X
- 1969
- M
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 41 m
- 1969
- M
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 41 m
Summary Quietly cocky David Chappellet (Robert Redford) joins the U.S. ski team as downhill racer and clashes with the team's coach, played by Gene Hackman.
Directed By: Michael Ritchie
Written By: James Salter, Oakley Hall
- 1969
- M
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 41 m
- 1969
- M
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 41 m
Downhill Racer
8.0
Where to Watch
Summary Quietly cocky David Chappellet (Robert Redford) joins the U.S. ski team as downhill racer and clashes with the team's coach, played by Gene Hackman.
Directed By: Michael Ritchie
Written By: James Salter, Oakley Hall
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
89
93% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
7% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
89
93% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
7% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Downhill Racer is fascinating viewing, even if the closest you've gotten to a ski slope is "Wide World of Sports."
One of the great unheralded films of the late ’60s.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
8.0
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
8.0
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
With Downhill Racer Michael Ritchie did for sports films what Two-Lane Blacktop did for road films. He created an existentialist sports film that is as tense as it is harrowing, and brought the genre into the realm of the bleak.
In appreciating that world, its pathos, its narcissism, its tensions, and its sufficient moments of glory, Downhill Racer succeeds with sometimes chilling efficiency. Within the limits imposed by the tangential nature of its insights, it is a very good movie.
It may be the first film in history that starts at the top, goes steadily downhill, and still stays interesting along the way.
Nobody can accuse Downhill Racer of lacking artistic integrity. Trouble is, artistic integrity is all it has to offer.
Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 2 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Writers Guild of America, USA
• 1 Nomination
