With the passing at 89 earlier this month of screen and directing legend Robert Redford, an era of a person who excels both in front of and from behind a camera has come to a close. It’s very sad to have to say “RIP” to such a big-screen legend.
From his early work in television (take an episode of “Perry Mason” in 1960 or “The Twilight Zone” two years later) to the beginning of hits on the big screen such as “This Property Condemned” with Natalie Wood in 1967 or “Barefoot in the Park” with Jane Fonda a year later, Redford became a leading man’s leading man.
However, it was 1969 that sent his career into the stratosphere with the classic Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” alongside superstar Paul Newman and “Downhill Racer” with actor’s actor Gene Hackman about a fictional outsider joining the U.S. Olympic ski team.
Redford again co-starred with Newman in “The Sting” directed by George Roy Hill. The film won an astounding seven Oscars and nominated for three others. Redford was nominated over Newman for “Best Actor,” but lost to Jack Lemmon’s sterling performance in “Save the Tiger.”
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Oddly, in his sterling career, Redford won only a single Oscar (for directing the weepy snifflebag I’ll never watch called “Ordinary People”); was a three-time nominee; and was given an honorary Oscar in 2002 for his contributions to cinema. Redford won five Golden Globes, including three in the 1970s as male “World Film Favorite;” was a five-time nominee; and given the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994.
Redford was only nominated as an actor for “The Sting” (Oscar) from 1973 and “The Old Man & the Gun” (Globe) from 2018.
As for myself as an amateur reviewer of movies, I liked his work best in these not-nominated films:
- ‘Three Days of the Condor’
(1975; 117 minutes; rated R; directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson and Max von Sydow) - ‘All the President’s Men’
(1976; 138 minutes; rated R; directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards and Jane Alexander) - ‘Sneakers’
(1992; 126 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Phil Alden Robinson and starring Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Dan Aykroyd) - ‘The Electric Horseman’
(1979; 121 minutes; rated PG; directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Willie Nelson and Valerie Perrine)
Redford’s best-ever effort as a director wasn’t the Oscar-winning snifflebag, but the simply marvelous and nearly perfect “Quiz Show,” which was nominated for four Oscars (including Redford as director) and the same number of Golden Globes (including Redford).
It’s kind of pointless to continue with platitudes or listing other great performances in film, since there would never be enough for such a talented actor, director and philanthropist who supported environmental causes and was the main founder of the Sundance Film Festival.
So, RIP, Mr. Redford.
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