Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Another western today. I just can't help it. They're awesome! I think this was recommended to me by someone months and months ago. I think we even put it on a poll, but it never won, so I've taken matters into my own hands and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Paul Newman has been one of those actors that before this year I had never seen him in a single thing. That changed quite a bit and I've now seen several of his movies, many of them very good. I had pretty high hopes for this film simply because he was in it. Find out if I was let down, or justified in my hopes on the other side of the jump!


Everyone has heard of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, right? Well if you haven't, Paul Newman and Robert Redford take up those roles respectively to tell the story of these historical figures. When we join them, they're already the head members of the "Hole in the Wall" gang and successful bank and train robbers. So successful, in fact, that an elite team of trackers and lawmen has been put together specifically to kill them. The majority of the film is about them on the run from this gang across the country and even out of it. But no matter where they go, they are still hunted!

During one train robbery, Butch uses a bit too much dynamite.

Ever since seeing Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke I've been a fan. Since then I've seen him in a few more films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof which was also very good. Newman once again doesn't disappoint in this film, but he was finally back to being a more cheerful character which is how I like him most. Yes, he is also good in the more serious rolls too, but he can just be such a happy and funny guy that it was good to see some of that back.

I last saw Robert Redford in All the President's Men which I also really liked. He plays the young Sundance Kid here, and makes an excellent and believable gunman. He could shoot almost anything I think. He didn't really say too much, but he did have a good working chemistry with Newman which made them a good team. (Note: as I'm looking at their IMDB pages, I've just noticed they both star in The Sting, I must see this!)

The whole "family" in an old-timey photo

For the last of the actors, while she's a bit of a minor character in the grand scheme of things, I thought Katharine Ross as the Sundance Kid's girlfriend, Etta Place, was pretty good. When they decide to go on the run permanently when this new super posse shows up, she goes with them and becomes invaluable to them in their new country of residence.

I'd also like to mention the cinematography... if that's the correct term for what I'm about to bring up. Most of the film is in colour and features some truly great views of the vast open land around them, and several different kinds of land too. But while that's true for most of the movie, there are still large sections that are all sepia coloured, such as the whole opening scene, and a large montage of old-timey looking photos of Butch, Sundance, and Etta in New York City once they really go on the run. Personally, while I get why they did it, to get a visual feel of the times, I just didn't really like those moments. I'm just not a fan of sepia colours.

Stuck between a rock... and a cliff... and a bunch of rifles... this could be bad.

This was a really good movie and had a pretty good ending too. I really liked when they were being tracked by the "super posse" as I like to call it, and there was a great scene that happens just after the picture above. I look forward to more Paul Newman and Robert Redford movies. It's so cool "discovering" movie stars from the past, because you instantly have a whole catalog of films they've already done, ready to be devoured! I'm not sure if I'll have time to watch The Sting before the year is up, but I'll see if I can fit it in!