When it comes to Hollywood royalty, Robert Redford is at the very top. People are familiarized mostly with his acting career, but Redford’s endeavors in producing and directing are noteworthy as well. In fact, the only time he ever got an Academy Award was for directing Ordinary People in 1980. Not too shabby for the guy whose debut in the ’60s was notable because of his looks, and not for his acting or directing skills.
His contribution to cinema is still relevant today. One of the founders of the Sundance Film Festival, Redford has retired from acting, but he’s still executive producing projects that are related to his activism agenda, and appearing in documentaries about some of his peers. Which makes us think: Why doesn’t someone make a documentary about Redford? That’s one interesting story to tell.
We took a look at his Rotten Tomatoes score and ranked the top 20 films he directed or acted in, as well as those appearances in the documentaries that are truly important to understand Redford’s role in Hollywood history. Enjoy!
20 Downhill Racer (1969) – 85%
Downhill Racer tells the story of a downhill skier called David Chappellet (Redford), who joins the US National Team to compete in Switzerland but has a difficult relationship with his coach (Gene Hackman). Redford and Hackman are good enough in the film for accomplishing the dramatic frame needed for the film to be more than just a sports drama. Roger Ebert was very vocal about his love for the film.
19 Three Days of the Condor (1975) – 88%
The very underrated political thriller Three Days of the Condor starts Redford as Joe Turner as a CIA worker who gets in the middle of a conspiracy that left everyone he worked with dead. The Sydney Pollack film has a very particular ’70s style that could make it seem less serious than it needs to be. But Redford’s performance is effective enough to make you very, very tense.
18 Pete’s Dragon (2016) – 88%
The live-action remake of the classic by Disney is an underrated film that’s much better than the recent entries of the House of Mouse. Redford plays Conrad, the old man who seems to know one too many stories about Pete’s dragon, Elliot. Pete’s Dragon is a family feature that readapts the 1977 film sans musical scenes and gives us one of Redford’s latest performances that actually matters.
17 The Chase (1966) – 89%
Arthur Penn’s The Chase is a thrill ride of a movie starring many familiar faces. Aside from Redford, there’s Marlon Brando, E.G. Marshall, Jane Fonda, and Robert Duvall. It tells the story of a town shaken by someone coming home. Bubber (Redford) has escaped from prison, and he will get matters settled as things have changed since he got imprisoned. This one is very ’60s so be aware there are some sequences typically inserted in films of that era.
16 The Candidate (1972) – 89%
In The Candidate, Redford plays Bill McKay, a political candidate that doesn’t even want the gig, and is put there to comply with the party his father is part of. This one won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1973, and depicted Redford in a genre that he wasn’t very familiar with, but confirmed he could actually make fun of himself.
15 Our Souls at Night (2017) – 89%
Redford’s most recent reunion with Fonda (they’ve made four films together) is a romantic drama hidden on Netflix that you should see right away. Our Souls at Night tells the story of two elderly neighbors who’ve lived beside each other for years, have become widowers, and have now decided to connect.
14 Ordinary People (1980) – 89%
Redford’s Academy Award for Best Director was very well-deserved. Ordinary People is a film we don’t revisit as much as we should, and it’s a great rendering of a family being deconstructed by tragedy, sadness, and the reality they must now face. It seems uncanny that this is Redford’s feature directorial debut.
13 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) – 89%
Redford is the Sundance Kid and Paul Newman is Butch Cassidy in one of the most famous films on the list Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Western tells the story of two outlaws trying to flee to Bolivia after a posse begins chasing them. The action pieces and the stunts are impressive, but unfortunately, people mostly remember the song specifically written for the picture. Yeah, as good as it is, it’s hard to associate Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head with the film. This could be the best buddy film ever made.
12 The Unforeseen (2007) – 90%
Redford shows up in the documentary The Unforeseen and is a key piece in trying to transmit the importance of the story being told. The film tells the story of the environmental impact of urban growth in an area called Barton Springs in Texas. Perhaps, Redford’s appearance is too short, but the message he gives is far too important to discard.
11 Sidney (2022) – 90%
Sidney Poitier and Redford starred together in Sneakers, the film about sophisticated thieves trying to retrieve a very important box. This made Redford a good pick for the documentary about Poitier being one of the most important figures in cinema history. When it comes to biographical documentaries about Hollywood icons, Sidney is a film you definitely should watch.
10 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – 90%
Disney
In the MCU, Redford shows up in Captain America: The Winter Soldier to portray Alexander Pierce, Nick Fury’s liaison and a member of the World Security Council. We don’t need to tell you how important Pierce is for Hydra, the organization that Captain America is trying to fight. Redford’s addition to the Marvel franchise is obviously a homage to ’70s political thrillers, and most importantly, he seems to be having fun while making these movies.
9 Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman (2015) – 91%
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman is a documentary that tells the story of Paul Newman’s other business: racing. In fact, for more than 30 years, Newman proved he loved racing above anything else, even films. Both Redford and Newman’s careers changed after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Redford shows up in the documentary to speak of his impression of Newman’s insistence to be a driver, and not necessarily a Hollywood actor.
8 The Sting (1973) – 92%
The Sting brought back the duo Newman-Redford in a film that swept the Oscars that year. It tells the story of two swindlers that decide to pair up to deceive and defeat a mob boss who likes to gamble way too much (the great Robert Shaw). Redford charmingly plays Johnny Hooker in the only performance that’s given him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
7 The Old Man & the Gun (2018) – 93%
One of Redford’s latest films is also one of his best. It’s also a reunion between director David Lowery and Redford after having worked together in Pete’s Dragon. The Old Man & the Gun tells the story Forrest Tucker (Redford), the real-life escape artist whose methods are still being analyzed today. This isn’t your regular heist film. It’s much more interesting.
6 Avengers Endgame (2019) – 94%
Redford shows up for a few minutes in Avengers: Endgame to play the only role he’s ever played twice: Alexander Pierce. In the scene, Pierce is trying to retrieve a case containing the Tesseract, but Loki ends up stealing the very important object. This is the one that brought Redford back from retiring, and it actually makes us wonder if he’s actually retired.
5 All the President’s Men (1976) – 94%
An essential piece of cinema and Redford’s best film on the list. All the President’s Men is the story of Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), the Washington Post’s reporters who investigated the Watergate Scandal and ultimately revealed the insides of Richard Nixon’s shady methods. This is also one of Redford’s best performances.
4 All Is Lost (2013) – 94%
All Is Lost has Redford’s most physical performance in his recent career. In the film, he plays a man who gets lost in the open sea. The very challenging film lies solely on the actor’s shoulders as no other characters appear, and almost no dialogue is spoken in the film. This one is a very realistic and compelling story of survival, starring an old actor who we hadn’t seen before in this kind of role.
3 Jeremiah Johnson (1972) – 95%
The first five years of the ’70s were huge for Redford. He seemed to be a surefire casting choice for any genre in Hollywood. Jeremiah Johnson is no different; it was Redford playing the real-life solitary man who’s forced to defend himself after becoming a target in the Rocky Mountains. This is one of Redford’s most physically challenging roles.
2 Quiz Show (1994) – 97%
Redford directed Quiz Show in 1994, and once again proved he could sit in the director’s chair and make a solid without being in front of the camera. The film tells the story of the game-fixing scandal that young lawyer Richard Goodwin revealed, after investigating a guy who seemed to always win. We dare you to find a better cast ensemble on this list.
1 Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018) – 97%
Of course, a Jane Fonda documentary would feature Robert Redford. The documentary chronicles the life of Henry Fonda’s daughter, Jane, the actress and activist who’s still using her Hollywood status to fight for her beliefs. Redford shows up to speak his mind about the real Jane, and not only about the actress that was by his side in many films.