Overrated

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2004)

When I first saw this movie, I really couldn't see what all the fuss was about. To me this was just a rather ordinary western featuring two of the greatest actors of their time in Redford and Newman as well as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers in Katherine Ross. However, this film fell rather flat. The only scenes that stuck out from my mind were the bicycle scene, the chases and, my favorite, the fight scene between Butch and Harvey Logan.
I guess that you had to see it when it first was released to fully appreciate it for what it was. Remember, at the time that this film was released, America was just ending the most turbulent decade in its history since the Civil War. Events such as the assassinations of the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King, Woodstock, civil unrest and the election of a controversial president in Richard Nixon all made America seek an escape from all the turmoil that was going on and this film seemed to provide it. This film harkened back to a simpler time in American history and it touched a cord with the country. Also, the underlying theme of change could be seen as a parallel for what was going on in America at the time.

This film may be a classic to most people, but in my eyes it fell flat.