On Tuesday, September 16th, Robert Redford passed away in his home at 89 years old. The well known actor, director, and producer is behind many famed movies. He holds a special place in the heart of golfers for his work on The Legend of Bagger Vance. Soon-to-be 25 years old, the film remains the fourth-highest-grossing golf movie of all time.
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance was released back in November of 2000. The movie, set in Savannah, Georgia, takes place during the Great Depression. When Adele’s (Charlize Theron) father builds a golf course, he commits suicide after going broke. Adele finds herself responsible for the property. In an attempt to raise money, she hosts a golf tournament featuring players like Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill). She convinces local legend Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon) into joining as well. Rannulph Junuh was a Savannah native, and a skilled golfer before fighting in World War I. When he returns, he is a different man, broken due to his experiences and fighting alcoholism. Junuh meets the mysterious caddy Bagger Vance (Will Smith), who helps Junuh find his way back into the golf world, and back to himself.
Released in theaters The Legend of Bagger Vance was released in theaters and received 3 and a half stars from movie critic Roger Ebert. Ebert wrote,
Robert Redford’s “The Legend of Bagger Vance” could be a movie about prayer, music or mathematics because it is really about finding yourself at peace with the thing you do best. Most of the movie is about an epic golf tournament, but it is not a sports movie in any conventional sense. It is the first zen movie about golf.
The film was shot in South Carolina, at Colleton River Club. Certain shots also feature South Carolina’s The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
The last hole was not shot on a course, and cost $200,000 to temporarily create. It was built to avoid further disruption to the Colleton River Club.
Robert Redford
Redford’s career spans over 60 years and includes plenty of impressive accolades and achievements. He won an Academy Award in 1981 for best director for his work on the drama Ordinary People. He also founded the Sundance Institute, hoping to help indie artists, a movement that eventually became the Sundance Film Festival.
In 2018 Redford told USA Today about his career, stating,
“You know, you get to a point where you live a career, you live a life where you’re constantly moving forward and you don’t think about looking back. And you get to be a certain age where you become more philosophical – that’s when you start to look back and go, ‘Boy, that was a mistake’ and ‘Well, that was OK.’ And I think that’s probably where I am.”
Initially, according to IMDb, Robert Redford was set to play Junuh, with Morgan freeman as Bagger Vance. However, after consideration, Redford decided that Vance and Junuh should be played by younger men, leading them to Will Smith and Matt Damon.
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