The passing of Robert Redford touches generations of movie fans, as a true Hollywood legend is now gone. Redford cemented himself as a bona fide movie star in the 1970s and has maintained a legendary career ever since. In fact, his final on-screen role was reprising his MCU role of Alexander Pierce in Avengers: Endgame, showing the incredible versatility of his work in movies.
Redford was also an Oscar-winning director and has been a hugely influential figure in independent cinema, serving as the co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival. His passing is certainly a devastating blow to his fans, but Redford leaves behind an incredible body of work, with his greatest movies standing out as true cinematic masterpieces.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Robert Redford’s role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was an impressive bit of casting for the MCU, but also a clever one. The Captain America movie was heavily influenced by the paranoid thrillers of the 1970s, including Redford’s own classic movie, Three Days of the Condor. Redford stars as a mild-mannered CIA analyst who goes on the run when the rest of his team is assassinated.
The movie is a tense and gripping thriller that perfectly plays into the grey areas of the political climate that emerged at the time. Redford is in pure movie star mode, but also excels at playing the more mild-mannered hero who finds himself in over his head. He also shares wonderful chemistry with Faye Dunaway as the woman who gets reluctantly tied up in his misadventure.
Sneakers (1992)
The 1990s saw Redford shifting more towards his career as a director and taking on roles that were less high-profile than his older classics. However, Sneakers is one of the overlooked movies of this era that has gotten more and more love as time goes on. Redford stars as Marty Bishop, an expert who helps organizations highlight their security weaknesses, only for him and his team to be tricked into stealing a dangerous weapon.
Sneakers is a terrific mix of thrills and humor, with the movie maintaining a fun and exciting tone throughout. It is especially nice seeing Redford embrace his comedic talents, which were rare as he got older. He also leads a terrific ensemble, which includes Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, and River Phoenix. It makes for an underrated caper worth seeking out.
All the President’s Men (1976)
Redford has starred in a number of politically charged movies, but All the President’s Men was the most impactful. Coming out only a couple of years after the Watergate scandal broke, the movie delves into the true story of The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), whose investigation broke the story and led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
Despite knowing how the story plays out, All the President’s Men unfolds with tension and suspense as the two heroes get closer and closer to the truth. It is also an exciting look inside the world of investigative journalism, giving an authentic portrayal of these reporters. Winner of four Oscars, All the President’s Men was one of the defining movies of the 1970s.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
While Redford had already been making a name for himself in Hollywood in the 1960s, this classic Western helped to make him a star. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the titular real-life outlaws. The light-hearted and action-packed adventure follows the pair as they rob trains, flee from the law, and crack jokes.
The movie solidified the chemistry between Redford and Newman as one of the greatest on-screen teams ever. They feel like the lifelong friends these characters are meant to be. Redford shines as the more serious and deadly of the duo, yet his performance is filled with the charm that would define his career. While the Western movie features a notoriously dark ending, it is a great ride from beginning to end.
The Sting (1973)
Given how great they were together in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, it was obvious that Redford and Newman would have to team up again. The Sting took the duo out of the Wild West and inserted them in Depression Era America as two suave and cunning con artists who team up to swindle a dangerous gangster who killed their mutual friend.
Amazingly, The Sting earned Redford the only Oscar nomination for acting in his entire career. He is as charming and cool as he has ever been on camera, adding to the fun vibe of the movie. Once again, the chemistry between the leads is the highlight, but there are so many factors that add to The Sting being a classic and the best of Redford’s career.