# You can pick Only One: what’s your favorite Robert Redford movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 18, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166 "2025-09-18T20:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/61 "2025-09-20T12:57:53Z")
My wife said, _uh, the baseball one._ ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/62 "2025-09-20T12:59:57Z")
It’s a tough call between Butch Cassidy and Sting though I lean towards the former. I caught Three Days of Condor on TV decades ago and remember being hugely absorbed by it so I need to watch it again ; not sure I even saw it from the start. I have seen All the President’s Men twice and both times I end up thoroughly confused at around the two thirds mark. I think next time I need to read the Wikipedia page on Watergate before watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/63 "2025-09-20T13:25:07Z")
My favorite Robert Redford movie is _Sneakers_. I won’t argue that it’s a great movie that deserved an Oscar but it’s the one I enjoy the most. Now my favorite movie that had Robert Redford in it is _Avengers: Endgame_. But there’s a difference between a movie that had Robert Redford in it and a Robert Redford movie. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/64 "2025-09-20T13:31:13Z")
I realize I’m in the minority here but I was not that impressed by _The Sting_. I was comparing it to _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ and I expected it to be up at that level. But when I finally watched it, I feel it’s a much weaker movie. I remember thinking when I was watching it, “This feels like a made-for-tv movie.” ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/65 "2025-09-20T13:44:53Z")
It’s **Sneakers** for me. Every time I hear the flapping of duck/goose beaks I remember the bit about the cocktail party. Then JJ. Haven’t seen in quite some time The Sting or BCSK. Maybe since I was a kid at the Saturday matinee swooning over the leads. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/66 "2025-09-20T15:01:48Z")
Updated tally: Butch Cassidy extends its lead, Sneakers catching up to The Sting, the baseball one catches JJ 11 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 9 The Sting 7 Sneakers 5 All the President’s Men 3 Jeremiah Johnson 3 The Natural 2 Ordinary People 2 Three Days of the Condor 2 Spy Game 1 The Candidate 1 The Electric Horseman 1 Out of Africa 1 All is Lost • You’ve voted already: 2\_More\_Bits aceplace57 Beckdawreck blondebear Broomstick Bullitt + wife chela Crafter\_Man DCnDC dolphinboy Gatopescado Gordon\_G Jack\_Burden Jasmine JKellyMap John\_DiFool kenobi\_65 + wife Lantern2 Little\_Nemo Llama\_Llogophile Loach Lurkmeister MacDoc Munch needscoffee ParallelLines + wife pkbites Prof.Pepperwinkle Robot\_Arm ShadowFacts Si\_Amigo Snarky\_Kong Sparky812 Spoons Stephe96 Stranger\_On\_A\_Train Telemark The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper + wife ThelmaLou TreacherousCretin Two\_Many\_Cats2 Whack-a-Mole What \_Exit ZipperJJ ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/67 "2025-09-20T20:57:38Z")
Jeremiah Johnson. The cinematography is just excellent. No fake snow in this movie, I’ll bet they all froze their asses off making this. No place for movie star trailers. A great story and Bob pulled it off in the mountains. It is a shame that we didn’t see Delle Bolton much again. Side note; the teenage girl, hiding in the corn crib with her family at the Crazy Ladies former house, is an uncredited young Tanya Tucker. [Tanya Tucker in Jeremiah Johnson](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/tanya-tucker-in-jeremiah-johnson--330662797633743457/) ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/68 "2025-09-21T02:41:25Z")
Of the ones I’ve seen I will finally commit to Sneakers. A movie that still hold up today, but without everyone having a cell phone. Who is still alive from the original? Time for a reboot. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/69 "2025-09-21T02:47:46Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > Who is still alive from the original? Of the main cast: - David Straithairn - Dan Aykroyd - Ben Kingsley - Mary McDonnell - Stephen Tobolowsky ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/70 "2025-09-21T05:26:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I realize I’m in the minority here but I was not that impressed by _The Sting_. I was comparing it to _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ and I expected it to be up at that level. Yeah, I’m with you on this. I really wanted to like it more than I did, but like you said, it felt like a made-for-TV movie. And like they were trying too hard to recapture the magic. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/71 "2025-09-21T06:09:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I realize I’m in the minority here but I was not that impressed by _The Sting_. I was comparing it to _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ and I expected it to be up at that level. But when I finally watched it, I feel it’s a much weaker movie. I remember thinking when I was watching it, “This feels like a made-for-tv movie.” It wasn’t as we all know, but I think one of the failings of _The Sting_ is that, in striving for realism, the filmmakers made it almost incomprehensible to the average viewer. The film makes extensive use of 1930s con-man slang (“mark,” “carpet joint,” “wire store”); refers to “the numbers racket,” (\*) which 1973’s audiences wouldn’t have understood; and is confusing as to what actually is trying to be achieved. It all comes together at the end, of course, but getting there can be confusing. As a horseplayer, I did understand the final part, but it was a while before I understood “wire store” and “carpet joint.” (\*) Aside: “The numbers racket” is a very easily understood game, and as such, it is easy to play. All you need to do is to select a three-digit number between 000 and 999. The operator will specify whether you need to look at the day’s total handle at the local horse race track, or the total shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, or the attendance at the local ballpark as reported in the box score. Tomorrow, of course; no operator will let you select today’s numbers. But they’re all easily accessible figures published in the newspaper for all to see. If your number matches the last three numbers in whatever the operator has specified, you win. It’s just that easy, and it only costs you five cents a chance (in 1936, when _The Sting_ was set). The game could be played perfectly honestly, and it typically was. Where the racket came in, is when the player wins. The player should get 1000-to-1 (player selected one number in one thousand), but the operator will only give you 600-1 odds for a win. Well, in the Depression, winning $30 for a nickel outlay didn’t sound too bad to a lot of people, and the numbers game was popular. Point is, that if you’re offering 600-1 on a 1000-1 proposition, you’re making money even if you’re paying winners. And that’s the racket. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/72 "2025-09-21T10:24:24Z")
Updated tally 11 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 9 The Sting 8 Sneakers 5 All the President’s Men 4 Jeremiah Johnson 3 The Natural 2 Ordinary People 2 Three Days of the Condor 2 Spy Game 1 The Candidate 1 The Electric Horseman 1 Out of Africa 1 All is Lost • You’ve voted already: 2\_More\_Bits aceplace57 Beckdawreck blondebear Broomstick Bullitt + wife chela Crafter\_Man Dallas\_Jones DCnDC dolphinboy Gatopescado Gordon\_G Jack\_Burden Jasmine JKellyMap John\_DiFool kenobi\_65 + wife Lantern2 Little\_Nemo Llama\_Llogophile Loach Lurkmeister MacDoc Munch needscoffee ParallelLines + wife pirviii pkbites Prof.Pepperwinkle Robot\_Arm ShadowFacts Si\_Amigo Snarky\_Kong Sparky812 Spoons Stephe96 Stranger\_On\_A\_Train Telemark The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper + wife ThelmaLou TreacherousCretin Two\_Many\_Cats2 Whack-a-Mole What \_Exit ZipperJJ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/73 "2025-09-21T12:56:45Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > It wasn’t as we all know, but I think one of the failings of _The Sting_ is that, in striving for realism, the filmmakers made it almost incomprehensible to the average viewer. The film makes extensive use of 1930s con-man slang (“mark,” “carpet joint,” “wire store”); refers to “the numbers racket,” (\*) which 1973’s audiences wouldn’t have understood; and is confusing as to what actually is trying to be achieved. It all comes together at the end, of course, but getting there can be confusing. One exception to this realism was the music. Ragtime was not a major genre during the period the movie was set in. It had been popular a generation earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/74 "2025-09-24T14:54:41Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > I realize I’m in the minority here but I was not that impressed by _The Sting_. I was comparing it to _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ and I expected it to be up at that level. But when I finally watched it, I feel it’s a much weaker movie. I remember thinking when I was watching it, “This feels like a made-for-tv movie.” > > It wasn’t as we all know, but I think one of the failings of _The Sting_ is that, in striving for realism, the filmmakers made it almost incomprehensible to the average viewer. The film makes extensive use of 1930s con-man slang (“mark,” “carpet joint,” “wire store”); refers to “the numbers racket,” (\*) which 1973’s audiences wouldn’t have understood; and is confusing as to what actually is trying to be achieved. It all comes together at the end, of course, but getting there can be confusing. > > As a horseplayer, I did understand the final part, but it was a while before I understood “wire store” and “carpet joint.” > > (\*) Aside: “The numbers racket” is a very easily understood game, and as such, it is easy to play. All you need to do is to select a three-digit number between 000 and 999. The operator will specify whether you need to look at the day’s total handle at the local horse race track, or the total shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, or the attendance at the local ballpark as reported in the box score. Tomorrow, of course; no operator will let you select today’s numbers. But they’re all easily accessible figures published in the newspaper for all to see. If your number matches the last three numbers in whatever the operator has specified, you win. It’s just that easy, and it only costs you five cents a chance (in 1936, when _The Sting_ was set). > > The game could be played perfectly honestly, and it typically was. Where the racket came in, is when the player wins. The player should get 1000-to-1 (player selected one number in one thousand), but the operator will only give you 600-1 odds for a win. > > Well, in the Depression, winning $30 for a nickel outlay didn’t sound too bad to a lot of people, and the numbers game was popular. Point is, that if you’re offering 600-1 on a 1000-1 proposition, you’re making money even if you’re paying winners. And that’s the racket. I never met her but the story goes my grandmother was a very godly woman with no vices. Never drank, smoked or cursed. But she did play the numbers. Always their street address. On the rare occasions I play the pick 3 I always use her numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/75 "2025-09-24T15:24:54Z")
Be sure to place it on Lucky Dan! ---
**Author:** ![cieskokid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cieskokid/32/5374_2.png) [@cieskokid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cieskokid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/76 "2025-09-24T21:17:38Z")
A lot of great films to choose from but I’ve always enjoyed Three Days of the Condor the most. Tense pacing, good flow and Redford makes you feel Condor’s various states of mind. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/77 "2025-09-24T21:26:39Z")
My personal favorite is Indecent Proposal. An iconic early ‘90s movie and I’m a ‘90s kind of guy. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/78 "2025-09-24T21:26:47Z")
Hard to emphatically say what my favorite is, but I definitely feel that _Spy Game_ is the most rewatchable. I’ve seen that move a bunch of times and I never tire of it. I think it helps that it’s one of his more modern movies, watching the older stuff can be hard to adjust to. Honorable mention to _Sneakers_. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/79 "2025-09-24T23:00:28Z")
Updated tally; still doing it the difficult way, I’m not the sharpest tool in the box — Indecent Proposal gets its first vote 11 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 9 The Sting 8 Sneakers 5 All the President’s Men 4 Jeremiah Johnson 3 The Natural 3 Three Days of the Condor 3 Spy Game 2 Ordinary People 1 The Candidate 1 The Electric Horseman 1 Out of Africa 1 All is Lost 1 Indecent Proposal • You’ve voted already: 2\_More\_Bits aceplace57 Beckdawreck blondebear Broomstick Bullitt + wife chela cieskokid Crafter\_Man Dallas\_Jones DCnDC dolphinboy Gatopescado Gordon\_G Jack\_Burden Jasmine JKellyMap John\_DiFool kenobi\_65 + wife Lantern2 Little\_Nemo Llama\_Llogophile Loach Lurkmeister MacDoc Munch needscoffee Omniscient ParallelLines + wife pirviii pkbites Prof.Pepperwinkle Robot\_Arm ShadowFacts Si\_Amigo Snarky\_Kong Sparky812 Spoons Stephe96 Stranger\_On\_A\_Train Telemark themapleleaf The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper + wife ThelmaLou TreacherousCretin Two\_Many\_Cats2 Whack-a-Mole What \_Exit ZipperJJ ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/80 "2025-09-24T23:10:50Z")
First for me is All the Presidents Men, it’s close though, with the Sting. I love the story, I love research/journalism. I loved the scenery in Horse Whisperer though! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166.md?page=5)