Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Directed by: George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford

***1/2

I fee like its been about a month since I've been able to sit down and watch a movie. Today, I chose Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from my DVD selection to get the ball rolling again. I've not seen the film since my first viewing and hesitated watching it for whatever reason since owning it as part of my Paul Newman collector set but I'm glad I did because in a way, its really your quintesential western, and its good.

I've seen enough of Paul Newman and Robert Redford to appreciate how natural, talented and compatible they are. There are a few combinations of acting talents whom you could pair up to create the repore you get from Newman and Redford as Cassidy and Sundance but something about these two really works. There is something about them that seems like they could stroll out of the old west into the depression era and run a con on a rich New Yorker. They have such a consistant banter, connection and level of sympathy that they are pretty much a perfect pair.

All this aside, the film itself falls slightly short of being great. Katherine Ross, who's work I love gives the film another dimension. Unfortunately, in doing so, creates a very one dimensional character. We get no background on her or her relationships with Butch and Sundance other than the fact that she probably sleeps with both of them. Making up for this is the levels within the relationship between Butch and Sundance themselves. They seem to be two pees in a pod but we learn that they aren't always honest with each other, that they have their own motives and intentions for what they do and how they act. While they come as a pair, they are very much individuals. As much success as they've had robbing trains and banks, the reality is that they hold each other back.

This movie could be considered as a film about friendship and loyalty above all else but I would argue it focuses more on ignorance and self indulgence. Its not until Butch and Sundance realize that they need each other that they can succeed, and by then, its too late. Butch is the smart one and Sundance has the fast draw. To a point, they've each been able to get by with that alone but its the combination of the two that make them both successful robbers and cinematic legends. The brains and the brute has to be one of the oldest pairings in literary history. Butch and Sundance have to be one of the best examples.

There are points during the film where I was taken out... Butch and Elda (Ross) riding on a bicylce to the tune of "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" was awkward for lack of a better term. Hill is clearly known for using music that doesn't necessarily match the period in which he's recreating but in The Sting, the music works. This bit of song didn't seem to do much other than draw out a conflict that could have been created with a line of dialogue. Also, Butch and Sundance's competition for Elda never really takes off or lasts.

Some poor use of music and a one dimensional love interest are really the only complaints I have for this film. That being the case, I still can't classify it as great but it is way above average and certainly a landmark western. The characters alone increase the movies quality ten-fold. Everything aside, the fate of this film is just about the complete opposite of the fate of its characters.