Downhill Racer (Robert Redford) -- Movie Review #JPMN
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Downhill Racer (
1969) --
Aged well, but not interesting, 4/10.
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~~ Review
Script ~~
Released in November of 1969
... this sports drama, based on the novel "
The Downhill Racers" by
Oakley Hall barely broke even with its $1.8 million dollar budget. A young, and seemingly ageless
Robert Redford stars as a hot shot
American who has a talent and ambition for downhill skiing, later getting recruited by coach
Gene Hackman to compete for the US delegation in the upcoming
Winter Olympics. Although the two
Hollywood legends share a number of scenes together, they're never provided an opportunity to showcase their A-game, and honestly, Hackman seems entirely wasted in the one-note role. When
Redford is criticized for clashing with his fellow competitors due to his aggressive ski-style, another racer is quick to
point out, "Well, it's not exactly a team sport, is it?". The contemporary-sounding music by
Kenyon Hopkins drives some tension during several scenes, but drops out to complete silence for most of the skiing portions, allowing only the sound of crunching snow and speeding athletes to populate the soundtrack. Released under the short-lived "M" rating (which later evolved into today's PG-equivalent), this picture's pacing and sensibilities are very much stuck in the 1960's. The 101-minute film is a slow-moving experience with little dialogue to propel the overly simplistic plot. Visually speaking however, there's some brilliant cinematography at work here, including an inventive first-person
POV shot of a downhill run... decades before cheap, and versatile cameras like the GoPro would make such imagery almost commonplace. These alpine portions are faithfully recreated, and truly exciting to watch unfold, even if Redford's eventual success is all but a predictable conclusion.
Select sequences are also edited with a brisk and original style, but these are sadly few and far between. The laid back approach from director
Michael Ritchie allows the viewer to inhabit some of Redford's fears, excitement and anxiety atop the slopes prior to each run, but generally does a poor job of explaining the stakes. As it doesn't offer any compelling reason to watch, I can't really recommend this picture, but since there's so few
Winter Olympic themed-movies... for fans of the sport, this is one of your scant options.
Outside of Redford fans, or alpine enthusiasts, this is bland, uninspired, and predictable sports film with little re-watch value. "Downhill Racer", "Aged well, but not interesting."
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