George Roy Hill, 1969
Self-consciously stylish western inspired by the real-life adventures of the insouciant outlaws, pairing Redford and his lifelong friend Paul Newman to perfection. A key expression of the 1960s ethos
Photograph: Moviestore collection Ltd/Alamy
Michael Ritchie, 1969
Splendid semi-documentary study of winning and the mystique of sport, in which American Olympic team manager has problems with top skier Redford, a beautiful artist on the slopes and a boor off them Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Abraham Polonsky, 1969
Long blacklisted leftwing writer-director Polonsky was brought back to make this hard-hitting allegorical western, the true story of a young Native American pursued in 1912 California by a paranoid posse reluctantly led by sheriff Redford. His character is called Coop in homage to his hero Gary Cooper Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Michael Ritchie, 1972
Scripted by Jeremy Larner, aide to Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential primaries, this cool, intelligent film casts Redford as an idealistic Californian civil rights lawyer subtly transformed into an all-purpose winner and Democratic senator by his campaign managers. Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
George Roy Hill, 1973
Redford and Newman are reunited as ace conmen shaking down a New York gambler-gangster in 1930s Chicago to the strains of Scott Joplin rags in an ingeniously plotted, constantly surprising comedy-thriller. One of the most popular and honoured films of its time Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Sydney Pollock, 1975
Angry thriller full of post-Vietnam and post–Watergate paranoia starring Redford as a mild-mannered intelligence analyst who fights back when a conspiracy within the CIA threatens his life. His antagonists work out of an office in the Twin Towers Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
George Roy Hill, 1975
This colourful fable gives Redford a tricky part as a recklessly arrogant stunt pilot barnstorming across America in the 1920s before acting out his Snoopy-like Great War fantasies in Hollywood flying epics. Box-office lightning did not strike a third time for Redford and director Hill, but it’s a much underrated picture Photograph: Cinetext/Allstar
Alan J Pakula, 1976
Exemplary political thriller, produced by Redford, reconstructing the Watergate affair from the point of view of the intrepid junior reporters on the Washington Post, Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), who journey through the dark labyrinth of Nixon’s Washington in search of the truth. One of the great newspaper movies Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Barry Levinson, 1984
Redford brings a regal presence to a magical movie version of Bernard Malamud’s first novel that transposes the Arthurian legend from medieval England to present day American major league baseball. Yielding his Excalibur-like bat, Redford is the flawed leader of the Knights Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Robert Redford, 1994
In his finest movie as director, Redford remains behind the camera throughout, directing Ralph Fiennes as the university teacher Charles Van Doren, scion of a distinguished academic family, who became embroiled in the late 50s scandal when ratings-hungry TV executives rigged TV quiz shows Photograph: Everett/Rex Features
