Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

Last updated

Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
Butch and Sundance- The Early Days FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Lester
Written by Allan Burns
Produced bySteven Bach
Jack B. Bernstein
William Goldman
Gabriel Katzka
Starring William Katt
Tom Berenger
Cinematography László Kovács
Edited byGeorge Trirogoff
Music by Patrick Williams
Production
companies
Pantheon
William Goldman
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 15, 1979 (1979-06-15)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million [1]
Box office$5,136,913 [2]

Butch and Sundance: The Early Days is a 1979 American Western film and prequel to the 1969 film. It stars Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy and William Katt as the Sundance Kid, with Jeff Corey reprising his role as Sheriff Bledsoe.

Contents

It was directed by Richard Lester and written by Allan Burns. It generally received mixed reviews but was nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design. [3]

The film is set in Wyoming. The outlaw Butch Cassidy finds a new partner-in-crime, but he has a stalker who wants him dead. The man is a former ally of Butch who is convinced that Butch betrayed their former gang.

Plot

In Wyoming, wannabe outlaw Butch Cassidy joins forces with sharpshooter Harry Longabaugh (who renames himself the Sundance Kid) and they carry out a series of robberies. However, Butch is stalked by a member of his former gang, O.C. Hanks, who believes he betrayed the gang.

The two spend the winter in Telluride until they hear O.C. is in town, then rush away to deliver diphtheria serum to snowbound farms and become heroes. O.C. ambushes them and wounds Sundance by mistake. He recovers in Butch's home, tended by Butch's wife Mary and their two sons, who don't know their father's real job (he takes up butchery to earn money).

O.C. turns up for a showdown and Sundance unintentionally kills him. Returning to crime, the pair rob a bank and then decide to rob a money train guarded by cavalry, not knowing Butch has been promised an amnesty if he gives up crime. They get the money, free the cavalry horses to prevent pursuit, and ride away dreaming of being famous outlaws.

Cast

Production

Allan Burns worked on the script with William Goldman, who was on board as executive producer; Goldman added some scenes and moments he wanted to introduce in the first movie but the bulk of the script was Burns'. [4] [5]

William Katt had recently made First Love and was being called "a young Robert Redford"[ by whom? ] so ended up being cast as Sundance. Tom Berenger was cast after the studio were impressed by his performance in Looking for Mr. Goodbar . [6]

Jeff Corey, portraying Sheriff Bledsoe, was the only actor to reprise his role from the original 1969 film.

Director Richard Lester stated he had never seen the first movie. [4]

Reception

Critical response

Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4 and said it was "technically fine ... But as we listen to the freewheeling dialog, as we watch young Butch and the Kid blunder through their first adventures and finesse their later ones, there's a nagging question bouncing about in the backs of our heads: Why are we in this theater at this time? Did we want to know about the early days? Now that we're here, does the movie make us care? Not really." [7] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also gave it 2.5 stars, writing that "Fox succeeded in getting the actors but failed to provide them with a really fine script. Which is not to say that 'Butch and Sundance: The Early Days' is a bad picture. On the contrary, it's pleasant enough, but that's about all." [8] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "so lifeless it's almost creepy ... You can't believe that Mr. Lester was in the same continent when it was made." Of the two leads Canby said, "There's nothing remarkably wrong about their performances but, for one reason or another, there's absolutely no rapport between them." [9]

Variety wrote, "Tom Berenger and William Katt acquit themselves admirably, but simply can't compete with the ghosts of two superstars ... There are some patented Lester hijinks in the first half-hour of the prequel, but these peter out surprisingly soon. What's left is a mishmash of effective stuntwork and visuals, and a story line that moseys along with little suspense or excitement." [10] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film "pleasant though slight." [11] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post declared it "the first attractive Western to mosey across the screen in several years. Not a great or even rousing Western, but at least a pleasant, warmly evocative one, beautifully visualized and incidentally enjoyable for its settings, texture, droll tone and sometimes amusing interplay of characters." [12]

The film reportedly lost $4 million. "It was a terrible movie", said a retired Fox executive. "It was a parody of a satire and it was filmed by talentless people. Naturally it bombed.... It takes a lot of money to produce a western. It has to be shot on location. You need horses, a period town, costumes and other paraphernalia that a contemporary film such as 'Kramer vs. Kramer' doesn't require. That's why studios are reluctant to finance them." [13]

Butch and Sundance: The Early Years holds a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on six reviews. [14]

Release

A DVD of the film was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in February 2005. [15] However, Anchor Bay has since lost distribution rights to the film and the DVD was forced to go out of print.

Shout! Factory acquired the rights to the film and released it on DVD as a double billing with Death Hunt on February 1, 2011. [16]

It is currently available on Blu-ray through Timeless Media Group. [17]

Related Research Articles

<i>Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</i> 1969 American Western buddy film by George Roy Hill

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American 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, and his partner Harry Longabaugh, the "Sundance Kid", who are on the run from a crack US posse after a string of train robberies. The pair and Sundance's lover, Etta Place, flee to Bolivia to escape the posse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Cassidy</span> American Old West outlaw (1866–1908/1937)

Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lester</span> American film director (born 1932)

Richard Lester Liebman is a retired American film director based in the United Kingdom, famous for his comedic and campy style of shooting movies and for his work in both US and UK cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Berenger</span> American actor (born 1949)

Tom Berenger is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon (1986). He is also known for playing Jake Taylor in the Major League films and Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films. Other films he appeared in include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Dogs of War (1980), The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Betrayed (1988), The Field (1990), Sniper (1992), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), Training Day (2001), and Inception (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch</span> Old West train robbing gang

Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall, near Kaycee in Wyoming, a natural fortress of caves, with a narrow entrance that was constantly guarded. In the beginning, the gang was referred to as the "Hole in the Wall Gang" during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch. The gang was led by Butch Cassidy, and it included his closest friends Elzy Lay, the Sundance Kid, Tall Texan, News Carver, Camilla "Deaf Charley" Hanks, Laura Bullion, Flat-Nose Curry, Kid Curry, and Bob Meeks. They were the most successful train-robbing gang in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundance Kid</span> American train robber (1867–1908)

Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch in the American Old West. He likely met Butch Cassidy during a hunting trip in 1883 or earlier. The gang performed the longest string of successful train and bank robberies in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Katt</span> American actor and musician (born 1951)

William Theodore Katt is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Ralph Hinkley/Hanley on the ABC television series The Greatest American Hero (1981–83).

The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang was a gang in the American Wild West, which took its name from the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming, where several outlaw gangs had their hideouts.

<i>Silver Bullet</i> (film) 1985 film by Dan Attias

Silver Bullet is a 1985 American horror film based on the 1983 Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. It stars Gary Busey, Everett McGill, and Corey Haim, with Megan Follows, Terry O'Quinn, Lawrence Tierney, Bill Smitrovich, Kent Broadhurst, David Hart, and James Gammon in supporting roles. The film is directed by Dan Attias, written by King and produced by Martha De Laurentiis.

A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etta Place</span> American companion of the outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Etta Place was a companion of the American outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, alias Sundance Kid. The three were members of the outlaw gang known as Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. She was principally the companion of Longabaugh. Little is known about her; both her origin and her fate remain unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Corey</span> American actor (1914–2002)

Jeff Corey was an American stage and screen actor. He was blacklisted in the 1950s and became an acting coach for a period, before returning to film and television work in the 1960s.

Clyde Snow was an American forensic anthropologist. Some of his skeletal confirmations include John F. Kennedy, victims of John Wayne Gacy, King Tutankhamun, victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, and Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junpei Takiguchi</span> Japanese actor

Kōhei Takiguchi, better known by his stage name Junpei Takiguchi, was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Chiba Prefecture.

<i>Someone to Watch Over Me</i> (film) 1987 American film

Someone to Watch Over Me is a 1987 American neo-noir romantic thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Howard Franklin. It stars Tom Berenger as a police detective who has to protect a wealthy woman, who is a key witness in a murder trial. The film's soundtrack includes the George and Ira Gershwin song from which the film takes its title, recorded by Sting, and Vangelis' "Memories of Green", originally from Scott's Blade Runner (1982).

<i>Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy</i> 2006 American film

Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy is a 2006 American adventure film, produced and directed by Ryan Little. It is loosely based on legends arising from the fate of real-life Western outlaw Butch Cassidy, the alias of Robert LeRoy Parker, whose gang robbed trains and banks in the 1890s. Cassidy fled to South America in 1901, where he is believed to have died in 1908.

<i>The Maverick Queen</i> 1956 film

The Maverick Queen is a 1956 American Western film in Trucolor starring Barbara Stanwyck as the title character and Barry Sullivan as an undercover Pinkerton detective out to stop outlaws Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and the Wild Bunch. It was the first film made in Republic's widescreen process Naturama. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Zane Grey.

<i>The Legend of Butch & Sundance</i> 2004 TV film

The Legend of Butch & Sundance is a 2004 American Western television film directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This was the last film scored by composer Basil Poledouris.

The 1979 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1980 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 1979. The ballot was later revisited and the expanded version was released in late 2004. Listed as follows are the original ballot's picks for Worst Picture and its dishonourable mentions, which are films that were considered for Worst Picture but ultimately failed to make the final ballot, and all nominees included in the expanded ballot. All winners are highlighted.

References

  1. Solomon, Aubrey (1988). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Scarecrow Press. p. 259. ISBN   978-0810842441.
  2. "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days". Box Office Mojo .
  3. "1980 Academy Awards". oscars.org. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Lee, Grant (April 23, 1978). "'Sundance': Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch". Los Angeles Times . p. M40.
  5. Davidson, Bill (May 29, 1977). "The 'Hyphenate'". The New York Times . p. 47. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  6. Kilday, Gregg (November 16, 1977). "FILM CLIPS: Dyan Cannon's Shooting Star". Los Angeles Times. p. G19.
  7. Ebert, Roger (June 18, 1979). "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  8. Siskel, Gene (June 20, 1979). "Butch, Sundance 'prequel' is too cute to cut it". Section 3. Chicago Tribune . p. 7.
  9. Canby, Vincent (June 15, 1979). "Film: 'Butch and Sundance' Goes Off the Trail". The New York Times . p. C10. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  10. "Butch and Sundance – The Early Days". Variety. December 31, 1978. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  11. Thomas, Kevin (June 15, 1979). "A Prequel to Butch, Sundance". Part IV. Los Angeles Times . p. 1.
  12. Arnold, Gary (June 15, 1979). "Two for the Comeback Trail". The Washington Post . p. B1.
  13. Blowen, Michael (June 29, 1980). "Why They're Slow On The Draw". The Boston Globe. p. 1.
  14. "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days". Rotten Tomatoes .
  15. "Butch And Sundance: The Early Days DVD". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  16. Jane, Ian (January 22, 2011). "Death Hunt / Butch & Sundance: The Early Days". DVD Talk. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  17. "Butch & Sundance: The Early Days Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.