What are the best Robert Downey Sr movies and can you stream them?

A new Netflix documentary called Sr is set to hit the streaming platform on Friday (2 December).

It is centred around the late Robert Downey Sr, a filmmaker, and actor. The documentary also explores his work and creativity and personal themes such as fatherhood and trauma.

Downey Sr's relationship with his son, Robert Downey Jr, one of Marvel's finest, is also a major part of the narrative.

"It's really the only way you could attempt to make something on the two Downeys. Larger than life, but open and human as ever, it was such a pleasure and life-affirming experience to capture some glimpses of the highs, lows, and everything in between," said Chris Smith, the film's director.

Downey Jr also produced the film alongside Kevin Ford, Susan Downey and Emily Barclay Ford.

Sr. Trailer #1 (2022)www.youtube.com

Downey Sr passed away on 7 July 2021, aged 85. His death was caused as a result of complications from Parkinson's disease.

At the time, Downey Jr took to Instagram to write a touching tribute to his father's death.

"Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson's..he was a true maverick filmmaker and remained remarkably optimistic throughout," he wrote, in part.

With the upcoming release of Sr, we rounded up a list of some of Downey Sr's best work.

Putney Swope

Putney Swope came out in 1969 and is a satirical comedy film directed by Downey Sr.

The film stars Putney Swope ( played by Arnold Johnson), who is the only Black man on the executive board of an advertising firm.

He is eventually accidentally put in charge following the sudden death of the board's chairman.

Board members voted for him by secret ballot, thinking that he wasn't going to win.

Swope renames the company "Truth and Soul, Inc" and replaces all but one of the white employees with black employees.

The business' success leads to negative attention from the US government and the president (played by Pepi Hermine), believing it's a national security threat.

Nearly 50 years later, in 2016, the Library of Congress preserved the filmin the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

The film can be streamed on Amazon Prime and Peacock.

Chafed Elbows

The odd manic comedy Chafed Elbows came out in 1966 and follows a man from Manhattan having his "annual November breakdown" while he coasts from one job to the next.

The film also touches on things that many might be offended by, such as impersonating a cop, being sold as piece of living art, and marrying his own mother.

Downey photographed a majority of the movie with a still 35mmm camera and cost $12,000 to make.

The film can be streamed on the Criterion Channel's website.

Pound

This 1970 comedy is written and directed by Downey Sr and is about many dogs, a penguin, and a siamese cat waiting to be euthanised. However, all the animals are played by human actors.

This film is also known to be Downey Jr's film debut, in which he played a puppy.

It can be streamed on Amazon Prime.

Sticks and Bones

The dark comedy directed by Downey Sr came out in 1973.

It is about a man called David, a blind Vietnam War veteran who has a hard time coming to terms with his actions in war. He's also found himself alienated from his family because they don't understand the perils he endured in war or can't come to terms with his disability.

.The film is an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play of the same name by David Rabe.

This film can be streamed on Binged.

No More Excuses

For this 1968 film, Downey Sr grabs his camera and microphone and heads out onto the streets (and bedrooms) to take a look at Manhattan's singles scene of the late sixties.

No More Excuses also goes between this footage and a broken-up tale of a time-traveling Civil War soldier, commentary from the director of the fictional society for indecency to naked animals, and more.

This film can be streamed on the Criterion Channel.

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