Rating: 
Summary: Classic Western and crowd-pleaser
Review: Butch and Sundance (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) are two affable outlaws who bear no malice toward anyone although they make their living by robbing trains and banks. They enjoy their freedom and their easy-going camaraderie until they make the mistake of stealing from the wrong man, a powerful millionaire who sets a skilled, relentless group of hired killers on their trail. From then on, death is always in the background, implacable and ever-present. They may escape for a time, but the end is unavoidable.Newman and Redford have great chemistry. Their timing and the way they play off each other is the main delight of this film. This movie helped redefine the modern Western and issued in a slew of buddy pictures. Watch it to see two Hollywood legends at their finest in a hugely entertaining film.
Rating: 
Summary: Has anyone over age 20 NOT seen this film?
Review: I can't believe this movie was made in 1969. But then I look at how YOUNG Newman and Redford are in the film and how craggy and 'well-seasoned' they look now and figure, yeah, that was a long time ago. The pairing of these two actors was brilliant; the chemistry between them, the way they can play off each other's strengths, was recaptured years later in The Sting.
BC and the SDK starts of as a loopy set piece of two giddy train robbers just living from one holdup to the next one - but then they rob the wrong guy and he hires a world-class tracker ("Who ARE those guys?") who just won't give up. They keep running - all the way to Bolivia.
And okay, maybe the bicycle scene in the meadow with Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head is schmaltzy - but didn't you love it? And don't you remember that scene every time you hear the song on the radio?
A movie really doesn't get much better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, Funny, Heartbreaking, Lyrical, Exciting
Review: How often do you hear these words all to describe the same movie? Better yet, how often does it turn out to be true? But "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is all that and more, one of those few wonderful movies that is able to evoke a broad range of honest emotions in its running time of a little less than two hours. The plot concerns the various picaresque adventures of Butch and Sundance, played to perfection by Paul Newman and Robert Redford. But the plot, what there is of it, is really of secondary importance. What's more important is the film's heartfelt, funny, and heartbreaking tribute to the Old West and the relationship between two nonconformists who wanted to stay there. William Goldman's script perfectly captures the Old West's coming of age, but it captures another changing era equally well: that of the 1960's. Many have said the film is dated, I don't believe a word of it. It is most certainly a film from its time, capturing the time period's changes, its hope for a better tomorrow, and its more than occasional paranoia. I think the use of a distinctly 1960's style is not only acceptable, it is essential. The film has many of the markings of a traditional western, both in content and in style--the first color sequence showing Butch and Sundance riding back to the Hole in the Wall Gang looks like it could have come from just about any classic western, as do many other scenes throughout the film. But added to these are touches of modern filmmaking--the use of zooming, the three musical montages, etc. The style is a visual representation of the meeting between the old and the new; The Old West becoming The West, no Old involved. For the same reason, many have condemned the Burt Bachrach score; I praise it. I think the score perfectly underlines Butch and Sundance's breath of life in a seemingly decaying world, and is another wonderful example of the marriage between the Wild West and the Tame West. The "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" sequence perfectly and brilliantly establishes the relationship between the three principles, and, even more, it sets the tone for the entire film. Butch and Sundance are waking up from a dream, a dream they prefer to reality. The bicycle sequence is just one of the picture's many brilliant and entertaining stylistic touches that helps to enhance the characters and tone rather than draw away from them. The cinematography is beautiful, from the opening scenes shot brilliantly in sepia tones to the final, heartbreaking freeze-frame with bullets riddling the soundtrack. In addition to all this, it is fun to watch. These are two real guys we genuinely care about, who we can sympathize with and root for. They are the quintessential likeable underdogs, and words can't describe the acting by Newman and Redford. There are so few movies today that have this classic and stylish sense of fun, few movies that can mix comedy with drama and action with characterization without feeling uneven, and there are so few films currently in theaters that really ENTERTAIN. The movie is melancholy, but it is also full of the joy of life, and is one of those rare movie experiences that leaves you completely uplifted without feeling cheated. There's no emotional manipulation here, because everything rings true with the surprising but inevitable found in great art, and the characters follow their natural, but nonetheless heartbreaking, paths. Keep thinking, indeed, Butch. It's what your best at.
Rating:
Summary: I heart the Sundance Kid
Review: this is just a fun movie to watch on a rainy after noon or something, watch some gun fights and bank robbing, some horses and old timey pictures and of course oggle some really hot guys who are now as old as my grampa. You're probably thinking 'oh, she doesn't really like this movie she just like the way robert redford's butt looks in those pants etc' well my friend you are sadly mistaken for i genuinly loved this movie. the cinematography and the art dirction was great, the acting was top notch and revolved around characters you actually care about. Brilliant and one of the saddest endings ever
Rating:
Summary: The nicest outlaws in the West
Review: This movie appeared toward the close of the John Wayne era, and not long after the beginning of the Clint Eastwood era of westerns. In those days, western heroes stood and fought against overwhelming odds, and did not take insults from anyone. In the midst of this, Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in this film about two outlaws who turn tail and run when the going gets tough. Newman and Redford star (respectively) as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, two goodhearted outlaws who decide that living on the run is more desirable than dying where they are. When a super posse of lawmen and trackers comes after them, Butch and Sundance head for Bolivia. There it is assumed they died, though no one knows for sure.
William Golding (who wrote The Princess Bride) wrote the screenplay for this film, and did a wonderful job of bringing these two most lovable of outlaws to life. Golding manages to capture the essence of these two men--they were not inherently evil (they did do a number of charitable deeds with the money they stole), but were outlaws by trade, not by hatred of humanity. They robbed because they knew how to do little else, not because they enjoyed inflicting pain upon others. And even though Sundance was legendary with a gun, these two bandits did not enjoy killing, and did so only when it was a necessary part of their work.
A tremendous amount of mystery surrounds the eventual fate of these two men. Many believe they died in Bolivia, though others think this was simply a ruse and that Butch and Sundance continued to live in the United States under different identities. There is also much controversy surrounding Sundance's woman and the exact location of their hideout. Many of these questions may never be answered, and depictions like this one are often the best we can do to understand the lives of those men whose true fate we don't know.
This film is a classic western, and well deserves the fame and the awards it received. Newman and Redford are spectacular together, and both give outstanding performances. This is one of the best movies about the American west, even if it does feature protagonists who don't stay and fight like John Wayne would. Instead, the realism and personality of these men make them all the more endearing to the viewer, and the result is a film about two outlaws who were nothing if they weren't human.
Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet Entertainment
Review: Most films lose at least some of their appeal after several viewings; a few hold their own; and fewer yet seem to get better each time they're seen. I assign this film to the middle category. The interaction between Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) is as lively and entertaining as ever. Under George Roy Hill's crisp direction, the plot evolves in an appropriately picaresque manner as the two central characters rob, flee, rob again, flee again...etc. At one point, a posse of highly-skilled gun men are hired by E.H. Harriman (owner of the railroad so frequently robbed) and pursue them relentlessly. They decide to seek new adventures in South America. They are joined by Etta Place (Katharine Ross) who has a casual romantic relationship with Sundance while being almost equally fond of Butch. Despite all the humor, this is (for me at least) an essentially sad movie. Until the end, Butch and Sundance are dysfunctional fugitives. For them, their only "home" is the friendship they share. When Etta realizes that her beloved friends have no future, she returns to the United States rather than witness their inevitable demise. William Goldman received an Academy Award for best original screenplay, based for the most part on historical material about the Hole in the Wall Gang. Nice touch at the beginning: A silent film introduction with daguerreotype tint, followed by one of my favorite scenes in which an unsuspecting young man accuses Sundance of cheating at cards and challenges him. The brief conversation between Butch and Sundance before the young man learns that he has just challenged a renowned gunfighter indicates why Goldman deserved his Oscar. The Academy also selected Burt Bacharach (best score) and Hal David, ("Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" for best song) to receive awards. Also noteworthy is Strother Martin's brief but brilliant performance as Percy Garris who briefly employs Butch and Sundance to protect Garris' shipments against bandits. Revealingly, they take their duties quite seriously rather than react as foxes would when entrusted with guarding a hen house. As portrayed in this film, Butch and Sundance are immensely likable. Their bittersweet badinage continues until the very end. Much of the film is charming, some of it poignant, and all of it entertaining. However, having seen it again recently, I was even more aware than before of its darker undercurrents. Like Etta, I preferred not to see them fulfill their destiny so when she departed, I sighed and stopped watching. In addition to clearer image and sound, this DVD version also offers excellent supplementary features which include a "Commentary" by director George Roy Hill, Hal David, Robert Crawford and cinematographer Conrad Hall; a "Making-Of " 45-minute documentary which contains interviews with cast and crew, "Behind-the-Scenes" footage and film footage; and interviews (in 1994) of Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, William Goldman and Burt Bacharach as well as a DVD-ROM interactive history of Butch and Sundance. Why don't DVD versions of so many other great films also provide such outstanding material?
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: Wasn't this a big Hollywood prodiction? Couldn't they afford to film on location? The sets of "Bolivia" look like they were filmed on location in rural California with local Mexicans as extras. If anyone has ever been to Bolivia (or even opened an encyclopedia), they know that Bolivians look, speak, and dress nothing like Mexicans. Watching this "classic", I couldn't help but be floored by the incredibly poor job they did in the closing sets of the film. Any historic value the film might have had went down the toilet for me during those last scenes. If you are primarily interested in movies for their popcorn entertainment value, don't dispair, as you probably won't even notice this flaw. For me, it really ruined any value the film might have otherwise had. Its like casting Keanu Reeves as Hamlet, and somehow he pulls it off, but at the end "Bill" comes out then he an Hamlet embrace and say "Excellent!". Oh never mind.
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic That Is Soon To Fade Along with Its Soundtrack
Review: The film written by William Goldman and directed by George Roy Hill has a solid cast with Paul Newman playing Butch Cassidy and Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid. Unfortunately, some of the scenes and soundtrack take away from the fading West of the early 1900s and bring us back to the takcy tastes of the 1970s. Both Redford and Newman play solid roles as good old western outlaws who are facing the rapid shrinking of the West with the advance of industry. Incessantly fleeing their pursuers, they decide to make their ill-gotten gains in the less-developed regions of the world: Bolivia. A soundtrack is more often than not just as important as the film itself; "Conan the Barbarian" is a perfect example. It sets the mood of the film and helps guide the story. The la-la music of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" with happy scenes of bicycle rides really kills what would be a western as classic as Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch"; making it sound more like a Cumbaya flower-child festival than a bank-robbing western. How would people feel if Clint Eastwood had chosen Neil Diamond or the Bee-Gees for "The Unforgiven"? In short, such music selection indicates lack of foresight by those who directed and produced this film. Perhaps it's time for a new rendition of this story with more inspired film-makers who know good music when they hear it.
Rating:
Summary: Redefined The Western Genre
Review: I know, I know. . .many can take issue with the title above. Consider Sergio Leone's "spaghetti" Westerns, or Sam Peckinpah's brutal "The Wild Bunch." Both directors broke ground, but in my very humble opinion neither had the same impact on the genre that director George Roy Hill commanded when BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID hit the big screen in 1969. This film took a Western and injected it with a healthy dose of pop culture. The soundtrack bears this out--even to the point of treating us with the pre-MTV music video, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." Ever see a John Wayne movie of the Sixties that had jazz singers humming the soundtrack? Didn't think so. Even more compelling is the story, a story about two bank robbers trying to hang onto the Old West in a rapidly changing world. They're outlaws, but they're the "good guys," totally likeable and captivating. The viewer is pulling for them to escape the law, plan their next move, rob another day. The ending is inevitable, yet tastefully and poignantly done. Much has been made about the chemistry between Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy) and Robert Redford (Sundance)--and rightfully so. The dialogue, banter, timing between these two wonderful actors is flawless, brilliant, overwhelming. There are classic lines ("Who are those guys?") and scenes (Butch's "rules" for a knife fight) that will live in cinematic lore forever. Katharine Ross as Etta Place ("I'm 25, single, a schoolteacher, and that's the pits.") is a wonderful addition to the cast as Sundance's girlfriend and soulmate to both outlaws. Equally innovative was the film's cinematography--starting in grainy black and white and changing to vivid color as Butch and Sundance ride over breathtaking scenery. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID ushered in the contemporary Western, and I'm darned glad it did.
--D. Mikels
Rating:
Summary: 9 out of 10
Review: I am a proud owner of this film. I am proud I saw this film about 7 times now so far. This is a great entertainment. You got two great looking guys, who happen to be villians, but you would want to say "Yeah, so what?". Paul Newman shined like sun with his beautiful blue eyes. Robert Redford, so quick and terse, makes you feel going like "Wow!". I'll bet by the end of the film, you will say you want to be like Sundance Kid, going on how impressive you can draw as fast as Sundance Kid. Excellent Documentary in the end of the film, outlining the points of the film, especially the use of gun-play to keep it real, esp. the loading of the gun. Very sad note that George Roy Hill died last December. This is a remarkable job George Roy Hill have done, gracing the art of filmmaking. You can see it through the use of camera, motion, and colors. This is actually one the finest and most enjoyable western films I have ever seen, easily proclaiming this film to be one of the great arts. There are many sequences in this film I always think about such as one part when the card player goes 'Hey kid how just good are you?" Bang bang bang bang!, the bicycle ride singing raindrops falling' by Burt Bacharach, the fear on their eyes going "who are these guys?", and finally, never to omit, the great ending that will stand the test of time as being the most sublime way to die. I will tell you again...watch this film, I will guarantee you that you will fall in love with this film.
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