Three reasons the intriguingly titled ‘Indecent Proposal’ was an instant smash hit: Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, and Robert Redford. Because, clearly, its success was not tied to a complex storyline. The movie is about a moral dilemma presented by a dashing billionaire (Redford, obviously) who offers one million bucks to an adoring hubby, played by Harrelson, to have one night with his loving wife. Deal. (They’re in Vegas, after all).
The movie, based on Jack Engelhard’s novel, reignited the too-handsome-to-screen controversy. The billionaire character in the novel is an average-looking Arab, Redford’s a far stretch, even at age 60. Even more controversial was the fact that the screenwriter left out other significant details, namely, the husband in the story is Jewish and the cultural ramifications of Arab/Jew conflicts were replaced with Hollywood glitz. The movie got two thumbs down and three Razzies, but it was a box office hit.
Redford’s First Flop
Not even Robert Redford and a virtual catalog of A-listers on the billing could save 'A Bridge Too Far'. The WWII film was a far cry from the monster success of his previous films, but the colossal project with a cast list including James Caan, Laurence Olivier, and Sean Connery was a big score for Redford’s bank account. In 1977, $2 million was top pay for actors. Redford was paid $2 million for two weeks of work!
The epic war film’s heavy production costs and cool critical response left the studio with take-home pay of about $50 million, but it cost half that amount to make. On top of that, the Academy shunned it for having the audacity to reveal fatal inadequacies of the Allied forces, resulting in zero nominations. Critics agreed that the massive undertaking created impressive staging and amazing scenes, but they complained it was too slow and may have contained historical inaccuracies.
‘Out of Africa’: Another Epic
Teaming up with Sydney Pollack once more, Redford played opposite the brilliant Meryl Streep in the screening of Isak Dinesen’s novel 'Out of Africa'. The love triangle story takes place out in the farmlands and hills of the African bush, allowing Redford to fully exploit his rough and rugged side. To this end, he kept his American accent. Pollack felt an English accent would be distracting to viewers. Redford went into the project thinking he had to produce an English accent. Some of those scenes had to be re-filmed.
The 1985 film was hugely successful. Redford went all out to get the role of Denys Finch Hatton and play it as an Englishman, but that could have made it a very different movie. Streep shone in the lead role as Karen Blixen and secured a Best Actress Oscar nomination. The film won an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director. With two Academy Awards under Pollack’s belt, Out of Africa is, arguably, his most successful film.
‘The Horse Whisperer’
In yet another epic cinematic release, Redford stepped up his game by producing, directing, and starring in a film for the first time. He had already tried his hand at getting behind the camera in 1980 with his directorial debut, Oscar-winning 'Ordinary People'. The film was a huge success, and so was 'The Horse Whisperer'.
Redford is the horse whisperer, healing horses by working his magic and miraculously training even the most difficult gelding. He is credited for welcoming Scarlet Johansson to the big screen. She played a girl whose horse needed the healing hands of the whisperer. Fun fact: Redford and Johansson reunited many years later on the set of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'.
‘All Is Lost’
'All is Lost' is a one-man show. Redford plays a man stranded on a yacht in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and he is the only character in the 2014 film. “I liked the idea there were no special effects,” Redford points out. “It was a very low-budget film, very independent in its spirit and budget,” he said, adding, “It was more of a pure cinematic experience—the way films used to be, maybe even going back to silent films.”
'All is Lost' is practically a silent film. The script, barely 30 pages, gives the actor very little to say, but it was one of his most demanding roles ever; a lesson to his younger self who won a Road Runner gag gift for worrying about not having enough lines to call it acting. After screening at Cannes, it brought Redford a Golden Globe nomination, and Alex Ebert a Golden Globe win for Best Original Score. It was recognized by the Academy with a nomination for Best Sound Editing.