The Electric Horseman

Starring:Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Allan Arbus, Wilford Brimley, Nicolas Coster, Lois Hamilton, Will Hare, Sarah Harris, Basil Hoffman, James Kline, Willie Nelson, James Novak, Valerie Perrine, Quinn K. Redeker, John Saxon, Timothy Scott, James Sikking, Frank Speiser, Tasha Zemrus
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

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When this picture came out in 1979, both Robert Redford and Jane Fonda were at the height of their stardom; in fact, this movie was so big, it took two studios (Columbia and Universal) to make it. Redford plays Sonny Steele, champion rodeo rider turned corporate spokesman (and perpetual drunk). When he discovers that another corporate asset, a racehorse, is just like him--dressed like a buffoon and doped up to the gills--he decides to liberate the animal. Redford's grumpy, wise, and funny performance demonstrates why he was (and is) such a big star (and why director Sydney Pollack made seven movies with him). Fonda is fine as the bright, ambitious, frightened TV reporter whose pursuit of a story pitches her headlong into love. The ending may seem anticlimatic (the big comedy chase comes in the middle of the film), but this is much more a romance story than a chase film. From the beginning, there's little doubt how the story will end (although even then, the movie throws us a little curve), but the movie compensates with sheer star power; Redford and Fonda are all that matter, and in this case they deliver, along with Willie Nelson's fine performance in a pivotal supporting role. --Geof Miller

Customer Reviews:

Interesting cowboy in a formula plot.......2007-02-26

Sonny Steele (Robert Redford), a former rodeo champion turned breakfast cereal shill, seizes an opportunity to salvage his self-respect by stealing a former champion racehorse that is being abused by a big conglomerate with the goal of releasing him into the wild. Jane Fonda plays the wily newswoman who tracks him down and--no surprise--falls in love with him. The best parts of the film come early on as we get to know Sonny and his world. Once he steals the horse, it's all Big Issues Hollywood Love Story, albeit very well-made. This star vehicle is built around Redford and Fonda, so your opinion of the film is bound to be colored by your appreciation of those stars. "Hanoi Jane" Fonda-hater holdouts beware!

My Heroes have always been Cowboys.......2007-01-17

Oh I had forgotten how much I loved all the performances in this film and Willie Nelson singing. The script is terrific and Robert Redford is definitely at his best in this film (as he is in Butch and Sundance.) When he is not playing a pretty boy, Redford really shows his acting chops. Seeing Fonda and Redford together in their prime (vs. Barefoot in the Park when they were young) is fantastic. Redford did all of his riding stunts and actually rode the horse through a casino with all its customers. Redford bought Rising Star after filming was over and owned the horse until Rising Star passed away 18 years later. Director Sydney Pollack is the voice you hear as Hallie's boss Les on the phone. You can find the Willie Nelson songs - Midnight Rider, My Heroes have always been Cowboys, and Mama don't let your Babies grow up to be Cowboys on the CD Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be) by Willie Nelson - for under $10. Only get the soundtrack if you are dying for the disco music.

Coming to Terms with Your Life.......2006-08-12

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.

There Is Nothing "Electric" About This Movie!!!.......2005-07-24

In this movie we see Sonny Steele played by Rober Redford who used to be a Rodeo Hero but now is a washed up drunken walking advertisement for Ranch Breakfast Cereal . Sonny gets tired of the easy demands of his new job and steals the company's horse from a Las Vegas Casino.Perhaps he preferred his old job where some bucking bronco would break his ribs.I have heard that some guys are "into pain". Then Sonny is persued by Hallie Martin , played by Jane Fonda and the two of them have the usual, typical and obligatory Hollywood sexual encounter in the wilderness. The horse in this movie is quite exceptional as he manages to be a pacer, a trotter and even a steeplechaser !!!Sadly horses such as these do not exist in Real Life.I can't figure out why Hallie and Sonny are attracted to each other and if anybody can enlighten me kindly write to me via my Email address. I give this movie 5 stars because I like Willie Nelson who has a small but vital part in this very disppointing movie.

Very Excellent, Very Timeless, and VERY Fun.......2005-05-05

"The Electric Horseman" is Top-Drawer Redford. No one, anywhere, could have played Sonny Steele with even a tenth of the talent and showmanship and precision and exquisite timing as does Redford. Only Redford can portray a character as simultaneously offbeat, comical, confused, thoughtful, simple, complex and sad as Sonny Steele. No one but Redford's Sonny Steele could so accurately embody the honest pathos dwelling in Willie Nelson's "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys".
And beneath Redford's sterling performance is even more Fun. The fun-loving, free-wheeling style of the Independent Westerner juxtaposed against the rigidly organized Selfishness and Arrogance of Corproate America's "elite" is deliciously appropo. The consistant making of the sorry newspaper bimbo (Jane Fonda) look exactly like what she was, or had become, is priceless. The swing from a simple man of real heart and real honor "just trying to get back to himself" to a clever cowboy with easily enough nerve to ride someone's million-dollar horse down the Vegas strip and disappear right under their upturned noses is a delightfiul display of "real" winning over "fake" - the "Little Guy" deftly pulling the plug on America's Corporate People-shredder - a sight most of this country can thoroughly and wildly applaud. No, it couldn't really happen - but Redford makes it absolutely Grand Fun to pretend it could. And anyway... maybe ... just maybe, it could. We can always Hope!

Average customer rating:

Interesting cowboy in a formula plot
My Heroes have always been Cowboys
Coming to Terms with Your Life
There Is Nothing "Electric" About This Movie!!!
Very Excellent, Very Timeless, and VERY Fun

The Electric Horseman
Starring: Allan Arbus , Wilford Brimley , Nicolas Coster , Jane Fonda , and Lois Hamilton
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305078173
Release Date: 1998-05-06

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Description

An ex-world champion cowboy reduced to selling breakfast cereal steals away on a multi-million dollar racehorse, and a TV reporter sets out to find out why, only to fall in love with him.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting cowboy in a formula plot.......2007-02-26

My Heroes have always been Cowboys.......2007-01-17

Coming to Terms with Your Life.......2006-08-12