Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and the Outlaw Affair
It’s 45 years since the release of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), a film with enough talent and potential to produce a quality outlaw film. Paul Newman, Robert Redford, director George Roy Hill (The Sting, 1973) and writer William Goldman (All the President’s Men, 1976) is a wealth of talent and what we are given is a good film. Note the word good in this sentence, by no means is this film a masterpiece but it is definitely entertaining and well acted.
However, a film critique is not what I’m interested in here. I am more intrigued by Hollywood’s love of outlaw films. Over the years there have been many films reenacting the lives of bank robbers, fugitives, criminals and outlaws from history. For example there have been numerous versions of the legend of Robin Hood, also Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), several movies about Jesse James, the list goes on and on even up to the more recent The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). So what is our fascination with the outlaw? And how does someone who is feared become someone who is revered? And more importantly, will the appeal continue?
Art and entertainment are often seen as ways of transmitting and communicating stories and philosophies that live outside of the norm. Abstract art, for example, attempts to give a different perspective on the everyday things that we see. As a race, we often enjoy watching and thinking of a life that we will never encounter, a life that the majority are too afraid or conscious of to try to live. So maybe it’s our rogue side, the naughty voice in our heads or our secret desire to be mischievous that leads us to making films and art about those who have “wronged” before us.
Some say that art and entertainment exist in order to distract us from the real issues with life and the world; others argue that such mediums help to explain the problems with the world that we live in. With this I can see both sides, but it’s clear that we like to celebrate those who have wronged in the eyes of the law, at least those figures from history.
I wonder if in 60 years time (about the amount time between Cassidy’s and the Sundance Kid’s death to the release of the film) we will be making films about the criminals of today? Those that we fear and reprimand today, will they be subjects of a comedic account of their wrongdoings? I guess with films like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) my question is answered, yes! There are definite differences between Jordan Belfort and Butch Cassidy or the Sundance Kid, but both films deal with their misdemeanors in a similar comedic manner. In no way am I saying that these films shouldn’t be made for moral reasons, it’s just that the way in which they are made is curious to me.
As a race, humans are very formulaic. Yes, we are individual and “free” but there are so many common traits that enable us to comply to set of rules.
see that we look at these men with a sense of intrigue and admiration and in the case of both of these films, with a grin on our faces. Yet people have died, men and women have lost everything, and your average taxpayer has been robbed because these people didn’t want to conform.
I have issues with conformity and hate the thought of being a pawn, manipulated to buy new technology, told that success is determined my your wage packet and forced to wear clothes than define my personality. And yet I do. But there is no way that I would want to deprive others from what they have achieved or unachieved, it is not my desire to be wealthy or successful without a thought for others. Some will say that this is impossible, some will say that everyman wants to better their and their families’ lifestyles regardless of how other’s live. Who knows? Maybe they are right? But it seems peculiar to make films that joke and glamourize the lives of those that focus only on their own world, and this is what Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wolf of Wall Street do.
Although, we strive and bemoan those who play the system and steal from the Average Joe, we spend money on tickets and merchandise of films that depict those exact lives. I guess this is just another way that we contradict ourselves, and a great example of our desire to live outside our own worlds. I guess as long as it happened back then it’s ok, it’s not like we would ever that happen now, never!
I am aware that films are made about all different historical events, philosophies and attitudes towards the world and in no way do I feel that they shouldn’t be made. In fact they should be made and exist as a record of that event, yet I feel that they should clearly display that these lives were flawed and not portray them as a successful way to make a living. With many negative messages being given to the next generation as it is, do we need to suggest that the likes of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid or Jordan Belfort are potential role models? I hope not!
by Russell Farnham
The Wolf of Wall Street was well received by many critics and filmgoers alike and the enjoyment of watching a life filled with passion and desire to succeed was clear. But for me, Belfort’s depiction was one of success despite others, similar to Robert LeRoy Parker and Harry Longabaugh (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Neither parties committed atrocities that require condemning forever, but neither really portrayed the mark of man’s plight against the world either. Both “outlaws” earned a living through taking from others and unlike Robin Hood, it was mainly for their own benefit (although, we can’t be sure of the truth behind Robin Hood’s charity work). Either way, it is interesting to
