Downhill Racer
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Short description
Downhill Racer follows David Chappellet, a young skier from a Colorado farming town who joins the United States national team and sets his sights on breaking records rather than fitting into the coach's idea of teamwork. Eugene Claire gives him a place on the squad, and the two clash as the team travels to Europe. David's single-minded ambition and his difficulties with the people around him shape his rise through international competition.
Michael Ritchie directed the film, his first feature in a career that would run to fifteen films, followed by The Candidate in 1972. James Salter wrote the screenplay, and Richard Gregson produced it for Paramount and Wildwood Enterprises. Robert Redford plays David, with Gene Hackman as Claire, Camilla Sparv as Carole Stahl, Karl Michael Vogler as Machet, Jim McMullan as Johnny Creech and Kathleen Crowley as an American newspaper woman. It runs 101 minutes.
Made for about two million dollars, the film drew modest audience scores: 6.3 from roughly 6,400 votes on IMDb and 6.0 from a much smaller sample on TMDB. A critic rating of 7.1 from 27 reviews places it above those viewer numbers.
What's left behind the scenes
- Ten days before filming began, Robert Redford flipped a snowmobile and tore a tendon, and the actor's knee had to be stitched up.
- Richard Gregson, then Natalie Wood's husband, became the film's producer, and she had been close friends with Robert Redford since school. She came up with hairstyles for several characters in the film, provided wardrobes for some of the actors, made corrections to the script, and even occasionally played an extra.
- Michael Ritchie replaced Roman Polanski as the film's director. "Downhill Racer" was to be Polanski's first American film, but producer Robert Evans of Paramount Pictures needed a director for the horror film "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), and he gave the project to Polanski. Robert Redford was also considered for a role in "Rosemary's Baby," but it was not to be.
- It is believed that Robert Redford’s character was based on two real American skiers – Billy Kidd and Spider Sabich. Kidd was the first American to win gold in alpine skiing at the 1964 Olympics. Sabich (full name Vladimir Peter Sabich Jr.) was shot dead by his girlfriend – singer and actress Claudine Longet – in 1976.
- Sherry Jackson was considered for the role of Robert Redford's girlfriend, but her agent rejected the offer without even bothering to consult the actress herself.
- Gene Hackman later recalled that while working on the film, he felt like a "highly paid extra," as the filming focused entirely on Robert Redford, leaving him with practically nothing to do.
- Sylvester Stallone appeared on screen as one of the restaurant patrons. His name is not mentioned in the credits.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
