Humorous depiction of the end of the western era. These were the last 2 real western cowboys, but they had fun while it lasted.

Rating: 8/10 (21 September 2018)

A word of warning for those who might expect a standard western. It is not. It is deliberatedly made to confuse you a bit, to do things differently. Some wont be pleased by that, because they long for a straight western story. It is not. It definitely has got a sixties feel to it, in which period a lot of experimenting was done. The 2 robbers arent fearless for instance. One of them hasnt even ever killed a man. That's unheard of in a standard western, where men are always butch. His name is butch cassidy, but he isnt really butch at all. These subtle tongue in cheek gests at the western genre, wont get picked up by the more casual viewer, who might easily think it is neither fish or flesh and even somewhat boring, because of the pace of the movie. I think this movie can best be judged as a mild parody of the standard western genre.
The story is about 2 legendary bankrobbers who are being chased down to the south, after they became too greedy. Some good jokes, some nice action. Just a delight to watch.
Special note for the cinephiles: The photography by Conrad L Hill needs to be especially praised, because it features some of the most stunning vistas of deserts ever recorded on the silver screen, a quality you would not expect to see in a comedy western. When you look at the resume of this photographer you will understand that this man is a grandmaster in his line of work. He has filmed impressive classics like "The Marathon Man", "Fat City", "Cool Hand Luke" and modern classics like "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition". I dare say that this photographer stands among the greatest photographers of american movie history.