betty dalton When the movie started i was amazed how flashy, fast and impressive the photography was. I thought I was in for a great ride. How could I have missed such an important picture with Gene Hackman and Robert Redford starring in it? I thought I had overlooked a precious movie for many years. But I was wrong. My first thoughts were right on the money: how can a picture about skiing be interesting other then for sport fans? It cant. Not this one. I wont reveal the story to avoid spoilers, although there is not much to get spoiled because the story is going nowhere. That is just the main and only true fault of this movie: an utterly boring story. Unless you are into skiing...What is really good about this movie is the photography. Mind you, this picture was shot in 1969, for those days the speeding downhill camera shots were really revolutionary. Even to this day, the camera work is really enticing. Gorgeous shots. Acting is good too. How couldnt it be, with young upcoming stars like Hackman and Redford. The soundtrack fails miserably though, more suited for a war movie. But hey, they experimented with lots of modern classical stuff, so I praise them for trying to do something out of the ordinary. All the techniques used in this picture are truly up there with the best. But the story is NOT.All this experimental soundtrack stuff, the truly mind blowing camerawork and the great acting still cant hide the obvious fact that the story is dead boring. Still wanna know what the story is about? A new young ski talent goes to the Olympics and becomes successful. Wow. If you think that is a thrilling story, then this is the movie for you. I thought it was going nowhere beyond what one can already see on t,v. during any other sports tournament.

st-shot Director Michael Ritchie's minimalist cinema verite approach to this story about an Olympic hopeful that's a heel is an interesting an mostly successful attempt to capture the sport in the Wide World of Sports documentary style. Robert Redford's (David Cappellett) cocksure good looks and self absorbed mannerisms are deftly utilized in reaction shots to what's going on around him enabling him to convey much of his character with a minimum of dialog. It is the same documentary style that also hinders the film since the camera never remains steady long enough for characters to enunciate at length their feelings and relationships are explored at a distance. Gene Hackman is his no nonsense coach trying to instill some team values in him while capricious jet setter girlfriend Camilla Sparv shows Chappellet that she can be every bit as shallow as he is. The best exchanges in the film come from his uncomfortable relationship with his father (Dabney Coleman).The ski scenes are filled with well edited montages to give the film a healthy pace and adding suspense to the film's final minute as Chappellet success hangs in the balance. It may not medal but Ritchie's novel style and Redford's golden boy arrogance make Downhill Racer more than competitive.

jc-osms Rather like Paul Newman and Steve McQueen with their racing car movies this has all the appearance of a "jollies" project for Robert Redford, as he gets to ski up hill and down dale in the Alpine sunshine.The story is as light as powdered snow with Redford's small-town boy David Chappellet (what kind of lead name is that?) who with his eyes on the prize of Olympic glory, gets up the nose of, in no particular order, his coach, father and team-mates. Women are a mere side-show in his insular world as evidenced by a fairly distasteful pick-up scene with an old girlfriend in his hometown and then his selfishly petulant pursuit of, heavens above, a free-thinking, independent woman, played by Camilla Sparv. The ski-ing sequences are fine with some good stunt-work involving numerous bumps and scrapes on the piste but their effectiveness is dimmed by our subsequent familiarity with top TV coverage of skiing events down to the present day. Plus I'm not convinced that the Winter Olympics has the same mass identification with the general public as the summer games so that when Redford eventually wins his gold medal in the final reel, I couldn't really be that excited for him one way or another.Of the actors, Redford, best profile forward, doesn't need to do much and indeed doesn't, while Gene Hackman does better with equally meagre material. Ms Sparv does well as the chief female interest well who treats Redford the way he's doubtless treated every other woman in his chauvinistic way.In truth though, there's a lack of dramatic tension throughout for which the action sequences don't fully compensate and you don't care a fig for any of the leading characters. One of those films where the actors probably enjoyed making it more than the viewers did watching it.

roy_imdb For anybody who follows international sports, the characters and organizations in this movie ring true. Whether you follow skating, gymnastics, skiing, or any other essentially solo international sports, you have seen the loners, the chosen stars, the politics, fund raising, and everything else that goes on behind and in front of the scenes.This movie captures those people and circumstances exceptionally well. As has been noted in the coverage of the Olympics, the parallels to the 2006 US downhill team are stunning. The fact that this movie was made in 1969, with the film style of the day, makes it quite dated. But it is exactly the dated fashions, music, cinematography, skiing equipment, and attitudes that make it a keeper.Downhill Racer remains the seminal skiing movie (unless one prefers the slob humor of Hot Dog: The Movie), but it's also about bigger themes. Redford is the quintessential American loner, out for his own goals and not interested in serving the needs of his sport, his team, or the international press. It's a character we've seen a thousand times in real life, and it's one who gets deified or demonized depending on his success in the field of sport.So, view this very dated movie in today's context. You'll be surprised how relevant it is.