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Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection)
 
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Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection) (1969)

Starring: Robert Redford, Gene Hackman Director: Michael Ritchie Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
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Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection)
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Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection) 4.4 out of 5 stars (19)
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Product Details

  • Actors: Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Camilla Sparv, Joe Jay Jalbert, Tom J. Kirk
  • Directors: Michael Ritchie
  • Format: Color, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: Criterion
  • DVD Release Date: November 17, 2009
  • Run Time: 101 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B002M36R1Y
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,079 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #6 in  Movies & TV > Sports > Olympics
    #42 in  Movies & TV > Drama > Sports

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  • For more information about "Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Special Features

New, restored high-definition digital transfer
New video interviews with screenwriter James Salter; film editor Richard Harris; production manager Walter Coblenz; and former downhill skier Joe Jay Jalbert, who served as technical adviser, a ski double, and a cameraman
Audio excerpts from a 1979 American Film Institute seminar with director Michael Ritchie
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Todd McCarthy

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Robert Redford stars in this excellent 1969 film about a selfish and ambitious athlete who wants to break records at the Olympics but not participate in the teamwork emphasized by his coach (Gene Hackman). Redford comes across as a rare heel, and the film's understated tone keeps the focus on characters and sundry themes important to director Michael Ritchie (The Candidate): the sacrifices of the race, the price of winning, the fear of losing. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie’s visceral debut feature, Downhill Racer. In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing with an underdog American team in Europe for Olympic gold, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart’s narcissistic drive for glory. With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, Downhill Racer is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor.

Stills from Downhill Racer (Click for larger image)




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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
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 (13)
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 (2)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Way We Were (on skis), December 17, 1999
By "lewzayre" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Downhill Racer [VHS] (VHS Tape)
As a former ski racer myself, I can assure you that "Downhill Racer" captures the essence of the sport perfectly. From the dated ski equipment and race sequences to the European ski resorts, from the edgy camaraderie of the skiers to their common goal of winning in this most individualistic of sports, "Downhill Racer" is right on target. A good skier himself, Redford did many of his own action scenes and seems to have an intuitive understanding of the ski racer psyche.

The stark scenes in Redford's hometown of Idaho Springs, Colorado contrast with the glitz of the glamorous European ski resorts where he races. His old cling-on racer-chaser girlfriend at home is the diametric opposite of the manipulative viper he meets in Europe. Redford is a misfit loner trying to succeed in an alien world, and he knows it. Gene Hackman plays the U.S. Ski Team coach perfectly, balancing his business role in raising money and reassuring nervous sponsors with his job of babysitting the prima donna Redford. After Redford wipes out in an important race and starts to make excuse to his coach, Hackman cuts him down with a classic speech ("the bumps took you out...").

I think there are several basic genres of sports films. First, you have the overblown epics like "Rocky" and the romantic comedies like "Bull Durham" and "Tin Cup." These are essentially Hollywood efforts that just use sports for big Box Office. Then, you have parables like "Chariots of Fire," "Field of Dreams" and "The Natural," and those that are more overwrought, such as "Pride of the Yankees," "Knute Rockne" and "Fear Strikes Out." Finally, there are your nitty gritty slices of sports realism... "Raging Bull," "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" and "Downhill Racer." As a low budget, unpretentious film from thirty years ago, "Downhill Racer" remains a classic of its genre.

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent character study amid the glamour of european sport, November 18, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Downhill Racer [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Dave Chapplet is a young man from nowhere who has a chance opportunity to become famous based on his only talent -- skiing. This is an exciting and incisive story about the hype and manipulation of competitive sports, so that sport is no longer entertainment or achievement but a money-making industry in itself. It is also the story of a young man trapped in his own arrogance, searching for something but never quite achieving it, no matter how famous he became, no matter what woman he found. Robert Redford gives one of his finest performances as a man both driven and empty, lost and aloof. The film itself was innovative even in its day, with some fantastic skiing footage and artistic cinematography. The characterizations by Redford and Gene Hackman are sturdy, compelling, and deep. There is a controlled magnificence to Hackman's performance as a man dedicated to the ethic and mythos of sport, just as there is a desperate tension and dismay in Redford's character's attempts to find something satisfying for himself, something beyond a cold, negligent childhood (portrayed in a number of unsettling scenes with his father). There is romance also, which is always a nice touch in a Redford film, but the romance is appropriately awkward because Redford's character isn't capable of anything but a shallow intimacy, and Redford portrays this shallowness surprisingly well for an actor often praised for his deeply romantic performances. What is interesting as well is that Redford's character, Dave, ends up falling for a woman who is very much like himself, lovely to look at, selfish, self-centered, and cool. Quite similar to Redford's The Candidate in some respects, since both films expose the truth behind the myths, Downhill Racer is exciting to the last, not just in the competitions but in the observation of Dave's/Redford's development into a winning sportsman.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Downhill Racer - a must see!, April 7, 2005
By maree healy "Lola" (portland, oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Downhill Racer (DVD)
I kick off every Ski Season by popping in my old vhs copy of Downhill Racer. It is one of the few, if not the only, ski films out there that is able to capture the american ski scene and culture in the late 60's as vividly and honestly as this film does. The Redford character is rather complex actually, a loner, a selfish and self indulgent athlete with great talent ... a talent never recognized or appreciated by his father. So perhaps it was a troubled and sad family life that fostered the cocky and arrogant attitude he brought with him to ski racing. And the very aspects of his personality that the coach and team members find disgraceful are the very same traits that make him a top racer, a winner. And as long as he keeps winning races this behavior will be embraced by the fans, the media and ultimately his coach.

His relationship with Carmilla Sparv is totally engaging, perfectly played and it's the only way the Redford character will get a taste of his bad self! And I've seen many a man's goggles fog up at the sight of a gorgeous gal who not only skis well but drives a porsche ... she was perfect for Redford ...hello, certainly she belonged in this movie!!


~Lola
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Robert Redford on skis
this review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

In Downhill Racer, Robert Redford plays David Chappellet, a skier hoping to compete in the Winter... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Ted

5.0 out of 5 stars Downhill Racer
Stunning scenery, fabulous heart stopping skiing, beautiful people and a great story. This is a movie that be watched over and over!
Published 13 days ago by Rosanne Cleveland-King

5.0 out of 5 stars The best (and only) major film about downhill ski racing
"Downhill Racer" stars Robert Redford in his prime as David Chappellet, a taciturn loner from Colorado, who competes with an underdog American team for Olympic gold in Europe... Read more
Published 1 month ago by - Durrkk

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Ski Movie - Ever!
I first saw this film when it was released in 1969. I was a graduate student and part-time ski instructor in western New York, a time when my professional and avocational skiing... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Alan More

5.0 out of 5 stars Stein Eriksen / Alf Eugen
From early days of skiing I always admired and copied Stein Eriksen's style and grace on skis. He dances with the mountain better than anyone else I have ever seen. Read more
Published 2 months ago by W. Theobald

5.0 out of 5 stars A Significant Piece of Film History
Given that this film has been taught and studied in film schools for almost three decades, it's arrival on Criterion seems egregiously late. Be that as it may. Read more
Published 3 months ago by B. Carpenter

5.0 out of 5 stars Redford Was Never Better
Redford was never better than in this movie. He plays a self involved prima donna who never asks the audience to like him or forgive him. Read more
Published 5 months ago by michael patterson

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth seeing again
Besides having some really good skiing scenes, there's a beautiful young Robert Redford. That's always worth a second, third and fourth look for we ladies.
Published 23 months ago by Josie

5.0 out of 5 stars Understated Study of a Loner
The opening sequence of "Downhill Racer" gets the adrenalin flowing - plenty of softly photographed downhill action accompanied the crisp jazz notes of composer Kenyon Hopkins'... Read more
Published on January 14, 2008 by Neil Cotiaux

5.0 out of 5 stars Please Put On DVD!!!
Please put this reknowned Robert Redford skiing movie on DVD!!It would make a great contribution!!
Published on June 1, 2007 by Nobody

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