Ep. #112 - The TRIUMPHS of Robert Redford: Downhill Racer, Jeremiah Johnson, 3 Days of the Condor

This week on Fabulous Film and Friends we’re going to pay tribute to the late, great Robert Reford and analyze just why this Hollywood icon belonged on the top of Mt. Olympus long before vanity, sanctimony and crass commercialism ruined his artistry. 

In other words, before he tarnished his legacy with offensive tripe like The Legend of Bagger Vance, the execrable Indecent Proposal and most especially by appearing as a generic schmoe bad guy #5 in Marvel movies, he was literally the undisputed KING of the Hollywood Hill starting with 1969’s Downhill Racer directed by Michael Ritchie co-starring Gene Hackman, Camilla Sparv, Kenneth Kirk, Jim McMullan, Walter Stroud and Dabney Coleman in his ever so brief dreamboat era. Then Redford was his solid oakiest in 1972’s Jeremiah Johnson directed by Sydney Pollack and co-starring Will Gear, Delle Bolton, Josh Albee, Paul Benedict, Jack Covin and Stefan Gierasch. And he showed us all how paranoid thrillers were done with 1975’s 3 Days of the Condor directed once again by Sydney Pollack and co-starring Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, John Houseman and Cliff Robertson

I’m your host Gino Caputi leading my dream team of scoffers and detractors, lil sis Roseanne Caputi and photobug/actor/gadfly Alex Robertson. 

Before we hit the trails on career highlights, the synopses:

Downhill Racer

An arrogant young skier, David Chappellet, rockets to the top of the U.S. ski team, heedlessly chasing medals, without  regard for his teammates or his Coach who tries without success rein him in. 

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Jeremiah Johnson

A war-weary loner heads into the Rockies to live off the land and find peace, but the wilderness has other notion, transforming Jeremiah Johnson from naive pilgrim to Legendary Crow Killer, forged by experience and hardship. 

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3 Days of the Condor

Mild-mannered CIA researcher Joe Turner, aka Condor, goes out for lunch and comes back to find everyone he works with dead. Suddenly Condor finds himself hunted, running from his own agency and clinging to the one woman who might trust him. Can he unravel the truth — before the deep state eats him alive?

Why was Robert Redford the Hollywood GOAT? 

Find out!

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