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The Electric Horseman

PG Released Dec 21, 1979 2h 0m Western Comedy List
64% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A former champion rodeo rider is reduced to using his saddle skills to promote a breakfast cereal in a gaudy Las Vegas show. When he's asked to perform with a $12 million horse that he discovers is being doped to remain docile, he flees into the desert astride the beast in an act of defiance. A story-hungry female reporter gives chase.

Critics Reviews

View All (22) Critics Reviews
Variety Staff Variety A moderately entertaining film, but no screen magic from Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The pic is overlong, talky and diffused. May 26, 2008 Full Review Tom Milne Time Out Beguilingly sharp at first, but the later stages, with Fonda's toughie reporter tagging along for a story but going all mushy inside, wallow in sentimentality about integrity, ecology and all that jazz. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times At this point, I think it's reasonably safe to say that The Electric Horseman is the best American romantic comedy of 1979. Rated: 4.5/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review Michael Lasky Bay Area Reporter The unseen star of the entire enterprise is director Sydney Pollock who keeps the film at a galloping pace, entertaining us all the way to the realistic ending. May 23, 2020 Full Review Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) The story is drawn out and drowsiness invades the viewer, like a victim of the drugs featured on the film. [Full Review in Spanish] Aug 8, 2019 Full Review Renee Schonfeld Common Sense Media Warmhearted romance with an anti-corporate perspective. Rated: 4/5 Feb 22, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (84) audience reviews
Blu B Weird concept for a movie. A RomCom Adventure Road Movie about a cowboy looking to set a corporations horse free with a reporter looking for a story escaping the law and everyone. It's a miracle this doesn't devolve into nonsense. It actually makes perfect sense. The Willie Nelson soundtrack is really good here but I wish it was used a bit more. It goes long stretches where it could be used more after the first few minutes. It's solidly made all aorund. It's got some beautiful scenery that evokes the likes of Jeremiah Johnson. It's also a very suprisngly quiet and low key type of road movie where a lot of crazy stuff doesn't happen. Don't get me wrong there is crazy things but nowhere near as crazy as something like Midnight Run or Planes, Trains & Automobile type antics. It really is focused on the characters motivations, the romance between them, and a few antics here and there. Where this struggles is the romancitc chemistry and the comedy is alright enough. It really never excels at either. Sometimes it can drag on a little too long because there just isn't that spark in the romance or enough laugh out loud moments. Just chuckles and some charm. Redford and Fonda are good in this with great performances but they just don't have hat much chemistry. What really carries this is the original quirky story and the solid direction to make up for that. There also is a bit of a animal rights agenda at times that can be a bit too on the nose sometimes from Redford a little here but it's not that bad, just noticeable. If it excelled better at one of the two it would really help but as it is, it's a Pollack, Fonda, and Redord deep cut classic. Anyone who is a fan of Pollack, any actors in this, or a very quirky low key romcom or road movie should check this out. Suprised it was solidly good. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/20/24 Full Review Mike P Stupid vanity project for Redford; where he gets to be adorned with all this publicity; as this new Hollywood-celebrity cowboy pitchman; (a real life cowboy plucked from obscurity to be this pitchman)... and then he gets to shuck it all off to prove how much better he is than all that. Yawn. Talk about having your cake and eating it too. No one connected with this movie actually thinks celebrity is shallow and evil; if they did they would have left that scene a long time ago. A shallow movie with a phony message. Not recommended. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/18/24 Full Review Jelisije J An ok movie where a cowboy tries to get his life back from being a soulless drunk showman to saving a horse and escaping into the wild while being chased by the Police and his future love interest in Jane Fonda. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/16/24 Full Review Frank M First part is great, loved Sonny and his pals palling around, Willie Nelson was a hoot. When Fonda enters the scene, it just all felt awkward. Sure, she was entering into unfamiliar territory for a 'big-city' reporter. But she just made it seems all awkward all the time. The romance / chemistry between them just was't there. More fun as a nostalgic trip - old Vegas, old St. George and hari styles... plus, you don't have to endure gratuitous sex scenes or DEI efforts that bog most modern movies down.. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review WinthropWarriors Like watching a made-for-tv movie. Very little character development. In the first half of the movie, Robert Redford plays a washed up drunk rodeo star -- though no explanation is ever given as to what happened. Then suddenly in the second half of the movie, he's sober and practically never touches stuff -- again, no explanation. He's even given a jar a alcohol to take with him on his long journey into the mountains, but only takes a sip of it once and only because Jane Fonda takes one first. Ug. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/27/23 Full Review S R A fun movie with anti-corporate stint. The best parts were seeing old St George and Vegas. It's a shame they didn't show more of it. Regardless, it's a fun movie with a decent Willie Nelson soundtrack. Redford and Fonda do a good job too. Then to have the Quaker Oats guy made it real fun. It was on Netflix. My friend Rich P recommended. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Electric Horseman

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A former champion rodeo rider is reduced to using his saddle skills to promote a breakfast cereal in a gaudy Las Vegas show. When he's asked to perform with a $12 million horse that he discovers is being doped to remain docile, he flees into the desert astride the beast in an act of defiance. A story-hungry female reporter gives chase.
Director
Sydney Pollack
Producer
Ray Stark
Screenwriter
Robert Garland
Distributor
Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures
Production Co
Columbia, Universal Pictures, Universal/Universal Int
Rating
PG
Genre
Western, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 21, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2017
Runtime
2h 0m