# 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:** 5
**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 25, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/81 "2025-09-25T01:18:45Z")
I already voted but I also loved _A River Runs Through It._ Beautifully directed by Redford. Although he doesn’t appear onscreen his narration pulls the movie together. I am haunted by waters. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/82 "2025-09-25T01:58:53Z")
OK, I was thinking about voting for _The Natural_ (Go Wonderboy!) but @Loach has convinced me to put in a vote for _A River Runs Through It_, for the reasons above. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of _Butch Cassidy_, so I can’t vote for it, and I remember that _The Sting_ didn’t really impress me when I saw it years and years ago. I like _Out of Africa_, especially the visuals, but what detracts from it for me is Redford’s accent. Apparently he originally voiced Finch-Hatton with an upper-class English accent, but the director felt it would be too distracting, so had him overdub his lines with his own American accent. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/83 "2025-09-25T13:03:53Z")
Brubaker ---
**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 25, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/84 "2025-09-25T13:56:19Z")
Updated tally — A River Runs Through It and Brubaker both get their first vote 11 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 9 The Sting 8 Sneakers 6 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 1 A River Runs Through It 1 Brubaker • You’ve voted already: 2\_More\_Bits aceplace57 Beckdawreck blondebear Broomstick Bullitt + wife chela cieskokid Crafter\_Man Dallas\_Jones DaveUnknown DCnDC dolphinboy Gatopescado gkster 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:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/85 "2025-09-25T14:05:25Z")
I’ve recently watched several movies on the poll list. It’s a good reference for anyone interested in Redford’s movies. I usually enjoy any movie that he acted in. Some are better than others. I haven’t seen all his movies. Just the better known ones. Redford did one Twlight Zone in 1960. It’s interesting to watch his early work. It’s season 3 ep 16, Nothing in the Dark. The series is on Paramount and Prime. It doesn’t count for voting. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/86 "2025-09-25T21:34:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It doesn’t count for voting. _“It’s just for lookin’ through.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/87 "2025-09-25T21:40:41Z")
Endeavor to Persevere ---
**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 25, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/88 "2025-09-25T21:48:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Redford did one Twlight Zone in 1960. It’s interesting to watch his early work. It’s season 3 ep 16, Nothing in the Dark. The series is on Paramount and Prime. > > It doesn’t count for voting. No, but it is worth watching. It’s got the typical Twilight Zone twist at the end—but in this case, _what_ a twist. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/89 "2025-09-25T22:01:23Z")
When I worked as a film projectionist, there were certain films I was compelled to slip into the theater and watch parts of, over and over. Alli is Lost is one of them. Remarkable in that it had one character in a leaking boat that is slowly sinking. That’s the movie, and they got as much drama out of an impossible situation as you could ever expect. One sequence in particular, where a cargo freighter passes within a stone’s throw but never stops to help. That one character is of course Robert Redford, who has to carry the movie while barely speaking. A late-career miracle. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/90 "2025-09-25T23:22:18Z")
All the President’s Men for me. It is my third-favorite movie. I swear, I could drop everything and watch a hunk of it at any time. Actually, I have done just that, several times. mmm ---
**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 26, 2025, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/91 "2025-09-26T04:16:58Z")
Updated tally — mmm votes and All the President’s Men is catching up to Sneakers 11 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 9 The Sting 8 Sneakers 7 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 1 A River Runs Through It 1 Brubaker • You’ve voted already: 2\_More\_Bits aceplace57 Beckdawreck blondebear Broomstick Bullitt + wife chela cieskokid Crafter\_Man Dallas\_Jones DaveUnknown DCnDC dolphinboy Gatopescado gkster Gordon\_G Jack\_Burden Jasmine JKellyMap John\_DiFool kenobi\_65 + wife Lantern2 Little\_Nemo Llama\_Llogophile Loach Lurkmeister MacDoc Mean\_Mr.Mustard 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:** ![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 26, 2025, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/92 "2025-09-26T06:00:07Z")
I know I already voted but this is another of my favorite Redford films & hasn’t been mentioned yet. For your consideration…. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uBCHNk6rpJI/maxresdefault.jpg "The Hot Rock (1972) Trailer HD 1080p") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBCHNk6rpJI) ---
**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 26, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/93 "2025-09-26T09:36:13Z")
The Hot Rock, hmmm, never heard of it. The wiki page says that in the UK it was released with a different title, How to Steal a Diamond in Four Uneasy Lessons. It also stars George Segal and Zero Mostel, and someone named Topo Swope (or Mary Hackett “Topo” Swope). Wiki also says, “As of June 2021, the film holds a rating of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews.” That is a decent score. Might be worth a watch. I just watched the trailer. Yes, might be worth a watch. However my app, JustWatch, says it’s not available to stream or rent on any apps or services, so the question becomes, if one wanted to watch it where would one go to see it? ---
**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 26, 2025, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/94 "2025-09-26T09:48:11Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > The Hot Rock, hmmm, never heard of it. I’ve seen “The Hot Rock.” It’s a complicated heist movie. It’s good, and I enjoyed it, but it’s one of those kind of films that you have to see two or three times to really get it. It’s that complicated. Good movie, but not, IMHO, among his best. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/95 "2025-09-26T11:49:23Z")
Nobody has chosen The Great Waldo Pepper? I’m changing my vote. The Sting is doing fine, but more people should see Pepper. It’s one of the great flying movies. The opening scene of him giving rides makes me sniffle every time. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/96 "2025-09-26T12:20:55Z")
The Sting. Boy that was difficult. All of the President’s Men is right there next to it. Both are complex, requiring a few viewings to figure out what is going on. > [@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. Several years ago I came across the source book on which the movie was based: “The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man” and was impressed with how complex and diverse the various cons were. The screenwriters simplified and streamlined the process quite a bit, but the book really helps in understanding the lingo and roles (e.g. what exactly was “the wire”, “the big store”, and the role of a “roper”). It goes a long way toward explaining the nuances of each part of the movie. I never did finish the book–after the initial novelty of reading about several different cons, I actually found it kind of depressing to read page after page of how nobody can be trusted at all. > [@Bullitt](#): > > The Hot Rock, hmmm, never heard of it. One of my favorites. It was from a book written by Donald Westlake from his “Dortmunder” series (“Bank Shot” was another). This series follows a gang with nothing but bad luck from one heist attempt to another. Their leader, Dortmunder, played by Robert Redford, is sharp, clever, and always stumbles into bad luck. It’s a good book and an entertaining film. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/97 "2025-09-26T14:20:17Z")
The Sting ---
**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 27, 2025, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/98 "2025-09-27T03:31:41Z")
Maybe do what I did - look at your local public library for the DVD and/or see if they have access to your statewide catalog; here in Cincinnati we can access OhioLink, any item from any public library in Ohio can be selected & shipped to my local branch up the street. PS The Hot Rock has a subtle humor to it, a key point not really evident in the trailer but, as mentioned above, adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s finely crafted novel, a great if a bit complicated heist caper, a certain very ‘70s feel to the film’s atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![JoePockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8dc957/32.png) [@JoePockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoePockets)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/99 "2025-09-27T03:43:41Z")
Three Days of the Condor ---
**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 27, 2025, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166/100 "2025-09-27T06:30:15Z")
Updated tally — Three Days of the Condor catches Jeremiah Johnson 11 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 9 The Sting 8 Sneakers 7 All the President’s Men 4 Jeremiah Johnson 4 Three Days of the Condor 3 The Natural 3 Spy Game 2 Ordinary People 1 The Candidate 1 The Electric Horseman 1 Out of Africa 1 All is Lost 1 Indecent Proposal 1 A River Runs Through It 1 Brubaker • You’ve voted already: 2\_More\_Bits aceplace57 Beckdawreck blondebear Broomstick Bullitt + wife chela cieskokid Crafter\_Man Dallas\_Jones DaveUnknown DCnDC dolphinboy Gatopescado gkster Gordon\_G Jack\_Burden Jasmine JKellyMap JoePockets John\_DiFool kenobi\_65 + wife Lantern2 Little\_Nemo Llama\_Llogophile Loach Lurkmeister MacDoc Mean\_Mr.Mustard 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 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-pick-only-one-what-s-your-favorite-robert-redford-movie/1023166.md?page=6)