Classic Hollywood Cinema.

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 2010)

Featuring two of the most iconic actors of their generation, 'Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid' was one of those instant classics that came from that particular period. 'Midnight Cowboy' was another.
The two title protagonists are played by Robert Newman and Robert Redford, both at the height of their powers. One is a very talented gunslinger, the other isn't. Both are very good friends. Each has reached the special level of intimacy that takes the other's strengths and weaknesses for granted. They do not compete; there's no need. They are what we would now call: mates.
Although the movie is usually classed as a western, it is more a comic opera, like 'Midnight Cowboy' or 'Grumpy Old Men', that is partly set in the west. In fact, half of the action is set in Bolivia, which few would associate with the traditional Hollywood western.
The two stars play their roles with an easy economy that is beguiling and entirely believable. They are great fun to watch. Other actors are lesser known but fill their roles without criticism. Filming is wonderful. Great use is made of the American west, and lighting is often sublime. They are on the cusp of the 'great change' that was quickly overtaking the 'wild west', a point emphasised by the emergence (and dismissal) of the safety bicycle.
Theme and incidental music is often criticised. You like it or you don't. It was the director's choice, and he chose most other things. I'm happy to take it with the rest of his choices.
This is an extremely funny, slow-burning masterpiece that takes its time and draws you in to its slightly 'MASH'-like humour. A movie of the same period. Don't think of it as a western so much as a comedy set in the west and the south. The stars and their parts make it what it is. The ending is comic and - although tragic - too quick to be the stuff of pathos.
Highly recommended. It still knocks spots off many later offerings.