Candidate with Robert Redford: DVD Cover

    Candidate Director: Michael Ritchie Cast: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Don Porter, Allen Garfield

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    • DVD Release Date: 10/29/1997
    • Original Release: 1972
    • Rating: Rated PG
    • Sales Rank: 10,711

    Viewer Rating: (1 ratings)

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    • Overview
    • Editorial Reviews
    • Scenes
    • Customer Reviews
    • Cast & Crew
    • Full Product Details

    Scenes

    Features

    Interactive menus; Production notes; Scene access; Theatrical trailer; Subtitles: English, Français & Español

    Full Product Details

    Scene Index

    Side #1
    0. Jump To A Scene
    1. McKay's son [3:50]
    2. Credits [1:51]
    3. What politics is [2:46]
    4. Name, looks, power [3:34]
    5. The old guard [2:39]
    6. The image takes shape [5:43]
    7. Benefit of the doubt [6:42]
    8. The right answers? [2:34]
    9. Sounding good at the beach [2:15]
    10. In Watts [1:57]
    11. Primary results [2:57]
    12. Backroom truth [2:04]
    13. Grim scene [2:49]
    14. On fire [5:33]
    15. Alone in a crowd [4:42]
    16. Father-and-son reunion [3:17]
    17. Between the two of us [4:30]
    18. Howard K. Smith's commentary [1:56]
    19. The debate is set [2:49]
    20. Prep work [2:21]
    21. Jarmon/McKay debate [6:18]
    22. Out in the open [2:44]
    23. That son of mine [4:52]
    24. Nothing in common [2:33]
    25. All he's got [5:09]
    26. Speeches by rote [3:21]
    27. The laughing candidate [2:48]
    28. On parade [5:12]
    29. Election Day [4:06]
    30. "Son, you're a politician" [2:07]
    31. "What do we do now?" [2:16]
    32. End Credits [1:23]

    Scene Index

    Editorial Reviews

    "What do we do now?" Director Michael Ritchie and executive producer/star Robert Redford satirically explore the machinations and manipulations of media-age political campaigns in this cynical political drama. Rumpled left-wing California lawyer Bill McKay (Redford), the son of a former governor (Melvyn Douglas), is enlisted by campaign maestro Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) to challenge Republican incumbent Crocker Jarmon (Don Porter) for his Senate seat. McKay agrees, but only if he can say exactly what he thinks. That approach is all well and good when McKay does not seem to have a chance, but things change when his honesty unexpectedly captivates the electorate. As McKay inches up in the polls, Lucas and company start to do what it takes to win, leaving McKay to ponder the consequences of his political seduction. Working without studio interference from a script by Jeremy Larner, a speechwriter for 1968 Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, Ritchie enhanced the behind-the-scenes realism of Larner's insights with a realistic, cinéma vérité approach. He orchestrated a campaign parade for "candidate" Redford that drew such a considerable unstaged audience that local politicians wanted to draft Redford for a real election. Redford's resemblance to the telegenic Kennedys, and his character's resonance with the future career of California governor Jerry Brown, only emphasized how close to the bone The Candidate was (and is). Released the fateful year of Richard Nixon's reelection, the film garnered accolades, if not substantial box office; Larner won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and thanked the "politicians of our time" for inspiration. Creating a documentary fiction about the semi-truths manufactured to market a candidate, The Candidate shrewdly exposed the effects of the media on the increasingly cynical political process, posing unanswerable questions that have become all the more pressing with every soundbite-ruled election. Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

    Customer Reviews

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    • Ratings: 1Reviews: 1

    Candidateby Anonymous

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    October 04, 2005: One of the best political films ever made, "The Candidate" (1972) is tough, honest, mature, cynical and absolutely authentic. Robert Redford, in probably the best performance of his career, portrays idealistic young lawyer Bill McKay, thoroughly involved with civil rights, legal aid and ecology, who agrees to run for the U.S. Senate--not to win, he tells himself, but to bring vital issues before the voters. He despises political deals and compromises, but when the possibility of victory overshadows what seemed like certain defeat, his integrity begins to weaken. With an Oscar-winning screenplay by Jeremy Lardner (the former aid to Senator Eugene McCarthy), and stunningly crafted direction by Michael Ritchie, "The Candidate" certainly is one of the most authentic visions of American politics ever put on film. More importantly, it is a fascinating and dynamic character study showing all the inner conflicts of a decent man torn between his ambition and his conscience. It tells what it costs--emotionally, morally, financially--to run for public office, and conveys all the doubts, all the self deceptions and ultimately all the cynicism of a man who knows he has sold out for something he isn't sure he really wants. As the reluctant candidate, Redford dominates the film, never more assured and appealing. Peter Boyle as his campaign manager, Melvyn Douglas as his father and Don Porter as the conservative incumbent are perfectly cast. For immediacy and accuracy, it's almost impossible to equal. After watching this film, you'll wonder why anyone would ever run for office--an impression that, ultimately, may have as much to do with the irony that McKay's candor and altruism are pleasing to the voters but have nothing to do with government. Ultimately, "The Candidate" succeeds as well as it does not because of what it says, but because of the details and the subtleties it observes while saying it. [filmfactsman]