Robert Redford was there for the revolution.
The cinematic revolution, that is, in which bland Hollywood studio fare gave way to more personal and independent-minded movies, driven by talent and ideas. Think of it as punk rock for movies. The golden age of modern American film didn’t last long, either, with “Jaws” and “Star Wars” ushering in the age of the blockbuster. But it was great while it lasted, and Redford was a big part of it.
Redford died Tuesday, Sept. 16 at his home in Utah. He was 89, which hardly seems possible. At least until you look back over his long and varied career as an actor, director and producer. He lived long enough to act in a “Twilight Zone” episode and Marvel movies.
These are five of his best films. Please note that Redford won his only Oscar for directing “Ordinary People,” which could easily have been on this list, as could “Quiz Show.” Hats off to a truly extraordinary career.
‘The Old Man & the Gun’ (2018)
This was supposed to be Redford’s last acting job. It wasn’t. But it has that feel. Redford plays the nicest bank robber imaginable, so nice he’ll stop to help a stranded Sissy Spacek on the road even while fleeing authorities. Ben Affleck is a similarly nice detective trying to catch him. Redford is indeed the old man of the title, but he is just as magnetic as when he was robbing trains with Paul Newman decades before.
How to watch: Buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video.
Robert Redford stars as an aging man whose criminal habit is hard to break in “Old Man & the Gun.”
‘The Candidate’ (1972)
Redford plays Bill McKay, the son of a former California governor and a progressive lawyer, who runs a can’t-win campaign for U.S. Senate against a long-serving Republican. With nothing to lose, McKay says whatever he wants on the campaign trail. But as he softens his message into generic pabulum, getting farther and farther from his ideals, his stock rises and he pulls into a virtual tie with his opponent. It has the best last line of any political movie ever.
How to watch: Buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video.
‘Three Days of the Condor’ (1975)
The definition of ‘paranoid thriller.’ In Sydney Pollack’s film Redford plays a CIA analyst who goes to lunch one day and comes back to find everyone in his office dead. This kicks off a wild ride in which Redford’s character tries to figure out what is going on while, more importantly, trying to stay alive. It fits the mood of the post-Watergate era perfectly.
How to watch: Buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video.
‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969)
One of the great New Hollywood films, a celebration of antiheroes. We root for the bad guys, in other words, at a time when institutions and traditions increasingly couldn’t be trusted — a theme that runs through a lot of Redford’s work. He’s Sundance, Paul Newman is Butch and together they are irresistible as they rob their way through the West. Funnier than you might guess, for all its importance as one of the key bridges between the studio system and the American cinematic revolution.
How to watch: Buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video.
Paul Newman and Robert Redford starred in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
‘All the President’s Men’ (1976)
The ultimate Redford project. Not only does he play Bob Woodward (to Dustin Hoffman’s Carl Bernstein) in Alan J. Pakula’s great depiction of how shoe-leather journalism and persistence exposed Richard Nixon as the crook he told us he wasn’t, but Redford was also instrumental in getting the movie made in the first place. He bought the rights to Woodward and Bernstein’s book, hired William Goldman to write the script and pushed to bring it to the screen. As usual, Redford’s acting style is to underplay things (as opposed to Hoffman), and it works. One of the great political thrillers, and more timely than ever.
How to watch: Stream on the Criterion Channel.
‘The Old Man & the Gun’ review: Robert Redford exits in style
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 best Robert Redford movies are true cinematic greats
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