Along with Unforgiven, possibly the best western of all time

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2001)

This movie is too often thought of as a western comedy or perhaps a "buddy film". While it is both, it is so much more. It is the story of how the last of the 19th century individualists became hopelessly out of place as organized civilization spread through the United States. The outlaws turn away from bank robbing because they are now nearly impregnable. They are chased after by the "Super Posse" which is made up of individuals from many states, working together and aided by the very railroads the heroes are robbing. When they finally die, it is because even in Bolivia long-distance communication (I think it was telegraph in the movie) allowed the army to quickly get to the scene. The key moment in the movie is when they are told (not a direct quote), "Your time is through. The only thing now is to find the time and place of your dying."
My only complaint is that Director George Roy Hill took out a key scene after only a few weeks in the theaters. I was lucky enough to see it before it was cut and it made the movie even more powerful, even if it did, as Hill said, slow it down somewhat. The missing scene is found in the screenplay, which was published into a book.