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DOWNHILL RACER

Michael Ritchie United States, 1969
[Redford] boldly divests himself of just about every quality that might make his character slightly appealing. In fact, he and Ritchie push the concept so far that they effectively render the movie inert.
December 2, 2015
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Redford ultimately holds Downhill Racer together with the performance of his career. The actor has served as the pinnacle of hunky liberal decency for so long now that it's authentically surprising to revisit this film and watch as he so matter-of-factly fashions a hero of prickly, poignant self-absorption. Redford briefly revises his legend a bit, elegantly casting doubt on America's insidious lone-hero mythology.
December 2, 2015
Admirable as it is in its refusal of easy excitement, the film's insistent ennui can also be a humorless drag; it's tempting to imagine the sardonic games of one-upmanship original director Roman Polanski might have found in the story. All the same, in scenes such as the anti-hero's visit to his resentful father, Downhill Racer stands as lean condemnation of the calculating underdog clichés Rocky would bring make the norm.
November 16, 2009
The understated performances and reluctance to emphasise plot result in convincing characterisations, to such an extent that the often narcissistic Redford actually allows himself to come across as a dislikeably selfish, arrogant and icy man. And the location skiing sequences, revealing Ritchie's background and interest in documentary styles, are simply astounding, even for those with little interest in the sport.
January 1, 1990