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Robert Redford has died

nytimes.com

81–90 of 156 posts

Re: Robert Redford has died

#81
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone interested in learning more about social engineering should check out "The Art of" books by legendary hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Or… sticking to the theme… The Old Man and the Gun … another great film by Redford, about an elderly man who leans on his charisma and confidence to rob banks. Based on a true story.

Or... The Sting!

Back when Social Engineering meant wearing a hell of a suit and dodging the 'Bunco Squad'. All the elements are there: Greed, Scarcity, a sense of urgency, all legitimised by the leveraging of Social "proof".

If it was remade today there'd be a good chance Redford would find Newman's character down on his luck running facebook ads for crypto scams featuring AI videos of prominent celebrities.

Re: Robert Redford has died

#82
post #50
post #2

"Sneakers" is such an entertaining watch for anyone that's never seen it. Well worth your time. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/

There are moments when I’m driving over the San Mateo Bridge and I instantly think about this movie.

Going to a cocktail party?

Re: Robert Redford has died

#83

Oh no - we’ve lost a great defender of democracy and the environment. Throughout his personal life and professional film career, he consistently sought to spotlight government, corporate, and military-industrial corruption while shining a light on the importance of democracy. The world has lost a remarkable person! Do yourself a favor and watch some of his most important movies that represented his ideology "Truth",…

Two remarkable people in less than one week. Damn shame, but more will pick up their gauntlets and run with them!

Re: Robert Redford has died

#84
post #47

I used to feel some sort of strange reassurance whenever I'd see him on screen, in any kind of film, in any kind of role. Being an espionage lover, of course, Spy Game will have a special place; then there's him playing Sundance Kid, but I remember him for Out of Africa and The Way We Were . I know many might say, 'But he was not central in them'; I'd say that he was. And no, not the only central role. That's how I r…

If you like RR and spy films then definitely check “Three Days of the Condor”

Unfortunately I feel that while it's very well shot and paced, the gendered interplay from RR and his co-star feels a little iffy in the modern day - particularly since the romantic sub-plot requires so much suspension of disbelief. So much so that the main characters in the Elmore Leonard spy-comedy "Out of Sight" ridicule it.

Apparently, as per Reddit, the director kept wanting her to look more scared in her initial scenes; explaining the horror of being kidnapped and imprisoned in her own home by a strange man. She kept pleading "But it's Robert Redford"!

If you like the espionage and unique feel of films of that era though, you can't do much better than Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Conversation', starring a wonderfully morose Gene Hackman. A very worthy Palme D'Or winner in '74.

Fred Zinnemann's 'The Day of the Jackal' in '73 is also a high-point for espionage-thrillers of the decade.

Re: Robert Redford has died

#85

Last few minutes of Three Days Of The Condor[1] should be required watching for everyone. [1] https://youtu.be/vZNnDiDSUiI?si=6hLz0X00uDhfVdPE

Purely in terms of watching great actors at work, I think the penultimate scene is more striking. It sets up the excellent scene you shared rather well, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voPmfT09jlg

Re: Robert Redford has died

#86
post #24

I found the Watchmen HBO series alternate universe version of Redford as “liberal version of president Ronald Reagan” a fascinating thought experiment

Not just that, but the wholly plausible concept of "Redfordations" - a fictional U.S. law establishing reparations for descendants of racial injustices in the form of lifetime tax exemptions - seemed very on-brand for the man and his legacy.

Re: Robert Redford has died

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A friend of mine that was in Desert Storm taught me this. Of course, he was on the other side One of my favourites. Great cast. Kingsley and Redford on the roof: "There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information"

They're not on the roof for that scene; they're in his office, using the computer room's air conditioning as a sound mask (and using a Cray Y-MP as a bench). While the movie takes some very early-90s liberties with technology (especially the scene where they use the chip), it's remarkably respectful of hacking -- there's a stronger emphasis on social engineering then the purely technical, and my "head canon" is that…

> it's remarkably respectful of hacking

This is one of my favorite things about the movie, and why I always recommended it to my security friends.

Re: Robert Redford has died

#89
post #43
post #2

"Sneakers" is such an entertaining watch for anyone that's never seen it. Well worth your time. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/

Haven't rewatched since it was first released. As an audio person I was particularly impressed with a scene whereby someone who was locked in a trunk determined their location by remembering the sound made by bumps on a specific road. Is that right? Or am I thinking of the last time I was kidnapped?

"Remind me to make you an honorary blind person."

Re: Robert Redford has died

#90
post #21

Redford's Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival was a monumental contribution, changing the film industry for the better, a boon to indie filmmakers. IMO this is Redford's most important legacy. This is so essential now especially as Hollywood has become more consolidated and corporate.

Indeed. I read that movies like "The Blair Witch Project" and "Napoleon Dynamite" got their break at Sundance.
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