor side of town want to play baseball, but need a coach. Burt turns up as if sent by God, in the shape of a bum that has lost his memory. The kids help their new coach and the new coach help the kids in return. And this is another small problem I have with the movie. The help the coach is giving is like a text book of possible problems kids from the age of 7 to 14 might have: parental issues, gang related problems, etc., most of them swiftly solved by force. Reba is swell, and does the job as one of the kids mom, and the kids are not bad at all.

drdetroit-1 Heretofore a paucity of made-for-TV movies snatched our attention, tickled our fancy, or caressed our hearts. The avid TV viewer scoffs at the small screen's ability to spawn reputable high quality cinema. "The Man From Left Field" lays this stigma to irreversible waste. Nothing prepares you for this breathtaking tour de force and the sheer brilliance that it exudes. Shot on location in the tropical xanadu of Jupiter, Florida and the adjacent almost-paradise Indiantown, the very setting mesmerizes from the get-go leaving you vulnerable to sensory overload before the first commercial! Film legend Burt Reynolds delivers an epic performance that shakes the foundations of your soul. Country diva Reba McEntire's crossover debut establishes her as one of today's leading ladies and no one could fill the role of antagonist like football guru Joe Theisman. His athletic notoriety is a testament to this film's artistic credibility. No movie has ever before tackled the sensitive issue of retrograde memory loss like "The Man." Reynolds' portrayal of a wandering transient amnesiac is so bone-chillingly real you'll curse the Emmys for passing him over. Few films can simultaneously split your sides, draw your tears, and strum power chords on your heart strings like this one. See the majestic triumph of "The Man From Left Field" and let your spirit soar!

ary Jack is a strange and rude man, a beggar who appears in a small city of Florida. Without memory, quiet and with a glance full of a strong hate , Jack starts to live abandoned in a baseball field, until being discovered by the boys who play in the place. Once they didn't have anybody to be the coach, they end up choosing Jack for the employment, without even knowing him a lot or, maybe, sufficient.The children start to help Jack, to feed him, to clean him and they obtain an employment for him. Jack soon becomes, to those lacking and simple children's eyes, a father, due his sympathy, his kindness, his paternal love and due his suffered physiognomy of a man who needs to love and to be loved. Jack ends up falling in love for the mother of one of them, and the two begin to date. Somehow, Jack, in his own ways, brings happiness, courage and love for all the people who enter in his path. By training the children, Jack notices that he has a lot of ability and experience in the baseball, and he doesn't know the reason why he is just so good in this sport. The children begin to try to recover his memories and, so, help him to return for his house and family, once he just can't remember quite exactly how his life used to be. At the same time in which Jack gets excited with the idea of being the man who he was already one day, the fear of losing the conviviality and contact with the children again torments him.And he welcomes each one of them as a son. He tries to help, to bring some hope for them. There is a boy who is beat by his alcoholic father, another who suffers because his father is a poor and humble man, a boy who is very attached to his at-the-margin-of-death-grandfather and the son of a suffered single mother (the woman for who Jack comes becoming fond.). And he gets to show the whole ones that, even if there is times in which we don't always achieve to arrive in first place, we can find the redemption and the happiness since we gave the best of ourselves and maintain the people whom we love close.However, Jack starts to reconstruct, slowly, his sad past. Memories that he would like to forget, but that return to torment him: the loss of his family. Now, Jack will have to take the most important decision of his life: abandon all his past and continue with the children and the woman he loves or to face the painful memories and to find the redemption? Beautiful, touching and sad film, a true masterpiece!watch this movie!it will show you that there is going to always be a place for the peace and for the love. Burt Reynolds is terrific and beautiful as Jack Robinson, a man who doesn't know where his hate and his love come from. He made a film that will always stay in my heart and memory, the kind of movie that really matters. It's incredible not to find any comment about this movie, but it's a proof that in the world we live today, people prefer to see Stallone or Bruce Willis killing and taking off the head of people.It's sad to notice that, but it's also refreshing to know that there are still real-bright-shining stars like the legend Burt Reynolds to make all the difference. Congratulations, Burt Reynolds. You are in the top with The Man From The Left Field. Watch this masterpiece!