Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

This 1969 film has never lost its popularity or its unusual appeal as a star-driven Western that tinkers with the genre's conventions and comes up with something both terrifically entertaining and--typical of its period--a tad paranoid. Paul Newman plays the legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy as an eternal optimist and self-styled visionary, conjuring dreams of banks just ripe for the picking all over the world. Robert Redford is his more levelheaded partner, the sharpshooting Sundance Kid. The film, written by William Goldman (The Princess Bride) and directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting), basically begins as a freewheeling story about robbing trains but soon becomes a chase as a relentless posse--always seen at a great distance like some remote authority--forces Butch and Sundance into the hills and, finally, Bolivia. Weakened a little by feel-good inclinations (a scene involving bicycle tricks and the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" is sort of Hollywood flower power), the movie maintains an interesting tautness, and the chemistry between Redford and Newman is rare. (A factoid: Newman first offered the Sundance part to Jack Lemmon.) --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

Poor image definition

What a disappointment!!! I was waiting for the release of this title for more than two months and bought it as soon as I could. However, and despite the quality of the movie, THIS IS NOT A HIGH DEFINITION PRODUCT, as the blu-ray category implicitly suggests. In fact, its image is not better than what is found in ordinary DVDs, and this made me not only quite disappointed, but also worried about my future purchases, as I noticed the same problem in other BD products (concerts, specifically). Anyway, customer surprises could be avoided with a clear indication of the image definition in the BD boxes (as well as in the corresponding catalog of Internet retailers, like Amazon).
July 21, 2008

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

This is a old movie and I really enjoyed it. I've seen it many times and still love it. July 19, 2008

Entertaining and delightful - as westerns go

This is a very entertaining and delightful western to watch.

If you are looking for historical value and true-to-life realism in your western, then this might not be your best option. Other than the fact that the two main actors are called Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, and they rob trains, and they end up going to South America and rob banks, there isn't a whole lot of hardcore truth and factual events that you could point to in this movie and say with conviction that these were the true final days of BC & SK.

With that being said, let's not forget that this was made in 1969. The movie itself looks about the same as many westerns being put out on television during that period - a bit campy and certainly more concerned with style and how well it looked, rather than telling the hardcore-gritty story of the two bandits. The movie comes off as a very Hollywood-ish story that devotes more focus on making sure that the viewer was going to like BC & SK, (or specifically Newman & Redford) than it did on the subject of the story itself. Watch and see if you don't think that this film is a case of Newman and Redford - playing themselves, as cowboys, then it does as them playing the cowboy characters.

As for entertainment value - this is an awesome movie. It has plenty of cute one-liners and certainly repeatable lines (Who are these guys!?), funny and delightful moments, and plenty of time (film) devoted to making you feel all warm and fuzzy about the last pair of true western outlaws to grace the western hemisphere.

I would certainly not rate this in my top ten list of western movies, but that is because I look for more realism and reality in my movies than I do for artistic relevance and screen-appeal of the actors. I would however rate this as being a movie that most people will really enjoy and get a kick out of seeing. It's the type of movie that you SHOULD see, and will be happy that you did. It will also appeal to those who want a taste of the late 60's early 70's style of making and presenting a movie - the musical score - the wide to zoom shots - the starry shots of presenting a pretty girl (Katherine Ross), etc. All those crafts and that particular style of movie-making is now gone.
July 1, 2008

Great movie - terrible restoration!

This disc ranks right up there with one of the worst Blu-ray transfers I own (along with the first Stargate release). It is a shame, as this is a really great and fun movie. It is one of the first westerns I recall that really interspersed humor with drama in an effective way. I thought it tried to be a bit too much or to have something for everyone (the bicycle scene went on a little long for my taste, for example). Audio is fine but the failure to produce a really outstanding video transfer (as was done with Patton recently) will disappoint the many fans of this movie who were eagerly awaiting this release. June 14, 2008

One of Hollywood's Greatest All-Time Movies

An absolute classic, timeless and brilliant... witty and dramatic, funny and engaging, starring two of Hollywood's greatest leading men in an unforgettable and magnificently told tale of two of the Old West's most legendary figures. This is more than simply a must-see movie, it is a can't miss, see it time and time again classic! May 15, 2008

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