As hard as it is to believe, this was my first viewing of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Of course I have seen clips of some of the iconic scenes (the bicycle, the jump...) and I knew about the Bolivian shootout, but I really did not know much about the plot line so I was really looking forward to watching it.Thankfully, I was not disappointed. In a number of reviews that I read, the movie was described as "pure entertainment". I would have to say say that I concur. All the Western standards are present; gunfights, train robberies, poker games, posses and dance hall girls. In addition, is has a screenplay that is as funny as it is action packed.
I think what I really enjoyed was the straightforward way that director George Roy Hill let the story play itself out. He didn't fill up the screen with crazy shots or have the actors mugging for the camera to get his point across. Instead he let the beautiful photography, the screenplay and the performances of the actors speak for themselves.
One example of his restraint is the dynamic between Butch, Sundance, and Etta. In a lot of movies the guys would have ended up in a fistfight on a moving train before realizing that nothing, not even the love of a good woman, should ever come between their friendship. In this movie the relationship between them simply is what it is. During the New York photo montage, the shot of Butch watching Sundance and Etta dance tells us everything we need to know.
There are times I watch a movie to learn about something, Sometimes I watch so that I can be moved. Most of the time though, I just want to be entertained. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fits that bill perfectly.
I think that's what I liked about it too. It was just a straightforward, fun movie with great performances that were far from cliche' cowboy stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy father loved Westerns. I think I've seen almost every one ever made. But I've always loved this one. In no small part that my Grandmother was a costumer on this film, and she loved to tell us how rotten all the actors really were...
ReplyDeleteI can look at Patricia at any time she's made a mistake and say, "Next time I say lets go somewhere like Boliva,"
She'll chime in "Lets go somewhere like BOLIVA! Okay."
Favorite line? "Morons. I hired a couple of morons. No one is going to rob us going UP THE MOUNTAIN!!"