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Paul Newman & Robert Redford collaborations - overrated

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2005 11:38 am
by MK
In what must be a slow newsday, Paul Newman and Robert Redford came up on CNN's latest, useless on-line poll (a crappy result of the "USA Today" effect that was grandfathered through the web - "What toothbrush are you buying?" - and not surprisingly a mainstay at certain braindead forums)

Yeah, I know The Sting and Butch... are their most popular pictures, and after 30 years probably the only ones that can turn a decent buck in re-release, but they're not THAT good.

Paul turns on the charm, but when I think of Newman's 10 best performances, neither one would make the list. Hud, Harper (still f***ing out-of-print, I think I last saw it on UHF one Saturday morning), The Hustler, The Color Of Money (which doesn't stand so well on its own, but works nicely as a sequel), The Verdict, Nobody's Fool, Hombre, Cool Hand Luke, Absence of Malice, even Slap Shot are better or more enjoyable performances.

Redford, I'm not as impressed with his work, but The Candidate and All The President's Men are still nice period pieces. The latter's kind of dry and if you're not familiar with history, you'll walk out confused and possibly bored to tears. Quiz Show was pretty good, if that counts.

Seriously, given the choice between Butch and The Wild Bunch, which came out that year, which one would you pick? The one that made more money and got the Oscar nomination for BEST PICTURE or the one that isn't a nostalgia trip 30+ years later, the one that good filmmakers actually cite as a major influence? And The Sting, well, check out Lisa's last words in the Simpsons parody, with guest star Ed Norton.

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:30 am
by CitizenDan
The films they did together don't represent either actor's best work, that's for sure. (For Newman, IMO it's a tie between Slap Shot and The Verdict; Redford? Who knows; it's kinda hard to take him seriously.) But look at Butch Cassidy and The Sting for what they are: entertaining star vehicles with a director (G.R. Hill) who was smart but overly prone to crowdpleasing.

But I'm inclined to give Newman and Redford credit for stopping at only two pictures together; I'm sure they could have made themselves into the Hope and Crosby of the '70s if they'd felt like it.

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 12:59 pm
by Rspaight
Hud, Harper (still f***ing out-of-print, I think I last saw it on UHF one Saturday morning), The Hustler, The Color Of Money (which doesn't stand so well on its own, but works nicely as a sequel), The Verdict, Nobody's Fool, Hombre, Cool Hand Luke, Absence of Malice, even Slap Shot are better or more enjoyable performances.


Oh, come on. Where's the love for Towering Inferno?

Ryan

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:52 am
by CitizenDan
Yeah, The Towering Inferno was a dog, but Newman has proven amazingly skillful at avoiding bad movies, especially for someone of his caliber. Look at his filmography, and the obvious cash-ins are few and far between. Reason enough right there to love the guy.

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:12 pm
by MK
Did you see the trailer for the new Redford picture? I'm talking about the one with Jennifer Lopez. I've got a baaaad feeling about it. For a man of his prestige, it's amazing how mediocre his body of work is. There's few if any obvious cash-in's but even the 'prestige' material disappoints. "The Way We Were," "Barefoot In The Park," "The Great Gatsby," "The Horse Whisperer," etc. etc. etc.

He's a better director than Newman, but that isn't saying much because Newman's only done a few things, mostly on stage.