One of the most tragic stories of cinematography took place on the... The Wild West...
Perhaps one of the most tragic stories in cinema happened not somewhere in the open Ocean where the Titanic sank, and not somewhere, I don’t even know. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is not a fictional story about real bandits with the same names and surnames.
Two friends Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are known throughout the county. They run the Hole in the Wall gang. Butch is a think tank, Sundance is a perfect performer and a first-rate shooter. They rob the same train carrying money twice. A chase is organized for the raiders, which is led by an experienced tracker Baltimore. No one could get away from him. Difficult to break away from the pursuit, the friends take refuge in the house of Sandes' girlfriend. And then Butch realizes that since luck turned away from them in America, maybe you should try your luck in Bolivia.
A touch of tragedy in this story is also given by the fact that, oddly enough, this story tells not about the heroes, but about the real criminals. Just like Bonnie and Clyde, but I can’t call that movie as touching as this one.
Although the film is leisurely, calmly moves its uncomplicated plot, nevertheless, for me, it is one of the most dynamic westerns in the history of cinema. The meaning in nm is laid about the same as in the standard action movie, which I watched and forgot, but this film is not one of these.
Although there is no morality in it, but in terms of semantic load I can only compare it with Clint Eastwood's film Unforgiven. Under this seemingly thin shell of primitiveness, simplicity and illiteracy lies such a colossal force.
But the film is valuable not only for that. In addition to the excellent plot, it is also stunningly beautiful. This was largely facilitated by operator work. Very beautiful panoramic plans of nature, but, not only that it is remarkable, but about this later.
In the film just two brilliant roles, played by the killer couple Paul Newman and Robert Redford. As in their next joint film “The Hustle”, here they played avant-garde, such risky guys, best friends, but radically different from each other. Butch Cassie performed by Paul Newmon is smart, smart, knows how to make the right decisions quickly, but, nevertheless, is completely unfit for combat. Sandes Keane, performed by Robert Redford, on the contrary, is not too shiny of mind, but a very accurate, fast, real killing machine.
Together they create one of the most colorful, charismatic duets in the history of cinema. But I would like to say a little about camera work not only about shooting landscapes, but also the perpetrators of the celebration. To be honest, the last scene in the film is one of the best shootings in film history. Very beautiful views, with each shot and want to say enthusiastic words. Of course, in many ways this contributes to the excellent performance of the actors, but still the operator did his job. From a visual point of view, the film looks like a masterpiece. And the last scene in the film, there are no words at all. Now I understand why Clint Eastwood (my favorite Western actor) should not be put in American films of this genre, but only in Italian films by Sergio Leone. Because Italian Westerns are more thoughtful, intelligent, and moral. While in American Westerns (and in many other genres), the emphasis is not on thoughtfulness, but on the dynamics of the plot. Both have the right to life, and the film “Good, bad, evil” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sandes Kid” are the best representatives of these two genres.
In the end, it was just a gorgeous spectacle. The first time I did not appreciate it, but then I did not like Westerns and old films, and now I was able to fully appreciate the beauty of this leisurely, but at the same time dynamic, uncomplicated, but at the same time highly intelligent, in a word multifaceted western. Still, if you compare “The Good, the Bad, the Evil” and “Butch Cassidy and Sandes the Kid”, then I prefer the former, because I like more thoughtful movies, but “Butch Cassidy and the Sandes Kid” will now stand in second place for me, and in American Western cinema in general in the first place, even despite my great love for John Ford films and the talent of actor John Wayne. Original
