Caring for Cassidy and The Kid...

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2014)

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID was the first western I saw in a theater as a kid (during its re-release) and it blew me away. The contemporary attitudes of the two leads and the relative realism of the action that was depicted were two of the things that really stood out at the time (older westerns rarely if ever risked attempts at the kind of self-deprecating humor that Paul Newman engages in throughout the movie). When Robert Redford's eyes lock onto his accuser's gun during the opening confrontation, it's enough to establish his character's single-mindedness (and potential for violence at any moment); it's a great little touch and it's just one of many throughout the movie. Unlike all too many westerns, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID makes us CARE about these two characters (rogues though they may be) and it's THAT carefully-cultivated caring that makes the ending all the more poignant.