Cinema Wellman Remembers Robert Redford

 Cinema Wellman Remembers Robert Redford

Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman. I am your host David, and today we’re going to fondly remember Robert Redford and briefly talk about our 10 favorite movies of his.

If you’re a frequent visitor to Cinema Wellman, you know that we just paid tribute to Gene Hackman who we recently lost as well.

And then, just last week I heard that Diane Keaton had died.

Sadly, it seems like a weekly occurrence when a performer I admired growing up passes away.

I guess I’m solidly in that age range where this is going to happen more frequently, which makes me even more nostalgic than I usually am. 

But I’m also reminded that, with artists, they leave behind so much of themselves that we get to enjoy them for as long as we’re here enjoying things, which is nice.

Robert Redford was an actor, director, and producer whose lasting legacy to film may be his creation of the Sundance Film Festival which began in 1978 to showcase independent films.

He was a four time Oscar nominee; one as an actor, one as a producer, and two as a director, which proves that Redford wasn’t “just” an actor. He did as much behind the camera as he did in front of the camera. He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2002 for his contributions to film in general.

Redford’s only Oscar win, other than the honorary, was as director of Ordinary People in 1981, a film which also won Best Picture. 

When I heard that Robert Redford had passed, the first person I thought of was my mother.

Jean loved him. She also loved Paul Newman who is Redford’s co-star in two of today’s ten films, but she really loved Robert Redford.

Two of the other movies on this list are here because my mother had me watch them with her.

And I watched one of those two while writing this and found it difficult to concentrate since the movie is so wonderful. 

Thank you mom for those recommendations and instilling in me a love of movies that will never leave me.

Here are my favorite Robert Redford films in some kind of order, but I didn’t officially number them because they’re all special to me in one way or another.

Let’s begin with…

Robert Redford as Paul Bratter in

Barefoot in the Park (1967)

G/106 m/IMDb: 7.0/directed by Gene Saks

I’ve seen 30 of Robert Redford’s movies, and this is one of the two on today’s list that’s here for Jean.

It’s also the film I tried to watch while preparing this episode and that did not go well at all. 

I don’t think I wrote a word.

Based on the play by Neil Simon, Barefoot in the Park is a delightful romantic comedy about a newlywed couple and the struggles they face when they rent their first apartment - a rundown five-flight NYC walk-up with eccentric neighbors.

Robert Redford’s new wife is Jane Fonda, who is absolutely amazing in this film. She is so sexy and energetic and full of love no matter how much of a downer her new husband tends to be. 

Mildred Natwick plays Jane Fonda’s mother and she was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for this performance.

I sent my sister TWO separate clips of Natwick at her exasperated best. “If the hardware store downstairs was open, I was going to buy a knife and kill myself.”

Redford is perfect as the uptight lawyer to Fonda’s carefree and vivacious Corie.

He is way over his head with her and this performance shows that Redford was more than capable handling a comedy.

Next up is definitely NOT a comedy… 

 

Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in

The Great Gatsby (1974)

PG/144 m/IMDb: 6.4/directed by Jack Clayton

I didn’t read the novel until I was an adult, which I don’t understand since I took AP English, but I really enjoyed the book and think that Robert Redford is a better Jay Gatsby than Leonardo DiCaprio.

And I think Redford is also more handsome in the iconic tuxedo, but what do I know?

Next up is another comedy, this one bordering on slapstick, and it’s the second film Jean had me watch.

She was a big fan of George Segal and found Paul Sand hysterical, and they both co-star with Redford in…

Robert Redford as Dortmunder in

The Hot Rock (1972)

PG/101 m/IMDb: 6.8/directed by Peter Yates

If you can find this, I highly recommend it. 

The Hot Rock is a comedy-heist-action-caper in which Dortmunder and his gang plan to steal a huge diamond from a museum.

As the plot unfolds, it turns out the gang needs to steal this diamond more than once.

Redford’s Dortmunder is an exasperated leader which makes total sense when you look at who’s in that gang.

Segal, Sand, and the always loony Ron Leibman are the crooks we’re rooting for in this comedy that sadly isn’t available anywhere. Even DVDs online are going for over $100.

Can’t find The Hot Rock and yet there are awful shark and spider movies EVERYWHERE!

Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson in

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

GP/108 m/IMDb: 7.6/directed by Sydney Pollack

IMDb: “A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.”

My mom didn’t like this one because Redford’s face is covered by a bushy beard, but my dad loved this film because it was filmed in stunningly beautiful Utah locations.

I read that Redford has described this as his favorite of all of his movies because Johnson suffers but perseveres.

That means that Robert Redford would be delighted to find Jeremiah Johnson on Cinema Wellman’s list of his favorites!

Robert Redford as Henry Brubaker in

Brubaker (1980)

R/131 m/IMDb: 7.1/directed by Stuart Rosenberg

IMDb: “The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.”

Was this film the inspiration for “Undercover Boss?”

If we ever do a prison movie episode, director Stuart Rosenberg will have two films on the list since he also directed Cool Hand Luke.

Brubaker is a story of corruption and administrational abuse in a dismal prison farm ruled by sadistic guards that treats its inmates like animals.

The cast is stellar including Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander, Morgan Freeman, Cinema Wellman favorite M. Emmet Walsh, and Murray Hamilton! 

Mayor Larry Vaughan! Where there’s Murray Hamilton, there’s corruption.

Talk about corruption, next up is a true story of corruption. 

Or would it be a story of true corruption? Both, I guess. 

Robert Redford as Bob Woodward in

All the President's Men (1976)

PG/138 m/IMDb: 7.9/directed by Alan J. Pakula

On May 28, 1972 “White House Plumbers” including E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy broke into DNC Headquarters at the Watergate complex for the first time.

On August 8, 1974, President Nixon delivered his resignation speech before a nationally televised audience.

Everything in between, and I mean EVERYTHING, was all about Watergate.

And I was 10-12 at the time, so this was totally in my wheelhouse. 

I was fascinated by the Watergate Scandal from start to finish. I was even one of those kids who rushed home from school to watch the hearings on TV.

I know you’re out there.

Even though I knew the entire story on which this film was based, I was still at the edge of my seat as two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein effectively toppled a president.

Dustin Hoffman is Bernstein, and the rest of the cast is packed with some of my all-time favorites; Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, and Hal Holbrook, along with Jane Alexander again (Oscar nominated for this role), and Jason Robards who won an Oscar for his portrayal of the Post’s editor Ben Bradlee.

This is a conspiracy thriller from a time when news organizations were about real journalism and investigative reporting. 

Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs in

The Natural (1984)

PG/138 m/IMDb: 7.4/directed by Barry Levinson

Yeah, I realize this movie is really hokey, but it’s my kind of hokey and I still get goosebumps thinking about the mysterious Roy Hobbs and his almost supernatural heroics on the baseball field. 

I realize I never seem to shut up about the casts in movies I really like, but when a producer, director, and casting director are able to assemble a top notch cast, you really can’t imagine any other actor in any other role.

The Natural features strong female characters played by Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, and Barbara Hershey as well as Robert Duvall as sportswriter Max Mercy.

Wilford Brimley is wonderful as Roy’s coach Pop Fisher. 

Big smile just thinking of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel’s shot of the exploding scoreboard in Pop’s glasses when Roy’s home run destroys the scoreboard.

This is magical (the book was better), hokey or not.

Next is more conspiracy!

Robert Redford as Turner in

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

R/117 m/IMDb: 7.4/directed by Sydney Pollack

We LOVE Sydney Pollack’s movies here at Cinema Wellman and this one is an absolute doozy.

IMDb: “A bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.”

This cat and mouse conspiracy thriller features the always sinister Max Von Sydow along with the never quite totally trustworthy Cliff Roberston.

But Redford’s main co-star is the terrific Faye Dunaway whose character is reluctantly drawn into this deadly situation.

Both were at the tops of their games when this was made and they have excellent chemistry onscreen. 

Dunaway is a normal civilian thrust into the world of espionage and assassins, and perfectly portrays what that would be like.

Redford once again plays a character unlike any of his others, which  is always impressive to me.  

We have two films left to talk about and both feature the dynamic pairing of Robert Redford with the great Paul Newman, and they were also BOTH directed by the legendary director George Roy Hill.

Robert Redford as The Sundance Kid in

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

M/110 m/IMDb: 8.0/directed by George Roy Hill

We’ve often spoken about films in which you find yourself rooting for the “bad” guys, and this is certainly one of them.

Based on true outlaws I’m sure weren’t nearly as handsome, this is a fun western with an ample amount of comedy mixed in. 

When I had heard of Redford’s passing, I spent the next day at work thinking about his films and one of the scenes I thought about was the cliff jump in this film.

It’s the iconic scene at the top of a cliff as they’re being chased and have nowhere to go but down.

Sundance says he doesn’t want to jump, and when Butch presses him on it, the Kid admits he can’t swim, prompting the famous line, “Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill ya!”

More proof of the magic of movies; that jump began in Colorado and ended in California.

The only thing I dislike about this film is the inclusion of the song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” which I thought didn’t fit at all. 

I read that Redford thought it was terrible as well. 

One to go, and it’s a Best Picture winner!

Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker in

The Sting (1973)

PG/129 m/IMDb: 8.2/directed by George Roy Hill

In one of the shortest synopses in IMDb history; “Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.”

In The Great Gatsby we got Robert Redford in a tuxedo. 

In The Sting we get Robert Redford AND Paul Newman in tuxedos which automatically makes this a better movie.

This has to be counted as one of my all-time favorite films and one of the reasons I became such a fan of heist movies and movies about con artists. 

Robert Shaw, who you know we have a soft spot for, is the mark in this con and veteran character actors Charles Durning (did I ever tell you that Andrew and I painted his brother’s house?) Ray Walston, Harold Gould, and Eileen Brennan are along for the ride.

Thank you Robert Redford for these 10 films along with the others that brought people joy, and thank you for being a champion for independent filmmakers and independent filmmaking. 

God knows all the major studios seem to know how to do is churn out sequels, remakes, series installments, and stuff based on comic books or video games. 

It’s one of the reasons I cancelled my AMC subscription.

Well, that’s a wrap from here at Cinema Wellman where I always feel my mom’s presence, but especially today as we celebrated one of our favorites. 

We hope you’re back next time when we present an episode we wrote last year but was postponed due to that perfect storm that shut down Cinema Wellman for several months.

We wrote the blog, but never shot the episode, so get ready for a Halloween episode in which we rank EVERY movie in the Nightmare on Elm Street catalog.

Until then, take care.