Joey Magidson
Yesterday, we lost a legend. Robert Redford passed away at 89 years old, ending the career and the life of not just one of the great movie stars, but also one of the great champions of cinema. His acting career would already have him as an all-time A-lister, without question, though his filmmaking just raises the game as well. Throw in the Sundance Film Festival and the industry would be so much worse off if not for his contributions. So, as a way to honor the man, I wanted to highlight some of his best performances, which will by no means be an exhaustive list.
Redford had an epic career, so I want to just mention up top that there’s some titles I haven’t seen still, as well as several I’m hoping to revisit this week. So, the list below may well change shortly after posting. Essentially, don’t get annoyed if your favorites aren’t there, but certainly make sure to mention them in the comments!
Below, you can see how Redford stacks up for me, at least today. I’m not going against the grain with having All the President’s Men as well as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid both in the top three. I will, however, go to bat for The Candidate as just as worthy of that stature. All Is Lost and The Natural make up a very strong top five, though obviously you could include a dozen different picks and still be right on the money. He was just that good…
Here now is my ranking of some of the best of Robert Redford. Behold:
Honorable Mention: The Electric Horseman, The Hot Rock, Indecent Proposal, Jeremiah Johnson, The Last Castle, and Truth
10. Sneakers
9. The Old Man & The Gun
8. Out of Africa
7. The Sting
6. Three Days of the Condor
5. The Natural
4. All is Lost
3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
2. The Candidate
1. All the President’s Men
What are your favorite Robert Redford performances? Let us know!
I think The Way We Were should definitely be considered a top ten-worthy performance from Robert Redford. Though I can’t possibly dispute your #1 pick in terms of his acting accomplishments, if we expanded out to his most substantive achievements in general, then I think his establishment of the Sundance Film Festival is easily going to go down as his most enduring legacy.
Also, funny story about him: he was actually considered for the role of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, but when director Mike Nichols tried to engage in a light-hearted conversation about times they’ve struck out with a girl, Redford was literally like, “I don’t comprehend what you’re saying.”
I know and love that story!