Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
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Two legendary outlaws flee a relentless posse from the American West to the mountains of Bolivia.
The story
In 1898 Wyoming, the affable Butch Cassidy and his laconic partner, the Sundance Kid, lead the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. After a series of successful train robberies, the pair finds themselves pursued by a relentless 'super-posse' hired by a railroad tycoon. To escape the law, the outlaws and the Sundance Kid's lover, Etta Place, flee to Bolivia. There, they attempt to transition from outlaws to honest workers, but the shadow of their past and the constant threat of being hunted by the posse force them to confront the reality of their lives on the run.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1898 Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid lead the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. After a successful train robbery, they are pursued by a relentless posse. They flee to Bolivia, where they initially find success as bank robbers. However, after a close call with a man in a white skimmer, Cassidy suggests they 'go straight' and take jobs as payroll guards. After a violent encounter with bandits, they realize the honest life isn't for them. Etta Place returns to the U.S., while Cassidy and Sundance steal a payroll. They are eventually cornered by the Bolivian Army and the film ends on a freeze-frame of the two men running into a hail of bullets.
- First release year
- 1969
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George Roy Hill
- Writers
- William Goldman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Paul Newman · Butch Cassidy; Robert Redford · Sundance Kid; Katharine Ross · Etta Place
- Genres
- Western; buddy film
- Themes
- identity; escape; the cost of freedom
- Tone and mood
- buddy; adventure
- Setting
- The American West (Wyoming) in 1898 and Bolivia.
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; Buddy Film; Outlaws; Road Movie
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based loosely on fact
- Reception
- Initially met with mixed to terrible reviews, the film has since received a positive retrospective reappraisal and is celebrated as a classic of 1960s cinema.
- Awards and nominations
- Best Original Score · Academy Award · 100 Years of Film Scores (2005) · Nominated; Best Original Song · Academy Award · 100 Years of Film Scores (2005) · Nominated; Best Original Screenplay · Academy Award · Won; Best Screenplay · BAFTA Award · Won
- Production trivia
- The script was initially rejected by one studio because the protagonists fled to South America.; The role of Sundance was offered to Jack Lemmon, who turned it down.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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