BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

Didn't do much today outside of shovel about eight inches of snow off of two driveways.  Rewarded myself with a fresh bowl of homemade chili and watching BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.  Most people I spoke to said it didn't hold up...

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID: Three and a half out of five stars.

Its interesting to go back and watch classic films that are on the cusp of the modern cinematic era but are still holding on to a lot of the previous era's style.  Released in 1969, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID has all the hallmarks of a classic western with a touch of 70s pacing.  While Paul Newman and Robert Redford are wonderfully charming as the titular bandits pacing issues made this film feel an hour longer than it was.  A random three minute photograph montage in the middle of the film and many scenes done with the director choosing to substitute music for dialogue made it tedious at times to get through.  But when Redford and Newman are playing off of each other, the film absolutely crackles with charm.  Overall it proved to be an enjoyable film though problematic for modern audiences.

This is a phenomena that I've noticed that isn't limited to cinema.  The pacing and style of writing is different in comic books, novels, and plays.  Many older forms of entertainment seem like a chore to get through these days - I'm not sure if it is because our brains have been trained to process information faster than earlier eras and get bored easy or if we're just getting dumber.

Probably both.

Film List:
January 1: THERE WILL BE BLOOD (5/5)
January 2: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (3.5/5)

January 3: THE ARTIST