Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

As I mentioned before, I was offered a free copy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (BCSK) if I wrote up a review of it on my blog. My first reaction to the thought of watching this movie was "1969? Aw man..." I don't generally like old movies. The production value isn't as good; the special effects aren't as dazzling; the action scenes are boring; the dialog is unnatural. I guess all the bells and whistles of modern cinema are an important part of my enjoyment of a movie experience.

I even have a tough time watching Clerks just because it is black & white, despite it being (probably underrated at) #15 on my top pure comedies list.

And speaking of Kevin Smith movies, I never realized that the mall security guard "La Fours" in Mallrats was based on the legendary lawman in the white straw hat from BCSK. Noticing that silly connection in the middle of watching this movie drove home a point that I was aware of on a detached level but hadn't really sunk in: this is a classic movie that has strongly influenced film makers ever since it came out.

I had seen BCSK once before, probably about 8 years ago. I didn't remember much about it other than (spoiler in white text) Butch and Sundance dying at the end in a huge gunfight. I certainly don't remember particularly liking the movie, and I haven't bothered to watch it again since then. But this time I really liked it.

Maybe for me old movies are an acquired taste. In the 8 years since the last time I saw BCSK, I've watched The Sting at least half a dozen times, and it gets better each time I watch it. So maybe that exposure to Newman and Redford helped me appreciate BCSK.

And the other thing that made me enjoy it more was the realization that I've watched movies backwards, historically speaking. So my goofy reaction to seeing the BCSK character Joe Lefors was that it reminded me of Mallrats, not the other way around. Realizing that so many more recent movies that I love owe something to quality older movies helped me put things in perspective.

So I had all that in my mind while I was enjoying BCSK, when my girlfriend said "is Brad Pitt our generation's Robert Redford?" At first I didn't see it, but then I realized how much Ocean's 11 and 12 (and I think there's a 13 on the way) are influenced by BCSK. The similarities are fairly obvious - both are stylish comedic crime dramas centered on 2 main characters, which would make George Clooney and Brad Pitt our generation's Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

See the intense concentration?



See the cool confidence?



See the latest styles?



See the 1 woman between the 2 of them?





See what Clooney and Pitt are going to look like in 20 years?



Anyway, if you already like old movies, you almost certainly don't need me to recommend BCSK to you, since it is one of the most celebrated movies of all time. But if you're like me and don't generally like anything made before you were born, you should give this one a try. In addition to having an obvious influence in modern blockbusters like Oceans 11 and 12, check out this list of movies that have directly referenced BCSK. It is fun to make those backwards connections. Even without those, they shot it 38 years ago, but the dialog is still fresh and funny, the characters are likeable, and the story is engaging.

I'll also mention that the Ultimate Collector's Edition that they sent me has a ton of bonus stuff too. I'm not really into that kind of stuff, but there's plenty of info about it if you click on the banner below.