Downhill Racer
| Downhill Racer | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Ritchie |
| Produced by | Richard Gregson |
| Written by | James Salter |
| Based on |
The Downhill Racers by Oakley Hall |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Kenyon Hopkins |
| Cinematography | Brian Probyn |
| Edited by | Richard A. Harris |
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Production
company |
Wildwood
|
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.8 million |
| Box office | $1,925,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
Downhill Racer is a 1969 American sports drama film starring Robert Redford, Gene Hackman and Camilla Sparv., and was the directorial debut of Michael Ritchie. Written by James Salter, based on the 1963 novel The Downhill Racers by Oakley Hall, the film is about a talented downhill skier who joins the United States ski team in Europe to compete in international skiing competitions. His drive to become a champion and his success on the slopes alienate his coach and teammates. After a second successful year of races, he wins the gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.Sylvester Stallone was an extra in this movie.
Downhill Racer was filmed on location in Kitzbühel and Sankt Anton am Arlberg in Austria, Wengen, Switzerland, Megève and Grenoble in France, and Boulder and Idaho Springs in Colorado, United States. The film received positive reviews upon its theatrical release, with Roger Ebert calling it "the best movie ever made about sports—without really being about sports at all."
American downhill skier David Chappellet (Robert Redford) arrives in Wengen, Switzerland, to join the U.S. ski team, along with fellow newcomer D. K. Bryan (Kenneth Kirk). Both men were sent for by team coach Eugene Claire (Gene Hackman) to replace one of his top skiers who was recently injured during an FIS competition. Raised in the small town of Idaho Springs, Colorado, Chappellet is a loner with a single-minded focus on becoming a skiing champion, and shows little interest in being a team player. After refusing to race at the Lauberhorn because of a late starting position, he makes his European skiing debut at the Arlberg-Kandahar in Austria, where he finishes in an impressive fourth position. In the final race of the season at the Hahnenkamm-Rennen in Kitzbühel, Austria, he crashes.
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Wikipedia