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Licensor Information
Paramount Home Entertainment
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie's visceral debut feature, Downhill Racer. In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing with an underdog American team in Europe for Olympic gold, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart's narcissistic drive for glory. With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, Downhill Racer is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor.
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Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Disc:
DVD-9 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
1 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85:1
Audio Options:
English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Resolution:
480p/29.97
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Interview, Audio Interview, Featurette, Theatrical Trailer, Booklet
- Interviews from 2009 with actor Robert Redford, screenwriter James Salter, editor Richard Harris, production manager Walter Coblenz, and former downhill skier Joe Jay Jalbert, who served as a technical adviser, ski double, and cameraman
- Audio excerpts from a 1977 American Film Institute seminar with director Michael Ritchie
- How Fast?, a rare twelve-minute promotional feature from 1969
- Trailer
- Booklet featuring an essay by critic Todd McCarthy
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Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Release Credits
Artwork: Eric Skillman
Producer: Karen Stetler
Release Notes on Restoration
Downhill Racer
Downhill Racer is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format. This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine from a 35mm fine-grain master positive print. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using the MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFCLean system, and Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using the Pro Tools HD system. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.
The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using the Pro Tools HD system. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.