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Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
A story of two outlaws as they face the rise of capitalism, Oligarchy and the end of wild west.
George Roy Hill is one of the directors in 1960s who seems to have influenced the style of Quentin Tarantino. One of the major requirements of a successful movie is the need to entertain its audience. Without that a movie misses its point. After all its a piece of entertainment. So whatever subject matter Roy Hill deals with he is going to entertain the audience by influencing their mood with the songs he plays in the movie. Many directors use score to define the mood of a scene but both these directors use straight up song or at least in this film.
There is a very specific pattern followed by auteurs like George Roy Hill in this movie, Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. That is to take a transition period in time and impose story on it. If you impose a serial killer during yuppie wall street culture you get American psycho. A Nazi assassin outfit in France during the end of world war 2 , you get Basterds. Same with Django. Phantom Thread and There will be blood. What this does is to give a uniqueness to the movie and the story. Firstly you can't compare it with other movies and most importantly there is an inherent momentum and movement to the story already. Its a very tricky balance act. You want the time period to effect the story but on a visceral level and not feel expository. Even a movie like Hostiles took place in a transition period in time but there was nothing going on in the movie. The movie is literally about the transition and its too thin of a story to make a movie from.
This movie is set in 1890s and is set during the same time period as hostiles where in the Indian wars have ended and the victorious Europeans are in the process of establishing order in the country. The funny thing about order is that most of people from Europe who came to North America are free spirited and who want to create their own destiny. But the Oligarchy system that is being set up keeps the rich and powerful at the top and the rest of immigrants at the bottom. That's when our outlaws Butch Cassidy and Sundance and the picture is set. Cassidy is the wise one and Sundance is young and aggressive one.These are the guys who are robbing as a way of protesting the establishment . Its inherent to them and is not something they are thinking about consciously. Its deep rooted in their subconscious and every once in a while comes out in their words. They used to rob banks and in the beginning of the movie we notice that banks have gotten smarter and are setting up tight security system. So they decide to rob money transported through rail transportation. Its a mode of transportation similar to any. So if it gets a bad rep that its being robbed constantly then people will loose trust in it. That kind of puts them at odds with the rail road company. So The movie inter weaved this story with 19th century cultural mile stones as long as they fit the story. So they showed bicycle invention. There are some light hearted moments with that as well as some heart breaking moments where our protagonists start realizing they are finding it hard to catch up to how quick the world is changing around them. Its like a metaphor for aging.
On a artistic level this movie is very well made. There is an inherent progression to the story. As I said, since this movie is set at the end of civil war where america is in the process of establishing government, the lawmen are forced to make an example out of any outlaws and bring order to society. The character played by leads , Paul Newman especially exudes a lot of charisma. He feels like a cunning , wise and yet tough guy. He is a man stuck in the cyclical habit of robbing and living a life debauchery and back to robbing. He apparently can't save up money. Redford has the personality of a fiery young man rebelling against the system and wanting to be lead by testosterone. They form a dynamic pair. I watched this a while ago without knowing its importance. But for some reason one long sequence in the movie stuck with me for a long time in a good way. It seems like the purpose of the sequence which lasts for like 20 minutes or so is to turn the motivation of the protagonists from being this active and prosperous robbers to wanting to escape America. In my opinion this is one of the greatest sequences in the movie history along with the interrogation scene in the dark knight. This sequence is the very definition of relentlessness. Its a metaphor for lot of things. The scene basically involves Cassidy and Sundance being pursued by 5 or 6 lawmen who have been tasked to bring them to justice and make an example out of them. This is especially shocking to our protagonists because in an earlier we see them hanging out at a hotel and the sheriff of the town gathers people to motivate them to join him in hunting down Cassidy and his gang of robbers. But the whole village is too scared to join him. So at a time when no one is courageous enough to hunt these outlaws these 5 people are chasing them. The sequence begins near a rail line and moves to the village mentioned earlier. Where they try and get rid of the pursuers. But they wont fall for that and from then it feels like a survival movie where in these are not left alone. They are pursued through desert , rocks and green planes and hills. Over the course of the chase protagonists realize who each of those guys could be. In the end they loose the tail by taking an impossible jump into a river and surviving the fall and swimming and find their way back to their home. It is then they realize that the rail company has hired most skilled lawmen in america to hunt our protagonists. They realize that it doesn't end as long as they are in north america.
The movie takes a turn when they reach Bolivia. Originally thought to be a place of gold rush and then they realize there is nothing in Bolivia. They decide to rob banks in Bolivia. What is so striking about all this is that these guys are a products of wild west. That era is coming to an end. But they don't want to accept it. Its classic scenario of individual trying to rebel against the changing times.Its an impossible scenario.You know what , coming to think of it, from the synopsis of once upon a time in Hollywood there is line in it that says Its an odyssey of a struggling western TV star and his stunt double navigating through a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. Add to that Tarantino's statement of Pitt/DiCaprio being the most dynamic duo since Newman/Redford. I think we see references to this/the sting both directed by George Roy Hill in once upon a time in Hollywood. It would be interesting to see how they will treat the relationship between the leads considering Newman was older than Redford and it was easy to use him as the wise one and Redford as the young aggressive one. There can also be a sequence similar to this relentless chase by these lawman where they are chased by Charles Manson or something. So back to the movie, after they start robbing the unprepared Bolivian banks the news catches the wind of Lawmen in america and they come to Bolivia. That forces our leads to try an honest living and even that becomes too overbearing for them because when they act as lawman they are ambushed by local robbers. So the circumstances are so hard for these guys to make a honest living and their spirit is unwilling to live a normal life. Eventually their sins and actions catch up to them when they are surrounded by hundreds of armed lawmen in a overwhelming stand off for our protagonists. They have to choice between getting caught and hanged or going off in style. The movie gives them a heroes ending.
This is one of those movies that takes its time. Builds characters. Studies and reflects the time period its set in and the effect it has on the characters in the movie. Its very unique if you come to think of it. There is also a sequence in the movie about Bicycle invented at the time period and how it marks as an indicator of changing times. The chases has no music. It's just the sound of horses running. It poses a question to the viewer. What do you do if you realize that your talent is to be good at something that is deemed unlawful ? its raises further question as to who gives the right for others to decide what should or shouldn't be done. Why should people follow the rules ? A very deep yet utterly entertaining movie.
A story of two outlaws as they face the rise of capitalism, Oligarchy and the end of wild west.
George Roy Hill is one of the directors in 1960s who seems to have influenced the style of Quentin Tarantino. One of the major requirements of a successful movie is the need to entertain its audience. Without that a movie misses its point. After all its a piece of entertainment. So whatever subject matter Roy Hill deals with he is going to entertain the audience by influencing their mood with the songs he plays in the movie. Many directors use score to define the mood of a scene but both these directors use straight up song or at least in this film.
There is a very specific pattern followed by auteurs like George Roy Hill in this movie, Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. That is to take a transition period in time and impose story on it. If you impose a serial killer during yuppie wall street culture you get American psycho. A Nazi assassin outfit in France during the end of world war 2 , you get Basterds. Same with Django. Phantom Thread and There will be blood. What this does is to give a uniqueness to the movie and the story. Firstly you can't compare it with other movies and most importantly there is an inherent momentum and movement to the story already. Its a very tricky balance act. You want the time period to effect the story but on a visceral level and not feel expository. Even a movie like Hostiles took place in a transition period in time but there was nothing going on in the movie. The movie is literally about the transition and its too thin of a story to make a movie from.
This movie is set in 1890s and is set during the same time period as hostiles where in the Indian wars have ended and the victorious Europeans are in the process of establishing order in the country. The funny thing about order is that most of people from Europe who came to North America are free spirited and who want to create their own destiny. But the Oligarchy system that is being set up keeps the rich and powerful at the top and the rest of immigrants at the bottom. That's when our outlaws Butch Cassidy and Sundance and the picture is set. Cassidy is the wise one and Sundance is young and aggressive one.These are the guys who are robbing as a way of protesting the establishment . Its inherent to them and is not something they are thinking about consciously. Its deep rooted in their subconscious and every once in a while comes out in their words. They used to rob banks and in the beginning of the movie we notice that banks have gotten smarter and are setting up tight security system. So they decide to rob money transported through rail transportation. Its a mode of transportation similar to any. So if it gets a bad rep that its being robbed constantly then people will loose trust in it. That kind of puts them at odds with the rail road company. So The movie inter weaved this story with 19th century cultural mile stones as long as they fit the story. So they showed bicycle invention. There are some light hearted moments with that as well as some heart breaking moments where our protagonists start realizing they are finding it hard to catch up to how quick the world is changing around them. Its like a metaphor for aging.
On a artistic level this movie is very well made. There is an inherent progression to the story. As I said, since this movie is set at the end of civil war where america is in the process of establishing government, the lawmen are forced to make an example out of any outlaws and bring order to society. The character played by leads , Paul Newman especially exudes a lot of charisma. He feels like a cunning , wise and yet tough guy. He is a man stuck in the cyclical habit of robbing and living a life debauchery and back to robbing. He apparently can't save up money. Redford has the personality of a fiery young man rebelling against the system and wanting to be lead by testosterone. They form a dynamic pair. I watched this a while ago without knowing its importance. But for some reason one long sequence in the movie stuck with me for a long time in a good way. It seems like the purpose of the sequence which lasts for like 20 minutes or so is to turn the motivation of the protagonists from being this active and prosperous robbers to wanting to escape America. In my opinion this is one of the greatest sequences in the movie history along with the interrogation scene in the dark knight. This sequence is the very definition of relentlessness. Its a metaphor for lot of things. The scene basically involves Cassidy and Sundance being pursued by 5 or 6 lawmen who have been tasked to bring them to justice and make an example out of them. This is especially shocking to our protagonists because in an earlier we see them hanging out at a hotel and the sheriff of the town gathers people to motivate them to join him in hunting down Cassidy and his gang of robbers. But the whole village is too scared to join him. So at a time when no one is courageous enough to hunt these outlaws these 5 people are chasing them. The sequence begins near a rail line and moves to the village mentioned earlier. Where they try and get rid of the pursuers. But they wont fall for that and from then it feels like a survival movie where in these are not left alone. They are pursued through desert , rocks and green planes and hills. Over the course of the chase protagonists realize who each of those guys could be. In the end they loose the tail by taking an impossible jump into a river and surviving the fall and swimming and find their way back to their home. It is then they realize that the rail company has hired most skilled lawmen in america to hunt our protagonists. They realize that it doesn't end as long as they are in north america.
The movie takes a turn when they reach Bolivia. Originally thought to be a place of gold rush and then they realize there is nothing in Bolivia. They decide to rob banks in Bolivia. What is so striking about all this is that these guys are a products of wild west. That era is coming to an end. But they don't want to accept it. Its classic scenario of individual trying to rebel against the changing times.Its an impossible scenario.You know what , coming to think of it, from the synopsis of once upon a time in Hollywood there is line in it that says Its an odyssey of a struggling western TV star and his stunt double navigating through a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. Add to that Tarantino's statement of Pitt/DiCaprio being the most dynamic duo since Newman/Redford. I think we see references to this/the sting both directed by George Roy Hill in once upon a time in Hollywood. It would be interesting to see how they will treat the relationship between the leads considering Newman was older than Redford and it was easy to use him as the wise one and Redford as the young aggressive one. There can also be a sequence similar to this relentless chase by these lawman where they are chased by Charles Manson or something. So back to the movie, after they start robbing the unprepared Bolivian banks the news catches the wind of Lawmen in america and they come to Bolivia. That forces our leads to try an honest living and even that becomes too overbearing for them because when they act as lawman they are ambushed by local robbers. So the circumstances are so hard for these guys to make a honest living and their spirit is unwilling to live a normal life. Eventually their sins and actions catch up to them when they are surrounded by hundreds of armed lawmen in a overwhelming stand off for our protagonists. They have to choice between getting caught and hanged or going off in style. The movie gives them a heroes ending.
This is one of those movies that takes its time. Builds characters. Studies and reflects the time period its set in and the effect it has on the characters in the movie. Its very unique if you come to think of it. There is also a sequence in the movie about Bicycle invented at the time period and how it marks as an indicator of changing times. The chases has no music. It's just the sound of horses running. It poses a question to the viewer. What do you do if you realize that your talent is to be good at something that is deemed unlawful ? its raises further question as to who gives the right for others to decide what should or shouldn't be done. Why should people follow the rules ? A very deep yet utterly entertaining movie.