Katharine Ross

When I first watched this film at a drive-in theatre I did not know the lead actors back then. It was the first western in color that I've ever watched. I find the song was modern (Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head) that it did'nt fit with the periodic times when music was different at the turn of the 20th century. The very ending of the movie was the sad part where both Butch and Sundance - when cornered - decided to choose suicide by bolting into the Bolivian Lawmen Posse's simultaneous gunfire which was memorable.

"Gorge Cassidy" (Paul Newman), a.k.a. "Butch Cassidy", and "Lonny Longbaugh" (Robert Redoford), a.k.a. "The Sundance Kid, are two of the greatest robbers in the history of the Old West. They pulled jobs on banks and trains with an expertise that made them famous from coast to coast. Now, years after being out of the business for about two decades, they decide to pull one last bank heist in Bolivia, with the help of a school teacher (Katharine Ross) with romantic ties to both men. I have to say that I am pretty disappointed in this film. I found it to be slow, with not enough action considering the topic of the movie. It dragged so much that I noticed spending more attention to my computer than watching the movie itself on cable television. One thing that stood out was the on-screen relationship between Newman and Redford. This is what carries the movie I believe, and most likely why this movie is called a classic now. You feel as if the two are not just partners in crime, but friends with the ribbing that they give one another. Another problem with this movie is the soundtrack. The only piece of music that is memorable is Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head by BJ Thomas, and that was a weird tune for a Western set in the Old West. If you ask me, the song was just an odd choice. I also barely enjoyed Ross as "Etta Place". Her character was barely developed if you asked me. It appeared that she was there as a romantic interest, and to help teach "Butch" and "Sundance" Spanish for their attempt at robbing the Bolivian bank. If you expect a lot of gunfights, you are mistaken on this one. Of what there is in the movie, they are short and well placed. The cinematography is hard for me to judge since Encore Westerns used a pan-and-scan format. I had to deal with only half of a scene when two people were talking to one another. But, from wide shots, I could see some spectacular scenery, including the famous scene when the title characters jump from a cliff into the water. Because it was declared a classic, I've been wanting to see this movie. I am highly disappointed in it.

The tone of the film becomes more and more nightmarish toward the end. The psychology of the characters breaks down into more primal urges. It becomes clearer and clearer that the two younger characters are breaking free of the societal, familial bondage that they are in. The further they get from the center of their proscribed roles, the more intense the film becomes. In the final scene, it is not clear what they are breaking free TO so much as what they have broken free from. She looks at him in the back of the bus. He does not return her gaze. They both end up looking ahead in silence. Perhaps they are not even sure of their immediate destination. The bus will take them to where the route proscribes. It is a yellow school bus. Perhaps they are wealthy enough that they have never ridden in a school bus.