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As a outmoded ski racer myself, I can jabber you that “Downhill Racer” captures the essence of the sport perfectly. From the dated ski equipment and run sequences to the European ski resorts, from the edgy camaraderie of the skiers to their favorite goal of winning in this most individualistic of sports, “Downhill Racer” is honest on target. A top-notch skier himself, Redford did many of his absorb action scenes and seems to have an intuitive opinion of the ski racer psyche.
The stark scenes in Redford’s hometown of Idaho Springs, Colorado inequity with the glitz of the glamorous European ski resorts where he races. His primitive cling-on racer-chaser girlfriend at home is the diametric opposite of the manipulative viper he meets in Europe. Redford is a misfit loner trying to succeed in an alien world, and he knows it. Gene Hackman plays the U.S. Ski Team coach perfectly, balancing his business role in raising money and reassuring nervous sponsors with his job of babysitting the prima donna Redford. After Redford wipes out in an primary speed and starts to develop excuse to his coach, Hackman cuts him down with a classic speech (“the bumps took you out…”) .
I judge there are several basic genres of sports films. First, you have the overblown epics like “Rocky” and the romantic comedies like “Bull Durham” and “Tin Cup.” These are essentially Hollywood efforts that objective utilize sports for spacious Box Office. Then, you have parables like “Chariots of Fire,” “Field of Dreams” and “The Natural,” and those that are more overwrought, such as “Pride of the Yankees,” “Knute Rockne” and “Dismay Strikes Out.” Finally, there are your nitty gritty slices of sports realism… “Raging Bull,” “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” and “Downhill Racer.” As a improper budget, unpretentious film from thirty years ago, “Downhill Racer” remains a classic of its genre.
Dave Chapplet is a young man from nowhere who has a chance opportunity to become noted based on his only talent — skiing. This is an sharp and incisive narrative about the hype and manipulation of competitive sports, so that sport is no longer entertainment or achievement but a money-making industry in itself. It is also the account of a young man trapped in his bear arrogance, searching for something but never quite achieving it, no matter how renowned he became, no matter what woman he found. Robert Redford gives one of his finest performances as a man both driven and empty, lost and still. The film itself was innovative even in its day, with some unbelievable skiing footage and artistic cinematography. The characterizations by Redford and Gene Hackman are sturdy, compelling, and deep. There is a controlled magnificence to Hackman’s performance as a man dedicated to the ethic and mythos of sport, unbiased as there is a desperate tension and scare in Redford’s character’s attempts to gather something satisfying for himself, something beyond a wintry, negligent childhood (portrayed in a number of unsettling scenes with his father) . There is romance also, which is always a nice touch in a Redford film, but the romance is appropriately awkward because Redford’s character isn’t helpful of anything but a shallow intimacy, and Redford portrays this shallowness surprisingly well for an actor often praised for his deeply romantic performances. What is captivating as well is that Redford’s character, Dave, ends up falling for a woman who is very powerful like himself, ravishing to peep at, selfish, self-centered, and wintry. Quite similar to Redford’s The Candidate in some respects, since both films prove the truth slow the myths, Downhill Racer is inviting to the last, not unprejudiced in the competitions but in the observation of Dave’s/Redford’s development into a winning sportsman.
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