Butch Cassidy et le Kid

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a great film just due to the pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. These two work so well together that the film would have been impressive no matter what. However, with a smart story and great direction by George Roy Hill, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the smash-hit of 1969 as it achieved box office dominance and won more Oscars (four) than any other film that year. It did not win the Best Picture or Best Director Oscars as "Midnight Cowboy" and its director John Schlesinger took home those honors, but it has stood the test of time and is right up there with the other imperative films of that important year ("Midnight Cowboy", "Easy Rider", and "The Wild Bunch"). The two titled characters are two shrewd outlaws who love to rob trains and banks. However, the law has about had it with the outlaws and the two decide that Bolivia is the place they need to be. Also along for the ride is school-teacher Katharine Ross who obviously has feelings for both men. They both want to go straight in Bolivia, but temptation is too big for them and in the end tragedy will occur for the titled characters. Of course this film is based on real people, but so little is known about them that the film-makers were able to take many liberties with the tale. The film-makers went for comedy and action, but it is the drama and the likable characters that make "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" one of the best films produced in the 1960s. 5 stars out of 5.

OK, for those of you who aren't sure whether "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" is a good, or even great movie, just do the following:

Scroll up to "memorable quotes". Go on, do it and then read what follows. I'll be right here when you get back.

Finished? Did you read those lines? THAT, my friends, that and the fact they are spoken by some great actors is what makes this film so wonderful. They are perfectly balanced between being funny, endearing and also revealing about the characters. There's genuine emotion and warmth in a lot of that.

Conrad Hall, George Roy Hill, Burt Bacharach et al all contributed marvelously but I love the cast; such quality and for some of them, in small, but memorable roles: George Furth, Ted Cassidy, Kenneth Mars, Strother Martin, Katherine Ross and the stars at the top; Newman and Redford who did perfect justice to Goldman's script.

One of the best and most-liked films of the 1960s, this is still a fun movie to watch today. When I saw this on DVD on a nice flat-screen set, I was amazed how good this looked. I had seen it several times before on VHS and hadn't realized how good this was photographed. I just discovered Conrad Hall was the cinematographer, which explains it. Few, if any, were better than him.

One remembers this western for several things: the two leads looking over their shoulders incredulous that their pursers seem to be always there; Paul Newman riding a bicycle to the tune of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," the beautiful Katharine Ross, the chemistry of Newman and Robert Redford as a two-man team, on and on. Those three lead actors, with the repartee between them, and the likability of each, make them fun to watch as they dominate this picture.

It's just solid entertainment and another example of good film-making that doesn't need a lot of R-rated material to make it successful. Photography-wise, the western scenery was great, there were some wonderful closeup shots and I really liked the tinted old-time footage inserted in here.

So, when you combine all the elements, it's no surprise this film won so many awards and endures so well.

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is rightfully hailed as one of the greatest westerns ever made, although much of the movie takes place in South America. It is a great look at two likeable outlaws, full of witty dialogue and exciting action sequences.

Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and The Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) are two bank robbers, chased by the law. The plot follows them as they travel to Bolivia after a railroad president hires a posse to hunt them do. The story is mostly composed of short pieces telling a little story about them. There is really no connection all the way through, for the most part.

The story isn't about the plot, however. It is about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is a close look at two criminals, the talented Sundance Kid, and Butch Cassidy, the one who does all the thinking. The charisma and screen presence of the two actors and the way they work together is what drives the film. Watching the two interact, with a superb script full of great dialogue, is what makes this movie so exciting.

See this movie if you are a fan of westerns, or just a fan of good movies. It is exciting, superbly made (with lots of interesting silent scenes to music and montages of photographs), but it also has a lot of depth.

**** out of ****

This has got to be one of my favorite westerns. It has everything you could possibly want for every movie fan. They're so many great aspect and I will attempt to display some of them.

The acting, what can I say about it. It was a perfect fit for Redford and Newman who are both friends in the movie and real life. They deliver exhilarating, funny and electrifying performance. It is so great I can't even put it into words. These two actors were robbed of an at least an Oscar nomination. It has to be the biggest Oscar snub ever. Watching this movie my only wish is that Redford and Newman would have done more movies together.

The writing was great and creative. I have never witnessed a movie that was so serious and yet so funny. The writing totally propelled this movie forward. The fact that Butch and Sundance went to Bolivia trying to outrun the law was hilarious. This has got to be some of the best writing ever.

The directing by George Roy Hill was as well amazing displaying the chase scenes and just sitting back and letting the writing and directing take over. But most of all he let Robert Redford and Paul Newman do their thing. You could see that they were both feeding off each other and George Roy Hill never seemed to interrupt their chemistry.

I would advise anyone and everyone to watch this. They are just so many laughs, many fun action scenes and of course Paul Newman and Robert Redford.