Paul Newman was born into stardom - but he didn't care. He was an actor, whose whole world wasn't really acting. Yet forever and always he will be an icon. Along with those unforgettable eyes.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was one of those stand out films for me. From previous successes in The Hustler, Hud and Cool Hand Luke, Newman began the first of two films directed by George Ray Hill.
I thought, first and foremost, this was a western like no other - I have never seen and doubt will ever see, anything like it. The writing was witty and humourous, but made the most of the obvious friendship and chemistry between Redford and Newman. It feels like a photo-montage of skits and ideas one after the other. Before I watched this film I knew that Conrad Hall had worked on the picture - a unique and awe inspiring cinematographer that made everything flow and seem so simple. Like a dream.
Butch Cassiy and the Sundance Kid begins with that music - stuttered like the imagery and opening credits. The first shot of Newman made me gasp, I'm sure I'm not the only one who did - once you've got past the beauty, the masculinity you begin to do what an audience should do when watching a film - question.
What is he looking at? Is someone watching him? Where is the camera? What is he looking for? Then we see it.......the bank. And so the story begins.
It is the continuation of genius sound effects and structure that make the footage flow so brilliantly - Hill making something so simple as the bangs, thumps and clouts of the windows and doors closing in the bank that form a musical tune. Newman is clearly scoping out the bank.
Switch to the card table. The other man in this duo is introduced. A vision in the form of Robert Redford. We see who the men are talking to, but we don't see who is speaking. The complete focus is on Redford. And why not? It is only him we are really interested in. We even get an idea of his character - staring at the gun, unblinking, confident. Newman acts like his conscience, talking over his shoulder, first one side then the other. It is only when those emortal words 'Sundance Kid' are mentioned do we see the reaction of the man sitting opposite - obviously Sundance's reputation precedes him.
It is Hill and Hall's wide angle, well lit shots give the wider picture. We not only see peoples' reactions and body language but their surroundings and atmosphere. The constant use of tracking shots keep the action moving, but faces are the key to this film - Redford and Newman give just as much away when they don't speak as when they do.
However, in parts, Newman's chiseled face shows no true emotion. I hate to use the old saying 'the eyes are the windows to the soul' but that never resonated more than in this film - Newman could portray a thousand feelings without ever uttering a word.
Like most people who watched this film, the bicycle scene was a major highlight. Like a goofy, comedy circus act it was loveable and adorable. The shutter like shots, like flickers of imagery, when Newman is on the bike with Sundance's girl is almost like a dream - almost like we are spying in on them, peeking from behind a metaphorical curtain.
Oh, and check the Charlie Chaplin-esque hat!
When they ride on their horses there is the camera angle looking up at them - we, the audience, are the inferior to them - they are the stand out crowd. The people to be. Their horse are like thunder, pushing the pace, building up the climax. I loved the fact that they became icons before my eyes in under a hour. I wanted to be there, part of their gang - even just a witness to their capers.
The use of contrasting sound builds tension, but at the same time keeps the story on the level - never veering from reality. For instance, when the near mutiny occurs within the camp near the beginning, we have such a serious situation, yet the pleasant singing of the birds seems to keep everything calm. The scene actually turns out to be quite humorous, with Newman's 'jack the lad' antics making us laugh out loud. The repartee is inspired - it is almost like watching a stand up show.
The dialogue, which not only is inventive and amusing, gives the impression that it is very 'what has to be said' instead of 'what you want to say'. Everything spoken word seems necessary instead of just filling time.
The constant chasing across borders, plains, towns, through deserts and rivers never tires. I was dying to see a close up of the authorities chasing them, to see their faces, to see their persistant determination etched on their skin - but Hill forces us to be exactly in the same position as Butch and Sundance, not daring to get close enough.
One of the truest 'buddy movies' in Hollywood history, the tale weaves through the capers of the real-life outlaws that still have people talking today. The writing was as slick as the acting and the perfect pacing leads us steadily along a life story. Newman was desperate to be the 'everyday man' on screen - to a certain extent he was successful, but his stardom set him apart from the rest - and that will never change. Redford, on the other hand, was the immortal soul, trying to be that forever young cowboy he played on screen.
What made me sit up in surprise was that poignant moment when Butch revealed 'I've never killed a man before.' Repeated several times in the film, Sundance tells his comrade 'you just keep thinking, Butch that's what you're good at' and before Newman's revelation, we just saw Butch as the ideas man - it truly means that however many banks he robbed, he really didn't want to hurt anybody.
The ending reminded me of the ending of the Young Guns or the conclusion of Blackadder (that utterly unforgettable scene' where they finally went 'over the top').
We know their fate, even before they do - I almost let out a sigh of relief that we are spared the scene of them being butchered. Forever and always they were together, in everything they did. From the beginning of their journey we knew that this was the inevitable end to the tale.
