FILM CHALLENGE: 141) Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

141) Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Director: George Roy Hill

Year: 1969

Plot Summary: Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rock, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them. When they finally escape through sheer luck, Butch has another idea, "Let's go to Bolivia".

In one moment of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Paul Newman is challenged to a duel by a disgruntled gang member who plans a new direction for the thieves. As the man pulls out his knife, exclaiming that there are no rules in a knife fight, our protagonist shrugs before kicking him between the legs and totally immobilizing him. Strangely, this sequence seems to sum up the whole idea of the 1960s classic as Butch Cassidy takes all the conventions of the Western genre and throws them right out the window.

Instead of the usual slow-burning, serious atmosphere that you'd find in Once Upon A Time In The West or The Searchers, we are instead given a sort of buddy movie here with many lighthearted scenes and several moments of comedy. It's a bizarre style, for sure, but it's difficult not to praise both director George Roy Hill and writer William Goldman for such a brave and unique take on the genre.

Particularly funny are the train robbery scenes in which Butch Cassidy and his loyal partner and best friend attempt to steal a railroad company's money, only to find their situation complicated by a needlessly brave employee and an impatient passenger. Similarly, the first bank robbery scene in Bolivia in which they try and communicate to the non-English speaking hostages is a sequence of pure black comedy gold.

Also deserving of praise is legendary cinematographer Conrad L. Hall who gives Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid a gorgeous look, making the most of the open Western terrains and finding beauty in the small towns that populated the land. Hall certainly deserves the Oscar that he won for this.

This unconventional Western doesn't necessarily have anything to say and it does suffer some problems in its storytelling on reflection, but it is nonetheless two hours of great entertainment and film that I'd happily sit though again soon.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 1 comment