Over the years, I have seen many of his films and knew of his significance as a champion of independent filmmakers with the Sundance Film Festival. Yet Redford has weighed more heavily on my mind in the 100 days since his passing.
I have watched reactions to his movies along with scores of interviews. Yet there is nothing like watching a movie in a theatre surrounded by an audience. The Brattle Theatre fulfilled this wish with "A Tribute to Robert Redford". The tribute was a showcase of 11 films of which I saw 10 of them. The only film I did not see was his directorial debut Ordinary People which earned him his only competitive Oscar for Best Director. While time constraints prevented me from seeing this film, I really wanted to see Redford onscreen. As it turned out, the timing was a godsend as I was also dealing my jury duty ordeal. With that here is a summary of 10 Robert Redford films that I watched over a six-day period in the order in which I watched them.
Day 1
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
This film commemorated its 50th anniversary only 9 days after Redford's passing. The third of seven films made with director Sydney Pollack, Redford stars as Joe Turner (a.k.a. Condor). On the surface, he works as a researcher from the American Literary Historical Society. In reality it is a CIA front and everyone in the office is suddenly killed save for Turner/Condor by an assassination squad led by Joubert (Max Von Sydow). Yet as it turns out, the CIA is no more trustworthy than Joubert.
Much of the film was shot on location in New York City including in and around the Ansonia Hotel on the Upper West Side. Indeed, there is a brief shot of Redford running past the Beacon Theatre on Broadway between West 74th and West 75th right before we are introduced to Kathy Hale (Faye Dunaway).
The interactions between Condor and Hale made the audience audibly uneasy as he holds her captive at gunpoint and ties her up. This unease accelerated during their love scene accompanied by the near porn like soundtrack from Dave Grusin. An audience member behind me yelled, "Stop it!!!" and got up from his seat and walked into the hall for the duration of this scene. Yet the audience equally enjoyed Hale's rejoinders. When Condor asks, "Have I raped you?", Hale retorts, "The night is young." Once the relationship is consensually consummated, Condor tells Hale he needs her help. To which she replies, "Have I ever denied you anything?"
The strongest performance of the cast belonged to Von Sydow. Every time he appeared onscreen, the audience reacted with sheer terror. Mind you, Joubert never raises his voice. It was his quiet precision which made Joubert dangerous. Even when Joubert helps Condor one still has the sense he might do in our protagonist. Yet it is clear that Joubert has developed a respect, if not a hint of affection for Condor.
I would be remiss if I also did not acknowledge the performances from Cliff Robertson as Higgins, the manipulative CIA section chief who tries to rein in Condor and John Houseman as Higgins' boss Wabash who quickly senses that Condor is a force with which to be reckoned.
As I write this, it is Christmas Day. It should be noted the film is setting during the holiday season. The concluding scene on 8th Avenue between Condor and Higgins, the Salvation Army Singers are in the background. That makes Three Days of the Condor a Christmas movie.
Day 2
The Natural (1984)
I saw this film only an hour or so after seeing When Harry Met Sally which was screened in tribute to Rob Reiner. The Natural was the only film shot in the 1980s featuring Redford onscreen in this retrospective. As a baseball fan, this is among my favorite films about the sport.
Adapted from Bernard Malamud's novel of the same name, Redford's Roy Hobbs does not succumb to the temptation of gamblers although women are another matter as exemplified by both the good in Iris Gaines (which earned Glenn Close as Best Supporting Actress nomination) and the bad with Barbara Hershey and Kim Basinger as Harriet Bird and Memo Paris, respectively. Here Redford's minimalist acting approach is at its most refined whether with his trio of leading ladies or in his scenes with Max Mercy (Robert Duvall), Pop Fisher (Wilfrid Brimley), Robert Prosky (The Judge) and Gus Sands (an uncredited Darren McGavin). It is also nice to see character actors John Finnegan and Alan Fudge from the Columbo universe in small roles. Aside from Redford, two other cast members passed away in 2025 - Joe Don Baker (The Whammer) and Michael Madsen (Bump Bailey).
The Natural proceeds at a brisk pace but is in no need of a ghost runner for Hobbs to hit a walk-off HR accompanied by exploding lights. Barry Levinson's direction is augmented by the soundtrack composed and conducted by Randy Newman. While Redford's performance itself is minimalist, there is one other layer to it. The fact that Redford could play ball. I recall the MLB Network airing a special on The Natural with commentary from contemporary baseball figures. In particular, I remember Philadelphia Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins complimenting Redford on his pitching form when he strikes out The Whammer early in the film. Redford's grace was simultaneously physical, spiritual and intellectual. A proverbial triple play.
Day 3
This day of the tribute was devoted to Redford's collaborations with Paul Newman. The pair only made two films together but what two films they were and still are. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting are probably the most enduring part of both Redford and Newman's legacy. Both films were directed by George Roy Hill.
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)
Although Redford garnered notice in Barefoot in the Park, it was his portrayal of the Sundance Kid which made his legend on the silver screen. At the time, Newman was the established star. But anyone viewing this film can see a partnership on equal footing up to and including jumping off a cliff.
When a mutiny arises with the Hole in the Wall Gang, Butch tells Sundance to kill Harvey (Ted Cassidy) in the event he is killed. Sundance replies, "Love too!!!" From there, Sundance tips his hat and smiles. That gesture alone was enough to drive the audience into hysterics. There were plenty of laughs to be had particularly when Etta Place (Katherine Ross) has to teach them Spanish in order to rob banks in Bolivia. Screenwriter William Goldman was one hell of a storyteller.
As with any great film, one must draw attention to the supporting performances. Among them is George Furth as Woodcock, the devoted employee of E.H. Harriman and the Union Pacific Railroad who has the misfortune of being robbed not once, but twice by the Hole in the Wall Gang. The second robbery prompts the gang to blow up the reinforced safe only to blow up the entire railcar knocking down both Butch and Sundance. To which Sundance dryly retorts, "Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"
Other notable supporting performances include Strother Martin as Percy Garris who briefly employs the pair as payroll guards in their ill-fated attempt to go straight as well as Cloris Leachman as Agnes, the prostitute who has a special affection for Butch, and Jeff Corey as Sheriff Bledsoe who politely tells Sundance to tie him up.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid would go on to win four Academy Awards - William Goldman for Best Original Screenplay, Conrad Hill for Best Cinematography, Burt Bacharach for Best Original Score with Bacharach earning a second Oscar for Best Song co-writing "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" with Hal David and sung by B.J. Thomas.
Despite the fact that the pair die in a hail of bullets from the Bolivian Army, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid is one of the most crowd-pleasing films I have ever seen.
The Sting (1973)
I must that I am partial to Butch and Sundance as Redford and Newman share less screentime together in The Sting, it is nevertheless a crowd pleaser which I have come to enjoy more with each successive viewing.
Redford plays a smalltime con named Johnny Hooker who partners with Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) and the Erie Kid (Jack Kehoe) who end up robbing a numbers runner of $11,000. That runner is associated a major New York crime boss named Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hooker blows most of his share trying to impress a burlesque dancer name Crystal (played by Sally Kirkland who sadly passed away last month). Unfortunately, Luther faces a fatal fate at the hands of Lonnegan's hitmen after announcing he is quitting the con game. Before Luther dies, he tells Hooker to seek out Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman). Hooker and Gondorff then concoct a plan to play a con against Lonnegan to avenge Luther's death.
The supporting cast in The Sting is dizzying - Eileen Brennan, Ray Walston, Harold Gould, Charles Durning, Dana Elcar, Charles Dierkop (who was a member of the Hole in the Wall Gang in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid) and Larry D. Mann (who I remember from a series of TV commercials for Bell Canada during the 1980s). Perhaps my favorite scene in the movie is when the buffoonish and corrupt Lt. William Snyder (Durning) is introduced to FBI Agent Polk (Elcar), the no-nonsense Polk tells Snyder, "Sit down, shut up and try not to live up to all my expectations." It nearly took a cast of hundreds to pull off the perfect con.
The Sting would win seven Oscars including Best Picture. It would also earn Redford his sole Oscar nomination for Best Actor. That year, Redford was competing against Al Pacino (Serpico), Jack Nicholson (The Last Detail), Marlon Brando (Last Tango in Paris) and the winner Jack Lemmon (Save The Tiger). That is one tough field.
Day 4
All the President's Men (1976)
Based on Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's book of the same name concerning the Watergate scandal, it would be adapted for the silver screen by William Goldman who would earn an Oscar for his efforts.
Redford portrayed Woodward with Dustin Hoffman cast as Bernstein. At the time of the Watergate break-in, the pair were relatively unknown journalists with higher ups at The Washington Post such as Howard Simons (Martin Balsam) and Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards) expressing a less than confident outlook much to the chagrin of Harry Rosenfeld (Jack Warden). However, through their persistence, Woodward and Bernstein gradually gain the confidence of the brass even as the break-in goes all the way into the Nixon White House.
Redford and Hoffman play off each other to great effect. A decade earlier, Redford had sought to portray Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, but Mike Nichols balked. Nichols, who had directed Redford in the Broadway version of Barefoot in the Park, asked Redford if he ever struck out with a girl and Redford did not what he meant by the question. The same could not be said for Hoffman and cinematic history would be made.
In addition to Goldman's Oscar win, Robards would win Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Ben Bradlee while Jane Alexander would earn a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her portrayal of the frightened, stress-ridden bookkeeper Judith Hoback Miller who provided crucial evidence concerning the operations of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). Other cast members included Hal Holbrook (Deep Throat), Stephen Collins (Hugh Sloan, Jr.), Meredith Baxter (Deborah Murray Sloan), Ned Beatty (Martin Dardis), Lindsay Crouse (Kay Eddy), Robert Walden (Donald Segretti) and Polly Holliday who portrayed Dardis' secretary. I must admit I did not recognize her. Holliday would go on to greater fame as Flo in the TV series Alice which earned her own short-lived spinoff. Sadly, Holliday passed away one week before Redford.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula (who also received an Oscar nomination), the film itself was on an old 35 mm print which at one point stopped running for a few minutes. No sooner than that happened an audience member shouted, "It's a cover up!!!" to amused laughter. What is not so amusing is the current state of American journalism. In half a century, The Washington Post went from bringing down a President to refusing to endorse a presidential candidate for fear of angering her presidential rival. A few hours after this screening, new CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment on the CECOT facility in El Salvador in an effort to appease the Trump Administration. Mind you, this decision comes only months after the network settled with Trump after he filed a lawsuit concerning 60 Minutes editorial decisions concerning its interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign.
All the President's Men demonstrates a time when the free press could hold government to accounts for unlawful actions up to and including the resignation of the President of the United States. In view of recent events, it may very well be that such a state of affairs is no longer possible.
The Hot Rock (1972)
This is one of three Redford films in the retrospective I had not previously viewed. Penned by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, Redford stars as John Dortmunder, a jewel thief just released from prison and already contemplating his next heist.
Although Redford is the film's lead, The Hot Rock is more of an ensemble piece with plenty of screentime being given to his cohorts' brother-in-law Andy Kelp (George Segal), Stan Murch (Ron Leibman) and Allan Greenberg (Paul Sand). I remember Sand from a guest spot he did in a 1981 episode of Taxi in which he plays a reclusive artist who is aided by Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) in trying to get back in touch with the world. Although the episode has its weak points, Sand's portrayal left a lasting impression. In the mid-1970s, Sand starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom Friends and Lovers which was based in Boston. Co-starring future TV stars Penny Marshall and Steve Landesberg, it only lasted 14 episodes and would be replaced by The Jeffersons. Amazingly, Sand is still alive at the age of 93.
The quartet is funded by Dr. Amusa, a diplomat from an unnamed African country (Moses Gunn) who becomes exasperated by requests for more equipment as each attempt to retrieve the hot rock fails spectacularly. Allan Greenberg's father and lawyer Abe Greenberg (Zero Mostel) also shines in comedic fool's gold. There are also small roles from Charlotte Rae, the future Edna Garrett in Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life as well as Christopher Guest's first credited film role as a police officer although if you blink, you will likely miss him.
If there is an underrated movie in Redford's filmography it would be The Hot Rock which is very crowd pleasing and full of laughs.
The Candidate (1972)
This is my favorite Robert Redford film. Directed by Michael Ritchie, it would earn Jeremy Larner an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Redford stars as Bill McKay, a public interest attorney who is recruited as the Democratic Party candidate to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Crocker Jarmon (Don Porter) in the U.S. Senate race in California. Complicating matters is McKay's father John J. McKay (Melvyn Douglas) is the former Governor with whom he has a cool and uneasy relationship.
My favorite performance in The Candidate is Peter Boyle's portrayal of campaign manager Marvin Lucas. McKay resents Lucas' intrusions in how to run the campaign. But over time, McKay becomes more and more reliant on Lucas as he starts to devolve into a programmed politician rather than a citizen who speaks from the hip. McKay wins the race in an upset but is the unhappiest person in the room and desperately tries to ask Marvin, "What do we do now?", as a crowd of adoring supporters surrounds the victor. Why Boyle didn't receive Oscar consideration for this role is a mystery worthy of a congressional investigation.
Of note, Natalie Wood makes a cameo appearance as herself. Redford and Wood were no strangers to each other as they attended the same high school and had previously appeared together in two films Inside Daisy Clover (1965) and This Property is Condemned (1966). Mike Barnicle, who would later have a lengthy career with The Boston Globe and is a regular presence on MS NOW (formerly known as MSNBC), played a small role as part of McKay's public interest law firm.
As with All the President's Men, The Candidate was shown on an old 35 mm print. However, the film broke down on five occasions which significantly disrupted the flow of the film and affected how those in the audience who had never seen the film would receive it. This is a shame.
On a personal note, I view Warren Beatty's 1998 film Bulworth as something of a sequel to The Candidate. Although the characters have different names, they are both Democratic Senators from California. In Bulworth, Beatty breaks free of the constraints placed on him by his closest advisors and family and begins to speak his conscience in a way that Bill McKay could not as his campaign progressed (or perhaps regressed).
Day 5
The penultimate day of the tribute focused on western themes spotlighting Jeremiah Johnson and The Electric Horseman.
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
The film begins with an overture and has an intermission (en'tracte) which is unusual with a film with a runtime of less than 2 hours. This was Redford's second collaboration with director Sydney Pollack. The two first worked together on This Property is Condemned six years earlier with Natalie Wood.
Shot on location in Redford's adopted home of Utah, Redford stars as the titular character who seeks to become a mountain man. Although he struggles at first, an older mountain man Bear Claw Chris Lapp (Will Geer) takes him under his wing until he is confident Johnson can survive on his own having earned the respect of various Indian tribes in the area.
This respect is severely tested when Johnson is compelled to escort Christian settlers led by Reverend Lindquist (Paul Benedict) at the behest of the U.S. Cavalry led by Lieutenant Mulvey (Jack Colvin) through Crow burial ground. Benedict and Colvin would both go on to greater fame on TV in the 1970's and 1980's as Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons and Jack McGee on The Incredible Hulk.
After the mission is completed, Johnson returns home to find that his Flathead wife and mute adopted son are massacred. Johnson then proceeds to kill every Crow he can find until their leader Paints His Shirt Red (Joaquin Martinez) raises the hand of peace which Johnson acknowledges.
How cinematographer Duke Callaghan was not nominated for an Oscar nor any other award for his work in capturing the perilous, snowy mountains of Utah is beyond my comprehension.
Equally incomprehensible is how anyone would mistake Robert Redford for Zach Galifianakis, meme or no meme.
However, there is no mistaking Redford's love for our natural surroundings and the desire to preserve those surroundings.
The Electric Horseman (1979)
I also never previously viewed this film although oddly enough I first became aware of Redford's existence because of it. Dad had a research lab at Lakehead University. A small portion of that lab was set aside for his fish tanks. It was very hot in that room. I remember a poster for The Electric Horseman on a door to a very small office.
It took me awhile to warm up to The Electric Horseman. Redford portrays Sonny Steele, an alcoholic ex-rodeo star who endorses cereal. The beginning of the film is set in Las Vegas and represents the worst of the excesses of the late 1970's. Steele truly looks like a Rhinestone Cowboy who is at unease with his main handler Wendell Hickson (Willie Nelson), the corporate suits led by Hunt Sears (John Saxon), his ex-wife Charlotta Bell (Valerie Perrine) and journalist Haillie Martin (Jane Fonda) who is determined to find a story with him.
The Electric Horseman picks up steam when it decides to go off the grid. Steele spontaneously decides to steel a horse named Rising Star and release him into the wild. Once the film goes into the open country, we see Steele's self-actualization which makes Martin fall in love with him. In some ways, The Electric Horseman is a reversal of The Candidate. While Bill McKay loses his identity through compromise, Steele regains it by breaking free of the shackles whatever consequences might come.
The film has a lot of familiar faces. Of course, Redford and Fonda reunite 12 years after Barefoot in the Park. It is Redford's fifth collaboration with director Sydney Pollack. Timothy Scott (who appeared as "News" Carver in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid) gets a larger role as Leroy, who assists Wendell in trying to coral Sonny. All the President's Men alums Basil Hoffman and Nicolas Coster get larger roles as suits collaborating with Sears. Wilfrid Brimley, who would appear prominently in The Natural five years later, has a small role as a farmer sympathetic to Sonny's efforts to free Rising Star. Brimley looked old enough to be Redford's father. In reality, Brimley was only two years older than Redford.
I would be remiss if I also didn't mention the presence of James B. Sikking and Alan Arbus. Sikking was a longtime cast member of both Hill Street Blues and Doogie Howser, M.D. appearing in scores of movies and TV shows. Meanwhile, I remember Arbus from his recurring role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman in M*A*S*H.
I suspect that I enjoyed The Electric Horseman more than most of the audience members who seemed disengaged with it. While it isn't Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, it is a good film in its own right and has a spot in the Robert Redford canon.
Day 6
Downhill Racer (1969)
This film was Michael Ritchie's directorial debut. Redford stars as a self-centered downhill skier David Chappellet determined to become the best in the world at any cost.
Shot on location in France, Switzerland, Austria as well as in Colorado, we are treated to a firsthand view of how treacherous downhill skiing can be. One false move, whether by taking a wrong turn or skiing over a snow-covered patch of ice, can make all the difference between, to quote ABC's Wide World of Sports, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Although Chappellet is not an evil man, he is not particularly sympathetic either. He does not enjoy a close relationship with his father nor his coaches and teammates preferring to be a lone wolf. Chappellet does get involved with Carole (Camilla Sparv) but she turns out to be even more self-centered than he is and doesn't like it when the shoe is on the other foot. The simple honking of a horn terminates their relationship.
The screening of Downhill Racer also served as something of an unofficial tribute to Gene Hackman who starred as Chappellet's coach Claire. When Chappellet causes an injury to a rival skier as good as him, Claire confronts him in his room and sparks fly between Redford and Hackman. It's too bad the Brattle didn't have a formal tribute to Hackman as both the Coolidge Corner Theatre and Somerville Theatre did after his passing this past spring. Of further note, a clean-shaven Dabney Coleman is also featured as Mayo, an assistant coach.
Written by James Salter, the cinematography of Brian Probyn is sorely overlooked particularly in the climactic scene in which we don't know if Chappellet's victory will be short-lived.
Conclusion
While I remained saddened with the passing of Robert Redford, I know that all of us must pass. The sadness is compensated by the fact that Redford left a large body of work to be enjoyed by generations to come. I am glad the Brattle Theatre offered such a comprehensive tribute to his work.
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