Downhill Racer (1969, Michael Ritchie)
Downhill Racer is a handsome production, with excellent production values, and good performances. The narrative revolves around a self-absorbed ski champion (Robert Redford), who deals with all sorts of professional and personal problems while struggling to win the gold medal at the Olympics. The atmosphere of the competitive world of sports is interesting but this is above all a fine, rock-solid character study, with a surprisingly strong performance by Redford (in one of his first leading roles) and an even stronger one by Gene Hackman, who plays Redford’s instructor. Unfortunately, the film is built around an unsympathetic character, and because of that, it all feels a tad cold. Still, Downhill Racer is extremely well-directed by Michael Ritchie, who makes his feature-length debut here. The on location photography, by cameraman Brian Probyn (Badlands), is spectacular and the film is efficiently edited by Richard A. Harris (he later achieve fame under James Cameron’s tutelage in films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Titanic). Though it performed poorly at the box office, the film has garnered a cult following over the years.
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