Robert Redford died yesterday at the age of 89, sparking a day of mourning that encompassed fans of his long career in Hollywood, as well as the multitudes who benefited from his embrace of independently-made films through the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.
Over a long career that began on television in 1960 and soon led to motion pictures and, later, notable activism on behalf of a variety of causes, Redford displayed an easy charm and relaxed authenticity that suited him well as an actor in comedies, drama, and adventures, in all types of roles -- though mostly heroic, save for notable exceptions, like the billionaire who makes Demi Moore an offer she can't refuse in Indecent Proposal (1993) -- across the decades.
Because of the length of his career, your impression may be quite different from mine, which began when I saw him for the first time in a movie theater as Johnny Hooker in George Roy Hill's The Sting (1973). It wasn't until the following year that I saw him in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) during a theatrical re-release.
Those two films cemented my mental impression of him as a charming, handsome man-god, far beyond ordinary mortals in looks and grace. The 70s were an incredibly busy period for Redford, yet those two were only ones I saw in theaters. I didn't catch up with his many other roles during the 1960s and 70s until after I saw The Natural (1984) in theaters and, later still, finally got my own VCR.
In my many years of catch-up viewing with Redford's films, I've written about only one from his fertile early 70s period of superstardom, the comedy crime caper The Hot Rock. From his earlier television appearance, I've written about his role as Death in The Twilight Zone, an episode that really belongs to his co-star Gladys Cooper.
After learning of Redford's death, I checked to see which of his films I could see right away. I only have a couple of his (dozens of) films on physical media. On various streaming services, Alan Pakula's All the President's Men (1976) may be the best; it is now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
David Lowery's delightful Pete's Dragon is now streaming on Disney Plus, along with a couple of Marvel films, and the starry drama Lions for Lambs (2007) is now streaming on Paramount Plus.
Among the half-dozen Redford titles that are now streaming on Prime Video, I decided to see where his feature film career began.
War Hunt (1962)
Now streaming on Prime Video.
John Saxon stars as U.S. Army Private Raymond Endore during the Korean War, who is experiencing mental-health issues; he disobeys his Sergeant (Sydney Pollack) and goes on night patrols by himself, killing enemy combatants with his knife. He is also strangely protective of an orphaned Korean boy, Charlie (Tommy Matsuda)
The other members of his unit -- including Tom Skeritt, years before he played a military medic in Robert Altman's Korean War comedy MASH (1970), and Gavin McLeod, years before he played a writer on television's The Mary Tyler Moore and a cruise ship captain on The Love Boat -- stay away from Private Endore and warn the newly-arrived Private Roy Loomis (Robert Redford) to do the same.
But Loomis can't help himself, even after he's shell-shocked during a fierce battle and left for dead. In these moments, Redford captures the soldier's shattered innocence with a piercing blank expression. The film is shot in black and white, so we can't see those deep blue eyes: all we see is his vacant, drained face, which is haunting.
Directed by Denis Sanders, who would go on to helm the mental-health themed Shock Corridor (1964) and sci-fi horror flick Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), the film is a very respectful offering that paints the soldiers as supportive as possible when they see the emotional depths into which Private Endore has fallen. It was made independently on a very low budget in, reportedly, just 15 days, and then picked up for distribution by United Artists.
The opening credits give Robert Redford an "introducing" credit. This was the first time that Redford worked with Sydney Pollack, as he explained to Time Magazine when Pollack died in 2008: "He and I became friends on that film and we became I would say kindred spirits."
They would go on to make seven films together, beginning with This Property Is Condemned (1966), starring Natalie Wood. Interestingly, the interview sheds light on their increasingly divergent philosophies when it came to the films they chose to make.
Watch the War Hunt Trailers From Hell video below, in which independent filmmaker John Sayles gives the film its deserved credit as an independent production that is better than it looks.
Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.