Film number 15 – Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Where can I begin with this one? To be honest I’m just disappointed and ashamed with myself that I hadn’t seen this film until a few hours ago. I like to consider myself a film buff, I’m generally quite up to date with major film news and tend to watch a great deal of cinema in all genres. The sad fact of the matter is that I rarely go back in time to watch the greats, those films that in fifty years will still be hailed whilst films I love from recent times will slowly begin to fade away. The film is accompanied by a tremendous fan fare, I have never met anyone that said they hate it, in fact the general wealth of enthusiasm that most people have for the film is one of the reasons why I’m embarrassed at not embarking on a viewing until recently.
Now in terms of a review or my thoughts, really in all fairness what good are these? Great people have tackled this film and talked about it in more depth and quality than I ever could even try to compare. Also what hasn’t been said about the movie? Released 43 years ago, it has been embraced and adored for decades. This film doesn’t just have a fan base it has a legacy. So what follows is a bit more self deprecation, but after that is my very brief analysis, thoughts and opinions that can never do justice to what is and will always be a genuine masterpiece of film making.
So before I begin I apologize about the abundance of nice sounding words that will feature. It’s actually far easier to talk about a horrible film then a great one, with a bad film the things to talk about are endless, there are lots of things to talk about with a great film as well, and the only problem is that it is hard to do it without sounding like an ass kisser.
The film opens charmingly with a great old reel of Butch and Sundance in action, it’s a great little credit sequence and it works brilliantly. This also begins what is an interesting theme that runs throughout of really bringing these characters to life. The film begins in a sepia tone that along with the old footage in the credit sequence already solidifies them as legends. You could have no idea that these people were actually real and would already feel a sense of mythology and folklore. That is not to say that these characters feel fictional but rather that the movie has managed to solidify these characters reputation and tell us a great amount about their back story within the first five minutes. These techniques have allowed more characterization to be shown within the first five minutes than some films can't manage for the entire running length.
The introduction to our two protagonists is masterful; instead of being full of flashy camera work, freezes and witty punch liners like we would expect to see from our contemporary films, the meeting here is full of atmosphere but doesn’t take ages to develop it. Sundance is an instant badass, sitting nice and quietly at the card table, you feel the tension instantly within a few words. His little tick about being asked to stay in order so that he can leave also helps to show he isn’t a blood thirsty criminal, it also shows the dynamic between these two well. Then walking away mature and restrained is a classic little convention, shows good character and a great sense of, NO WAIT FUCK YOU! Sundance pulls out his gun, shoots the guys weapon out of the holster then fire it across the room. How awesome is this, who knows what tone they are trying to get with this scene but it defiantly works. It is a wonderful transition into color as Butch and Sundance begin traveling across the beautiful and epic landscapes.
The cinematography is already amazing and it stays at this high caliber all the way through. It feels as if every shot, every movement the camera makes has a tremendous amount of thought and care put in. The landscape really isn’t that hard to make beautiful but the composition is epic in every sense, great sweeping shots of the two heroes galloping across the desert, every angle backs up all the peril that we need to feel.
The script by William Goldman, is sharp throughout, nothing seems pointless or boring, Never a corny phrase uttered. The pacing is strong and the plotting unravels in a very natural way, It’s a simple narrative but incredibly entertaining. The robberies have a really exciting construction to them, it’s not long and overblown, and never really glorified or seen as an important part of the film, this is because it’s not important, the film is very much about these two characters. It’s a believable relationship as well there is a huge sense of friendship but it is not over done. When watching the special features there is an interview with Goldman where he talks about the humor and tone of the film; apparently the first cut of the film that was screened had a giant amount of laughter in every scene. When they re cut the film a lot of the humor was taken out, because of this the film achieves a great tone that seems hard to ever replicate. I would be very interested to read the script and see what was changed and what stayed the same.
Goldman had to do a lot of research when he was writing the film and there is not a lot known about The Sundance Kid, he had to try and recreate a whole story and persona nearly from scratch but the high level of characterization is not just seen in Sundance. most of the characters in the film are so noble and loyal, at times it’s hard to believe they're even bank robbers. These high morals and ethics often come with some of the films most humorous and poetic moments. One of my favorites is whilst a man tries to gather local support to go against the Hole in the wall gang, he makes a big speech to which another local comes up on stage and tries to sell a bicycle! Then there’s also Woodcock, the guy who won’t leave his post to defend the safe on the train from robbery, another highly noble character, “Butch, you know that if it were ‘my’ money, there is nobody that I would rather have steal it than you. But, you see, I am still in the employment of E. H. Harriman, of Union Pacific Railroad.” Now rarely do we get to see so many great supporting characters as well in the film. The heroin of the film played by Katherine Ross is wonderful as well, Goldman said that he never wanted that character to be the "women in trouble all the time" and so he wrote her character to do all the smart and clever things and never seem helpless. You get the idea that she genuinely loves Sundance and we can see how difficult it is for her to leave them when she knows that they will die.
The action is so epic and built up so well you can’t look away; there is basically a 25 minute chase sequence that never lets up and just keeps getting more suspenseful throughout. It’s all well done and leads beautifully into a photo montage showing the gang’s journey to Bolivia. It would have been quite interesting to show some of the fun travels that they were having along the way, the photos that are shown just look like a good time. There is probably a wealth of reasons why this was not included, one to try and recreate these giant period scenes in New York would have been astronomical in cost, another possible reason, and one that I can really respect is that to show these moments would have detracted from the story, may have been fun to see but ultimately detrimental. The film culminates beautifully in a stand off where the two end up going against a giant army, it is a fitting, beautifully poetic ending, bittersweet and exciting. The suspense builds instantly from the first gunshot to the last, perfectly constructed and well done; it really is the perfect way to end the film showing these characters going out fighting guns blazing becoming a still photograph and a legend.
How could you talk about this film without mentioning the music, maybe one of the most well known songs of all time “Raindrops” finally makes sense to me, I understand it all now! What a great use and who would ever expect to see a western scored with the music of Burt Bacharach and also who would ever expect it to work so well? If you had any doubts about the tone of the film the score solidifies it, never over done and always complementing the scene. Along with the music the editing is just as well done, we get to see the overused clichéd montage before it became overused and clichéd; spot on beautiful moments of time, and not just the bicycle scenes. My only criticism would be that instead of showing a whole robbery in Bolivia we see them in all in a giant montage; I feel that this could have been a great time to show the Sundance Kid’s gun prowess. This is a minor quibble though that I would have easily forgot about had I not been taking notes.
The directing is brilliant, George Roy Hill has covered all the bases, you can feel that someone is putting an extreme amount of care in to this film, and the acting from everyone is perfect. It actually almost makes you sad to watch the skill of everyone involved in this film, knowing that this film probably cannot be made in this day and age. Are there two actors out there that could even compare to Newman and Redford? Who could direct this film today and take these risks? A true product of its time and one that will never fade away.
The first perfect 10 of the summer.
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