With the passing of Robert Redford, it’s inevitable that people will start revisiting his classics to pay tribute to one of the greatest movie stars of all time. And to be fair, there are a lot of amazing films to choose from. Redford was famously choosy with his projects, and outside of the occasional misfire like Havana (which, to be fair, isn’t that bad), he had very few flops on his résumé.
Over the next few weeks, I imagine people will be watching his two legendary team-ups with Paul Newman—Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting—as well as stone-cold classics like All the President’s Men, The Natural, The Way We Were, Out of Africa (never my favorite, but that score is unforgettable), The Horse Whisperer, Indecent Proposal, and many more.
However, here at JoBlo, we like to do things a little differently. For years, I’ve had a column called The Best Movie You Never Saw (admittedly intermittent in recent years), and just like I did when Gene Hackman passed, I want to share some underrated Robert Redford movies that deserve another look.
The Hot Rock
William Goldman wrote many of Redford’s best films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and The Great Waldo Pepper. One of the most overlooked is The Hot Rock, a crime caper that’s surprisingly hard to find these days (though it pops up on Criterion Channel now and then). Adapted from Donald Westlake’s novel, it features Redford as John Dortmunder, a thief who keeps failing—again and again—to steal the same gem. He’s paired with the late George Segal as his brother-in-law/partner in crime, and the film features some clever twists and a scene-stealing turn by Zero Mostel. Outside of Legal Eagles, this is the closest Redford ever came to making a straight comedy.
Jeremiah Johnson
This Sydney Pollack-directed western is probably most famous these days for the GIF it spawned, but it’s actually a stark, sensitive frontier story with Redford cast way against type as a bearded mountain man. When Jeremiah trespasses on sacred Native land, he’s marked for death by the Crow tribe, who send generation after generation of warriors to kill him—but none can defeat him. While the finale leans into action, most of the film is really a romance, with Jeremiah building a life with the daughter of a Crow leader, only for tragedy to strike. Redford brought a softness to the role that Steve McQueen or Clint Eastwood—both more natural fits—likely would have lacked.
Three Days of the Condor
Redford wasn’t typically known for action, but he made an exception for this paranoid post-Watergate thriller. He plays a CIA analyst who stumbles onto a massive conspiracy and finds himself hunted by his own government. While the setup might sound familiar now, it was groundbreaking at the time. Sydney Pollack staged a handful of excellent suspense sequences, and Redford’s later casting in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a direct nod to this film.
Brubaker
One of Redford’s grittier dramas, Brubaker casts him as a crusading prison warden determined to clean up a corrupt penal system. Based on a true story, the film has a terrific first act where Brubaker goes undercover as an inmate, with audiences unaware he’s the new warden until well into the story. It pairs nicely with another prison film he made decades later, The Last Castle.
Spy Game
While I was tempted to include Sneakers here (though let’s face it, that’s already a classic), I’ll instead highlight Tony Scott’s Spy Game. This slick techno-thriller paired Redford with Brad Pitt (whom he helped discover with A River Runs Through It). Propulsive editing and Scott’s kinetic style made it unlike anything else in Redford’s filmography.
And there you have it. If you’re looking for even more underrated Redford gems, check out All is Lost, The Old Man and the Gun, The Electric Horseman, and The Candidate.
So—what’s your favorite Robert Redford movie? Let us know in the comments below!
