The Movie Doctor: Movie Review: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"

Movie Review: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”

Now I never was a huge fan of Westerns when I was a kid. I didn’t really pay any attention to them when they were on and as I grew up I kept the same mentality. I never went out of my way to catch a Western on TV or rent it when I was at Blockbuster. That being said I have recently gained a huge interest in Westerns since I have seen The Wild Bunch, The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford, and of course the amazing Unforgiven. In quest of that interest I watched a movie that I heard great praise for, George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The movie follows the bank robbing duo Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford). After robbing the same train with their gang they get into deep trouble and are chased by a gang of officials that will not stop until they are killed. This forces them to move to Bolivia where in the end they eventually face their downfall.

The movie starts by introducing both characters. Cassidy who is checking out a bank for a planned robbery and Sundance who is accused of cheating in a game of cards. From the first scene you immediately get a feel for both characters. Cassidy the fun-loving brains and leader of the operation and Sundance the more serious expert marksman. The way these scenes at the beginning are portrayed via Sephia Tone really gets you interested in who these two people really are. Throughout the story as you get to know more about these character you easily become attached to them. As they face constant trouble the more you become worried for their safety.

The immediate threat they face in the middle of the movie is a gang of officials who all remain faceless in the film and are pretty much represented by a single man with a White Fedora named LeFors. Although he also remains faceless the only reason you know who these men are are the thoughts of Cassidy and Sundance, and although they never officially square off in the film they are an immediate threat.

Another thing that makes this movie so special is these long montages with no audible dialogue between the characters. These montages I notice are presented to go through the happiest times of Cassidy, Sundance and Etta :a friend of Cassidy’s and the love-interest of Sundance. Some of these montages are footage of the group having a great time and one in particular that was great was a montage only displayed in pictures.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford give amazing performances. Newman’s portrayal of Cassidy really makes you feel what the character is feeling in some of the more intense moments of the film. Like when he admitted to Redford how he has actually never shot someone in his life. Redford also plays his character well displaying a rough exterior that seems can only be temporary broken by Etta. The two together have an amazing chemistry that makes the viewer happy to tag along on their journey. From the good times to the unfortunate end.

All in all this is definetly one of the best Westerns ever made and although I still have a lot of catching up to do I have no doubt that this film will be staying high on my list of Westerns films.