The Ultimate in "Group Think" Cinema Myth

Rating: 1/10 (12 July 2018)

I saw this when it came out, at the theater, as a high school kid. Even then it was boring. Nothing like The Sting. I was happy to be on a date and just glad to be out with my boyfriend, so I have good memories of that night, but the movie was the least of them.
This movie did fit the zeitgeist of the time perfectly (anti-heroes = counterculture). After all, this was the year of Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, The Wild Bunch, and many others in this style, but BC&SK was by far the worst of them. It was the first Western which incorporated pop culture and music. It was the "thing" to see it on a date. It hit pop culture like a canon. I remember people dressing up like the characters of Redford, Newman, and Ross and getting photographs in sepia enlargements for proud display. Lines from the movie were oft repeated, esp perhaps the movie first, "Oh...sh....it!". Several TV shows were spawned (all cheesy, too). Fashion was influenced. Every teenage girl wanted to be Katerine Ross (I did and I don't see why, now). "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", was a huge pop hit, and stands up well today.
And so this movie was all about the music. I don't think popular music had ever been used in a Western before, which explained much of its appeal. The music video, to the vocal pop song, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", introduced the relationship between Cassidy, the Kid, and Elle, and was gorgeously filmed. But unlike Easy Rider, this soundtrack then moved from the good to total cheese, with a 60s "doobie doobie dooo..." vocal interlude, during a *chase* scene, of all things! While they were forgivable in commercials and Alfa Romeo gorgeous girl scarf trailing Italian movie scenes, they were not here. I feel a lot of nostalgia when I hear 60s "doobie doobie dooo..."s, but they are still just cheesy remnants of that time. The rest of the Bacharach/David score was good, but nothing memorable. I'll take majestic Western movie music over this Western soundtrack, anytime, which better describes the sweeping majesty of Western locations. The music rarely induced any kind of excitement or suspense, either. Doobie doobie doooooooo...
The script was terrible, with Newman and Redford taking up the slack with their so-called chemistry and renowned sex appeal. I can't believe William Goldman, a notable novelist and screenwriter (The Princess Bride, Marathon Man, All the President's Men, and many more) penned this AND won an Oscar for it (over Midnight Cowboy, etc????). It was an innovative script only in that the outlaws escaped and had more adventures after, which gave the movie an excuse to last another hour.
It lost my interest after the music video, however, and went seriously begging for plot through to the end. Bad direction and editing was to blame here. There was too much "filler", like still photos panned over too long, instead of the real scenes, which looked like they would have been far more interesting. Likewise, the extended chase scenes quickly lost their charm, as they were not designed well and had none of the elements that we expect from chase scenes. Of course, only so much you can do with a horse chase. Other than that, the well filmed (although too many strange telephoto shots) western country at least gave us something of value to watch and won an Oscar (they weren't THAT great, if you compare any John Ford Western, or the love song to NYC that Midnight Cowboy's cinematography was, or even Easy Rider's America).
In the end, this is a movie which relies on music, the pairing of Redford and Newman, in their prime, cute banter, and MTV slickness, but lacks in any substance whatsoever. To call it "great cinema" is a real disservice to truly great cinema. After the music video bike scene, it is all downhill and if this movie was released today, it would be a complete flop. Virtually nothing happens in the last 3/4 and no one would now put up with that.
I hate to offend so many people, but I think the high ratings are from those who accept pop culture's myths without thinking for themselves, or who haven't seen the movie since its release and since they grew up, now without the zillions of $$ of promotion, which made the myth before the myth was even seen. The ultimate in "group think". You just cannot watch this NOW and write a favorable review, unless you specify the first third. If you were alive when it came out, watch it again to see the truth. If you weren't, don't bother, you will never get the time back. Funny, I almost didn't watch it today, as I always thought of it as rather boring, and wondered what didn't I get that everyone else seemed to. I did and it was.