  butch cassidy and the sundance kid is a 1969 american western film directed by george roy hill and written by william goldman (who won the academy award for best original screenplay for the film). based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of wild west outlaws robert leroy parker, known to history as butch cassidy (paul newman) and his partner harry longabaugh, the "sundance kid" (robert redford) as they migrate to bolivia while on the run from the law in search of a more successful criminal career. in 2003, the film was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." ==plot== in late 1890s wyoming, butch cassidy (paul newman) is the affable, clever, talkative leader of the outlaw hole in the wall gang. his closest companion is the laconic dead-shot "sundance kid" (robert redford). the two return to their hideout at hole-in-the-wall (wyoming) to discover that the rest of the gang, irked at butch's long absences, have selected harvey logan (ted cassidy) as their new leader. harvey challenges butch to a knife fight over the gang's leadership. butch defeats him using trickery, but embraces harvey's idea to rob the union pacific overland flyer train on both its eastward and 
1960s_Western_(genre)_films 1960s_comedy-drama_films 1969_films 20th_Century_Fox_films American_Western_(genre)_films American_comedy-drama_films American_films BAFTA_winners_(films) Buddy_films English-language_films Estudios_Churubusco_films Films_directed_by_George_Roy_Hill Films_set_in_Bolivia Films_set_in_South_America Films_set_in_Wyoming Films_shot_in_Colorado Films_shot_in_Mexico Films_shot_in_New_Mexico Films_shot_in_Utah Films_that_won_the_Best_Original_Score_Academy_Award Films_that_won_the_Best_Original_Song_Academy_Award Films_whose_cinematographer_won_the_Best_Cinematography_Academy_Award Films_whose_writer_won_the_Best_Original_Screenplay_Academy_Award Screenplays_by_William_Goldman United_States_National_Film_Registry_films