Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid keeps Paul Newman a top star. It makes Robert Redford a movie star. It is the crowning achievement of George Roy Hill’s directing career. This film keeps with the gritty feel of the 60’s western. It breaks type a little, by adding a lot of humor. It does stay true to form with more than a little violence.
Paul Newman and Robert Redford play Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There were many who moved westward, working hard to get a good life. Butch and Sundance don’t fit into this category. They decided that robbing banks and trains, fit their career goals. They are somewhat successful, until a robbery goes wrong. A posse is formed, and the robbers are doggedly pursued. They decide to jump off a cliff into a raging river. This leads to the best line in the film, “Are you kidding, the fall will kill you.”
Butch and Sundance survive the rapids, and hide out. There is no place that is safe. They come up with a solution. They go to Bolivia. The person accompanying them, is Etta Pace, (Katharine Ross). She seems to be involved in a triangle with them. The three of them seem to be expecting a little slice of heaven. They find instead, a barren land, very upsetting to The Sundance Kid. Despite this, they get to civilization, and continue their lawless ways. They become wanted outlaws, once they get past the language barrier. Etta Pace knows what happens to criminals, and leaves. The two friends are trapped while in a cantina, but manage to get to a house. They are surrounded, by what appears to be the entire Bolivian army. They’ve been seriously injured exchanging gunfire, and decide life in a Bolivian prison isn’t for them. They load their guns, and run outside. The picture fades to black, and the audience hears gunfire.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, is most famous for its academy award winning song, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head. During the song Paul Newman and Katharine Ross are riding a bicycle. It doesn’t quite fit the film, but did make the charts. Burt Bacharach was a famous songwriter, and his win gave him immortality as a composer. He also won for best soundtrack.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, was nominated for best picture. It lost out to Midnight Cowboy. Inexplicably, its stars received no nominations. This movie as a buddy picture, is exceptional. Newman and Redford at least deserved consideration. Even though they were overlooked, they both later won oscars: Newman as an actor, and Redford as a director. Paul Newman became one of the most famous actors of all time. Robert Redford also became a preeminent actor. He also founded The Sundance Film Festival.
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid has a few slow moments. It is a little odd that still photos are inserted, for an NYC trip. It is worth watching for the award winning cinematography, by Conrad L. Hall. William Goldman wrote the snappy dialogue, and won an academy award for it. The last part of the film is worth the wait. The final moments are intense, with Sundance providing cover for Butch. There are three standalone westerns from 1969; The Wild Bunch, True Grit and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This movie is a western that could almost qualify as satire. It is worthy ending to films from the sixties.