... the film serves as a blueprint for the modern ‘buddy film.’
Video:
I am torn over the video transfer of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." There are a few sequences that are quite stunning and the MPEG-2 mastered 2.35:1 generally looks very good for a film that dates back to 1969. Detail is certainly better than DVD quality and the coloring is pretty good, but "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" cannot beat out "The Searchers" in a high-definition shootout. I consider the old John Wayne film as the high water mark in classic catalog releases and it is a stunning transfer and when you compare a few shots from that film to this picture, it is easy to see the flaws in this high definition transfer. While "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" easily bests the previous release of the film on DVD, it is only average on Blu-ray.
The problems with the transfer can nearly all be blamed on the source materials used. The film is ridden with marks of age from the print used. There are specs of dirt, a few scratches and some other disappointing flaws that are a direct result of the print used to master the film for high definition. The film looks as dusty and worn as the Old West and that is unfortunate. Film grain is another problem with the transfer and the grain is quite apparent during the darker sequences which exhibit poor shadow detail and a black level that is closer to a dark grey than it is a true black. Some of the exterior shots in the picture during daylight looks incredible and easily represents high definition. While I wasn´t excited about much of the transfer, I found the coloring was pleasant. The hues show a little age, but are generally natural and colorful.
The digital transfer itself shows some color banding and visible gradients during some of the darker sequences, but typically does the job well. However, the picture is very stable and when the source materials allow for strong detail and a clean presentation, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" shines. While I can´t go as far as saying the film is a superb looking picture on the Blu-ray format, it is an above average representation of a picture that is nearly forty years old. If a cleaner print would have been used to master the film, it could have been a true sight to behold.
Audio:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is presented onto Blu-ray with a brand new English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio soundtrack that sounds fairly good given the vintage of the film, but it hardly does the high definition sound format any justice as the mix is decidedly front-heavy with little to no usage of the rear surround channels and .1 LFE subwoofer channel. Purists will enjoy the English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono soundtrack and that option exists for Spanish and French language listeners as well. Comparing the multi-channel surround mix to the basic mono mix does show that the new soundtrack has some decent movement across the front channels. I noticed a few moments of bleed into the rears from the Burt Bacharach score and felt that BJ Thomas´ song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" sounded fantastic. I was almost moved to rushing out and trying to find a CD from the nearly forgotten artist. The mix is technically sound and is quite clean with easily intelligible dialogue that never once wavers. While the film doesn´t have much presence beyond the front speakers, it is nicely done and sounds clean throughout.
Extras:
The supplements of the Blu-ray release are quite lengthy and culled from a previous DVD special edition release. The disc does not feature all of the materials from that release, but the important bits are present and accountable for. Two commentary tracks begin the bonus materials. The first commentary track is presented ´Criterion Style´ and the Commentary by Director George Roy Hill, Lyricist Hal David, Documentary Director Robert Crawford Jr. and Cinematographer Conrad Hall is an edited together piece that presents a solid amount of material. Everybody chips in to say something and fans of the film should be quite pleased with the final effort. The second Commentary by Screenwriter William Oldman is a dry affair that is heavily detailed, but tedious to sit through. Oldman does dive into the details and differences between fact and fiction, but he is just not a talented enough orator to make this a two hour listen I wanted to complete.
Two lengthy featurettes are also included. The documentary titled All of What Follows is True: The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (35:29) features screenwriter William Goldman, stars Paul Newman, Katharine Ross and Robert Redford along with former Fox executives Richard Zanuck and David Brown and a few others as they discuss the making of the film. This solid documentary covers many aspects of the making of the film from genesis to opening weekend and the impact the film has had. The second, The Wild Bunch: The True Tale of Butch & Sundance (25:14) has many of the same personalities return from the first featurette, including museum curator Don Rumus and a number of other historians to debate the validity of the story as they discuss everything from the cliff jump to the bicycle riding. This is narrated by the familiar voice of James Gammon who may best be remembered as the manager of the Cleveland Indians in the two "Major League" films.
The Blu-ray release ends with some minor bits from the previous release. The "Tent" Deleted Scene with Optional Commentary by George Roy Hill (4:06) is a long lost scene that was found and restored that shows Butch, Sundance and Etta watching a motion picture before she is to leave for America. The three get up to leave, but are stopped by a short film on the "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang." Etta continues to leave while Butch and Sundance are horrified by how they are depicted. This mirrors the events in the film as Etta leaves before their deaths on screen, as she left Bolivia to avoid witnessing their eventual deaths. The audio for this track was never found so the deleted scene is subtitled. The Theatrical Trailers contain the films teaser trailer and two theatrical trailers. All-in-all, this is a nice set of features, but I would have liked a music video for "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" or a karaoke track of the song.
Closing:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a film that is often overlooked when it comes to the classic films of the Western genre. Robert Redford and Paul Newman show why they are Hollywood legends in their portrayals of legendary outlaws and the film serves as a blueprint for the modern ´buddy film.´ While the picture does take its liberties with historical events, it depicts the two men as they were perceived to be. The movie is both entertaining and classic. The Blu-ray release of the film is hindered by its vintage and some aged source materials. The picture quality suffers with a dirty and sometimes decrepit looking source print and DTS HD is overkill for audio as this is a front-heavy mix that is closer to mono sound than it is multi-channel surround. The supplements are pulled together from the best bits of the previous DVD release. I must admit that I feel all of the previous pieces of value-added content should have made the migration to Blu-ray and this BD-50 platter and while "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a nice step up in technology over the previous DVD release, the omission of bonus materials could have one questioning if it is a worthwhile step up on Blu-ray and whether or not the format is delivering on all of its promises.
I am torn over the video transfer of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." There are a few sequences that are quite stunning and the MPEG-2 mastered 2.35:1 generally looks very good for a film that dates back to 1969. Detail is certainly better than DVD quality and the coloring is pretty good, but "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" cannot beat out "The Searchers" in a high-definition shootout. I consider the old John Wayne film as the high water mark in classic catalog releases and it is a stunning transfer and when you compare a few shots from that film to this picture, it is easy to see the flaws in this high definition transfer. While "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" easily bests the previous release of the film on DVD, it is only average on Blu-ray.
The problems with the transfer can nearly all be blamed on the source materials used. The film is ridden with marks of age from the print used. There are specs of dirt, a few scratches and some other disappointing flaws that are a direct result of the print used to master the film for high definition. The film looks as dusty and worn as the Old West and that is unfortunate. Film grain is another problem with the transfer and the grain is quite apparent during the darker sequences which exhibit poor shadow detail and a black level that is closer to a dark grey than it is a true black. Some of the exterior shots in the picture during daylight looks incredible and easily represents high definition. While I wasn´t excited about much of the transfer, I found the coloring was pleasant. The hues show a little age, but are generally natural and colorful.
The digital transfer itself shows some color banding and visible gradients during some of the darker sequences, but typically does the job well. However, the picture is very stable and when the source materials allow for strong detail and a clean presentation, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" shines. While I can´t go as far as saying the film is a superb looking picture on the Blu-ray format, it is an above average representation of a picture that is nearly forty years old. If a cleaner print would have been used to master the film, it could have been a true sight to behold.
Audio:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is presented onto Blu-ray with a brand new English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio soundtrack that sounds fairly good given the vintage of the film, but it hardly does the high definition sound format any justice as the mix is decidedly front-heavy with little to no usage of the rear surround channels and .1 LFE subwoofer channel. Purists will enjoy the English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono soundtrack and that option exists for Spanish and French language listeners as well. Comparing the multi-channel surround mix to the basic mono mix does show that the new soundtrack has some decent movement across the front channels. I noticed a few moments of bleed into the rears from the Burt Bacharach score and felt that BJ Thomas´ song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" sounded fantastic. I was almost moved to rushing out and trying to find a CD from the nearly forgotten artist. The mix is technically sound and is quite clean with easily intelligible dialogue that never once wavers. While the film doesn´t have much presence beyond the front speakers, it is nicely done and sounds clean throughout.
Extras:
The supplements of the Blu-ray release are quite lengthy and culled from a previous DVD special edition release. The disc does not feature all of the materials from that release, but the important bits are present and accountable for. Two commentary tracks begin the bonus materials. The first commentary track is presented ´Criterion Style´ and the Commentary by Director George Roy Hill, Lyricist Hal David, Documentary Director Robert Crawford Jr. and Cinematographer Conrad Hall is an edited together piece that presents a solid amount of material. Everybody chips in to say something and fans of the film should be quite pleased with the final effort. The second Commentary by Screenwriter William Oldman is a dry affair that is heavily detailed, but tedious to sit through. Oldman does dive into the details and differences between fact and fiction, but he is just not a talented enough orator to make this a two hour listen I wanted to complete.
Two lengthy featurettes are also included. The documentary titled All of What Follows is True: The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (35:29) features screenwriter William Goldman, stars Paul Newman, Katharine Ross and Robert Redford along with former Fox executives Richard Zanuck and David Brown and a few others as they discuss the making of the film. This solid documentary covers many aspects of the making of the film from genesis to opening weekend and the impact the film has had. The second, The Wild Bunch: The True Tale of Butch & Sundance (25:14) has many of the same personalities return from the first featurette, including museum curator Don Rumus and a number of other historians to debate the validity of the story as they discuss everything from the cliff jump to the bicycle riding. This is narrated by the familiar voice of James Gammon who may best be remembered as the manager of the Cleveland Indians in the two "Major League" films.
The Blu-ray release ends with some minor bits from the previous release. The "Tent" Deleted Scene with Optional Commentary by George Roy Hill (4:06) is a long lost scene that was found and restored that shows Butch, Sundance and Etta watching a motion picture before she is to leave for America. The three get up to leave, but are stopped by a short film on the "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang." Etta continues to leave while Butch and Sundance are horrified by how they are depicted. This mirrors the events in the film as Etta leaves before their deaths on screen, as she left Bolivia to avoid witnessing their eventual deaths. The audio for this track was never found so the deleted scene is subtitled. The Theatrical Trailers contain the films teaser trailer and two theatrical trailers. All-in-all, this is a nice set of features, but I would have liked a music video for "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" or a karaoke track of the song.
Closing:
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a film that is often overlooked when it comes to the classic films of the Western genre. Robert Redford and Paul Newman show why they are Hollywood legends in their portrayals of legendary outlaws and the film serves as a blueprint for the modern ´buddy film.´ While the picture does take its liberties with historical events, it depicts the two men as they were perceived to be. The movie is both entertaining and classic. The Blu-ray release of the film is hindered by its vintage and some aged source materials. The picture quality suffers with a dirty and sometimes decrepit looking source print and DTS HD is overkill for audio as this is a front-heavy mix that is closer to mono sound than it is multi-channel surround. The supplements are pulled together from the best bits of the previous DVD release. I must admit that I feel all of the previous pieces of value-added content should have made the migration to Blu-ray and this BD-50 platter and while "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is a nice step up in technology over the previous DVD release, the omission of bonus materials could have one questioning if it is a worthwhile step up on Blu-ray and whether or not the format is delivering on all of its promises.
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