Review of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) by Mark K — 21 Dec 2010

One of the most smartly written buddy films of all time, dressed up in period clothing, and with action and heart all rolled into one film. Hill's direction of the big names in this film brought out their best and the best of the script. The collaboration was tight, and the obvious trust of the actors for one another and the production team shows in every frame. It's big entertainment, and purely for escapism purposes.

The story is loosely based on the infamous team of Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) and his Hole In The Wall gang of bank and train robbers. It focuses primarily on Cassidy and Harry "Sundance Kid" Longabaugh, and their later careers and subsequent pursuit by the law. It captures the idea that such bandits were somewhat the celebrities of the times, like Jesse James, but times and technology were finally catching up with these kinds of outlaws.

The movie itself features great scenic work, memorable cinematography, and fascinating use of overlapping vignettes to move the story along without dialogue. The Academy awards for Cinematography and Screenplay are well deserved. The skill of film-making and slick storytelling shows in every frame of this film. On top of that, it was a commercial and critical success.

The duo of Newman and Redford make for a highly entertaining film, with banter, and strangely realistic comraderie, despite the sometimes lopsided humor. The film holds up well despite the 'period' parts of the musical score that instantly transport you into the 1970's, not the 19th century, but the soundtrack also transports you instantly into the heartfelt story. It features memorable characters, exciting chases, gun fights and clever montages of action to carry you along effortlessly. You really don't notice the time speeding by. It's never dull at just around 2 hours. If you haven't seen this film, you'll be missing some great quotes, at the very least.

"Bolivia!".

"I couldn't do that. Could you do that? Why can they do it? Who [i]are[/i] those guys?".

"Morons. I've got morons on my team. Nobody is going to rob us going down the mountain. We have got no money going down the mountain. When we have got the money, on the way back, then you can sweat.".

"How do you know? This might be the garden spot of the whole country. People may travel hundreds of miles just to get to this spot where we're standing now. This might be the Atlantic City, New Jersey of all Bolivia for all you know.".

Etc.

Recommended!!