Revisiting the Classics
‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’
Starring—Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross
9 out of 10
By Sam Romero ’17
THE ROUNDUP
The classic western movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” directed by George Roy Hill, tells the true story of Butch Cassidy’s hole-in-the-wall gang and their adventures.
It starts off with Cassidy returning to his gang after being away for a long time. Logan, one of the outlaws, challenges Cassidy to a knife fight to be leader of the gang.
This well acted scene perfectly shows there are no rules or laws in the West.
Even though this movie is full of adventure and excitement, it is slowed with its pacing and has long periods where not much happens.
It shows the hole-in-the-wall gang robbing a train but then takes a large part of the movie showing them constantly running away on horseback.
It is the gunfights we want to see, not just the suspense.
One of the famous scenes in the movie is when Cassidy buys a bike and rides it with Etta, Sundance’s wife.
Even though it is well filmed and shot, it does not fit the story and the movie could go without it. The viewers came to see fights, not bicycle crashes.
The foreshadowing throughout the film on the deaths of Cassidy and Sundance is excellent and played out perfectly by Hill.
The first time this is shown is when Sheriff Bledsoe tells the duo that they are going to die bloody and all they can do is choose where.
It is apparent to the viewers that Cassidy and Sundance are both going out bloody no matter where they run.
The second time their death is foreshadowed is when Etta tells the two outlaws that she will do anything for them except watch them die. She leaves them in Bolivia at the end of the movie.
Her leaving shows their time has come and she doesn’t want to be there when it does.
The quotable dialogue takes the movie to a whole new level of witty and comedic.
Overall, this movie has some of the most quotable lines and memorable scenes out of all western films, which would have given it a 10 out of 10 rating, but the inconsistency of pacing the action throughout the film makes it fall to 9 out of 10.
