Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
★★★½ — Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
William Goldman wrote the screenplay across several years in the 1960s, basing it loosely on the real Butch Cassidy (Robert LeRoy Parker) and Harry Longabaugh, and it became one of the most hotly contested scripts in Hollywood before 20th Century Fox eventually won the bidding war. George Roy Hill, whose prior credits included the stage adaptation of Period of Adjustment and the ensemble drama Hawaii (1966), was a relatively modest choice to helm what Fox hoped would be a prestige Western, and the studio's nervousness about the film's comedic, revisionist tone was reportedly considerable. Shot largely on location in Utah, Colorado, and Bolivia (with some Mexican locations standing in), the production helped cement the partnership between Newman and Redford that Hill would revisit in The Sting four years later. Its extraordinary box office return, over $102 million on a $6 million budget, made it one of the defining commercial successes of the New Hollywood era.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) is a near-perfect blend of wit, charm, and outlaw mythology, anchored by two legendary performances from Paul Newman and Robert Redford. From the very first scene, laid-back, stylish, full of dry humour, it’s clear this isn’t just another Western. It’s a character-driven buddy film with guns, set against sweeping Utah landscapes and a changing world that’s leaving outlaws behind. Their chemistry is effortless: Newman’s smooth-talking Butch and Redford’s laconic, trigger-happy Sundance play off each other like they’ve been riding together their whole lives. The film stumbles slightly in the middle, where the pacing drags before and during their time in Bolivia. The momentum from the early heists and iconic chase sequences gives way to repetition and while it serves the theme of fading glory, it lacks the spark of the first act. The Burt Bacharach soundtrack, though famous for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” feels oddly out of place at times, too soft, too modern, never quite matching the weight of the story. Still, none of that can dim its status as a timeless classic. The final freeze-frame is one of the most haunting in cinema history, and the bond between the two leads elevates every scene. Brilliantly acted, beautifully shot, and endlessly rewatchable, even if it slows down before the end. A defining film of its era, and proof that legends don’t die, they just ride into legend.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1969 | Watched: 2025-09-28
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from George Roy Hill: The Sting (1973)
More with Paul Newman: The Sting (1973) · Cars (2006)
More from the 1960s: Viy (1967) · Persona (1966) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · Daisies (1966)
More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)
More western: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) · Rio Bravo (1959) · Ride Lonesome (1959) · The Great Train Robbery (1903)
