I added this to the list after being blown away by Paul Newman’s performance in Cool Hand Luke. It made me realize that I’ve never really watched any of the work by the legendary actor. This pick has the added benefit that it’s quite a famous film and even stars Robert Redford in his prime as well. I thought that having these actors side by side would make for a fantastic combination and I wasn’t disappointed.

Butch Cassidy and his constant companion the Sundance Kid are both notorious members of the Hole in the Wall gang, wanted for robbing both banks and trains. In between heists they spend money freely and meet up with Etta Place, the girlfriend of the Sundance Kid but who is also very friendly and intimate with Butch. After they rob the same train twice however, the owner of the railway has had enough of them and hires a crack team of lawmen to take them down. The posse tracks them for days much to the duo’s disbelief until they finally decide to give in to a whim of Butch’s and travel to Bolivia, after stopping in New York. They take Etta with them who agrees under the condition that she doesn’t have to watch them die. When they arrive they are initially disappointed with how backward the country is but soon enough the duo return to their profession of being robbers.

We’ve all watched films about glamorous criminals and we all know how the story ends. In fact, Warren Beatty apparently turned down a role in this film because he felt it was too similar to Bonnie & Clyde. There’s even less going on in this film than usual as it begins with the duo being already well established criminals and very comfortable with one another. You can’t really say that the two characters have much of a development arc here. They are who they are, larger than life figures, so secure in their identities and their friendship that they practically share a girlfriend. So this is a film that leans entirely on the camaraderie between these two men and what chemistry they have! Butch is so affable that even the local sheriff likes him despite his crimes, more clever than intelligent, full of ideas that don’t really work out. The Sundance Kid is taciturn and more competent at shooting. He readily cedes leadership to Butch but is quick with the sarcastic quips. Together they are mesmerizing on the screen, their the back and forth between the two entertaining and delightful without the need for any extra drama or excitement.

The leisurely, playful tone that the film adopts further highlights how life is a grand adventure for the two. Montage scenes with black and white photos are used to evoke a sense of the era as they travel around the country with Etta and simply have fun. In the middle of the film, there’s an extended scene in which Butch fools around with Etta doing bicycle stunts while the song “Raindrops are Falling on My Head” plays. I didn’t even know that this familiar song was written just for this film. It’s very unexpected and makes this feel completely unlike any Western film I’ve ever watched. In fact, I don’t even think that this should count as a Western. It certainly isn’t an action film. When the lawmen chase after the two for example, we never get a single close-up shot of the hunters, seeing instead only the increasingly incredulous reaction of Butch and Sundance at how tenacious their pursuers are. So instead of ratcheting up the tension or creating excitement for an action scene, it feels lighthearted throughout. Even the inevitable end doesn’t feel tragic at all and you get the sense that it was all worth it for the duo.

This makes the film feel quite fresh and interesting, nothing at all like what I would have expected. It’s no wonder that it’s so beloved. Of course, one should keep in mind that the two are real outlaws and even though this portrayal makes them nice people who don’t actually mean to do harm, it’s a little callous how they gun down the Bolivian law enforcement officers without any contrition. This is a very creative take on a duo that have been fixtures of the Western mythos but it would still be wrong to hold them up as heroes.