Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang are well known across the West for their brazen antics, but it's best friends Butch and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) that are legendary. Butch is the idea man. Sundance is the skill. Together, the two outlaws reach legendary status. But the west is changing and when Butch and Sundance rob E. H. Harriman's Union Pacific Railroad train one too many times, a posse begins to trail the two. No matter what tricks they pull--across mountains, rivers, and rocks, Butch and Sundance can't shake 'em. Then Butch has another idea. Bolivia. Sure as shootin', the boys shake the posse, but can't shake their lifestyle and before long are on the run again.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a well executed buddy western that strikes the perfect balance. Every element here is right on the mark (save for the score--which now seems overly dated--more on that later). It's hard to imagine a more perfect screenplay or a better duo for delivery.

Newman and Redford have phenomenal chemistry. They are charming. The banter between these two is equally funny and thoughtful. Katherine Ross stars as Etta Place, Kid's girl and Butch's friend. Director George Roy Hill taps into a camaraderie here that is essentially the entire film. It's perfect.

The cinematography is top-notch, rendering a perfectly dusty Old West. Cassidy's interaction with the bicycle comes to mind. Sweeping vistas, stretching plains, towering hillsides and Boliva. The film takes on a wonderfully-colored feel in Boliva.

Truly, I have a love/hate relationship with the score by Burt Bacharach. Such a lightweight feel is unheard of in the genre, but it fits the almost subversive tone of the film. Still, it's sugary sweetness leaves a cloying aftertaste.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is everything that is right with art form. Although I think sometimes it struggles to maintain relevancy Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is the original--therefore it is a must see. However, it's the dynamic duo of Newman/Redford--two ICONS at their greatest that make it classic.