#516- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross
Directed by: George Roy Hill
Plot Summary: In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid return to their hideout to reunite with their infamous Hole in the Wall Gang. They proceed to pull off many train heists and become two of the most notorious outlaws in the West. In pursuit of revenge for the heists, E.H. Harriman, the owner of the Union Pacific railroad, has paid a posse to track Butch and Sundance until they are killed. With the help of Sundance's lover, Etta Place, the three escape to Bolivia to begin a new life of crime. Paranoid over being found by Harriman's posse, Butch suggests that he and Sundance give up their life of crime and proceed to live an honest life, so the two get real jobs and while they try their hardest to live honorable lives, they are forced back into a life of crime and admit that the straight life isn't for them.
When it comes to Westerns, there aren't many more famous than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Going into the film, there's enough that I knew about it. I knew about Robert Redford and Paul Newman, Burt Bacharach doing the film's score, the song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," and a handful of iconic scenes. What else is there to know about the film? I knew that when I finally sat down to watch this one, that I'd be watching a Western with great acting performances from two of the best actors of that era. But, is that all that the film has going for it?
The film stars one of the greatest teams in film history, with perfect comedic timing and a proper dichotomy of personalities. On one half of the spectrum is Butch Cassidy, played by Paul Newman. Butch is crafty and intelligent, relying little on his skills with a firearm and more on his quick thinking and speaking skills. He has a very clean cut look to him that is befitting of the classical leading men in Hollywood. His skills are complemented by the Sundance Kid, played by Robert Redford. Redford plays Sundance as a rugged "bad boy" type of outlaw that was more modern and up-to-date with what was popular with moviegoers. He has some of the quickest shooting skills in the world and uses his sarcasm to get his humor across. Together, the two are able to play characters that bicker and interact with each other like that of best friends (or a married couple, either way).Butch and Sundance receive unexpected help from their partner and friend, Etta Place, played by Katherine Ross. Etta doesn't bring as much to the table as her male counterparts, and could even be considered a bit on the bland side. The only thing she offers to the plot is her relationship with Sundance, and a teased potential relationship with Butch that could be developed (we'll label it "platonish" for all my How I Met Your Mother fans out there). However, her characters is fairly harmless or a detriment to our two protagonists.
With great performances from Newman and Redford, the film does not NEED to have a cohesive and innovative plot. The film plays out like a bunch of chapters from Butch and Sundance's lives, reminiscent of film serials. Intertwined with the perfect blend of action, suspense, romance, and comedy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a film that propelled two young actors into iconic status, which has helped boost the film's popularity throughout the years. Its biggest contribution to the Western genre was by taking a familiar genre and adding a modern attitude through its main characters, giving us non-traditional outlaws that instantly became moviegoer favorites in the category of iconic on-screen duos.Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Thanks to the charismatic star power of Newman and Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a film that is often cited as one of the most important Westerns in film history and pop culture. For that, this is one film everyone should see once, and one all Western lovers should own in their collection.
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Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox
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