list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Downhill Racer on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Downhill_Racer/9649/default.aspx Title: Downhill Racer
Year: 1969
Director: Michael Ritchie
Plot: Director Michael Ritchie's ongoing satirical spin on the American Dream is dressed up in quasi-documentary fashion in Downhill Racer. Robert Redford stars as an Olympic-grade skier, whose talent is matched only by his aloof self-involvement. As the cocksure Redford rises to the top of his class, he discards any emotional attachments that might impede his progress, ranging from girlfriends to his own father. When Redford finally attains his goal in life, the thrill of victory is an empty one indeed. The cold-bloodedness of Redford's character may have worked against Downhill Racer at the box office; on the other hand, Ritchie's similarly structured political satire The Candidate offered a "warmer" Redford -- but it, too, was a box-office disappointment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Number of blog posts: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:01:19 GMTDownhill Racer1969Michael RitchieDirector <a href="/players/P___108355/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael Ritchie</a>'s ongoing satirical spin on the American Dream is dressed up in quasi-documentary fashion in Downhill Racer. <a href="/players/P___107758/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Redford</a> stars as an Olympic-grade skier, whose talent is matched only by his aloof self-involvement. As the cocksure Redford rises to the top of his class, he discards any emotional attachments that might impede his progress, ranging from girlfriends to his own father. When Redford finally attains his goal in life, the thrill of victory is an empty one indeed. The cold-bloodedness of Redford's character may have worked against Downhill Racer at the box office; on the other hand, Ritchie's similarly structured political satire <a href=/films/5089/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>The Candidate</a> offered a "warmer" Redford -- but it, too, was a box-office disappointment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide13http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/v73319pgqly.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Downhill_Racer/9649/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/shaunhuston/archive/2008/6/19/31401.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: ShaunHuston filmblog
Post Date: 6/19/2008 1:01:19 AM
Body: The sports Top 10 is a difficult list to assess. How many truly good sports movies are there, and I ask this as a sports fan? Raging Bull (1980) is arguably the greatest film of the 1980s, and Rocky (1976) was a little labor of love, far from the semi-joke blockbuster that it is often remembered as in light of its sequels. They likely deserve their places at the top of the list, especially Raging Bull. As to the rest of the films, I have a lot of affection for Breaking Away (1979) and really, it's a lovely little film that I'd put higher on the list. I also like Hoosiers (1986) and Bull Durham (1988), but they both have obvious flaws (as Anne-Marie noted, the basketball film falls short in its depiction of the on-the-court action; the final is especially poorly paced and shot and edited in an oblique way. I've always thought that Bull Durham's final act stretched on a little too long, needlessly deferring Annie and Crash's final settling in together). For the remainder, well, I don't have much good or much bad to say about any of them; I can see why each ended up on the list, with the possible exception of Jerry Maguire (1996), which seems a stretch as a sports film even by the AFI's definition (“a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition” - I don't see how either of the leads meet this standard). However, I would struggle to find a replacement. Tin Cup (1996)? Cross-apply Field of Dreams (1989) from the fantasy list? How about Downhill Racer (1969) or Slap Shot (1977)? (And I'll just admit right now that I have nothing to say about football films as I don't care or know much about the game). I dunno. I think that this genre is doubly cursed for being both a genre and about sports, two aspects of American life that are seen as culturally “lesser” in many circles. So, as a result, you get films that are either goofy comedies or fairly predictable dramas. The best films on the AFI Top 10 do better than that, but only Raging Bull, I think, can be considered great cinema. Link to introduction. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs
]]>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:01:19 GMTShaunHustonShaunHuston filmblog6/19/2008 1:01:19 AMThe sports Top 10 is a difficult list to assess. How many truly good sports movies are there, and I ask this as a sports fan? Raging Bull (1980) is arguably the greatest film of the 1980s, and Rocky (1976) was a little labor of love, far from the semi-joke blockbuster that it is often remembered as in light of its sequels. They likely deserve their places at the top of the list, especially Raging Bull. As to the rest of the films, I have a lot of affection for Breaking Away (1979) and really, it's a lovely little film that I'd put higher on the list. I also like Hoosiers (1986) and Bull Durham (1988), but they both have obvious flaws (as Anne-Marie noted, the basketball film falls short in its depiction of the on-the-court action; the final is especially poorly paced and shot and edited in an oblique way. I've always thought that Bull Durham's final act stretched on a little too long, needlessly deferring Annie and Crash's final settling in together). For the remainder, well, I don't have much good or much bad to say about any of them; I can see why each ended up on the list, with the possible exception of Jerry Maguire (1996), which seems a stretch as a sports film even by the AFI's definition (“a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition” - I don't see how either of the leads meet this standard). However, I would struggle to find a replacement. Tin Cup (1996)? Cross-apply Field of Dreams (1989) from the fantasy list? How about Downhill Racer (1969) or Slap Shot (1977)? (And I'll just admit right now that I have nothing to say about football films as I don't care or know much about the game). I dunno. I think that this genre is doubly cursed for being both a genre and about sports, two aspects of American life that are seen as culturally “lesser” in many circles. So, as a result, you get films that are either goofy comedies or fairly predictable dramas. The best films on the AFI Top 10 do better than that, but only Raging Bull, I think, can be considered great cinema. Link to introduction. Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/father/MemberTagFilms.aspxfather
Number of films tagged: 3580

Number of people who tagged: 51

Number of times used: 213

]]>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:51:56 GMT358051213Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/fame/MemberTagFilms.aspxfame
Number of films tagged: 610

Number of people who tagged: 17

Number of times used: 36

]]>Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:38:57 GMT6101736Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/skiing/MemberTagFilms.aspxskiing
Number of films tagged: 333

Number of people who tagged: 7

Number of times used: 11

]]>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:02:40 GMT333711Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/egocentric/MemberTagFilms.aspxegocentric
Number of films tagged: 9

Number of people who tagged: 0

Number of times used: 0

]]>Wed, 28 Jun 2006 13:00:34 GMT900Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/olympicsports/MemberTagFilms.aspxolympicsports
Number of films tagged: 75

Number of people who tagged: 0

Number of times used: 0

]]>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:01:59 GMT7500Tag