An ambitious young skier, determined to break all existing records, is contemptuous of the teamwork advocated by the US coach when they go to Europe for the Olympics. An early lead role for Robert Redford, and while not officially credited, he acted almost as a producer for this film, pushing it to the finish line. Featuring the always-great Gene Hackman as the coach, and the debut film of the underrated director Michael Ritchie, who would go on to an eccentric career with films like Prime Cut, The Candidate, The Bad News Bears, and Fletch.

“Some of the best moments in “Downhill Racer” are moments during which nothing special seems to be happening. They’re moments devoted to capturing the angle of a glance, the curve of a smile, an embarrassed silence. Together they form a portrait of a man that is so complete, and so tragic, that “Downhill Racer” becomes the best movie ever made about sports — without really being about sports at all.” ~ Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Screening January 25 + 27

Please visit our accessibility page for more information. Beyond the description, trailer and quoted reviews on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb. We encourage you to research our films at your own informational interest level via the internet.