Film Review: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

     Now I'll just begin by admitting that I am not the world's biggest fan of Western films. I began watching this movie with low expectations and a fair dose of resentment. However, George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid truthfully surprised me in a lot of ways. The film used sophisticated tools regarding visual and auditory aesthetics that I haven't seen used before, and co-stars Paul Newman (Butch) and Robert Redford (Sundance) gave an unflinchingly solid performance as a classic, witty best-friend duo. But looking past these well-executed aspects, I found the film as a whole to be frequently monotonous and dull.

     At about halfway in, we watch outlaws Butch and Sundance fleeing to Bolivia to escape a group of men hired to have them killed. Up to this point, I found the movie to have exceeded my expectations. Sadly, those expectations sunk to a new low when the chase scene seemed to replay over and over again. We would see the posse of killers on the horizon, and our outlaw friends would ride off on their horses. Again and again. The scene seemed almost comically long to me, and I found myself distracted and uninterested in the film. Once my interest in the plot was lost, it was not recovered, and I felt relieved when the movie finally drew to a close. Despite this disappointing lull in the final half of the story line, I want to switch gears to highlight the aspects I really enjoyed.

     The soundtrack in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was not only refreshingly original, but perfectly timed. The way the music was featured did an amazing job flattering the mood of each scene. Multiple times throughout the film, an upbeat song would play whilst the outlaw duo did something immoral or illegal- for example, robbing a train. The music would add glorious comedy to the act, making their endeavors seem joyous and exciting. I found myself growing very fond of the criminals, and even taking their side. During one train robbery, the music ceased for a moment so we could hear the roaring sound of dynamite exploding, then immediately began again as the money of the exploded safe came raining down on Butch's Hole in the Wall Gang- seen in Image I below. The clever timing of the songs were brilliant, and managed to bring a smile to my face each time.

Image I.

     The choice to begin the film in a classic sepia-tone was certainly an intriguing one, and I really enjoyed the concept. In the opening, we see a vintage, sepia film reel with the movie's credits, which draws us back to the late 1890's, indirectly informing us of the time-period. Then throughout the movie, as the men began to roam the hills of Wyoming, the film becomes full-color. This is the only movie other than Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz (1939) that I have seen make this aesthetic choice. Bearing in mind that this is my personal interpretation, I see this choice as a wonderful attempt to bring the audience closer to the story. By beginning with a sepia-tone, we are very clear on the setting and we get the authentic feel of the time period. But as we get involved in the plot, the full-color palette gives the film more freedom of expression, which we as audience members enjoy. In addition, the film-makers made the choice to return the final still-image of the film to sepia-tone, as we hear the hundreds of gun-shots directed at our beloved outlaws. (Image II.) In addition, I imagine the color scheme is also a tactic to essentially out-date the characters. As the setting and objects become more advanced, the outlaws find themselves "behind the times," and needing to catch up with the changing world, which ultimately drives them to Bolivia in an attempt to achieve new found success. One example of this, other than the change in color, would be the scene where the train's safe has become more high-tech, and the gang is unable to use their normal methods to rob the money, so they end up overcompensating and destroying a portion of the train with dynamite, as we saw above.

The last moment of the film, when the image goes back to sepia tone, was another example of fabulous audio usage- due to the gunshots, we knew exactly what was happening, but the image was frozen, so we were forced to fill in the blanks ourselves. The return to sepia-tone was in itself poignant as well, because it brought the movie full-circle, and audiences are able to draw themselves away from the story and feel satisfied.

Image II.

   The truth is, the ending was satisfying and many aspects of this movie were expertly executed. But unfortunately, there were also many drawn-out moments that completely removed me from the action throughout. All-in-all, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid exceeded my expectations as a Western film through its innovative usage of visual and auditory aesthetics, but failed to captivate me entirely.

Film

Butch Cassidy and the The Sundance Kid. (1969). [film] George Roy Hill.

The Wizard of Oz. (1939). [film] Victor Fleming.

Text

Barsam, Richard. Looking at Movies: With Dvd & Wam3. S.l.: Ww Norton &, 2012. Print.

Images

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.