In George Roy Hill’s classic
western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid (1969), two bank robbers and their lady companion, Etta (Katharine
Ross), evade arrest and are hunted from those whom they have stolen from. I
personally am not a fan of westerns, but this one was actually not that bad.
The main quality that set it apart from the many Clint Eastwood-style movies I
have seen was it’s light-hearted and humorous mood and tone interspersed
throughout the film. Although there is shooting, drinking, and some sexual
content I can definitely see how this became a movie that many kids enjoyed and
reenacted over the years. I think that is mostly because it has the
archetypical “cops and robbers” story, but it remains happy and up beat because
of the cinematography and lighting.
The light-hearted and less serious
tone that is present throughout the film was caused by a few main elements. The
cinematography, meaning the way it was shot, the lighting and music, and the
basic dialogue. Firstly, the cinematography was excellent in this film. There
were many pan shots of the beautiful landscape and long shots of the characters
showing their surroundings as well. The vast desert landscape is a crucial
trademark to any western film, and it was greatly highlighted in this one
because the story was really about them travelling and escaping through the
wilderness. But the lighting greatly added to the film’s unique mood as well.
In the opening scene when they are playing poker and the characters are
introduced, the lighting is dark and there is no music because this is a
serious scene and shows that Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford)
are serious criminals with mad skill. This is one of the few scenes where the
mood is clearly somber and serious. Later on when Sundance surprises Etta the
lighting is dark, as it is night and the room doesn’t have any light sources,
but also because the viewer is led to believe that Sundance is going to rape
her, so naturally the mood is darker. When it is revealed that they are actually
lovers and this was their twisted way of spicing up their sex life, the
lighting stays dark but the mood shifts dramatically, exemplifying that mood
and lighting can be played with. The scene next morning where Etta and Butch
are out riding around on his bike, to me was the key difference between this
film and other westerns. The lighting was a soft and hazy yellow, and B. J.
Thomas’ “Rain Drops Keep Fallin On My Head,” was playing as they joyfully rode
through the meadows. Butch shows off his bicycle skills to Etta, and then he
accidentally goes into the bull’s ring. Even this moment is funny because the
camera shot quickly zooms in to the bulls face in a very comedic way right
before he begins to chase them out of the pasture. With the lack of violence or
plot development other than character relationship growth, this scene is really
unique to this western because it only serves a light-hearted and cute purpose
that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, that most other westerns lack. As
described, lighting is a key element in the mood of a film, but the
cinematography greatly adds to the tone as well.
Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is not only funny; it is also dramatic and
draws you in with its cinematographic prowess. There are many shots that stood
out to me in this movie that added drama and had a specific style to them. The
one that impacted me the most was when the big black steam engine carrying the
6 trackers, pulls up quickly along the tracks and the camera is right in front
of the grill before it comes to a screeching stop. The low shot makes it seem
like the train is going to come barreling through the screen right into the
audience, and gives it a very authoritative and intimidating presence. As soon
as the engine comes to a halt there is a short sequence of shots of the
industrial parts of the train. The black wheels, the greasy gears, the loud
steam pipe, and the hot black smoke billowing into the air all add to the tone
that this is not a train to be messed with. Continuing with the powerful tone
that the engine strikes, the six trackers that case Butch and Sundance
throughout most the movie feel very intimidating because how they are shot and
portrayed on screen as well. If you did not notice before, the faces of the men
are never clearly seen, Butch and Sundance describe them briefly, but we never
get a clear identification. This makes them seem larger than life, more than
just men tracking them, but a strong force that even they can’t even evade. The
sense of anonymity makes them seen almost inhuman, and more of a vague power,
with out a clear identity how are Butch and Sundance supposed to defeat them?
Cinematography and lighting are only a couple ways in the movie that the tone
is complex and the mood variation is portrayed.
Sources Referenced:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/>.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Dir. George R. Hill. Perf. Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Twentieth
Century-Fox Films, 1969. DVD.
Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave
Monahan. "Chapter 6: Cinematography." Looking at Movies: An
Introduction to Film. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. 2-62.
Print.
