Sunday, June 19, 2011

#73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

I was told by a coworker that I would enjoy this one, and I definitely did. This movie redeemed Westerns for me. Despite being a seemingly traditional Western with gunfights and violence, it had humor, sarcasm, catchy (but odd) music, and even a tiny bit of romance.

Though it wasn't an incredibly intense movie to me, it was enjoyable to watch. I honestly wasn't ready for it to end. I didn't know the story of the actual Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, and Etta Place (the schoolteacher/prostitute who moved to South America with the outlaws,) and I had no expectations of what would happen. The actual Butch and Sundance were members of the "Wild Bunch" in the late 1800's/early 1900's, and no one knows how their story ended.

Interestingly, since The Wild Bunch came out a few months before Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they changed their gang name to "Hole-in-the-Wall Bunch" so people wouldn't confuse the films. This movie was better than The Wild Bunch in every way imaginable, especially with casting. Paul Newman and Robert Redford were amazingly talented, memorable in their roles, and looked different enough for me to tell them apart!

Rating: 7/10

Big Names: Paul Newman (Butch), Robert Redford (Sundance), Katharine Ross (Etta, also the girl in The Graduate), Cloris Leachman (only realized she was Agnes, the prostitute, after I saw her name in the credits and looked it up on IMDB)

Big Lines:
(during the last gunfight of the film, when they're running low on ammunition)
Butch: We're going to run out unless we can get to that mule and get some more.
Sundance Kid:  I'll go.
Butch: This is no time for bravery. I'll let ya!

Big Songs:
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by Burt Bacharach

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