Robert Redford
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“Pushing for Black Actors to Tell Black Stories”: Euzhan Palcy on A Dry White Season
In 1989, Euzhan Palcy became the first black woman to direct a major studio movie when she helmed A Dry White Season for MGM. A brutal yet inspiring anti-apartheid drama, A Dry White Season remains a model of political filmmaking, as Palcy (adapting Andre Brink’s novel with co-screenwriter Colin Welland) boldly and forcefully indicts the South African government of the period with clarity, complexity and passion. Donald Sutherland plays Ben Du Toit, a schoolteacher (a surrogate for both Brink and the movie’s white audience members) who keeps his head buried in the sand when it comes to the injustices around […]
by Jim Hemphill on Feb 5, 2019 -
The Thrill of the Chase: Cinematographer Joe Anderson on Capturing Robert Redford’s Ride into the Sunset in The Old Man & the Gun
Robert Redford’s final day on David Lowery’s The Old Man and the Gun — perhaps his final day as an actor on any movie set — found him in Texas. Though the amiable based-in-fact caper was shot largely in Ohio on 16mm, Redford’s dapper bank robber actually did most of his pillaging in Texas and its neighboring states. Thus a few pick-ups were needed — the last of which featured Redford’s Forrest Tucker phoning a widowed rancher he’s romancing. “There was a little bit of electricity in the air for that scene,” said cinematographer Joe Anderson. “The shot worked really […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Oct 25, 2018 -
“I Decided to Remove as Much as I Could from the Plot of the Movie”: David Lowery on The Old Man & the Gun, Robert Redford and Vintage Cop Cars
In The Old Man & the Gun, Robert Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a true-life outlaw who spent most of his 84 years robbing banks or biding time in prison, always on the lookout for the first opportunity to escape. Set in 1981, the film finds Tucker in his early 70s, living in Texas and pulling off a string of heists throughout the South. He and his partners, played here by Danny Glover and Tom Waits, became known to authorities as the “Over-the-Hill Gang,” and their m.o.–efficient robberies, executed politely and with style–became legendary. “That was when I was a really […]
by Darren Hughes on Sep 27, 2018 -
Park City Critic’s Notebook: Mermaid Feelings
On the first day of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, before the Opening Night films — a seemingly lukewarm cancer movie and the newest from the ever-prolific Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing — Robert Redford couldn’t help himself. Although the 79-year-old actor offered boosterism for almost every aspect of the global brand that is Sundance, he was less rosy when discussing the business and culture of independent film itself, which his visionary endeavor has helped popularize for four decades. In 2007, when the specialty divisions of big studios had yet to collapse, or be folded into the larger corporate apparatus […]
by Brandon Harris on Jan 23, 2016 -
Watch: Todd Haynes, Helen Mirren, Robert Redford and Steve Golin at the Gothams
Last night’s Gotham Independent Film Awards were highlighted by a series of tributes to luminaries of the film world. We’ve posted both the intros and acceptance speeches. Let’s start with Robert De Niro’s tribute to Helen Mirren: And the wonderful Helen Mirren, taking De Niro’s lusty testimonial in stride: Next up we have Dan Rather, who quotes Archibald MacLeish (!) while paying tribute to Robert Redford… But not until this part of the ceremony, which includes Redford’s speech, a probing look back at his career. Julianne Moore understandably gushed when introducing Todd Haynes: And Haynes followed up with a speech […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Dec 1, 2015 -
Gotham Independent Film Awards to Present Tributes to Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Todd Haynes and Steve Golin
Today the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards (presented by Filmmaker Magazine‘s parent organization IFP) announced three additional tributes to be presented at this year’s 25th anniversary awards ceremony. In addition to previously announced director honoree Todd Haynes, Actor and Actress tributes will be presented to Robert Redford and Helen Mirren, and Anonymous Content founder and CEO Steve Golin will be awarded the Industry Tribute. The awards will take place Monday, November 30. For more information, click here for the full press release.
by Filmmaker Staff on Sep 15, 2015 -
“The Mid-Size Studio Feature is Gone”: Ken Kwapis on A Walk in the Woods
When Ken Kwapis was a cinema student at USC, he ran the school’s film society and programmed retrospectives that enabled him to not only study the classics but also to meet several of the directors who made them – among his guests were Orson Welles, John Cassavetes, and Don Siegel. The experience clearly influenced Kwapis when he became a director himself, as he forged a career similar to that of many of the filmmakers of the classical studio era, albeit without the same corporate support system. Like a Michael Curtiz or Victor Fleming, Kwapis employs a self-effacing style and often […]
by Jim Hemphill on Sep 2, 2015 -
A Speck in the Ocean
At sea — we have all felt it, paradoxically unmoored even in our hyper-connected age. In only two pictures, that sense of disconnection, emotional confusion and fear is the metier of New York-based writer/director J.C. Chandor. His 2011 debut film, Margin Call, was a tightly focused drama about Wall Street traders fighting for their financial lives amidst the economic meltdown. Unfolding over 24 hours, Margin Call is a talky and claustrophobic movie plumbing the specific ethical quandaries of our current political moment. Assuredly directed and extremely well-acted, it would seem to have set Chandor up to make any number of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 21, 2013 -
MEETING ROBERT REDFORD: THE “DURING SUNDANCE” BLOG
I’ve been considering many cold opening quotes to this “During Sundance” blog ranging from, “Bagels again?” to, “Marina Abramovic is in the next bathroom stall!” I’ll let Robert Redford start it with, “There’s Sundance here,” as he points towards the floor at the Directors Brunch “And then there’s Park City,” he indicates down the mountain. “Park City is not Sundance.” We directors nod. Bob understands. We won’t buy into the machine of the market place. Our film is already the gold and Bob is warning us to stay grounded. We then instantly bum rush him as soon as his speech […]
by Erin Greenwell on Jan 26, 2012 -
Buck — A Hammer to Nail Review
On its simplest level Cindy Meehl’s documentary Buck tells the story of the cowboy Buck Brannaman, a horseman who travels the United States conducting clinics for “horses with people problems.” First-time director Cindy Meehl met Buck at one of his clinics, and wanted to share his wisdom with a wider circle than the ardent fans he’s built among “horse people.” A wise cowboy, eh? It doesn’t help that the film opens with iconographic Western shots: a cattle herd, a yellow sun, and galloping cowboys, all underlined by David Robbins’ thrumming score. I admit I was a bit skeptical. The census […]
by Susanna Locascio on Nov 9, 2011
