"Who are those guys?"

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2005)

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is in my all time top ten movies, and has been for quite awhile. At the same time, I can't say that it's my favorite Western, as the film almost transcends the genre to become the quintessential buddy movie. In their respective roles as Butch and The Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford develop a magnetism and charisma that give the movie it's tremendous appeal.
I recall the first time I saw this movie upon it's release in 1969 and how original many of the scenes and concepts played out, from Butch's put down of Harvey Logan's (Ted Cassidy) challenge at Hole in the Wall, Sundance's gunpoint strip by Etta (Katharine Ross), and the humorous exchanges between the bandits and E.L. Harriman's trusted train guard Woodcock (George Furth). Life on the run never seemed as glamorous as Butch and the Kid attempting to outwit "those guys". Even the final scene, with the Mexican troops encircling the "yanquis bandidos" location, I kept wondering how they were going to get out of this one.
The film also cleverly introduces one of the year's top hit tunes with "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", though if you want to be critical, it wasn't raining during the segment in which it runs, which on reflection doesn't seem to make sense. But the upbeat tempo of the tune does support the light hearted action on screen and just works.
Some veteran character actors perform admirably here as well. Of particular note is Jeff Corey as Sheriff Ray who carefully orchestrates his own bondage by the boys lest he be considered in cahoots with them; and Strother Martin as the Bolivian paymaster who hires Butch and Sundance as the proverbial foxes in the hen house to guard the company payroll. The scene with the Mexican bandits was reminiscent of an earlier era's treatment in "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", though with dire consequences for the banditos this time around.
At just under two hours, the film seems to fly by, a testament to intriguing and involved story telling. Even when you know it's over for Butch and Sundance, you're hoping for one more exchange before lights out, such is the camaraderie one feels for the film's protagonists. This is a movie I return to at least once yearly for a good old dose of action and humor, and it still delivers time after time.