Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is one of those movies that makes you realize how much is missing from modern movies. Don’t get me wrong- I’m all for what Marvel is putting out there, adore that galaxy far, far away, and dinosaurs still entertain me, but we don’t get a whole lot of character-driven entertainment such as what is on display in George Roy Hill’s wonderful western adventure. These movies are representative of a different era where movies revolved around characters, and big movie stars, over ideas, but in the past 20 years, that has kind of disappeared, for the most part, and it’s unfortunate. Movies like “Butch Cassidy” are the ones that help us remember what makes movies special to begin with.
My mom first showed me “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1994 shortly after Richard Donner’s “Maverick” came out. The through line between the two films, aside from being westerns, was screenwriter William Goldman, who won an Oscar for “Butch Cassidy.” This was one of her favorites films, and it is easy to see why. The film has effortless charm in the form of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, a delightful story to tell, and knows how to put it all together with a sense of fun that is hard to resist.
The film begins with a silent film reel chronicling the life, and death, of the Hole in the Wall Gang led by Butch Cassidy (Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Redford), before we see Butch entering a bank to case the joint while Sundance plays (and cheats) at cards. Something about the bank’s routine has changed, and it’s got Butch uneasy when he goes to Sundance, and they head back to their gang. Their gang, by the way, is ready to revolt against them, however, although they have a pretty good idea of robbing a train going that Butch, the idea man, likes, and sets in motion. That goes off without a hitch, and they decide, “We’ll get them on the flip side,” but the authorities have other ideas, leaving them on the run, and having to figure out their play if they’re going to continue doing what they’re doing.
The enjoyment contained within George Roy Hill’s film begins with Newman and Redford, and these two icons are a pleasure together, and I cannot wait to finally see their other collaboration with Hill for “A Movie a Week” next year, “The Sting.” This is them young, full of life, and given material to play that lets them really have some fun and play to their strengths as performers. There’s a third wheel at the center of this film that makes it work and that’s Katherine Ross as Etta Place, a school teacher who’s been friends with the pair for a while, and is Sundance’s lover. She doesn’t have a big role but she’s an important emotional element in the film to keep us engaged with Butch and Sundance as the law seems to get closer and closer. Yes, it’s very much a “romantic interest” role, but Ross makes it shine through with warmth as we see her interact with the pair, Sundance when he makes a late night visit to her house, and Butch when he shows up the next day with a bike, and the pair go riding as the great “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” plays through the montage. One of the things I forgot about this film is how unconventional it feels when it comes to telling this story. In addition to the silent film reel at the beginning, we see the trio as they try and get away from the authorities out west in New York, and then Bolivia. Rather than film a montage in New York, though, we see them in still photographs as they take in turn of the Century New York in sepia tone, and it’s just as engaging as the “Raindrops” montage because of not only how Hill and Goldman sell it, but how we’ve already become so enthralled with the story that we just accept the way they’re telling it. I loved every minute of this film.
Watching movies like this again remind me of the sort of films that Hollywood is legitimately great at when they take care, and put all the pieces together. It starts with the script by Goldman- responsible for an all-time favorite of mine in “The Princess Bride” with Rob Reiner- and continues with a steady hand at director in Hill, stars in Newman, Redford and Ross, and a story worth telling. Within that story are so many wonderful moments. Woodcock trying to do his job while seemingly admiring Butch a little bit. Butch in bed with Agnes while hiding out from the police with Sundance watching out. The opening scene with Sundance. The montage between Butch and Etta on the bike. Butch and Sundance on the run. This movie is a pure delight from frame one, and it’s one of those films where you are grateful that it stands the test of time so handily.
