Robert Redford: The Biography

<br />Michael Feeney Callan is such an excellent biographer; I was lucky enough to already be in thrall of the subject, the gorgeous Mr Charles Robert Redford, but even if I were not, this would still make an enormously good read. Ten years in the making with lots of family history, instances not involving his film career including his work in the Sundance wilderness conservation, personal anecdotes and some great <i>piccies</i>. I will read other biographies by Mr Callan. Altogether a 4.5★ read.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I have a lot of connections to the subject. I've enjoyed many of Redford's films over the years. I was raised in Provo and spent a lot of time at Sundance. I know quite a few people who are friends with Redford and/or have worked closely with him. And I've admired Redford as a supporter of independent film and an environmental activist. So I picked up this book because I already had an interest in Redford, and I wanted to know more about what makes him tick. My quibbles with this book are not so much the subject but the writing. <br /><br />Yes, I learned a lot that I didn't know about the man. But I think that my main complaints go to Callan's approach and execution. For one thing, I often felt overwhelmed by details. There didn't seem to be a sense of proportion, with more important themes or incidents getting more in-depth coverage and others getting less. The treatment kind of hovered at about the same level from beginning to end, at least for me. As a result, I was bored at times by what to me seemed like an excess of detail, while other times I wanted to know more. For example, I would have liked to know more about his relationships with family and close friends, his interactions with Utah culture, his assessments of his career, etc.<br /><br />Granted, Redford is probably a hard person to know. But if that's the case, then either the book should have been shorter or Callan should have done more analysis of the evidence he amassed over ten years. I would have liked to see more of a clear focus on major themes in Redford's life, a more thoughtful exploration of the key events. I know some of that was there, but the book kind of jumped around a lot and felt unnecessarily superficial.<br /><br />Finally, I wish there had been more of a sense of story in the book. Some writers have a knack of capturing and rendering key events from a person's life that reveal his or her character. For me, Callan lacked the ability to tell Redford's story in a vivid or compelling way. Having read this 400 page bio, there aren't many incidents that were particularly memorable. There are some, but not as many as there should have been over 400 pages.<br /><br />On the whole, however, I'm glad I read the book, and I enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at Redford and his career. I appreciated getting a glimpse into the events that shaped him, how he worked as an actor and director, and his influence on the motion picture industry.

A very in-depth and informative about one of my favorite actors. Family history, an uncle at the invasion of Normandy, his baptism into the Mormon church, his travels/studies to Italy, some of his sketches, and prison movies like Brubaker and The Last Castle. Can be exhausting and heavy detail-orientated at times but worth a read. A good book about a great actor of our time.

Although an actor who saw his biggest success before I was even born, Robert Redford has always held some mystery for me. After living in Provo, I became more intrigued with his concept of Sundance and how it came to be. A reclusive sort of fellow in that he doesn't grant interviews very often, the public at large doesn't know much more about Robert Redford (or Bob, as he's referred to in the book) than what they get on the movie screen.<br /><br />I found the writing rather tedious. So many stories seem to be repeated over and over again. The book goes through Redford's acting career chronologically, but it seems more of a report than anything. Very little is said about Redford's family life and all his friendships are portrayed on a movie set or in a boardroom.<br /><br />I wanted to know more about Redford as a person and I didn't feel like this book did that for me. Were there some interesting stories? A few. Were my questions about Sundance answered? Kind of. I felt like the reader would be better served with different chapters focusing on the different aspects of Redford's life (acting, family life, environmentalism, politics, conservation, Sundance, independent film making, directing, relationships, friendships with other actors and directors, etc.) so that the reader could dive in to each of them, not read a nasal-toned monologue of "and then this happened". I haven't read any other Redford biographies, so I can't compare this one. But perhaps Redford's destiny is to remain shrouded in the air of mystery that he has created.

Redford's life has been a most interesting one...one of the top Hollywood film stars of his generation, he may become best known as the man who created the Sundance Film Festival...Callan looks at the life of a man who began as a troubled youth growing up in LA. As a young man, he went to Europe to develop his artistic talents, only to return home a failure. But he discovered his talent as an actor in plays and then movies. The 1967 "Barefoot in the Park" with Jane Fonda was his first big hit, followed by "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in '69, with Paul Newman. Redford continued through the 70s at the top of the box office. <br /> My own favorite Redford movie is "Jeremiah Johnson," a film that reflected Redford's strong feelings for the wild nature of the Rockies and his interest in Native culture. It was that commitment to wilderness that led him to take over the resort in Sundance in Utah, envisioning it as a center for the arts. This was the basis of the Sundance Film Festival.<br /> By the end of the 70s, Redford moved into directing and had more successes there. Callan details his environmental activism which has made a definite impact...This is a biography that really brings this very private man to life, and the story is not over, as, hopefully, Redford will go on to accomplish much much more.

It is shocking to find that an autobiography from a political figure [George Bush] can be so amusing and interesting and then to find a biography about one of the biggest movie icons in my lifetime can be so boring!!! I have been in awe of Redford since he appeared in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and was so excited to read this book. How disappointing in both the book and him. <br /><br />The author devoted the first chapter to his parents, grandparents and other ancestors and the last chapter to a 'little' of the more current Redford and his family. These were the only 2 chapters worth reading. The rest of the book is full of long sentences with long words in long paragraphs in long chapters. BORING! He concentrated mainly on his many movies which was unnecessary since we fans do know about the movies. The author should have realized that 75% or more of the readers were going to be women over 50 that have been captivated by Redford since his rise to stardom. We are too old to want to take the time to read and reread so many paragraphs to figure out what in the hell he is talking about. We're more into the enjoyable reading of Danielle Steel and Janet Evanovich. We've left the college days behind along with trying to impress and are into the age of enjoying our life- not interpreting the unnecessary language that we rarely hear in real life. Even quotes by Redford were intermixed with bullshit [the actual word] and those 6 or more syllable words. <br /><br />My biggest gripe toward the author while reading was not giving me a sense of who the man was really. However, after finishing the book I must admit the author may have in fact told me what he was like: self centered, pompous, intelligent but with a lack of common sense, distant, cold, and many other traits that all began with 'self'. Many said he had great wit, but until the last chapter with a short reference to some antics that Paul Newman and Redford played on each other I didn't find anything witty about the man. I found more in Newman's bio on the friendship of the two men and I thought at the time that biography was boring!<br /><br />His children did have a few things they shared about their father but my impression was they didn't even know him until they became adults and even then it didn't appear to be a close relationship. I didn't come out of the book with a good feeling about his first wife either. She seemed as self absorbed as him but that may have been her reaction to their relationship. It appears that there were no deep friendships but rather working relationships.<br /><br />I didn't expect scandals in the book but did expect to see more of the Sundance Kid in his personality rather than Jeremiah Jones. I guess my main disappointment is I wasted over 40 years in awe and respect of a man that 'just wasn't there' as I saw him. I'm just glad I finally finished this way too long book. I found myself checking each page number as I finished the page thinking I should be further along than I was! I would have given up on the book about 1/4 the way but I refuse to leave anything unfinished. My mistake in this case!! <br /><br />

The biography of Robert Redford shares the beauty marks and blemishes of the subjects movie career and political activism. <br /><br />This is the first biography I have read from Micheal Callan. I am impressed by the effort, detail, and openness he has achieved in this biography. <br /><br />Holladay starts the investigation way, waaaay back in time to the 1600's. Possibly the evolutionary beginnings of the Redford clan. It quickly focuses on Robert's beginnings and moves forward through his life experiences. <br /><br />If you want to know about Robert Redford, you will find it here. Callan achieves great detail with minimal white washing of Redford's movie career and political activism. <br /><br />I go to movies for entertainment. I read newspapers for news, and avoid political commentary for the most part. Since Redford's body of work includes many movies that are politically tinged, I avoided those works. I am ambivalent to his achievements and that translates to how I feel about his biography. I believe this book would be liked by those who agree with his political leanings and enjoy his politically based movies such as "All The Presidents Men", "The Candidate", and "The Way We Were". <br /><br />The strength of Robert Redford's biography is the incredible amount of information it has. At the same time it made the flow of the book rough for me. The biggest problem I had was Redford's birthday was missing. It may seem trivial. For me, though, it's huge. The date of birth is a reference point I use to pull all the events together. I use that information to add in other events of the time to get a better historical feel of the story. Unable to have his birthday as a reference point was a big problem and heavily weakened my enjoyment of the book. I had an early copy so if anyone finds Redford's birthday in their book, please add a comment to my review. <br /><br />If you like Redford's body of work, you will probably like this book.

Added 10/24/12.<br />I listened to the audio version of this book during October and November 2012. Interesting and enjoyable.<br /><br />“Revealing . . . Intriguing . . . An all-American beautiful jock with a brutal iron will and the soul of a visionary tyrant, Redford, under Callan’s gaze, emerges as a sui generis* American figure. A gripping, intimate treatment of one of cinema’s last great iconic stars.” -Kirkus<br /><br />*[Sui generis is a Neo-Latin expression, literally meaning "of its own kind/genus", or unique in its characteristics.]<br /> <br />“Comprehensive . . . Callan reveals the complex man beneath the Hollywood persona. Absorbing and remarkably well documented; readers will enjoy losing themselves in this long-awaited biography.” -Booklist<br /><br />[Above clips found at: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307577047">http://www.indiebound.org/book/978030...</a> ]<br /><br />It was interesting hearing about how Redford founded the <b>Sunrise Institute</b>.<br />"Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide. The Institute ... <u>provides creative and financial support to emerging and aspiring filmmakers, directors, producers, film composers, screenwriters, playwrights, and theater artists</u> through a series of Labs and Fellowships. The programs of Sundance Institute include the <b>Sundance Film Festival</b>, a premier platform for American and international independent film."<br />FROM: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance_Institute">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance...</a><br /><br />See Wiki for details of Redford's life:<br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Redford">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R...</a>

Due to my age, I was definitely late to Robert Redford fanhood. I became a great admirer in the early 90s thanks to two films: A River Runs Through It (which Redford directed) and the great acting ensemble piece, Sneakers, which he starred in. I have enjoyed discovering his earlier movies as well, so I knew this biography was a must read for me.<br />The author definitely did his homework. Callan interviewed Robert Redford over many years, pulled from Redford's journals, and meticulously gathered quotes from close friends and family, as well as news articles. The book is extremely thorough 3/4 of the way through, which was slow going for me at times. The writing is excellent, and I would give this biography a solid 3.5 stars. I learned many new facts about Redford, and I am impressed by how many times he could press forward after personal tragedies.<br />I felt that the films Redford made in the 2000s were quickly glossed over; the author seemed to rush to finish the book around this point. I also felt there was too much detail about his political activism, which wasn't that interesting to me. I kept wishing that Robert Redford had taken an interest in improving Utah public schools instead of his focus on environmental issues. That would be a story I would really want to read.

Highly recommended biography of Bob Redford.<br /><br />The only drawback of biographies about living, and I'm saying that with full knowledge of its implications, but without wishing to jinx anybody, is that the author had Redford's collaboration in writing this book so in certain areas Callan has to tread carefully in order to avoid offence to his subject. I'm not saying that we´ll ever hear to totally different story, and I don't mean to be cynical or callous about other people's demise, but sometimes it helps to have more distance to something or someone before we can analyse in a wider context.<br /><br />The description of Redford's early days I found especially riveting in this context.<br /><br />