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Park City Legacy

Downhill Racer

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United States1969101 minEnglish
Downhill Racer

An ambitious American skier gains a place on the U.S. Olympic ski team competing in Europe.

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An ambitious American skier gains a place on the U.S. Olympic ski team competing in Europe.

For Robert Redford, Downhill Racer was not only an early starring role, but a passion project as producer, a case study in protecting independence, and a catalyst for creating Sundance Institute. An athlete in his youth, Redford wanted to explore the American obsession with winning at all costs.

Lauded for its Alpine photography and extraordinary race sequences, Michael Ritchie’s feature debut follows the team’s travel, training, and politics and focuses on David Chappellet (Redford), a loner who fortuitously winds up on the team and is determined to be a champion. Arrogant, detached, and indifferent to his teammates and the women in his life, he typifies the antiheroes of ’60s American cinema. There’s something dull, even uninspired about his ambition, as if he lacks the imagination to see life any other way. Roger Ebert described Downhill Racer as a portrait so complete, so tragic, that it becomes the “best movie ever made about sports — without really being about sports at all.” — JN

Pristine 35mm print courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Available in person only. 

Park City LegacyAll FeaturesInternationalAction/AdventureDramaFictionU.S. Only- less

Credits

  • Director(s)

    Michael Ritchie

  • Screenwriters

    James Salter

    Oakley Hall

  • Producer

    Richard Gregson

  • Editor

    Richard A. Harris

  • Composer

    Kenyon Hopkins

  • Cinematographer

    Brian Probyn

  • Art Director

    Ian Whittaker

  • Costume Designer

    Edith Head

  • Principal Cast

    Robert Redford

    Gene Hackman

    Camilla Sparv

    Karl Michael Vogler

    Jim McMullan

    Kathleen Crowley

    Meet the Artist

    Panelist Name

    Michael Ritchie

      Michael Ritchie was born on November 28, 1938 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He was a director and producer, known for The Golden Child (1986), The Island (1980), and Fletch (1985). He died on April 16, 2001, in New York City.

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