In the first season of 30 Rock, there is this classic exchange between Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney which outlines the debate we will be having over the next two editions of the Paul Newman retrospective:
Jenna: Paul Newman or Robert Redford?
Liz: I’ve told you a thousand times, Newman. Because I enjoy his salad dressings and lemonade.
Jenna: Okay. Brad Pitt or George Clooney?
Once upon a time, there were two leading men called Paul Newman and Robert Redford. They would unite with director George Roy Hill for two films that would become classics of American cinema. One of them would go on to age extremely well and create a line of salad dressings. The other would go on to show us he really should have worn sunscreen and found a film festival that would start out independent, then go all commercial.
Butch and Sundance are two thieves in the American west living the dream. They rob banks and trains, they have a gang, visit prostitutes and go for bicycle rides. Then one day, they get hunted by a lawman names Lefors and nothing is the same. The two men have to flee to Bolivia, where they find it hard to rob banks, then find it hard to go straight and then find that eventually you will get shot robbing banks.
This film has one classic scene after another, so just indulge me.
This is where we learn about the rules of a knife fight:
This is where we learn about jumping off cliffs:
And this is where we learn about riding bicycles:
I swear that is a scene you could only get away with in the 1970s. All of a sudden, there's Burt Bacharach and Paul Newman's riding a bicycle and why? I was relieved to watch an interview with Richard Zanuck, who was the head of 20th Century Fox at the time, who related a story about when he first showed the film to the Board of Fox, who basically were like, "What's with that scene with the bicycle?" Okay, so it wasn't just me.
What is important is that this is the perfect film for 1969. The tone is just right, echoing the American discontent at the time without intentionally going cynical, just truthful. Take for instance one of the central ironies of the film: that Butch and Sundance never killed a man until they went straight. It's remarkable. Take the ending, which as I understand it House tried to murder a couple of weeks ago, hence why I stopped watching House like three years ago. That's neither here nor there...
I don't know what that bit tagged on the end is. Take that ending. This movie would suck if somehow Butch and Sundance got out, if we were subjected to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Down Under. It never would have worked. William Goldman said the theme of the film was that times change and if you want to survive, you should change with them. Butch and Sundance can't, won't, remain a relic of a wild past that is fast disappearing in the face of the future. We wouldn't love them if they did change and when they die, we don't feel cheated. It just seems right.
So, what did you think of this movie? By the way, it was nominated for Best Picture and lost to Midnight Cowboy. William Goldman did win for Best Screenplay. So, tell me if you disagree with me, did you understand the bicycle scene? Also, be sure to put your pitches for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Rob Monaco in the comments section.
Another legacy of this film is a philanthropic one. Paul Newman took the name of the gang in the film and founded Hole In The Wall Camps, which is a place where seriously ill children come to act like kids who aren't sick for a short time of the year. Here's an old PSA with Paul and I feel compelled to put a link to them to donate if you are so moved. I suck at making the links work, though, so if you could just copy and paste the address in your browser.
https://www.holeinthewallcamps.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=425
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