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Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, John Saxon, Willie Nelson ... see more see more... , Allan Arbus , Nicolas Coster , Wilford Brimley , Will Hare , Basil Hoffman , Timothy Scott , James B. Sikking , James Kline , Frank Speiser , Quinn K. Redeker , Lois Areno , Sarah Harris , Tasha Zemrus , James Novak , Patricia Blair , Sylvie Strauss , Lois Hamilton , Brendan Kelly , Roger Lowe , Vic Vallard , Gary D. Liddiard , Sydney Pollack , Bob Barrett , X.V. Kelly , Debra L. Maxwell , Michele Heyeden , Robin Timm , Gary M. Fox , Richard Perlmutter , Carol Eileen Montgomery , Theresa Ann Dent , Perry Sheehan Adair , Sarge Allen , Richard Knoll , Angelo Giouzelis , Mark Jamison , Sheila B. Wakely , Gary Shermaine , Jerry Kurland , J. Carlton Adair , Charles J. Monahan , George W. Etter , Raymond G. Maupin , Red McIlvaine , Frank Nicholas , Johnny Magnus , Bob Bailey

A cowboy-turned-huckster unexpectedly finds love as he tries to regain his self-respect in this romantic comedy drama. Sonny Steele (Robert Redford) is a one-time rodeo star whose career as a cowboy h... read more read more...as ground to a halt. He makes a good living as a spokesman for Ranch Breakfast, a sugar-coated cereal for kids, but he's lost most of his self-respect in the process; his boss, corporate mogul Hunt Sears (John Saxon), considers him a property rather than a human being, and Sonny has developed a serious problem with alcohol. Sears' cereal company is negotiating a highly profitable merger with another firm and brings Sonny to Las Vegas for a publicity stunt, in which Sonny, wearing a garish cowboy outfit complete with blinking lights, will ride on-stage at Caesar's Palace aboard prize-winning thoroughbred stallion Rising Star. When Sonny discovers Sears' men have drugged the horse so that it will be able to walk on an injured leg, he's appalled, and he rides Rising Star off the stage at Caesar's and into the Nevada desert, looking for grazing land where he and the horse can heal their wounds. Sears is shocked to discover that Sonny has run off with a 12 million dollars, and he realizes that Sonny knows enough to make his firm look very bad in the press, potentially scotching the merger. Sears files charges against Sonny and posts a reward for Rising Star's safe return, though he implies that it wouldn't bother him if Sonny died in the rescue attempt. Hallie Martin (Jane Fonda), a television journalist covering Sonny's Vegas appearance, is convinced that something is fishy and manages to catch up with him in the desert; as Hallie tries to get Sonny to tell her his story, the has-been cowboy and the city-girl reporter fall in love. The Electric Horseman also stars Valerie Perrine and Willie Nelson; the country & western star made his screen debut in this film and has a very memorable line about tequila and trailer hitches. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

53% liked it

3,679 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

19 critics

PG, 2 hr.

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Release Date: December 19, 1979

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DVD Release Date: October 10, 2000

Stats: 116 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (116)

  • ajv2688
    January 6, 2011
    ajv2688
    I didn't get to see the whole movie, but from what I saw it's very boring. I will see it again some day to give it another chance, though.
  • ileo
    January 10, 2008
    ileo
    definitely remember this from them younger years, hehehe
    cute.
  • janakic
    March 29, 2008
    janakic
    A great overlooked film by Sydney Pollack. This film is a great snapshot of the 70's and has a great Robert Redford performance in which we first see his good ole boy cowboy charm. Jane Fonda looked and acted great while proving she and Redford still had great chemistry together ... read moreafter they appeared together in 1967's "Barefoot in the Park." Willie Nelson has been reprising the role he played in this ever since, plus he launched his classic song "Mama Don't let your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." The horse chase still holds up very well because it was expertly done.

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Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
May 26, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

A moderately entertaining film, but no screen magic from Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The pic is overlong, talky and diffused. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
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. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Electric Horseman is the kind of movie they used to make. Full Review

Renee Schonfeld
February 22, 2012
Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media

Warmhearted romance with an anti-corporate perspective. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 3, 2012
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

In their second appearance, Redford and Fonda have charm and show good chemistry but, they are too old for this formulatic, old-fashioned romantic comedy about a burnt-out rodeo star and TV journalist Full Review

Richard T. Jameson
September 18, 2010
Richard T. Jameson, Parallax View

The Electric Horseman charms and ultimately conquers through high spirits. Full Review

May 26, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Horseman falls far short of what it might have been, starting out smart but getting sloppier and more sentimental as it goes along. Full Review

Tom Milne
January 26, 2006
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. Full Review

Rich Cline
September 30, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

colourful and engaging

Dennis Schwartz
April 23, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Loved Redford's garish cowboy costume! Full Review

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The Electric Horseman Trivia

  • I was in "The Great Waldo Pepper", "The Sting", "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" and "The Electric horseman", who am I?  Answer »
  • Who connects :Stanley And Iris, Old Gringo, 9 To %, On Golden Pond, The Electric Horseman, Monster In Law ?  Answer »
  • Other than the Electric Horseman, what other movie did Jane Fonda and Robert Reford appear together?  Answer »
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