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Farewell, Sundance – how Robert Redford changed cinema forever

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I first encountered Hollywood’s forever ‘golden boy’ on 70s TV soap Coronation Street. No, it wasn’t a fleeting cameo but an off the cuff remark by landlady Bet Gilroy: “If you have a hot date with Robert Redford, cancel it.” I may have been only seven or eight years old, but for years after I wondered who was this Robert Redford fella?

I was about twelve when I finally found out. But now (spoiler alert!) the Sundance Kid was dead, along with Butch Cassidy. The credits rolled on our TV. Their freeze-frame massacre wasn’t even dry on my brain when my mum confidently said the producers of the film had actually killed themselves due to their regret at being unable to make sequels following the film’s huge success.

Robert Redford has since never left my horizon, introducing from then a certain medium cool existential handsomeness into my life. And fabulous hair. With the deepest respect and affection, I remain convinced that consistency in his hair has been one of the two backbones to a lasting career. The camera embraced him for decades, through transformation from ’60s blonde golden boy to ’70s dirty blond, subverting his persona at every turn. Redford countered his looks with his second strength: retention. This is one of the reasons his films are very rewatchable – Redford holds back. This almost seems like a reflection of old Hollywood leading men like Shane’s Alan Ladd, using their limitations to their advantage – except with Redford it wasn’t a limitation, it was a choice. Like when he chooses to test the electric torture box on himself in 1980’s underappreciated prison drama Brubaker, I was a bit confused at his stoicism, that he wasn’t screaming on the floor. Watching with me, my firefighter dad reassured me electric shocks really hurt. Your hair can even catch fire. This was never going to happen to Robert Redford.

Redford in his last leading role, in The Old Man And The Gun (2018)

When your name becomes a byword for handsome, as his did in the seventies and eighties, you’d imagine untold millions are on offer to portray ‘conventional’ movie star roles – more often then not, Redford took a more interesting route. When he did play by-the-numbers leads, in 1986’s Legal Eagles, for example, that was as a paycheck replacement for gone-to-the-hills Bill Murray. By then Redford was up to his neck in saving cinema – or at least extending its life – by founding the now-legendary Sundance Festival, which ushered in a new golden age of American independent film. I don’t think it can be understated how important Sundance became in keeping cinema in the public eye for decades beyond the peaks of old and new Hollywood. It’s impact on Hollywood was like a heart bypass, giving careers to new generations of fresh talent in front and behind the camera. It could be argued Robert Redford has had as much an impact on cinema as any of the great masters, based solely on his success in keeping cinema relevant. Perhaps that even trumps his filmography? Considering he starred in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, All The President’s Men and Three Days of the Condor, I don’t say that lightly.

If you haven’t already, I would recommend the ultimate Redford ‘loner’ double feature of Jeremiah Johnson (1972) and All Is Lost (2013). Not only for the parallel visions of one man surviving alone at nature’s mercy, but there are more than forty years between those films, yet he effortlessly swims and hikes from one to the other – or at least makes it feel effortless. Robert Redford did what cinema does best: he held back time. But that wasn’t enough. So he subverted his god-given handsomeness and reset American cinema, far away from Hollywood. Now that’s a legend.

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Giorgio Armani creations interplay with Italian masterpieces at new Milan exhibition

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“Giorgio Armani, Milano, for love’’ at the Brera Art Gallery opens today, mere weeks after the celebrated designer’s death at the age of 91.

Featuring 129 Armani looks from the 1980s through the present day, the exhibition places his creations among celebrated Italian masterpieces by such luminaries as Raphael and Caravaggio.

It is one of a series of Milan Fashion Week events that were planned before Armani’s death, to highlight his transformative influence on the world of fashion.

“From the start, Armani showed absolute rigor but also humility not common to great fashion figures,’’ said the gallery’s director Angelo Crespi. “He always said that he did not want to enter into close dialogue with great masterpieces, like Raphael, Mantegna, Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca.’’ 

Instead, the exhibition aims to create a symbiosis with the artworks, with the chosen looks reflecting the mood of each room without interrupting the flow of the museum experience – much the way Armani always intended his apparel to enhance and never overwhelm the individual.

A long blue asymmetrical skirt and bodysuit ensemble worn by Juliette Binoche at Cannes in 2016 neatly reflects the blue in Giovanni Bellini’s 1510 portrait “Madonna and Child”; a trio of underlit dresses glow on a wall opposite Raphael’s “The Marriage of the Virgin”; the famed soft-shouldered suit worn by Richard Gere in American Gigolo, arguably the garment that launched Armani to global fame, is set among detached frescoes by Donato Bramante. Every choice in the exhibition underscores the timelessness of Armani’s fashion. 

Armani himself makes a cameo, on a t-shirt in the final room, opposite the Brera’s emblematic painting “Il Bacio” by Francesco Hayez. 

“When I walk around, I think he would be super proud,’’ said Anoushka Borghesi, Armani’s global communications director. 

Armani’s fashion house confirmed a series of events this week that Armani himself had planned to celebrate his 50th anniversary. They include the announcement of an initiative to support education for children in six Southeast Asian, African and South American countries. The project, in conjunction with the Catholic charity Caritas, is named “Mariu’,’’ an affectionate nickname for Armani’s mother.

In a final farewell, the last Giorgio Armani collection signed by the designer will be shown in the Brera Gallery on Sunday, among looks he personally chose to represent his 50-year legacy.

“Giorgio Armani – 50 Years” opened to the public today at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy. The exhibition lasts until 11 January 2026.

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The last day of doomsday: What is the viral ‘RaptureTok’ trend?

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If you’re reading this today, Wednesday 24 September 2025 could be the last day before the end of the world as you know it.

If you’re reading this tomorrow, you weren’t blipped out of existence and good luck with all the rebuilding. Please do better.

Confused? We’ve got you covered.

According to the more holy corners of TikTok, it has been prophesized that yesterday – or today, they couldn’t make their minds up on which one, so just go with it – is the day of the Rapture.

For the filthy heathens among you, that’s the long-awaited end-time event when Jesus Christ returns to Earth, resurrects all dead Christian disciples and brings all believers “to meet the Lord in the air.”

It wasn’t yesterday, clearly, so today’s the day… And turn off that R.E.M. song, this is serious.

This all stems from South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela, who claimed that the Rapture will occur on 23 or 24 September 2025. Mhlakela said that this knowledge came directly from a dream he had in 2018, in which Jesus appeared to him. Mhlakela reiterated all of this on 9 September in an interview with CettwinzTV and since then, the prophecy has become a viral sensation on TikTok.

Many individuals on the social media platform have taken this literally and very seriously, with more than 350,000 videos appearing under the hashtag #rapturenow – leading to the trend / popular subsection dubbed ‘RaptureTok’. 

Some videos mock the prophecy, but you don’t have to scroll for too long to find those who are completely convinced that it’s happening today.

There’s advice on how to prepare; tips on what to remove from your house should certain objects contain “demonic energy”; and testimonies of people selling their possessions. One man, who goes by the name Tilahun on TikTok, shared a video last month, in which he said he was selling his car in preparation for the big day. “Car is gone just like the Brides of Christ will be in September,” he said.

One woman in North Carolina was live recording yesterday from the Blue Ridge Mountains, fervently keeping an eye on any holy activity in the sky. Another claimed that her 3-year-old started speaking in Hebrew, thereby confirming that it’s all legit. 

Some more distressing videos include American evangelicals saying goodbye to their children for the last time… We won’t share those, as they’re actually quite depressing.

It’s hard to completely blame TikTok users for wanting the final curtain to drop, as things aren’t going too great down here on Earth. That being said, it’s worth noting that the Bible never actually mentions the Rapture; it’s a relatively recent doctrine that originates from the early 1800s, one which has gained traction among fundamentalist theologians – specifically in the US, where everything is fine, civil conversation is alive and well, no one’s worried, and they’re all enjoying their “God-given freedoms”.

So, if the Rapture does come to pass, we here at Euronews Culture will be eating a whole concrete mixer full of humble pie. If it doesn’t, see you tomorrow, and do spare a thought for those who are going to be very disappointed on Thursday 25 September. 

And if extra-terrestrial beings followed Tara Rule’s advice (see below), thank you alien visitors for joining in on the fun. And if you could provide some much-needed guidance on how to do better, that would be grand.

Only a few more hours left to find out…

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‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion sees James Van Der Beek make surprise appearance amid cancer battle

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