Film Analysis: Butch Cassidy And The Humdance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a nostalgic Western at the time of its release, and in time, most people were nostalgic for this film itself. It is a much beloved film, but like most movies carried by mystique and charisma, it works a kind of magic that will hit some very hard and completely miss others. Newman is Butch and Redford is Sundance, the brains and the guns of the infamous Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, a gang of bank robbers that were as beloved as they were feared. They are good at what they do, but a certain unrest has set in to the gang, so they take to robbing trains. No one wants to take them on, until one day a "super posse" has been called together, with great tracking capabilities and unending engery, with Butch and Sundance

With as serious a face as Newman and Redford, terrific actors with mastery of subtlety, they were so fine tuned that they can speak seriously, sarcastically, or ironically with the same face, and we know which they mean just from their tone or body language alone. But they aren't the only necessary piece in making this a classic. There's also the beautiful look of the film, from Hill's use of lush locales and romanticized vistas, to Conrad Hall's cinematography, which makes the West as real as if we were actually there. The film gives us moments to admire the scenery, which is every bit as enjoyable as the scenes with dialogue or music. Of course, the vision and style provides most of the memorable scenes, from the grandiose of the bike riding montage, to the boldness of the western-style, making this enjoyable just through sheer quirkiness, but it works through and through. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a funny, smart and endearing film that only increases its enjoyment with each repeated visit. It's so droll as to be uproariously funny, so off-the-wall as to keep you on your toes with its unpredictability. Highly recommended, not only for fans of the two leads, but for people who just enjoy good bravura filmmaking. Employing a bit of self-irony, it goes to show that the lovers of movies will be the sole determinants of which films