Revealing mistake: In the opening sequence when Sundance shoots the gun belt off the card player, the film was cut to make the quick draw appear faster. You can see Butch's image jump across the screen in the background.
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)
Plot summary
Directed by: George Roy Hill
Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rock, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them. When they finally escape through sheer luck, Butch has another idea, "Let's go to Bolivia".
More mistakes in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
[After blowing up an entire train car while only intending to blow open the door.]
Sundance: Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?
Trivia: The turn-of-the-century-style film (which plays alongside the opening credits) was originally intended to appear in the bulk of the story. On Butch, Sundance and Etta's trip through New York, they view this film, which depicts Butch and Sundance's deaths. It upsets Etta so much, it contributes to her later decision to return home by herself. The segment had an annoyed Butch and Sundance watching the film from the back of the theater, whispering comments like, "We never did that". The change was made when it was decided to make the trip through New York into a musical interlude over still-photos. The main reason for the change: the studio had just finished work on a "period" set of a New York street (ca.1900) for the film Hello Dolly and did not want this expensive set appearing in a different film first.
More questions & answers from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
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Answer: It's to show how Butch and Etta care about each other as friends and that Etta is not just someone Butch has to put up with because she's Sundance's woman. A strong bond unites the three of them.
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