Robert Redford, the iconic actor and director who passed away on September 16, 2025, at the age of 89 in his beloved Sundance home in Utah, left behind a legacy deeply intertwined with the American spirit, much like the rugged frontiersman he portrayed in his most cherished work. In the quiet hours before his death, as family and close friends gathered around him, Redford reportedly confided that Jeremiah Johnson (1972) stood as his greatest film, a sentiment he had voiced in interviews over the decades but reaffirmed with poignant clarity in his final days. Directed by Sydney Pollack and based loosely on the life of mountain man John “Liver-Eating” Johnson, the film captured Redford’s transformation from a disillusioned Mexican War veteran into a solitary trapper navigating the untamed Rocky Mountains. This role, which required Redford to forgo his signature clean-shaven look for a bearded, weathered visage, marked a pivotal shift in his career, earning critical acclaim for its authenticity and earning the film a lasting place as one of the greatest Westerns ever made. Knowing that Jeremiah Johnson encapsulated his artistic pinnacle brought Redford a sense of fulfillment as he faced his mortality, surrounded by the very landscapes that had inspired his life’s work.

At the heart of Redford’s admiration for Jeremiah Johnson was its profound metaphorical resonance as a tale of America’s settlement and conquest, themes that mirrored the nation’s complex history of expansion and its often brutal consequences. The film chronicles Johnson’s arduous journey into the wilderness, where he learns survival skills from grizzled mentors like Bear Claw (played by Will Geer) while grappling with encounters—both cooperative and violent—with Native American tribes, particularly the Crow. Redford saw this narrative not merely as a survival story but as an allegory for the American Dream’s darker underbelly: the relentless push westward that symbolized manifest destiny, yet exacted a heavy toll through cultural clashes, environmental exploitation, and personal isolation. In a 2022 interview revisited after his death, Redford described the movie as “a meditation on the errand into the wilderness,” drawing from early American myths where settlers ventured into uncharted territories seeking reinvention, only to confront the harsh realities of conquest. This layered storytelling, enhanced by Duke Callaghan’s stunning cinematography of Utah’s vast, unforgiving terrains, allowed Redford to explore themes of self-reliance and the cost of freedom, making the film a timeless reflection on how America forged its identity through both triumph and tragedy.

As Redford drew his last breath, his conviction that Jeremiah Johnson was his magnum opus provided a serene closure, underscoring how the film’s metaphorical depth had shaped his worldview and enduring influence on cinema. Environmental activist and Sundance founder that he was, Redford appreciated how the movie debunked romanticized frontier myths, portraying conquest not as heroic glory but as a visceral, myth-shattering experience that highlighted the beauty and terror of the land. Critics and fans alike echoed this sentiment post-mortem, with outlets like The New York Times noting the film’s role in helping America “make sense of itself” through Redford’s introspective performance. In knowing he had immortalized this epic tale—one that wove personal growth with national allegory—Redford departed with the quiet assurance that his greatest contribution to film would continue to inspire reflections on America’s past, much as the mountains in the movie stood eternal against the horizon.