Released in the early fall of 1969, director George Roy Hill’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (“Sundance”) is recognized by most critics and film historians as the first “American New Wave” Western.
The movie boasts late ‘60s flavored dialogue and unorthodox poppy-jazzy score and portrays bank and train robbers (traditional bad guys) as the protagonists. These are ingredients you’d never find in a John Ford, Howard Hawks, or John Wayne movie.
Mixed Initial Reviews
Early reviews of the movie were mixed. While the praise of co-leads Paul Newman (as Butch), Robert Redford (as Sundance), and cinematographer Conrad Hall were universal, the naysayers voiced issues with Hill’s “unfocused” direction, screenwriter William Goldman’s unorthodox script, and the period-inappropriate score by Burt Bacharach.In the end, “Sundance” won four Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, and two for Bacharach, one for score, the other for Best Original Song (shared with lyricist Hal David) for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” sung by B.J. Thomas.
At first, Goldman’s screenplay was rejected by multiple studios for several reasons, the most glaring being that Butch and Sundance fled the United States to Bolivia to prey on less-secured banks. Their sticking point: Heroes don’t flee. Instead of buckling completely, Goldman only slightly modified this portion of the story. That led to a bidding war eventually won by Fox.
Elliott and Ross
Present in this scene is Sam Elliott (as card player #2) in his first credited movie performance. It was during filming that Mr. Elliott first met Katharine Ross, who co-stars as Etta Place, the mystery woman introduced as Sundance’s schoolmarm love interest. In 1984, 15 years after the release of “Sundance,” Mr. Elliott and Ms. Ross were married and have remained so ever since.In another scene shortly afterwards, Etta is shown sitting on the handlebars of a bicycle ridden by Butch while “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” plays in the background. I’m not sure, but in some countries (observational sarcasm ahead) this type of behavior between men and women is tantamount to a recognized wedding vow.
I bring up this sub-plot up because the relationship between Etta and Sundance is clear, while the one between Etta and Butch is forever nebulous. It is just one of several reasons some critics and film historians had issues with the movie.
For example, the late Roger Ebert stated in his 1969 review regarding the screenplay: “Goldman has his heroes saying such quick, witty and contemporary things that we’re distracted: It’s as if, in 1910, they were consciously speaking for the benefit of us clever 1969 types.”
Sacred Cow
Keeping in mind that “Sundance” was conceived, produced, and released during the American New Wave, the aesthetic and narrative choices Hill and Goldman made were spot on. They took a “sacred cow” genre and infused it with a new perspective; a jolt that ultimately resulted in an instant classic.
Four years after “Sundance,” Hill, Newman, and Mr. Redford would combine forces again with “The Sting,” another anti-hero buddy movie that again won over audiences and critics while winning seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Over subsequent years, rumors about more Newman-Redford collaborations regularly surfaced, yet none ever materialized, which is probably just as well. The two men starred in two near-perfect movies, a feat that will likely never be equaled or eclipsed.
