Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Cloris Leachman, Sam Elliott
Directed by: George Roy Hill
Rating: PG
Genre: Western, Adventure, Drama
1969

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Legendary outlaws Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) rob banks and trains at will, relishing in their lifestyle. However, when a determined band of lawmen begin chasing them down, they take to the hills to make a desperate escape.

Review:

Tim: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of those beloved movies that just happened to strike a powerful chord with audiences. I am not disagreeing, because I believe this is a great movie. However, the reason for its greatness lies considerably in its two stars. While there are some other strengths, the film contains some weaknesses as well. Still, this is an entertaining, fun movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.

As I mentioned, this film works so well because of the performances of Pal Newman and Robert Redford. These two actors work so well together. Their comedic timing is impeccable, and they seemed to genuinely have fun together. On screen, there is never a doubt that these two characters are very familiar with each other, and have been friends for a very long time. Everything else in the movie- the characters, the plot, the action- all takes a backseat to watching two terrific actors in their element together. I loved this aspect of the film.

Newman makes a very good Butch Cassidy. He plays him as an intelligent, kind man, who also happens to be a bank robber. His performance is instantly likeable and he exudes a great deal of chemistry on screen. Robert Redford is more restrained in his performance, but he hits all the right notes and has some of the film's funniest moments. The friendship between Butch and Sundance is the fuel that makes this movie go.

There are a number of other strong points to this film. This movie won four deserving Academy Awards- Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Original Screenplay. The cinematography is beautiful and occasionally breathtaking, giving the film an epic feel to it. The music was quite good throughout, and the screenplay was fantastic. I particularly thought the dialogue was billiantly written and just leaps out of the actors' mouths. No doubt about it, George Roy Hill creates a great movie here.

However, I also have to admit I found some faults with the film. I never really cared for any of the montage scenes. I understand why Hill did these, but they just didn't work for me, and I felt like it disrupted the flow of the movie. The same goes for the bicycle scene. In some ways, this was a quiet, beautiful moment of the film. I also appreciate it featured the Academy Award winning "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" song. However, this just felt out of place and too Hollywood for me. I love the song, but I didn't love the placement of the song in the film. I also thought the bicycle scene was too long. Hill gives us a few moments throughout the film that feel prolonged for no good reason. When Butch and Sundance kill the bandits in Bolivia, I thought Hill bumbled that moment immediately after. There are a number of small moments and flaws like this that hurt the movie.

Despite that, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a truly great movie, and a legendary collaboration, featuring terrific performances from two of the greatest actors of all time. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and highly recommend it. This is one of the most entertaining and fun movies I have seen in a long time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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