Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025) was an American actor, director and activist. Throughout his career, he won several film awards, including the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1980 film Ordinary People. He also received an honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2002 and was also the founder of the Sundance Film Festival.
Discussed in these episodes
-
831 What Is Even Bolivia?
Our Summer of Sundance kicks off with Sundance himself, as we travel back to the end of the old west (and, later, to the garden spot of Bolivia) to visit a couple of robbers, their lady friend, and their not-very-important gang with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Did they use enough dynamite? Is Woodcock a little too loyal to his employer? What does it say about the old west when a call for a posse is hijacked by a bicycle salesman?
-
821 Historic Parking Garage
Get behind your typewriters! Old Movie Club follows the money to discuss 1976’s “All The President’s Men,” in which the power of dogged reportage and journalistic freedom triumphs over the banality of evil.
-
10.2 The Natural
For the second inning of our baseball season, newcomer (?) phenom Lex Friedman joins the down-and-out team of grumpy manager Dan Moren in 1984’s The Natural. Hot topics include allegories, villainous villains, and whether the main character is a ghost.
Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!
-
9.4 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Who are these guys? Why, they’re wily outlaw Dan Moren and taciturn gunslinger Lex Friedman, who are fleeing their relentless pursuers while watching the 1969 classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Hot topics include a dynamite rapport, the death of the West, and so much smoldering.
Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!
-
482 A Problematic Hen
Your voice is your passport, so prepare to be verified. We discuss 1992’s “Sneakers,” a spy/heist thriller in which a team of smart people solve puzzles while trying to navigate the NSA, Russian spies, and an angry genius who works for the mob and is trying to overthrow the world order. Yes, star Robert Redford rolled a very high Charisma score, but the rest of the cast is also amazing.
-
416 My Favorite of the Chrises
Thaw yourself out of the ice and wave a flag, because we’re revisiting “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as we continue our walk through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We discuss the charismatic power of Chris Evans, the smoothness of the Red Skull’s face, the unrecognizability of the Winter Soldier, our lack of trust in Robert Redford, and how Black Widow splits time between setting Steve Rogers up on dates and changing all the sizing tags on his clothing. Buy some war bonds and join us as we discuss that star-spangled man with a plan!
-
2.11 Finders Sneakers
We missed you, too.
We took a few weeks off, but then we felt that longing, that need to once again share the joy of watching a movie most everyone has seen, but that at least one of us hasn’t.
In this case, Dan introduced Lex to 1992’s Sneakers, which Lex repeatedly attempted to confuse with the Angelina Jolie starrer Hackers. Sneakers is not Hackers, as Dan patiently explained to Lex. Repeatedly. For a movie about cryptography and hacking, Sneakers holds up surprisingly well.
Hot topics include Lex’s confusion between Robert Redford and Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley’s New Jersey accent or lack thereof, and stock characters.
Support the show by watching Sneakers via Amazon streaming, or by grabbing the movie from iTunes. And, as always, we’d love it if you left us a review.