Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Reviews

At some point,  I bought this movie on DVD but, for some reasons, I sold it afterwards which is too bad because it could have been pretty neat to re-watch it (on the other hand, I think it is available on Netflix so I should be able to watch it again whenever I want).  Anyway, it is probably regarded as one of the best Westerns ever made and I believe it really deserves this reputation. Indeed, back then Robert Redford was still an upcoming actor and it is with this movie that he would become a major movie star, especially in the 70’s. Eventually, it would be a great masterstroke to combine him with Paul Newman as they had together some great chemistry. In fact, this combinaction was so awesome that this movie became the inspiration for virtually all the buddy movies that came afterwards. Eventually, a few years later, George Roy Hill would try to give the same gimmick with ‘The Sting’, also starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and even though it would be again a big critical and commercial success, I thought it was a decent watch but not much more than that. To conclude, coming back to our main feature,  it is pretty much a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid opens with a title card that reveals "most of what follows is true". That title card is accurate. In reality, there were two men named Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They really did rob banks in addition to trains.

The filmmakers executed substantial research before getting involved with the project with the intention that they could make the movie as accurate as possible. No-one will ever know what actually happened of course (apart from the two men), but the film was never meant to be an in-depth history lesson. The filmmakers are allowed to get away with inventing some creative dialogue. Even if the two men were alive today they wouldn't be able to know what they said word for word.

Butch Cassidy on the Sundance Kid tells an engrossing, funny, fast-paced tale of the two historical figures in the form of a western. Butch Cassidy (Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Redford) are the two leaders of a gang of thieves. The two men are exceedingly proficient in their main area of aptitude - for Butch it's ideas and brains, for Sundance it's his ability with a firearm. When their gang commit a few too many robberies a special posse is organised with the objective of eliminating the two outlaws.

The plot is a complex of interesting sub-plots with the main objective in mind of chronicling the rise and fall of the protagonists. However the film is not powered by the plot - it's powered by the fantastic performances and great character development.

The film runs at a brisk 105 minutes and moves at an invigorating pace. There are a lot of exciting western shoot-outs and engaging robbery scenes. The film works because there's always something interesting to exhibit on the screen. The film was crafted beautifully; each shot has been framed with style, each location looks gorgeous. And above all the costumes and props look highly authentic. The costume donned by each character looks genuinely stunning. And the atmosphere is spectacular. It's easy to find yourself immersed in the action occurring on the screen because every detail you see is impenetrably hard to fault. The film won an Oscar for Best Cinematography with good reasoning!

I was very impressed with the performances from all the actors. Paul Newman makes a realistic Butch Cassidy. He looks like a person who would use his brains rather than brawn. Newman's dialogue is snappy and fascinating. Kudos to Newman for pulling off yet another great performance! Robert Redford has the look of a gun-touting outlaw.

The film's atmosphere is also established skilfully by director George Roy Hill. It's his direction coupled with the fantastic cinematography that gets the audience engrossed in the film. Within the first 10 minutes I was already hooked.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a classic western that is witty, funny and entertaining. In the film you'll find both action and humour; a prize-winning combination for a western. Don't be put off by its age. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is quite simply one of the most breathtaking films in history.