The stellar film actor, Robert Redford, died a few days ago. He was not only a brilliant actor, but he also incorporated a set of values, embracing everything from the environment to independent filmmaking. Since he died, a lot of people have been writing about him and his life’s work. I wrote the following tribute to him in May 2019:
The Sundance Kid rides again! Not on horseback but in a 1970s sedan.
In his most recent film (and perhaps his last), The Old Man and the Gun, Robert Redford plays a charming real-life bank robber. Announcing his retirement from acting, he told Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle that he chose the part because he identified with the bank robber’s rebellious spirit, and he wanted his last film to be “quirky and upbeat and fun.”
I have a special fondness for Redford that goes back to his role in his first memorable film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Redford has called it the “first real film experience I ever had” and “the most fun on any film I’ve had. It changed my life.”
When I saw the film in Chicago shortly after its release, I was struck by the performances of both Paul Newman (my perennial favorite) as Butch Cassidy and newcomer Redford as the Sundance Kid.
Unbeknown to me, there was a real live double of the Sundance Kid out there, waiting to meet me when I moved to LA a short time later: my soon-to-be husband. Once he added a mustache to his otherwise great looks, hisresemblance to Redford in that film was uncanny, and I dubbed him the Sundance Kid. I evenacquired aposter of Redford in that role to affix to my office wall as a reminder of my new-found love.
The 1969 film, now fifty years old, holds up very well. In perhaps its most memorable scene, the two leading men plunge from a cliff into roiling waters below, shouting a now more commonly accepted expletive for probably the first time in movie history.
Newman and Redford play leaders of the “Hole in the Wall Gang,” a group that robs banks, successfully for the most part, until robbing a train gets them into serious trouble. They alienate Mr. E. H. Harrison of the Union Pacific Railroad, who hires special trackers who relentlessly follow Butch and Sundance.
An endearing scene takes place when the two men approach the home of Etta Place, Sundance’s wife. News stories have alarmed Etta. “The papers said they had you. They said you were dead.” Sundance’s first reaction: “Don’t make a big thing of it.” He pauses and reflects. Then he says, “No. Make a big thing of it.” And they enthusiastically embrace.
Redford’s brilliant career includes a large number of notable Hollywood films. It’s easy for me to name some favorites: Downhill Racer in 1969, The Candidate in 1972, The Way We Were and The Sting in 1973, All the President’s Men in 1974, The Natural in 1984, and Out of Africa in 1985. (A few of these especially resonate with me.) And in All is Lost, as recently as 2013, Redford shines as an older man on the verge of dying alone in troubled ocean waters. Outstanding performances, each and every one.
In recent years, as I became an active supporter of NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council), an entity vigorously working on behalf of the environment, I began hearing from Redford, who aligned himself with NRDC’s goals and requested additional donations. I commend him for his strong support for protecting the future of our country and our planet. His efforts on behalf of the environment seem even more critical now, as we face increasingly dire problems caused by climate change.
As for Redford’s movie career, my hope is that he chooses not to retire. Most movie-goers would welcome seeing new films that include him, even in a small role. In the meantime, I encourage every film buff to see The Old Man and the Gun. Featuring a number of brief scenes from his earlier movies (plugged into the movie by director David Lowery), the film is a great reminder of a storied Hollywood career. A career that began with the Sundance Kid.
I also wrote about Redford more recently. In January of this year, I focused on his role in the remarkable film, “All the President’s Men.” In that film, which highlighted the vast amount of wrongdoing by the Nixon administration, Redford assumed the role of journalist Bob Woodward, ferreting out what exactly happened in the Watergate scandal. Here’s what I wrote in January 2025:
A few weeks ago, I plucked an old movie from my TV playlist and re-watched the 1976 award-winning film, “All the Presidents’ Men.” I found it not only the riveting film I remembered but also a remarkably relevant film to watch right now.
In this fast-moving story of two intrepid journalists working at The Washington Post in 1972, the media world at that time gradually became aware of what became known as “Watergate.” Although President Richard Nixon had a commanding lead in the polls and was about to be reelected in a landslide in November 1972, his sense of insecurity and inferiority led him, along with his cronies, to sponsor abreak-in of Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate office building in June 1972. The break-in was lessthan totally successful. Moronic criminal-types made a couple of foolish errors that led to the detection of the break-in and their arrest by DC police.
At the Post, the two young journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, faced innumerable obstacles as they tried to ferret out the truth of exactly what had happened and why. The story ultimately focused on WHO: Who were the players in the Nixon administration who were pulling the strings behind the Watergate break-in?
To see the whole story play out, you may want to watch the film yourself. But whether you watch it or not, please keep in mind just how relevant it is today.
Watergate was only one of the “dirty tricks” Nixon and his cohorts employed to undermine his political opponents. On January 20, a president demonstrably worse than Nixon was inaugurated. After a campaign replete with disinformation, he has already begun to effect enormous change in our country. More than ever, we need brave and intrepid journalists like Woodward and Bernstein to ferret out the truth behind any possible wrongdoing.
The role of The Washington Post is central in both eras. In 1972, Woodward and Bernstein had to persuade their reluctant editor at The Post to support them as they pursued the truth. He finally relented and allowed them to publish their findings. But if they had faltered in the face of opposition, the truth may never have come out.
In 2025, journalists at The Post have taken a different route. A popular columnist, Jennifer Rubin, loudly spoke out against her editors and her publisher, Jeff Bezos, whom she saw as kowtowing to the incoming administration. She and her colleagues decided to quit working at The Post, proclaiming that it was no longer seeking the truth. On January 20, she wrote:
“The American people certainly will not be front and center at Trump’s inauguration. It’s all about him and his billionaire cronies, including the media owners who have buckled to his will. ‘Big-name billionaires are lining up to strengthen their relationships with incoming President Donald Trump during next week’s inauguration festivities,” Forbes reported. When you add in [others] whose combined wealth dwarfs many countries’ GDP’s—you get a vivid tableau of the new oligarchy. We usher into office today a government of, by, and for the billionaires.”
Rubin and other like-minded journalists decided to create a new entity, The Contrarian. Norm Eisen explained how it started:
“Jen and I agreed to launch [this] venture, rounding up…over two dozen contributors in a matter of days. We kicked off with … Jen’s Post resignation letter. While we had high hopes, we never could’ve imagined what happened next. A quarter of a million subscribers poured in … And the engagement was through the roof, with over 1,000,000 views per day.”
Rubin proclaimed that the new venture hoped to be “a…space where independence is non-negotiable. Here, you won’t find cozy alliances, half-measures, or false equivalences. We bend the knee to no one, vigorously challenge unchecked authority, and champion transparency and accountability. In a nation awash with noise and growing disinformation, The Contrarian cuts through the static to deliver sharp, uncompromising insights…. Our loyalty is to … the truth, and to our democratic ideals—many of which are currently under threat.”
I’ve signed up to get The Contrarian delivered to my inbox. I hope it will stick to its commitment to the truth. But I haven’t given up on the “legacy media”–mainstream publications like The Washington Post, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Standard. All of them still land in my inbox every day. (I also watch TV news programming when it appears to report the news fairly.) I think that all of these publications include at least a few brave journalists, like the now-legendary Woodward and Bernstein, still searching for the truth, still speaking out to report wrongdoing in DC or elsewhere.
I’ll be watching to make sure they don’t falter, hoping that, despite editors and publishers who may stand in their way, they’ll continue to live up to their role as journalists and tell their readers the truth.
In closing, I’ll add these two thoughts:
- Robert Redford’s glorious film career will endure. His legacy is certain to endure as long as the legacy of outstanding Hollywood films does. He will also be remembered as an actor who embodied values we should all revere.
- Let’s not forget one of his most important roles: that of a journalist committed to the truth. And let’s enthusiastically support journalistic efforts by those who are equally committed to the truth. It’s more important right now than it was at any time in our past.
susanjustwrites
Susan Just Writes 