It doesn’t seem like Hollywood makes good westerns anymore. Oh sure, occasionally Kevin Costner throws his hat in the ring and delivers a great flick like "Open Range", then no one goes to see it. Whatever happened to the heyday of the western movie? Gone are the days that brought us "The Magnificent Seven", "The Shootist", "The Man Who Shot liberty Valance," and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." On the bright side, those of us with an appreciation for classic films like these can enjoy them over and over again on DVD, often looking better than they did when first released in theatres.

Thanks to Fox Home Entertainment, this is certainly the case for my personal favorite, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The 2-disc volume set to hit store shelves as I write this delivers a perfect tribute to the western genre.

Once again showing my age, I was fortunate to have seen "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" when it first hit the local movie house. Let's see that was 1969, I was born in 1963… that would have made me… carry the 2… divide by Pi… a whopping 6 years old! I was definitely old enough to enjoy the gun slinging and the shootouts, if not necessarily the sharp dialogue provided by screenwriter William Goldman ("The Princess Bride"). And at 6, I was old enough to hero worship Robert Redford as Sundance and Paul Newman as Butch…. and even thought Katherine Ross (Etta Place) was a 'right purty woman.' Heck, I even learned the words to 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head.'

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", as directed by the great George Roy Hill, told the Hollywood version of the meeting and teaming up of real life outlaws Robert Leroy Parker (Butch) and Harry Longabough (Sundance). It follows their career all the way through their formation of history's 2nd 'Wild Bunch', Sundance's relationship with Etta Place and their attempt to put their outlaw days behind them. It also shows how the pair returned to their life of crime, only to fall at the hands of the Bolivian Army.

An interesting side note, at least for me (being somewhat of a history buff), there are actually several accounts of what really happened to Butch and Sundance. Some believe they really did die in the shootout with the army, others say that they were only badly wounded but committed suicide later that night in order to evade capture. Yet others hold to the theory that they survived the shootout, returned to the U.S. and lived out the rest of their days in anonymity. Personally, if the real Butch and Sundance were as history presents them, outlaws who robbed without killing, I hope they really did live out the rest of their lives in peace.

The teaming of Robert Redford and Paul Newman has to go down as one of the greatest parings in cinema history. The two have a rapport that transcends any movie they star in. Unfortunately, to date they have only worked together twice. First in this film, then a few years later in "The Sting" (also one of my all time favorite movies). There have been rumors that they are working on a script and plan to star in a movie together again, and I can't help but hope the rumor's true.

The 2-disc set of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" delivers one of the most gorgeous transfers of the film that I have ever seen, and even though the sound is still monaural, it is clear as a bell. As for extra features, here is where the set delivers to goods. The first disc offers up a commentary from the likes of George Roy Hill, lyricist Hal David, cinematographer Conrad Hall, and documentary editor Robert Crawford. Did I say documentary editor? Yep, the 2nd disc has a 45 minute documentary on the making of the film, which is full of awesome behind the scenes footage. This is followed up by a set of interviews with Redford, Newman, Ross, composer Burt Bacharach, and William Goldman. The interviews are about 12 years old, but are still well worth watching. There's even some production notes included that point to some interesting information on the final cut of the film.

If you've never seen "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", I cannot recommend it enough. It is one of the great American westerns, and this DVD release is a must-own. (So get out there and buy it!)

Directed by: George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross
Extras: Commentary by Director George Roy Hill, Lyricist Hal David, Documentary Director Robert Crawford Jr., and Cinematographer Conrad Hall, Commentary by Screenwriter William Goldman, The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Wild Bunch - The True Tale of Butch and Sundance, Documentary Feature, Making of… Documentary, Interviews with Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross, William Goldman and Composer Burt Bacharach, Deleted Scene, Production notes
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound, English Mono
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 6/6/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG
Website

We'll give Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid an A+.