The Electric Horseman
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.76 You Save: $7.22 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.08 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Electric Horseman
Movie Review: Where's the chrome?
Summary: 4 Stars
The Electric Horseman is Sonny Steele (Robert Redford), a rodeo cowboy who now works for Ampco Industries pitching breakfast cereal and making promotional appearances at corporate events. Wearing a suit festooned with electric lights he is supposed to make a Las Vegas appearance with a $12 Million dollar race horse, Rising Star, for the big corporate merger roll out event.
He sees that the horse is being mistreated, not to mention himself, so he takes off with Rising Star to set her free. Reporter Hallie Martin (Jane Fonda) tracks him down in pursuit of the story and ends up as an accomplice to the crazy scheme. The corporate honchos are in pursuit, trying to squelch any bad publicity, or as their breakfast cereal sales rise, at least spin the story to their advantage.
Jane Fonda and Robert Redford made three movies together, and Jane later admitted that she was secretly in love with Bob though she was married at the time, and never even told him of her feelings. She just really liked going to work. There is evidence of chemistry between the two, and it's fun to watch. They seem headed for disaster, but there is great scenery along the way, and who knows, they just might pull it off.
The film, directed by Sydney Pollack, features the film debut of Willie Nelson, whose music is also featured. He didn't really get to do much as Wendall Hickson, Sonny Steele's manager, but he still managed to make quite an impression, and even Pollack admitted that he came up with the best line in the whole movie, a total ad lib.
Valerie Perrine played Charlotta Steele, Sonny's wife who still loves him but just wants him to sign the divorce papers.
Redford bought Rising Star after the film was finished, and the horse lived out it's life on his Utah ranch.
The Horse Whisperer (1998) .... Redford played Tom Booker, The Horse Whisperer, and also directed.
Out of Africa (1985) .... Denys Finch Hatton was played by Redford, and this film won Sydney Pollack 2 Oscars for Best Film and Director.
Comes a Horseman (1978) .... Fonda played Ella Connors.
The Way We Were (Special Edition) (1973) .... Hubbell Gardner and Katie Morosky were Redford and Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for Best Actress, and the movie won 2 Oscars for song and score for Marvin Hamlisch, with lyrics by Marilyn and Alan Bergman. In a scene in Boys On the Side, the characters portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg and Mary-Louise Parker watch it in a motel while driving cross country. The Way We Were was directed by Sydney Pollack.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) .... Jane Fonda played Gloria Beatty in this tale of a depression era dance endurance test that was directed by Sydney Pollack.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Special Edition) (1969) .... Redford was The Sundance Kid and Paul Newman was Butch.
Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy (1968) .... Fonda was fabulous as Barbarella, directed by her then husband Roger Vadim in this space spoof that also provided the name for the band, Duran Duran.
Barefoot in the Park (1967) .... Redford and Fonda were Paul & Corie Bratter in this Neil Simon comedy.
The Chase (1966) .... Charlie 'Bubber' & Anna Reeves were played by Bob & Jane; and Brando, Angie Dickinson, and Robert Duvall were also along for The Chase.
This Property Is Condemned (1966) .... Robert Redford was Owen Legate, and the film was directed by Sydney Pollack, and stars Natalie Wood.
Ampco Industries PR Man: Grace, why don't you stand in front of that poster with Sonny, and Steve can take your picture to bring home.
Sonny Steele: Oh, no, why don't you just take a picture of Grace in front of that picture of me with that box with the picture of me on the box holding the picture of me with the picture of me? Then you've got Grace, and you've got a whole bunch of pictures of me.
Movie Review: Coming to Terms with Your Life
Summary: 4 Stars
Redford plays Sonny Steele- a 5-time rodeo champion who has slowly slid into the drink and into a soulless role of playing the Ranch Breakfast Cereal Cowboy for Amp co- a company that cares little for anything else but an upcoming bank merger and the burgeoning bottom line.
Redford was returning from a 4-year hiatus from filmmaking and there were some who thought his star status would be suffering. He was also returning to the big budget and car chase blockbusters of the time. He came back with a punch with this one.
Some wrote off the release of this film as a commercial response to those times and the stylized filmmaking that have followed. And although it's true that The Electric Horseman has a lighter touch than most of what Redford and Pollack have produced together- there's still a charm, an earthiness and an honest study of a man redeeming himself from a situation that has sucked the soul from him. It also showcases a glimpse of Redford offering a character study (the Southern twang in Sonny's voice), and the fact that he was willing to look weathered and worn through the first half of Sonny's slide down.
Jane Fonda is the perfect compliment here (she and Redford worked well together twice before- first in Barefoot in the Park and then in Penn's The Chase). They have a real chemistry together and Pollack brought out the best of it here. She is properly self-serving as the newswoman on the prowl in the first half, and a woman who is awkwardly surprised in the second half.
What's really the joy here is it's a good tale of a man against the machine. When Redford steals the horse to save it, you realize he's saving the horse and his self-respect. I remember seeing the film in the theatre and when Sonny snaps in the elevator, rings the emergency button and then moves out to get the horse away from the Las Vegas freak show, the audience got behind it all the way. When Redford and Rising Star ran against the police pursuit- people actually cheered! It was an interesting thing to see- people feeling something in the movie theatre. And as Fonda (and the rest of the country) begin to realize what he's done and why, there's that feeling of the positive that lends to the comedic and commercial aspects of the film and the story line.
Redford and Fonda's trek across the country offer the characters (and the audience) a glimpse of who these characters really are, and both offer something interesting and different from the other roles they have played. You have a real sense that they're enjoying working with each other again- enjoying being older, wiser and sending a good message. They're having fun and you wind up having fun with them.
If you're looking for a film that offers a smile, some nice supporting performances (John Saxon and Willie Nelson) and a chance to see Redford and Fonda show some comedic chops and some tender moments, take a look or a second look at the Electric Horseman. I guarantee it's more than just a car chase experience.
Movie Review: "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" missing
Summary: 4 Stars
Advantage over old Image DVD: solid 16x9 anamorphic transfer.Disadvantage over old Image DVD: Willie Nelson song "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" has been removed from the opening and Rising Star's final scene. It has been replaced with a less effective, generic-sounding piece of music.
"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" was in the theatrical release, in the ABC broadcast and on the Image DVD. I don't know if the omission is due to a technical screwup (like Universal's misframing of the "Back to the Future" sequels) or for rights issues (maybe AMPco had it removed), but the opening montage is much weaker without it. I hope the filmmakers are aware that this change has been made for this DVD release.
Movie Review: Funny, Romantic, and Dramatic... and Robert Redford!
Summary: 4 Stars
When washed-up rodeo champion Sonny Steele (Robert Redford) steals a Quarterhorse named Rising Star (who's a similarly washed up former champ), he sets off on a cross-country adventure with the goal being to set the horse free. The law follows, as does a tenacious reporter (Jane Fonda) who gets more story than she bargained for. Wonderful story of redemption and the right to personal freedom.
Staci Layne Wilson
Movie Review: The RIGHT thing over the corporate thing
Summary: 4 Stars
Sometimes the right thing to do takes precedence over the corporate view. This shows one man's understanding of a living creature
and its nature, and does so at personal risk . The scenery is beautiful also.