Rating: 
Summary: Creepy Hippie Torture
Review: There are at least two chapters to definitely skip in this DVD; one is a music-video sequence of flower-child-y clowning around between Newman and Ross; the other is a music-video photo-collage sort of thing intended to depict the trio's passage through New York. The period photos are interesting, but the sequence is long and slow and contains no plot development.Long and slow pretty much covers the rest of the film too. Paul Newman is occasionally charming as Butch Cassidy, but Redford's Sundance is brutal and inaccessible, and Katharine Ross as the third side of the love triangle is like a character from one of those creepy old sex-ed videos you watched in grade school. There is no greatness in this movie, no matter what anyone says or how many people have seen it. Sitting thru it was excruciating, a big waste of time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic film and one of the best westerns of all time.
Review: A masterful film that helped shape my view on friendship while growing up. You can't imagine a better buddy team to play the roles of Butch and Sundance. Newman adds his own brand of humor to the role. This was the movie that launched Redford into superstardom. Redford and Newman are super cool outlaws on the run in a non-stop cross continent chase. The DVD also is packed with interviews and a production feature. The interviews and feature give a better understanding of the many challenges the cast and crew faced in the making of this classic film. I especially liked Newman's thoughts on accuracy of memories. It is a good film for fathers and sons or best of friends to watch. And my fiancee said she loved watching the very young Redford charm his way across the screen. It is one of those rare films that has something for everyone. A lot of action and a lot of heart.
Rating:
Summary: A DVD review
Review: A must have in any DVD collection. The extra features are very good. A 45 minute documentary gives very good and interesting information on the film. The commentary isn't too verbose and gives further recollections on the making of the movie. 8 to 15 minute interviews with cast and crew give even more personal recollections. The production notes were interesting which consists of letters between various players on pre-production issues. Three very well put together trailers are also included. I think trailers should get awards too. Overall a must have in any Western DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT STORY+GREAT DIRECTOR+GREAT ACTORS=GREAT DVD MUST SEE!
Review: I have held this movie in high regard over the years and was ecstatic when they first announced this DVD was coming to market. I viewed it for the first time and all I can say is WOW!. The DVD transfer is superb and the sound quality is fantastic. The color fidelity really shines when viewing the Super Posse chase but great care was taken as all of the scenes look almost as good as the original 35MM print. With the questionable "bonus" items hastily thrown together on a lot of DVD releases today is is refreshing that the same care and attention to detail that went into producing and directing the original movie went into the production of this DVD. The director/writer/cameraman commentary is excellent. A lot of behind the scenes anecdotes and explanations of how scenes were shot are intelligently discussed and proves once again that this movie was crafted and created by movie making and acting professionals who were at the top of their game in 1968. I was thoroughly engrossed by the interviews that were filmed in 1994 (the 25th Anniversary of the original release of the movie). The interviews with Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and William Goldman are exceptional because of the different perspectives and viewpoints given on how the movie got made and the effusive praise and credit heaped (deservedly so on George Roy Hill, the Director). Not to take anything away from the Katherine Ross and Burt Bacharach interviews which are also very informative. The hour long documentary "The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is also included in the bonus section and is also must see viewing as it goes behind the scenes on how they filmed most of the key story sequences. Students of film to just plain movie buffs will pick up a lot of terrific inside film-making tips and techniques from this documentary that is narrated by George Roy Hill, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Conrad Hall. In summary, if you already have a VHS copy GET THIS DVD! . It is a true American movie classic that was made the old fashioned way. It told a great story cinematically with few artistic/creative compromises. I see lots of parallels between George Roy Hill and James Cameron because they are both fighters/(loathers of studio execs (suits) and all of the money that they spend on the movie can be seen when viewing the final cut. They demand (and get) the utmost respect from their actors and film-making crew because they KNOW what they're doing! Great Story+Great Director+Great Actors=Great Movie. I assure you this will be one of the best DVD additions to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Newman, Redford, and McGraw...classic!
Review: This movie is a real crowd pleaser. The triangle of Newman, Redford, and McGraw provides the dymanics that lift this story from mediocrity to timelessness. Newman and Redford play the famous, or should I say notorious, outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Being actively engaged in their chosen occupation, i.e., robbing banks, we follow Newman and Redford through their adventures in crime. As a result of their good work they are doggedly pursued by top law men ("Who are those guys?"). Deciding that the heat of pursuit is too hot they, along with McGraw, head off to South America. A favorite scene of mine shows Newman and Redford applying for jobs as guards for a gold mine's shipments. That in and of itself is amusing, but the best part is when Redford has to prove he is a good shot. Watch the movie and see how that turns out! The casting is wonderful, the story line is engaging, the music is great, and the director does a good job of portraying many aspects, including the atmosphere, of the old west. A 5 star movie all the way. Give this romantic adventure a look and you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: This is the way the DVD format should be used.
Review: I loved the movie when it first came out. It also has sentimental value for me brcause I took my wife to be to see it the first time. And unlike some others I liked Burt Bacharach's sound track. In 1969 it was interesting to hear more modern tunes applied to a western. The most positive aspect of this DVD however is it's example of how to produce a DVD. The quality of the remaster is excellent. It's not just a simple transfer from film. The sound is very good considering the quality of the original. Remember this was the late 60's. The extras, like the interviews and trailers are fun to watch. The best is "The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." I saw this extra feature on TV prior to seeing the movie. It was interesting to hear why the sepia tones were used and how the final scene was shot. It's too bad all DVD's don't have these added features.
Rating:
Summary: Best Duo of all time.
Review: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid is a remarkable, and sensational film. Redford and Newman have an amazing chemistry like no other duo. This film has a great amount of thrilling action, and sarcastic humor. It is a delightful film that has an interesting, and appealing ending. I'm sure it wil please anybody, and everybody that owns it. Katherine Ross plays a school teacher that is beloved by two beautiful men. Robert Redford plays the younger male and expert gunman of the duo. He is also Ross' beau in the movie. Paul Newman is the older and wiser one. Together the two rob trains until one robbery goes terribly wrong. They then take Ross' along with them away from their troubles. From there they rob banks and other services, until their time in the sun comes to an end. This movie is fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: A PERFECT MOVIE
Review: George Roy Hill made a lean, stunningly original, gigantically entertaining movie back in the late 60s with this pop Western. The screenplay, for starters, is one of those rare creations that is spare, full of wit, and surprising at every turn. Even today, the movie's never-ending series of classic moments feel fresh and contemporary, including the titillating presence of Katherine Ross as Sundance's woman, who also loves Butch...? Robert Redford became the superstar he is today via this role, which showcases his subtle humor, his outrageous handsomeness, and his star quality. Paul Newman has never been as appealing; his combination of fear and guts is electric. The musical score, Burt Bacharach's best for the movies, combines several haunting melancholy themes with the irresistable pop of Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head, which underscores one of the most pleasurable moments in the film. Still, this movie does not shy away from the negative qualities of its three anti-heroes; though the finale is double-edged (we love these guys, after all), it is not a movie about how glamorous it is to be a bank robber in the Wild Wild West. Intelligent, compelling and most of all vastly entertaining, this movie deserves to be seen by anyone who loves the movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Perfect, Then and Now
Review: I, along with 100 godzillion others, saw this movie when it first came out. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the ultimate date movie--romance for the women, action for the men, and a most curious (and satisfying) blend of dramatic and comic dialogue that had everybody talking about it. Interesting, too, how popular the film was despite its downbeat ending. Would the film end a different way if made today? The DVD version is beautiful to watch. Movies made in and about the American West have to be seen in widescreen format to appreciate the gorgeous vistas. This film is no exception. Great teams are a stroke of luck, in sports and in movies. The history of the star search to fill the principle roles of Butch and Sundance says a lot about how capricious the casting of films must be. Impossible to imagine our pop culture today if anyone else had played the Sundance Kid. It's unfortunate that Katherine Ross did not enjoy the same follow-on success that Redford did. Her interview on DVD was the most enlightening, perhaps because the rest has become part of the Butch and Sundance movie folklore. I, like many others, do not enjoy the Bacharach soundtrack. But, it is a great part of why the movie is so unique. It is a departure from the western genre, like the script. No one had heard a bouncy latin beat in an American western soundtrack before, just as nobody had ever seen a cowboy hero kick someone in the balls. Audiences walked away from theaters whistling "Raindrops.." despite themselves. The film has aged well because it is a timeless story. These were turn of the century people who hadn't kept up with the changes. Staying in the United States where change was coming fastest meant imminent death. So, they denied the future and tried to escape to a place where change was coming a little slower, where their outdated bankrobbing methodologies still worked. And, ironically, they died young but in the old fashioned way. The dialogue between Butch and Sundance hasn't lost its snap. The energy that radiates from Newman, Redford and Ross still seems genuine. The photography is flawless. Last, but not least, this film has the best western shoot out ever filmed.
Rating:
Summary: They don't do them like that any more...
Review: Why I love that movie? Because it has a lot of things the modern box-office hits lack. What we see now are some undereducated "geniuses" showering us with their half-baked revelations, speculative, pretentious, simply not professional, telling their stupid "truth", relying on gimmicks. Watching all these Matrixes, Fight Clubs and Magnolias I feel cheated, violated. It seems the directors are high all the time on their ambitions, intoxicated by self-imposed ideas of their greatness. No, you guessed wrong, I am not 70 year old and I enjoy a mindless flick from time to time. But a modern fairy-tale roller-coaster like Face/Off is one thing and the sickeningly pretentious, imbecile Matrix is quite another. Someone here called Butch an old film. That's not correct. And after that THX mastering the visuals do not smell of archive a bit. John Wayne is old, Unforgiven is new. Butch is somewhere between the classic Westerns and revisionist Eastwood's Oscar-winner. There are no duels at sunset, no courageos sheriffs,no cattle ranges are visible. But the main characters still look great, though they are a way more eloquent. There is a schoolteacher, but not a blonde of the great tradition and her sex appeal is anything but subdued. I like the director/actors and viewers relationship of that film. The creators do their thing professionally, and we respect them for that. And they show their respect by being smart, endearing in the restrained way, entertaining without begging for cheap laughs. As for the music there is only piece I find intolerably dated - the weird accompainment to Bolivian bank robbing\being chased by police sequence. When I hear that la-la-la-la-la I push Sound Off button. The rest is quite appropriate. And one song is great. That DVD is the perfect investment. The movie is very unlikely to bore you even with multiple viewings, there are loads of a very helpful extras - watching the actors interviews of 25 years later is a very memorable experience. - They do not shoot the films these days. They shoot budgets, they shoot schedules. Not the films. - said Paul Newman in his DVD interview. If you agree buy the disc. Invest in good cinema. Vote with your dollar. The guys will not let you down.
| 
