A Farewell To 'Hollywood's Golden Boy'
By Don Shanahan, Resident Movie Critic
The world of cinema lost one of its quintessential greats this week. Robert Redford, the 89-year-old actor and filmmaker, passed away in his sleep at his home in Sundance, Utah on September 16, 2025.
Redford’s illustrious career spanned eight decades, crossing several evolving eras of the movie business. Often called “Hollywood’s Golden Boy” as a nod to his radiant flaxen hair, his nearly universal appeal across several demographics earned him countless fans and admirers. I know I was surely one of them.
Like many kids born into Generation X, the in-between micro-generation of Xennials, which I represent at the age of 46—and true Millennials after me, I was introduced to Redford by my parents. He was my mother Kathleen’s favorite star.
Not old enough to watch his heyday works of the 1960s and 1970s like “The Sting” (1973), “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), "All the President’s Men” (1976), and “The Way We Were” (1973), I could see the twinkle and swoon in my mother’s eyes when he appeared on a show or magazine cover. The pause of her gaze was unmissable. It’s likely how I first learned words like “heartthrob” and “hunk” before my generation would define their own similar stars, like Redford’s common contemporary comparison (and future “A River Runs Through It” (1992) muse), Brad Pitt, and others.
By the 1990s, my maturity caught up with my freedom and access to absorb more movies on my own. Redford may have been in his late fifties, but in films like “Sneakers” (1992), “Indecent Proposal” (1993), and “Up Close & Personal” (1996), Redford’s glow and spryness were still astonishingly captivating. Remembering my mother and doing my homework, I knew there was more to him, and I had to see more.
My college years, when I was surrounded by professors who matched my mother’s age and remembrance, I dove into his filmography. Starting with his coming-out party of “Barefoot in the Park” (1967), I found myself swooning like my mother from his pristine handsomeness and off-the-charts charisma. I came to learn that those exterior traits packaged an altruistic individual, who added gentleness to manliness.
Being able to discover and enjoy his roots alongside his late-career renaissance during the 21st century was an absolute pleasure of welcome entertainment. Every time a Robert Redford movie came around, I knew I was in for a treat—both personally as an appreciable fan and professionally as a film critic.
The man gave us some of the best work of his career when he was over 75 years old, with 2013’s “All Is Lost” and two David Lowery films, the Disney reimagining of “Pete’s Dragon” (2016) and the heist movie “The Old Man & the Gun”(2018). Nevertheless, the slowdown was clear, and he announced his retirement after completing “The Old Man & The Gun.”
Aside from a cameo in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), I reserve my personal goodbye for his last team-up with frequent love interest and longtime friend, Jane Fonda, in the 2017 Netflix romantic drama, “Our Souls at Night.” That’s how I want to remember him.
Redford’s lone Oscar victory of his career came from directing “Ordinary People” in 1980, the first of nine feature films that he made, including the Best Picture nominee “Quiz Show” (1994).
Later, he earned an honorary Oscar in 2001 for his creation and leadership of what officially became the Sundance Film Festival, hosted annually every January in Park City, Utah.
This cinephile watering hole exhibition embraced and seeded independent filmmaking for years. Sundance helped launch the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao, and many others. His support of independent film stands as a tremendous piece of his legacy.
Like his memorable co-star Paul Newman and many actors and public figures of his pre-Baby Boomer generation, Redford was also a staunch and charitable activist in the areas of environmentalism, Democratic politics, Native American and LGBTQ rights, often coupled with his beloved arts. He did all this living rurally outside the hubs of Los Angeles or New York City.
It’s as if everything he touched got some of the sunshine beaming down from the mountain skies of his homeland and reflecting off that famous shaggy hair.
The passing of “Hollywood’s Golden Boy” permanently dims the glow of Hollywood.
Even if we consider the Brad Pitts and Ryan Goslings of today, no one shone as bright as Redford on and off-screen. That’s the mark of a true icon.
Thanks, Mom, for gifting me your heartthrob.
STREAMING PICKS
If you are like me and immediately want to relax on the couch and unfurl a Redford classic upon the news of his passing this week, let me help you out with a guide on where to watch some of his best films. I’ll also offer a few personal selections that are buried treasures you should try.
If you want to research on your own, I highly recommend the JustWatch website or app, which can, in one search, tell you where to stream, rent, or buy any movie or show. As always, borrowing a disc from the library and their suburban network is easy as can be. A library card can also get you media streaming apps like Hoopla (via a Chicago Public Library card) and Kanopy (Chicago or Elmwood Park Public Library card), which have several of his films, as you’ll see below.
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THE ESSENTIAL CLASSICS
The Sting (1973) (rent or buy only)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) (rent or buy only)
The Way We Were (1973) (rent or buy only)
Three Days of the Condor (1975) (streaming on Fubo or MGM+)
All the President’s Men (1976) (streaming on the Criterion Channel)
Out of Africa (1985) (streaming on YouTube TV)
The Natural (1984) (rent or buy only)
Indecent Proposal (1993) (streaming on Hoopla)
DIRECTORIAL EFFORTS
Ordinary People (1980) (streaming on Fubo or MGM+)
A River Runs Through It (1992) (streaming on Fubo or MGM+)
Quiz Show (1994) (streaming on Hoopla)
The Horse Whisperer (1998) (rent or buy only)
BURIED TREASURES
Our Souls at Night (2017) (streaming on Netflix)
The Last Castle (2001) (streaming on Fubo or MGM+)
The Old Man & the Gun (2018) (rent or buy only)
All Is Lost (2013) (streaming on Amazon Prime and Kanopy)
Pete’s Dragon (2016) (streaming on Disney+)
Sneakers (1992) (rent or buy only)
The Candidate (1972) (streaming on Hoopla)
The Great Gatsby (1974) (streaming on Hoopla and Kanopy)
Jeremiah Johnson (1972) (streaming on Fawesome)
Spy Game (2001) (rent or buy only)
A Walk in the Woods (2015) (streaming on Amazon Prime, Fubo, Hoopla, Kanopy, and Pluto.tv)
Upcoming Event
Chicago Indie Critics co-founder Don Shanahan is partnering with the Elmwood Park Advocate for a movie conversation sponsored by Illinois Indie Critics.
The event will be held on September 28 at 3 p.m. in the Ferrentino Meeting Room at the Elmwood Park Public Library.
Elmwood Park Advocate Editor Kevin Gosztola will host the event with Don as he recaps his favorite films from the summer and invites attendee to share their own recent favorites. Then Don will preview the top Oscar contenders and what residents should look forward to seeing during the final months of 2025.
Sprinkled in along the way will be some trivia, movie prizes, delicious popcorn, and an endorsement for the Free Blockbuster box in Elmwood Park. On behalf of the Advocate, we hope to see you there!
Don Shanahan is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic and the editor-in-chief of Film Obsessive and Every Movie Has a Lesson. In addition to Chicago Indie Critics, he is part of the internationally recognized Critics Choice Association. He also owns and operates the Free Blockbuster box on the 2600 block of 75th Court, where those passing by may "take a movie/leave a movie" in the spirit of sharing a little art and culture with the community.