The Best of Robert Redford

[Mrdamron]

Iconic Filmmaker Robert Redford has been one of America's finest leading men for more than 5 decades. With one of the most impressive, acclaimed filmographies of any career...you choose which Redford film you believe is his best work. The criteria is yours. Pick the best of Redford, the man who changed film in front of the camera, behind it, and beyond.

similar to the recently started Best of Warren Beatty thread.

I narrowed down the list to these lucky 13, some director only.

THE OPTIONS

Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Downhill Racer (1969)
The Candidate (1972)
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
The Way We Were (1973)
The Sting (1973)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
All the President's Men (1976)
Ordinary People (1980)
The Natural (1984)
Quiz Show (1994)
All is Lost (2013)


*my apologies to fans of Brubaker, Out of Africa, Hot Rock, his early films with Natalie Wood, Willie Boy, Waldo Pepper, etc.

[Ray Jackson]

Classic example of a great actor with very limited range.

Basically acts the same way in almost every movie he's ever been in.

But he's really good at striking that one note.

Jeremiah Johnson is probably his best performance imo.

But The Natural will always be my favorite Robert Redford film.

All the President's Men and Butch Cassidy are both classics as well.

[Will.]

All the President's Men is the best movie of the list, but All is Lost has his best performance.

[dvdmike]

Sneakers

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by Will.

All the President's Men is the best movie of the list, but All is Lost has his best performance.

This.


Redford doesn't have a lot of range, but he is one of those rare actors that he is so good at being charismatic, that it doesn't really matter. I legitimately felt he should have won an Oscar for All Is Lost.

[Mrdamron]

Is he acting or is he just being himself? That has often been the analysis of Redford's (insert Eastwood, McQueen, etc.) craft. My argument is that in the end, the product he creates is stunning. He is a hell of a storyteller and whether he is the character or that character is he, I am completely drawn in. In many ways he is like classic Golden Age Hollywood stars who worked off their natural charisma in a similar fold - Bogey, Cooper, Grant (maybe not so natural ), etc. And that surely isn't a bad thing.

As for the list, to me it is down to The Candidate, Jeremiah Johnson and Three Days of the Condor.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the options above and believe All the President's Men or Butch & Sundance are the best overall films on the list....but I am going with my favorite performance from a Bob-centric story, an epic I also adore....skin them Grizz, Jeremiah Johnson!

[Gizz]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Sneakers

Classic comedy thriller with a great cast.

[Michael24]

Haven't seen a whole lot, but I've always liked Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ("Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"), The Candidate, The Sting and Brubaker.

[L.J.]

Went with Jeremiah Johnson a classic of his. Some runner ups for me would be Brubaker and This Property is Condemned.

[ForEver Blu]

No slot for A River Runs Through It?

[Todd Tomorrow]

The 70s was the decade where unconventional looking character actors like Al Pacino, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman became stars and Redford was the classic movie star of the decade, getting by on charisma and good looks rather than on acting pyrotechnics. Which is not to say that he was a bad actor, but his performances are less distinctive than that of his compatriots.

I think the late career All is Lost is his best performance and it is one of his best films, that's why I voted for that one rather than for any of his 70s classics. Of those I really like The Candidate and Three Days of the Condor best.

I've never been a huge fan of Redford as a director, it's all very polite, middle brow stuff, but also all slightly boring. The bland, navel gazing, TV movie style Ordinary People getting the Oscar over Raging Bull and The Elephant Man is still one of the greatest Oscar upsets ever.

[chris_sc77]

All the Presidents men is great.
I also rather enjoy The Last Castle and The Company You Keep

I hate Ordinary people and A River Runs Through it.

[Smartmark]

5 - Quiz Show
4 - Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
3 - The Natural
2 - The Sting
1 - All The President's Men