Opinion: Robert Redford will always light up our screens
Robert Redford died this week at the age of 89. But his performances are indelible.
We’ll still see him as the Sundance Kid alongside Paul Newman’s Butch Cassidy, leaping off a cliff into rocky rapids. Roy Hobbs in “The Natural,” shattering the stadium lights with a home run. Bob Woodward in “All the President’s Men,” teamed with Dustin Hoffman’s Carl Bernstein: reporters in scuffed shoes and dangling neckties, digging out the squalid details of a presidential scandal.
And then there are the fine films he directed, including “Ordinary People,” “Quiz Show,” and “A River Runs Through It.”
But Robert Redford’s artistic vision will be projected beyond his lifetime, in the works of filmmakers whose careers took off from the Sundance Institute and Film Festival — named after that infamous Kid — dedicated to supporting independent and risk-taking work.
“Blood Simple,” the first film from the Coen Brothers, Steven Soderbergh’s “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” all premiered at Sundance. So did Kevin Smith’s “Clerks,” Ava DuVernay’s “Middle of Nowhere,” Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station,” and Sian Heder’s “CODA,” which went on to win three Oscars, including Best Picture.
“He opened a door on ‘the possible’ for so many young talented artists,” John Cooper, who once headed the Sundance Film Festival, told us this week. “And they went on to show others the possibilities in themselves.”
Robert Redford was, well, Robert Redford: handsome, famous and charismatic. But he didn’t always embrace the golden smile life had bestowed on him, telling The New York Times in 1974, “This glamour image can be a real handicap. Image is crap.”
As the critic Peter Debruge suggested in Variety this week, “Sundance was his way…to put it in eco-conscious terms — of recycling the good fortune he’d enjoyed into opportunities for others.”
And he wasn’t a distant benefactor. John Cooper described how much Redford enjoyed working over ideas with young filmmakers at the Sundance Institute each summer.
“Working on scenes, working on scripts,” he said. “I think that recharged his creative batteries.”
For decades, Robert Redford helped talented artists follow his Sundance leap into the rocky rapids of filmmaking. In a way, his work will still light up our screens.
Trump says U.S. military fatally struck another alleged drug-smuggling boat
President Trump posted a video that shows a vessel speeding through waters before it appears to be struck by a pair of missiles from overhead and sink in a fiery explosion.
U.S. attorney resigns under pressure from Trump to charge N.Y. AG Letitia James
Erik Siebert resigned after President Trump said he wanted him "out" after a monthslong mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James failed to result in criminal charges.
Lawyers vs. engineers: Dan Wang sees U.S.-China dynamics in a new paradigm
In a new book, analyst Dan Wang uses "engineering state" vs. "lawyerly society" to explain how China got ahead and America stagnated.
5 lessons from a house that generates more energy than it uses
With higher utility bills, a house that produces more energy than it uses may be appealing. In southern California, one such house has existed for more than a decade. NPR's Jeff Brady visited the "Green Idea House" in Hermosa Beach, California.
Cyberattack disrupts check-in systems at major European airports
A cyberattack targeting check-in and boarding systems has disrupted air traffic and caused delays at several of Europe's major airports, officials said Saturday.
Suited to Lead: New exhibit highlights historical fashion choices of presidents
A virtual exhibit from the White House Historical Association showcases presidential fashions — and how presidents have used clothes to make a statement.
