Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [M]

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are the infamous outlaws and leaders of the Hole In the Wall Gang, making a fine living on robbing banks and trains. But when a train robbery goes a little too over-the-top, Butch and Sundance are forced to flee with an unrelenting posse of law enforces hot on their trail. Now the only two left of the Gang, Butch and Sundance make for Bolivia with Sundance’s lover Etta, and begin life again as bank robbers, although finding the communications barrier a bit more of a challenge. And all the while, the law is right on their backs and will not stop hunting them until they’ve breathed their last breath. 

One of the most interesting and somewhat satirical Westerns to date, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a very well-balanced film based on true events and characters and really brought the bickering buddy picture into a league of its own. 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are the infamous outlaws and leaders of the Hole In the Wall Gang, making a fine living on robbing banks and trains. But when a train robbery goes a little too over-the-top, Butch and Sundance are forced to flee with an unrelenting posse of law enforces hot on their trail. Now the only two left of the Gang, Butch and Sundance make for Bolivia with Sundance’s lover Etta, and begin life again as bank robbers, although finding the communications barrier a bit more of a challenge. And all the while, the law is right on their backs and will not stop hunting them until they’ve breathed their last breath. 

William Goldman’s Academy Awarding-winning screenplay brought romance, charm, and satirical and light-hearted comedy to a genre that generally was all about violence, action, and plundering (when you think about it, cowboys and bandits were the next evolutionary stage of pirates). The reworking of the two leading men into characters of charisma and charm (something the real outlaws were not) was a wonderful move considering that this is a film where the audience needs to be rooting for the bad guys. 

Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy delivered a wonderful performance as the brains behind all operations. He was charming, gentle, and human; a complete 180-degree turn away from his co-star, Robert Redford as Sundance Kid. Robert played the brooding, gun-toting cowboy exceedingly well causing audiences to both be repelled and intrigued by him. 

The other thing that makes this movie so interesting and rather un-Western is the soundtrack composed by Burt Bacharach. When you think of a Western soundtrack, you think cavalry trumpets, bugles, and that haunting flute tune from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. But the soundtrack that backed this movie was filled with vocal scatting harmonies and, of course, that famous scene of the bicycle ride set against Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. How un-Western is that? 

I also have to draw attention to the wonderful cinematography. Conrad Hall’s sepia hues and immortal freeze frames brought that needed touch of class and authenticity to the film, and I really loved it.  

Starring Katherine Ross, George Furth, Cloris Leachman, Ted Cassidy, Strother Martin, and Kenneth Mars, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a wonderful and very clever film packed with action, violence, romance, and comedy. Although it’s probably one of the most un-Western Westerns you’ll ever see, it’s still wonderfully clever and charming.