Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Catherine Ross.
I just rewatched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) with my teenage son last night. It was a favourite of mine when I was his age, I must have seen it around 10 times from the age of 10 to about 16. But I hadn't seen it since.
My son and I made a game of picking out the parts of the movie that it copied from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. A joke of course, we both realize the movie came first, but there are elements that are so close, it's a testament to the iconic movie.
Side Note: For the past several years, I've developed an appreciation for the Official Soundtrack of BC&S, mostly by Burt Bacharach. It makes great "working from my laptop" music in a relaxed, lounge style. So, I watched it for the first time knowing what the pieces of music are called, and yes, it definitely enhanced my viewing. One big difference in watching it as an adult, I had far more sympathy for the Etta character, I didn't pay her much mind when I was young and was only vaguely aware of her. But Catherine Ross is as great as Newman and Redford in it. She strikes the right combo of bad boy-loving thrill-seeker and vulnerability.
LIGHT SPOILER
There's a scene that I found was pure cinematic gold, and there's no way I could have appreciated it as a kid. But near the end the three main characters are camping out, discussing what they're going to do next.
Etta must have realized that night that it's not going to go well with these guys, despite her affections. She seems to know it's time for her to go. Earlier in the film she had declared her one rule, she doesn't want to see Sundance (her lover) die.
So, back to the campfire scene, she "innocently" declares that she thinks she should just go on back home to America ahead of the two men. The men agree, yeah, that's a good idea, just go on ahead back home and we'll meet-up again later. The soundtrack cues up the sardonic Bacharach tune "Ain't Going Home Anymore".
That which goes unsaid is a theme throughout the movie, it happens again between Etta and the two in that moment. I think that in that moment, Etta knew they ain't going home and she's getting out while the gettin's good, and I also think Butch and Sundance know they ain't going home either. Just like in the climactic scene when Butch tells Sundance about Australia with its easy, ripe and luscious banks. They knew what was about to happen but it went unsaid. I'll call it good acting that they were able to pull-off all those things going "unsaid".
Truly a classic film. It stands the test of time and I still love it.
