This screening includes THE NATURAL
- Date and time:
- Sat, April 18, 4 pm; $5 (+$1.00 fee for online tickets)
- Genres:
As Roy Hobbs, Robert Redford hits it out of the park—figuratively and literally—in his relentless pursuit to fulfill his boyhood dream of baseball superstardom.
5X: Robert Redford
One of the most iconic stars of New Hollywood cinema, Robert Redford could have easily built a career as the silver screen’s golden boy with his laidback Californian roots, stunning smile, and magnetic charm. But being just a pretty face was never Redford’s style. Seeking out roles that subverted his incredible good looks to instead expose the spiky anger, quiet vulnerability, and thoughtful intelligence that simmered underneath the surface, the actor flourished with every genre he touched, from rom-coms to Westerns to sports films to heist flicks and everything in between.
Redford further steered his career by actively producing and developing projects, such as the highly influential All the President’s Men (1976)—it was he who bought the book’s film rights, hired screenwriter William Goldman, and helped oversee the script and casting. Finally, in 1980, Redford moved more firmly behind the camera with the acclaimed family drama Ordinary People, earning Academy Awards for both Best Picture and Best Director. On and off for the next three decades, he would direct eight more films, including another serious awards contender, Quiz Show (1994); political thrillers like The Conspirator (2010); and poignant period pieces like A River Runs Through It (1992).
A tremendous activist, Redford long supported the environment, Indigenous rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and more. A vital advocate for independent film, he also forever changed the cinematic landscape in 1978 when he co-founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, which became the country’s largest festival for indie filmmaking. Over the years, Sundance has seen several well-known filmmakers get their big break, such as Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jane Schoenbrun, and Jim Jarmusch, and helped put a larger spotlight on films like American Psycho, The Blair Witch Project, Better Luck Tomorrow, Little Miss Sunshine, Donnie Darko, Napoleon Dynamite, and many, many more.
Redford sadly passed on September 16, 2025, at the age of 89, but his contributions to cinema will remain timeless, not to mention countless, with this five-film series providing just a small taste of the magic that the filmmaker brought to our screens.
