Editing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

{{short description|1969 American Western buddy film by George Roy Hill}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
| image          = Butch sundance poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[Tom Beauvais]]
| director       = [[George Roy Hill]]
| producer       = [[John Foreman (producer)|John Foreman]]
| writer         = [[William Goldman]]
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Paul Newman]]
* [[Robert Redford]]
* [[Katharine Ross]]
* [[Strother Martin]]
* [[Jeff Corey]]
* [[Henry Jones (actor)|Henry Jones]]
}}
| music          = [[Burt Bacharach]]
| cinematography = [[Conrad Hall]]
| editing        = {{Plainlist|
* [[John C. Howard]]
* [[Richard C. Meyer]]
}}
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Campanile Productions
* [[Paul Newman|Newman]]-[[John Foreman (producer)|Foreman]] Company
}}
| distributor    = [[20th Century-Fox]]
| released       = {{Film date|1969|09|23|[[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]]|1969|09|24|[[New York City]]}}<ref name=AFI>{{AFI film|20673}}</ref>
| runtime        = 110 minutes<ref>{{cite web |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/butch-cassidy-and-sundance-kid-1970-6 |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |access-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215084453/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/butch-cassidy-and-sundance-kid-1970-6 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $6&nbsp;million<ref>{{cite web |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Box Office Data, DVD and Blu-ray Sales, Movie News, Cast and Crew Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid#tab=summary |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |access-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903203242/http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid#tab=summary |url-status=live }}</ref>
| gross          = $102.3&nbsp;million {{Small|{{No wrap|(North America)}}}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=butchcassidyandthesundancekid.htm |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) |access-date=February 26, 2012 |archive-date=February 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203122446/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=butchcassidyandthesundancekid.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
'''''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''''' is a 1969 American [[Western (genre)|Western]] [[buddy film]] directed by [[George Roy Hill]] and written by [[William Goldman]]. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as [[Butch Cassidy]] ([[Paul Newman]]), and his partner Harry Longabaugh, the "[[Sundance Kid]]" ([[Robert Redford]]), who are on the run from a crack US [[Posse comitatus|posse]] after a string of train robberies. The pair and Sundance's lover, [[Etta Place]] ([[Katharine Ross]]), flee to [[Bolivia]] to escape the posse.

The film was released on September 24, 1969<ref name=AFI /> and initially received lukewarm reviews from critics, but over the years it has since garnered some retrospective reappraisal. In 2003, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="NFR1">{{Cite web|title=Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-03-211/25-films-added-to-national-film-registry/2003-12-16/|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=Library of Congress|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222231120/https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-03-211/25-films-added-to-national-film-registry/2003-12-16/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NFR2">{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=Library of Congress|archive-date=December 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217172059/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|url-status=live}}</ref> The American Film Institute ranked ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' as the 73rd-greatest American film on its "[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]]" list, and number 50 on the original list. [[Butch Cassidy]] and the [[Sundance Kid]] were ranked 20th-greatest heroes on "[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains]]". ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' was selected by the [[American Film Institute]] as the 7th-greatest Western of all time in the [[AFI's 10 Top 10]] list in 2008.

==Plot==
[[File:Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Trailer.webm|thumb|Original release trailer of the film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969)]]
In 1899 [[Wyoming]], [[Butch Cassidy]] is the affable, clever, talkative leader of the outlaw [[Hole-in-the-Wall Gang]]. His closest companion is the laconic [[Sharpshooter|dead-shot]] "[[Sundance Kid]]". The two return to their hideout at [[Hole-in-the-Wall]] to discover that the rest of the gang, irked at Cassidy's long absences, have selected [[Harvey Logan]] as their new leader.

Logan challenges Cassidy to a [[knife fight]] over the gang's leadership. Cassidy defeats him using trickery, but embraces Logan's idea to rob a [[Union Pacific]] [[Overland Flyer|train]] on both its eastward and westward runs, agreeing that the second robbery would be unexpected and thus reap more money than the first.

The first robbery goes well. To celebrate, Cassidy visits a favorite [[brothel]] in a nearby town, where the town marshal unsuccessfully attempts to organize a [[Posse comitatus|posse]] to track down the gang, only to have his address to the townsfolk hijacked by a friendly bicycle salesman. Sundance, meanwhile, visits his lover, schoolteacher [[Etta Place]]. Cassidy joins up with them the next morning, and takes Place for a ride on his new bike.

On the second train robbery, Cassidy uses too much [[dynamite]] to blow open the [[safe]]. The explosion demolishes the baggage car in the process and the money flies everywhere. As the gang scrambles to gather it, a second train arrives carrying a six-man team of lawmen. The crack squad pursues Cassidy and Sundance, who try to hide out in the brothel, and then to seek [[amnesty]] from Sheriff Bledsoe, to no avail.

The posse remains in pursuit, and it includes renowned Indian [[tracking (hunting)|tracker]] "Lord Baltimore" and lawman [[Joe Lefors]], recognizable by his white [[boater|skimmer]]. Cassidy and Sundance elude their pursuers by jumping from a cliff into a river far below. They learn from Place that the posse has been paid by Union Pacific head [[E. H. Harriman]] to remain on their trail until they are both killed.

Cassidy convinces Sundance and Place that the three should go to [[Bolivia]], which he envisions as a robber's paradise. On their arrival there, Sundance is dismayed by the living conditions and regards the country with contempt, but Cassidy remains optimistic. However, they know too little [[Spanish language|Spanish]] to pull off a bank robbery, so Place attempts to teach them the language. With her as an accomplice, they become successful bank robbers known as {{lang|es|Los Bandidos Yanquis}}. However, their confidence drops after seeing a man wearing a white skimmer and fear that Harriman's posse is still after them.

Cassidy suggests "going straight", and he and Sundance land their first honest job as [[payroll]] guards for a mining company. However, they are ambushed by local [[Banditry|bandits]] on their first run and their boss, Percy Garris, is killed. They kill the bandits, the first time Cassidy has ever shot someone. The duo concludes the straight life is not for them. Sensing they will be killed should they return to robbery, Place decides to return to the United States.

Cassidy and Sundance steal a payroll and a [[burro]] used to carry it, and arrive in a small town. A boy recognizes the burro's [[livestock branding]] and alerts the police, leading to a gunfight with the outlaws. Cassidy has to make a desperate run to the burro to get ammunition, while Sundance provides covering fire. Wounded, the two take cover inside a building. Cassidy suggests their next destination should be [[Australia]]. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the two men, the local police have called on the [[Bolivian Army]]. The pair charge out of the building, guns blazing, into a hail of bullets from the massed troops who have occupied all the surrounding vantage points. The film ends with the sound of gunfire on a [[freeze-frame shot]] of the two bandits.

==Cast==
{{cast listing|
* [[Paul Newman]] as [[Butch Cassidy]]
* [[Robert Redford]] as the [[Sundance Kid]]
* [[Katharine Ross]] as [[Etta Place]]
* [[Strother Martin]] as Percy Garris
* [[Henry Jones (actor)|Henry Jones]] as Bike Salesman
* [[Jeff Corey]] as Sheriff Bledsoe
* [[George Furth]] as Woodcock
* [[Cloris Leachman]] as Agnes
* [[Ted Cassidy]] as [[Harvey Logan]]
* [[Kenneth Mars]] as Marshal
* [[Donnelly Rhodes]] as Macon
* [[Timothy Scott (actor, born 1937)|Timothy Scott]] as [[William Carver (Wild Bunch)|"News" Carver]]
* [[Charles Dierkop]] as [[Flat Nose Curry]]
* [[Paul Bryar]] as Card Player #1
* [[Sam Elliott]] as Card Player #2
* [[Jody Gilbert]] as Large Woman on Train
}}

==Production==

===Screenplay===
William Goldman first came across the story of [[Butch Cassidy]] in the late 1950s and researched intermittently for eight years before starting to write the screenplay.<ref>{{cite book|author=Goldman, William|title=Adventures in the Screen Trade|date=1982|pages= 191–200}}</ref> Goldman says he wrote the story as an original screenplay because he did not want to do the research to make it as authentic as a novel.<ref name="Egan, p. 90"/> Goldman later stated:
<blockquote>The whole reason I wrote the ... thing, there is that famous line that [[F. Scott Fitzgerald|Scott Fitzgerald]] wrote, who was one of my heroes, "There are no second acts in American lives." When I read about Cassidy and Longabaugh and the superposse coming after them—that's phenomenal material. They ran to South America and lived there for eight years and that was what thrilled me: they had a second act. They were more legendary in South America than they had been in the old West ... It's a great story. Those two guys and that pretty girl going down to South America and all that stuff. It just seems to me it's a wonderful piece of material.<ref name="Egan, p. 90">Egan, p. 90</ref></blockquote>

The characters' flight to South America caused one executive to reject the script, as it was then unusual in Western films for the protagonists to flee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/220486|title=The Big Idea – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|last=Nixon|first=Rob|publisher=Turner Classic Movies, Inc.|access-date=February 26, 2017|archive-date=February 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226212904/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/220486%7C0/The-Big-Idea-Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Development===
According to Goldman, when he first wrote the script and sent it out for consideration, only one studio wanted to buy it—and that was with the proviso that the two lead characters did not flee to South America. When Goldman protested that that was what had happened, the studio head responded, "I don't give a shit. All I know is [[John Wayne]] don't run away."<ref name="Egan, p. 91">Egan, p. 91</ref>

Goldman rewrote the script, "didn't change it more than a few pages, and subsequently found that every studio wanted it."<ref name="Egan, p. 91"/>

The role of Sundance was offered to [[Jack Lemmon]], whose production company, JML, had produced the film ''[[Cool Hand Luke]]'' (1967) starring Newman. Lemmon, however, turned down the role because he did not like riding horses and felt that he had already played too many aspects of the Sundance Kid's character before.<ref>{{cite news| title=A slice of Lemmon for extra character|author=Flynn, Bob |series= Panorama|page= 7|work=The Canberra Times|date= August 15, 1998}}</ref> Other actors considered for the role of Sundance were [[Steve McQueen]] and [[Warren Beatty]], who both turned it down, with Beatty claiming that the film was too similar to ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]''. According to Goldman, McQueen and Newman both read the scripts at the same time and agreed to do the film. McQueen eventually backed out of the film due to disagreements with Newman. The two actors would eventually team up in the 1974 disaster film ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''. Redford took the role as he liked the script.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Redford talks about becoming 'The Sundance Kid,' 50 years after the movie's release |url=https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2019/10/13/robert-redford-talks/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Robert Redford Remembers His Co-Star, Friend |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=5913158&page=1 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> [[Jacqueline Bisset]] was a top contender for the role of Etta Place.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/184908595|title=Actress Is Driving Yellow Volkswagen into a Cadillac Future|author=[[Axel Madsen]]|newspaper=[[Star Tribune]]|date=July 14, 1968|access-date=January 23, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613070533/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/184908595/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Filming locations include the ghost town of [[Grafton, Utah|Grafton]], [[Zion National Park]], [[Snow Canyon State Park]], and the city of [[St. George, Utah|St. George]]. These areas remain popular film tourism destinations, including the Cassidy Trail in Red Canyon.<ref name="Visit Utah 2021">{{cite web |title=Chasing Old West Outlaws On The Cassidy Trail |website=Visit Utah |date=2021-07-19 |url=https://www.visitutah.com/articles/chasing-old-west-outlaws-on-the-cassidy-trail |access-date=2023-11-28}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==

[[Burt Bacharach]] and [[Hal David]] wrote the song "[[Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head]]" for the film. Some felt the song had the wrong tone for a Western, but George Roy Hill insisted on its inclusion.<ref name="McEvoy">{{cite news |last=McEvoy |first=Colin |title=What It Was Like to Work with Burt Bacharach, in the Words of his Collaborators |work=[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]] |date=February 9, 2023 |url=https://www.biography.com/musicians/a42815918/burt-bacharach-famous-collaborators |accessdate=February 11, 2023}}</ref> [[Robert Redford]], one of the stars of the film, was among those who disapproved of using the song, though he later acknowledged he was wrong:<ref name="McEvoy" />

{{blockquote|When the film was released, I was highly critical: How did the song fit with the film? There was no rain. At the time, it seemed like a dumb idea. How wrong I was, as it turned out to be a giant hit.<ref name="McEvoy" />}}

===Personnel===
*[[Marvin Stamm]] − [[trumpet]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid">{{cite web |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200014190/ |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>
*[[Pete Jolly]] − [[piano]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"/>
*[[Hubert Laws]] − [[flute]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"/>
*[[Bob Bain]], [[Bill Pitman]] − [[guitar]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"/>
*[[Tommy Tedesco]] − [[ukulele]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"/>
*[[Carol Kaye]] − [[electric bass]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"/>
*[[Emil Richards]] − [[percussion]]<ref name="Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"/>

==Release==

===Premieres===
The world premiere of the film was on September 23, 1969, at the Roger Sherman Theater, in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]. The premiere was attended by Paul Newman, his wife [[Joanne Woodward]], Robert Redford, George Roy Hill, William Goldman, and [[John Foreman (producer)|John Foreman]], among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/oct/26/butch-cassidy-returns-after-40-years/ |title='Butch Cassidy' returns after 40 years |first=Tiffany |last=Woo |website=Yale Daily News |date=October 26, 2009 |access-date=August 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002221358/http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/oct/26/butch-cassidy-returns-after-40-years/ |archive-date=October 2, 2012  }}</ref> It opened the next day in [[New York City]]<ref name=AFI/> at the Penthouse and Sutton theatres.<ref name=opening>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 8, 1969|page=9|title=Pennant Fever Sloughs B'Way Biz; Newies 'Goose,' 'Nut,' 'Mind' Falter; 'Tree' Big 175G, 'Cassidy' $68,608}}</ref>

===Home media===
The film became available on [[DVD]] on May 16, 2000, in a Special Edition that is also available on [[VHS]].{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==Reception==

===Box office===
The film grossed $82,625 in its opening week from two theatres in New York City.<ref name=opening/> The following week it expanded and became the number one film in the United States and Canada for two weeks.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 15, 1969|page= 11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 29, 1969|page= 11}}</ref> It went on to earn $15&nbsp;million in [[theatrical rental]]s in the United States and Canada by the end of 1969.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Big Rental Films of 1969|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 7, 1970|page=15}}</ref> According to Fox records the film required $13,850,000 in rentals to break even and by December 11, 1970, had made $36,825,000 so made a considerable profit to the studio.<ref>{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/foxthatgotawayt00silv/page/328 328]|title=The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox|url=https://archive.org/details/foxthatgotawayt00silv|url-access=registration|last=Silverman|first=Stephen M|year=1988|publisher=L. Stuart|isbn=9780818404856 }}</ref> It eventually returned $45,953,000 in rentals.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.variety.com:80/numbers/video.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991007042514/http://www.variety.com/numbers/video.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 1999|title=All-Time Top Film Rentals|publisher=Variety|date=October 7, 1999|access-date=June 27, 2019}}</ref>

With a final US gross of over $100&nbsp;million, it was the [[1969 in film|top-grossing film released in 1969]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm| title=Domestic Grosses Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation| website=[[Box Office Mojo]]| access-date=February 9, 2009| archive-date=July 10, 2001| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010710051059/https://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm| url-status=live}}</ref>

It was the eighth-most-popular film of 1970 in France.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sp=nmt4&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/france-1970-c22750529&usg=ALkJrhineDwQL3nWRzu5huL7fLnsBt_9Lg|website=Box Office Story|title=1970 Box Office in France|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613070538/http://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sp=nmt4&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boxofficestory.com%2Ffrance-1970-c22750529|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Critical response===
<!--{{expand section|date=September 2016}}-->

After release, reviewers gave the film mediocre grades, and New York and national reviews were "mixed to terrible" although better elsewhere, screenwriter William Goldman recalled in his book ''[[Which Lie Did I Tell?|Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade]]''.<ref name="Goldman, Which Lie">{{cite book|last1=Goldman|first1=William|title=Which lie did I tell?, or, More adventures in the screen trade|date=2000|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York|isbn=0-375-40349-3|edition=1st}}</ref>

''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' film reviewer [[Vincent Canby]] wrote that the film is "very funny in a strictly contemporary way", but said that "at the heart of the film there is a gnawing emptiness that can't be satisfied by an awareness that Hill and Goldman knew exactly what they were doing---making a very slick movie". He described the "Raindrops" sequence as part of an effort to "play tricks on the audience" by "taking short cuts to lyricism". The  performers, Canby wrote, "succeed although the movie does not".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=1969-09-25 |title=Slapstick and Drama Cross Paths in 'Butch Cassidy' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/25/archives/slapstick-and-drama-cross-paths-in-butch-cassidy.html |access-date=2023-02-12 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine said the film's two male stars are "afflicted with cinematic schizophrenia. One moment they are sinewy, battered remnants of a discarded tradition. The next, they are low comedians whose chaffing relationship—and dialogue—could have been lifted from a [[Batman (TV series)|Batman and Robin episode]]."  ''Time'' criticized the "Raindrops" sequence and the "scat-singing sound track by Burt Bacharach at his most cacophonous", which it said made the film "absurd and anachronistic".<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844956,00.html| title=Double Vision| date=September 26, 1969| access-date=February 9, 2009| magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| archive-date=December 14, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214145724/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844956,00.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] scored the film at two and a half out of four. He praised its beginning and the three lead actors, but felt it progressed too slowly and had an unsatisfactory ending. But after Harriman hires his posse, Ebert thought the quality declined: "Hill apparently spent a lot of money to take his company on location for these scenes, and I guess when he got back to Hollywood he couldn't bear to edit them out of the final version. So the Super-posse chases our heroes unceasingly, until we've long since forgotten how well the movie started."<ref>{{cite news|title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19691013/REVIEWS/910130301/1023|date=October 13, 1969|work=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=July 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722193410/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19691013%2FREVIEWS%2F910130301%2F1023|url-status=live}}</ref> Ebert reaffirmed his review in 1989 stating that he still thought it was a "turkey" and was baffled by its success.<ref name="youtube.com">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myY587VgNw4 |title=Siskel & Ebert Classics - 5/31/89 - "The Movies That Made Us Critics" Special |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2024-05-27 }}</ref>

[[Gene Siskel]] also disliked the film stating he thought it was predictable and writing that it was "too cute to be believed … not memorable".<ref>{{cite news|title='Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' at 50: Is it a relic or a classic?|url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/07/11/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-at-50-|date=July 11, 2019|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 27, 2024}}</ref> Siskel would later admit in 1989 that publishing his negative review was one of his first challenges as film critic, recalling that the editorial assistant was shocked that he was giving a bad review to a film starring Paul Newman and would give him a lesson that he had to be honest as a critic, no matter how unpopular his opinion.<ref name="youtube.com"/>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="7"| [[42nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[John Foreman (producer)|John Foreman]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="7"| <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970 |title=The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 26, 2011|work=oscars.org}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[George Roy Hill]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay – Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced]]
| [[William Goldman]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Conrad Hall]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (Not a Musical)]]
| [[Burt Bacharach]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Song – Original for the Picture]]
| "[[Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head]]" <br> Music by Burt Bacharach; <br> Lyrics by [[Hal David]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]
| [[William Edmondson (sound engineer)|William Edmondson]] and [[David Dockendorf]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Cinema Editors#Eddie Awards|American Cinema Editors Awards]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic|Best Edited Feature Film]]
| [[John C. Howard]] and [[Richard C. Meyer]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards]]
| Most Performed Feature Film Standards
| "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" <br> Music by Burt Bacharach; <br> Lyrics by Hal David
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="10"| [[24th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| rowspan="2"| George Roy Hill
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="10"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1971/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1971 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1971 |access-date=16 September 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1971}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| [[Paul Newman]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Robert Redford]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| [[Katharine Ross]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| William Goldman
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| Conrad Hall
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| John C. Howard and Richard C. Meyer
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Music|Best Original Music]]
| Burt Bacharach
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]
| [[Don Hall (sound editor)|Don Hall]], William Edmondson, and David Dockendorf
| {{won}}
|-
| [[22nd Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| George Roy Hill
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1960s/1969.aspx?value=1969|title=22nd DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[27th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/butch-cassidy-and-sundance-kid |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1970}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| William Goldman
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score – Motion Picture]]
| Burt Bacharach
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song – Motion Picture]]
| "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" <br> Music by Burt Bacharach; <br> Lyrics by Hal David
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[12th Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special]]
| Burt Bacharach
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/12th-annual-grammy-awards |title=1969 Grammy Award Winners| publisher=Grammy.com| access-date=1 May 2011}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[Laurel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Top Action Drama
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| 
|-
| rowspan="2"| Top Action Performance
| Paul Newman
| {{nom}}
|-
| Robert Redford
| {{draw|5th Place}}
|-
| Top Cinematographer
| Conrad L. Hall
| {{draw|4th Place}}
|-
| Top Music Man
| Burt Bacharach
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=Butch+cassidy&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive|access-date=August 3, 2016|archive-date=August 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813084335/http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=Butch+cassidy&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[1969 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Robert Redford
| {{draw|3rd Place}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ |title=Past Awards |website=[[National Society of Film Critics]] |date=December 19, 2009 |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-hall-of-fame/film-hall-of-fame-productions/ |title=Film Hall of Fame Productions |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[14th Satellite Awards|Satellite Awards]]
| [[Satellite Award for Best Classic DVD|Best Classic DVD]]
| ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' <br> {{small|(as part of ''Paul Newman: The Tribute Collection'')}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pressacademy.com/award_cat/2009/ |title=2009 Satellite Awards |work=[[Satellite Awards]] |publisher=[[International Press Academy]] |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[Turkish Film Critics Association|Turkish Film Critics Association Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film
| {{draw|8th Place}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[22nd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen]]
| William Goldman
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |work=Writers Guild of America |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2010-06-06 |language=en}}</ref>
|}

''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' also appears on several of the [[American Film Institute]]'s ''[[AFI 100 Years... series|100 Years]]'' lists.
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies]] (1998) – #50
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills|AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills]] (2001) – #54
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains]] (2003)
** Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – #20 Heroes
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]] (2004)
** "[[Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head]]" – #23
* [[AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores]] (2005) – Nominated<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110313150632/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/scores250.pdf AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores: Honoring America's Greatest Film Music, Official Ballot] [[American Film Institute]] via [[Internet Archive]]. Retrieved June 30, 2024.</ref>
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes]] (2005)
** "Kid, the next time I say, 'Let's go someplace like Bolivia', let's go someplace like Bolivia." – Nominated<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050917110512/http://www.afi.com/Docs/tvevents/pdf/quotes400.pdf AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, Official Ballot] [[American Film Institute]] via [[Internet Archive]]. Retrieved June 30, 2024.</ref>
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] (2007) – #73
* [[AFI's 10 Top 10]] (2008) – #7 Western Film<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-10-top-10/ |title=AFI's 10 Top 10 |access-date=June 18, 2008 |year=2008 |publisher=[[American Film Institute]]}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{See also|Hole in the Wall Gang Camp|SeriousFun Children's Network}}
American movie reviewers have been widely favorable. The film holds an 89% rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 61 reviews with an average score of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "With its iconic pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, jaunty screenplay and Burt Bacharach score, ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' has gone down as among the defining moments in late-'60s American cinema".<ref>{{cite web |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1003318-butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013601/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1003318-butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref>

The [[Writers Guild of America]] ranked the [[screenplay]] eleventh on its list of 101 Greatest Screenplays ever written.<ref>{{cite web |author=Savage, Sophia |date=February 27, 2013 |title=WGA Lists Greatest Screenplays, From 'Casablanca' and 'Godfather' to 'Memento' and 'Notorious' |url=http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813151310/http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807 |archive-date=August 13, 2006 |access-date=February 28, 2013}}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' lists ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>

In 2003, ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' was selected by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as one of ''The 1000 Best Movies Ever Made''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050329013532/http://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Retrieved June 30, 2024.</ref> In the same year, it was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="NFR1" /><ref name="NFR2" /> In 2008, British film publication ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked the film #32 on their list of ''The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120320142613/http://www.empireonline.com/500/91.asp ''Empire's'' The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time] ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Retrieved June 30, 2024.</ref>

The film inspired the television series ''[[Alias Smith and Jones]]'', starring [[Pete Duel]] and [[Ben Murphy]] as outlaws trying to earn an amnesty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/smith.htm |title=Alias Smith and Jones |access-date=December 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231005009/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/smith.htm |archive-date=December 31, 2006  }}</ref>

A parody titled "Botch Casually and the Somedunce Kid" was published in ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]''. It was illustrated by [[Mort Drucker]] and written by [[Arnie Kogen]] in issue No. 136, July 1970.<ref>[http://www.madcoversite.com/mad136.html ''MAD'' #136 July 1970] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108024021/http://madcoversite.com/mad136.html |date=November 8, 2011 }} at ''Mad'' cover site.</ref>

Also in 1976, a [[television film|made-for-television]] sequel to the film was released. ''Wanted: The Sundance Woman'' more heavily features Katharine Ross as Etta Place.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9erDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Wanted:+The+Sundance+Woman%22&pg=PT100 |title=LIFE Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at 50 |date=2019-08-30 |publisher=Time Home Entertainment |isbn=978-1-5478-4988-8 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1979, ''[[Butch and Sundance: The Early Days]]'', a prequel, was released starring [[Tom Berenger]] as Butch Cassidy and [[William Katt]] as the Sundance Kid. It was directed by [[Richard Lester]] and written by [[Allan Burns]]. [[William Goldman]], the writer of the original film, was an executive producer. [[Jeff Corey]] was the only actor to appear in the original and the prequel.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

===Television adaptation===
In September 2022, [[Amazon Studios]] announced a television adaptation, starring [[Regé-Jean Page]] and [[Glen Powell]]. [[Joe and Anthony Russo]] will be executive producers under their [[AGBO]] production banner.<ref>{{cite web|title=Regé-Jean Page & Glen Powell To Star In ''Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid''-Inspired Series At Amazon|url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/rege-jean-page-glen-powell-butch-cassidy-the-sundance-kid-inspired-series-amazon-1235120121/ |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|last=White|first=Peter|date=September 15, 2022|access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Regé-Jean Page, Glen Powell to Star in ''Butch and Sundance'' TV Series for Amazon From Russo Brothers (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/rege-jean-page-glen-powell-butch-and-sundance-tv-series-amazon-1235221604/|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|last=Goldberg|first=Lesley|date=September 15, 2022|access-date=September 16, 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of American films of 1969]]
* [[Antihero]] (Cassidy and Sundance are considered "antiheroes".)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|author=Egan, Sean|title=William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller|publisher= Bear Manor Media |date=2014}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category|Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}}
* {{AFI film|20673}}
* {{IMDb title|0064115}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|1003318-butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid|Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}}
* {{TCMDb title|69965|Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}}
* [http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/2007/03/butch-cassidy-a/ Ten Things You Didn't Know About ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006191729/http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/2007/03/butch-cassidy-a/ |date=October 6, 2013 }} from the [[American Movie Classics]] "Future of Classic" blog
* [https://www.virtual-history.com/movie/film/5000/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''] at Virtual History
* ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 654–655 [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC]

{{William Goldman}}
{{George Roy Hill}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''
|list =
{{BAFTA Best Film 1961–1980}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1969 films]]
[[Category:1969 Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:1969 action films]]
[[Category:1960s buddy films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:American buddy action films]]
[[Category:Best Film BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]
[[Category:Duos]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:Estudios Churubusco films]]
[[Category:Films about bank robbery]]
[[Category:Films about outlaws]]
[[Category:Films about train robbery]]
[[Category:Films directed by George Roy Hill]]
[[Category:Films produced by John Foreman (producer)]]
[[Category:Films scored by Burt Bacharach]]
[[Category:Films set in Bolivia]]
[[Category:Films set in Colorado]]
[[Category:Films set in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Films set in Utah]]
[[Category:Films set in Wyoming]]
[[Category:Films set in 1899]]
[[Category:Films set in the American frontier]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bolivia]]
[[Category:Films shot in Colorado]]
[[Category:Films shot in Mexico]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Films shot in Utah]]
[[Category:Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Direction BAFTA Award]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Screenplay BAFTA Award]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by William Goldman]]
[[Category:Revisionist Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:English-language Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:English-language buddy films]]