The Electric Horseman
| The Electric Horseman | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Sydney Pollack |
| Produced by | Ray Stark |
| Written by | Paul Gaer Robert Garland |
| Story by | Shelly Burton |
| Starring |
Robert Redford Jane Fonda Valerie Perrine John Saxon Willie Nelson |
| Music by | Dave Grusin |
| Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
| Edited by | Sheldon Kahn |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
Columbia Pictures (United States) Universal Pictures (International) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12.5 million |
| Box office | $61.8 million |
The Electric Horseman is a 1979 American western adventure-romance film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda and directed by Sydney Pollack. The film is about a former rodeo champion who is hired by a cereal company to become its spokesperson, and then runs away on a $12 million electric-lit horse and costume he is given to promote it in Las Vegas.
Norman "Sonny" Steele is a former championship rodeo rider who has sold out to a business conglomerate and is now reduced to making public appearances to sell a brand of breakfast cereal. Prior to making a Las Vegas promotional appearance to ride the $12 million champion thoroughbred race horse who responds to the name of Rising Star, Sonny discovers to his horror that the horse has been drugged and is injured.
Identifying with the plight of the horse and disillusioned with the present state of his life, Sonny decides to abscond with Rising Star and travel cross-country in order to release him in a remote canyon where herds of wild horses roam. Hallie Martin, a television reporter eager to be the first to break the Rising Star story, locates Sonny and follows him on his unusual quest through the countryside. While en route, the unlikely pair have a romance as they avoid the pursuing authorities.
Casting for The Electric Horseman either continued or led to many reoccurring collaborations between cast and crew members. On November 28, 1978, Robert Redford was announced to star in the film, becoming the fifth film in which Sydney Pollack directed Redford following This Property Is Condemned (1966), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Way We Were (1973) and Three Days of the Condor (1975). This director-actor relationship would continue with two more films: Out of Africa (1985) and Havana (1990). Pollack had also previously directed Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), whereas Redford and Fonda previously teamed on The Chase (1966) and Barefoot in the Park (1967).
...
Wikipedia