With Robert Redford about to hit our Netflix accounts next month, alongside Jane Fonda in Souls At Night some 50 years after they played newlyweds in Barefoot In The Park, and with his retirement from the industry on the very near horizon, we pay tribute to one of the all-time greats.
I fell head over heels in love with Robert Redford when I was 12. I was curled up under a duvet on my best friend’s sofa watching The Horse Whisperer. It wasn’t the horses (I was obsessed), or the fact he was playing a character based on my childhood hero, Monty Roberts, it wasn’t even his ability to soothe the emotional scars of teenager Grace (Scarlett Johansson) and her beloved horse, it was the eyes; crinkled and warm and so full of emotion and kindness. He stole my heart in an instant. What followed was a year of weekends spent watching classic Robert Redford films in a bid to soak up as much of him as possible. While most of my friends developed crushes on the Backstreet Boys, I was getting an education on one of the best actors of a generation.
So here, are the ten Robert Redford films everyone should watch at least once in a lifetime...
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1969
I’m a sucker for a western: the hats, the mustaches, and the hilarious macho competitions. This one was made even better by Redford’s co-star Paul Newman.
The Candidate
1972
A brilliant political drama in a time before political dramas became one of our biggest obsessions. Redford plays Bill McKay, an idealistic Cali attorney who is running for office.
The Sting
1973
Ah Redford and Newman were reunited in this film about the underworld of Chicago, where a young con man is trying to get revenge when his partner is murdered.
The Way We Were
1973
Possibly my favourite love story of all time. We see the beautiful but turbulent relationship between Hubble and Katie (Barbara Streisand) as their political views drive an irreparable wedge between them.
The Great Gatsby
1974
So much better than the 2013 Baz Luhrmann version. Sorry Leo, but Redford was the perfect Jay Gatsby, it was like he’d just stepped off the pages of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous novel.
All the President’s Men
1976
One of the biggest political scandals of all time, it became an award-winning film with a stellar performance from Redford as reporter Bob Woodward.
Out of Africa
1985
Beautiful African planes, the perfect wardrobe of beige and green, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, need we say any more?
Indecent Proposal
1993
Would you let your wife sleep with Robert Redford? Well that’s exactly what happens in this film that stars Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson as newly weds who risk their happiness for a million dollars.
Up Close & Personal
1996
One of my all-time favourite films was written by the legendary Joan Didion and starred Robert Redford as news producer Warren Justice and Michelle Pfeiffer as Sally Atwater a broadcast journalist. Things get complicated when they fall for each other with heartbreaking consequences.
The Horse Whisperer
1998
Redford is the brilliant as the kind horse whisperer, Tom Booker, Kristin Scott Thomas as the uptight city lawyer, Annie Maclean, not to mention a very young Scarlett Johansson as heartbroken teen Grace. Not just for horse lovers.
