494 Downhill Racer

[flyonthewall2983]

Right around the time the DVD came out, there was a segment on HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel about Bill Johnson, the first American to win the first Olympic gold medal for downhill racing. The vintage footage and interviews shown painted him as someone not unlike Redford's character. I remember it was a really sad story, because years after the win he suffered quite a few personal setbacks, including the loss of a child and a devastating skiing accident. It's nowhere on Youtube, but for fans of the film it's a good companion piece.

[knives]

Does anyone know of an OAR release of The Candidate? The US release is definitely P&S with a few reviews of the UK release suggesting likewise.

[domino harvey]

It's actually open-matte, I think?

[knives]

That makes a bit of sense. Thanks.

[swo17]

Upgrade coming Dec 1

[Minkin]

Upgrade coming Dec 1

Blu-ray.com review

Seems most are rather meh on this film. What's not to love about mountains and Redford?

[flyonthewall2983]

And Redford playing completely against type.

[knives]

Though completely in type for how Ritchie seems to have seen him based also on his use in The Candidate.

[flyonthewall2983]

I've not seen that one yet unfortunately, though I can't imagine him in a comedy bringing such a cold demeanor as he has here.

[knives]

I was thinking more along the line of the arrogance causing a fantasy of success and happiness when really achieving the opposite then necessarily the coldness.

[movielocke]

I picked this up in the 50% off sale as a sort of farewell to Criterion upgrading catalog titles.

Right up until the ending I was a little bit skeptical of the entire film, and then ending arrives, both the anxiety of whether or not his time will hold up and the recognition of the "look" in the other skier, and it turned the whole thing around and made everything work. The arrogance of Redford's character is ultimately refreshing and feels like an authentic representation of elite athletes competing in solitary sport. I like the film because the main character is so unlikable, which is a remarkable feat to pull off.

But I really disliked the editing. The editing choices to speed up footage or undercrank footage to make it seem like racers are going faster were really unfortunate, it never failed to take me out of the film. and throughout they were chopping together pieces of disconnected slopes with no sense of continuity, and often seeming to not even follow the same skier. But the cinematography was very nicely done, and I was surprised at the follow footage and POV shots they got, which were refreshingly authentic.

I didn't even realize this was a skiing movie until I looked at the physical case, for some reason, I had it in my head this was a bike riding movie like Breaking Away, and the blurry cover image never read to me as a skier when I looked at it online. If I'd known it was about skiing, I'd have probably watched it years ago.

[flyonthewall2983]

I picked this up in the 50% off sale as a sort of farewell to Criterion upgrading catalog titles.

Meaning this was one of the last titles you upgraded in your own collection? I'm just down to Traffic and Short Cuts on DVD now, after upgrading everything else I had.

[domino harvey]

I assume he means that other than Bicycle Thieves in the interim, Criterion appears to have abandoned upgrading its own DVD back catalog

[flyonthewall2983]

I was thinking more along the line of the arrogance causing a fantasy of success and happiness when really achieving the opposite then necessarily the coldness.

Just watched The Candidate recently, and didn't read it too much as arrogance, but maybe someone in over his head (who finally realizes it by the end when he utters those haunting final lines).

[xoconostle]

Finally caught DR on Filmstruck. At first I thought "I don't need to own the disc of this one" but since finishing the film, it's really stuck with me, has me rolling it over in my mind. Although my most simple qualifier for whether a movie is "good" or not is "did you enjoy seeing it?," thoughtful longevity after viewing also works as a criterion (ba-dum-bum.) Although I was a young boy in the 1970s, certain films vividly evoke zeitgeist and "look and feel" aspects so well for posterity, and this is certainly one. I mean ... Redford's HAIR!

[Wowee Zowee]

I caught this on Hulu last night and was so enamoured by it I immediately started watching it again (though it was late and I eventually fell asleep before completing the re-watch). It has been awhile since I've tried to put film thoughts down in writing, but I can't stop thinking about this one and want to make an attempt.

~ Several people here have mentioned the editing. It felt so inspired by the French New Wave to me and reminded me of Claude Lelouch's documentary "13 Days in France", only with Robert Redford and Gene Hackman thrown into the action. Though while it is very much of its time, it also felt very fresh to me, like something that could have been made today. The film showcases that sort of fly-on-the-wall techinique that we've grown accustomed to seeing in modern American indie films ("Short Term 12" came to mind, though I am not a huge fan of that film).

~ I love Redford going against type here, playing a self centered, vain, potentially unlikable character, back when there used to be more character studies featuring flawed protagonists (and more character studies in general). His exchange with the journalists near the end is played wonderfully, when they ask him about how he feels finally arriving at the Olympics, his response being, "This is it." And then immediately after he is asked what he will do after the games, he pauses for a moment and then repeats, "This is it." A man determined to be a champion, with nothing or no one else on his mind.

~ The dynamic between him and Hackman, while not too developed (as mentioned previously), works to subvert many cliches we've grown used to seeing in sports films all the while helping to establish some well known ones (Redford being lifted up by the crowd at the end). It is especially interesting considering the other coaching roles Hackman would take on later in his career, we see him here trying to be the tough mentor to Redford's character, but it doesn't work because of Redford's massive ego.

~ Finally, I LOVE the way the two romances are juxatoposed in this film. When we see Redford return to his home town (as mentioned earlier, maybe the best segment of the film), he treats his ex like crap. At first she doesn't want to speak to him because he left without saying goodbye, but then he convinces her to take a ride with him, where they soon hook up in the backseat of the car. You get the sense that she is just out of high school, because she mentions to him her prospects of either going to school or traveling with a friend, and seeking Redford's advice. Because the sex is over, he ignores her attempts at a connection and asks her if she has any more gum. Followed up later in the film with Redford's European romance, which also comes to an end in a car, only this time, it is Redford who is being ignored and left feeling forgotten. His response to this, by laying on the horn of the car, brilliantly displays the juvenile mindset of this character.

I feel like this film is very underrated and I am surprised that in my nearly 20 years of being a film enthusiast I only came across it now. I wish this was talked about more.