A Brief Synopsis
The audience goes on an adventure with Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. It turns out these outlaws have been robbing banks for quite some time now. They are successful in their first attempt of stealing money from a train, not harming anyone. However, the second attempt ended quickly because a group of trained lawmen arrived. The chase for Butch and Sundance begins at this moment and for the rest of the movie Butch and Sundance are on the run. They find themselves moving to Bolivia with Sundance's significant other. They continue to rob banks but little do they the will receive a rude awakening at the shoot-out scene.
How Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid ties into this class
Design
The use of design in this movie was impeccable. Design in the relation to the text is defined as, "the process by which the look of the settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined. Set design, decor, prop selection, lighting setup, costuming, makeup, and hairstyle design all play a roe in shaping the overall design" (Barsam 537). This movie definitely embodied these qualities throughout the entire duration of the film.
The great thing about movies that are not made in this current generation are that they are filmed all of this without green screen technology. Of course the technology we have now for movie effect is quite impressive, but it is very nice to go back and see what movies used to be like without all this CGI technology. I thought it interesting because a large part of the design process was taken out because of the use of a on-location environment instead of a studio location. The scenes in Butch Cassidy are all shot in different locations all around the US. When I say it is nice that these movies did not have green screen technology, I mean that the cast is not in a studio just filming. Also there is no editor who goes in and adds in a terrestrial background later. The cast actually had to go out and film these scenes on horses. This is why I think the use of design was so successful. The audience was really able to picture themselves back in the western days, as an audience member I felt like I could really connect with the characters better and understand the story line better. In order to achieve this goal the director really had to envision where to shoot the scenes. If one place did not match up with the other it would throw the whole design on the movie off.
Also whenever Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were in town, the towns had to be set up a certain way to still give it a western look. So the set designers created scenes, like the one to the left, to emphasize the time period and what it looked like back then. This played a successful role in creating a western feel to the movie. It made it more interesting and the audience could tell that the set designers put a lot of work into creating the movie's magnificent scenery. Certain placements of props and decor helped established a western feel. The rustic feel helped the audience remember that the setting the director was trying to accomplish was in the late 1800s.
For example in the picture above, there are many wagons placed in front this wooden stores. This is what western America used to look like and because this was the time period in which the movie was taken place set designers placed wagons like those to emphasize the time period Butch Cassidy took place in. The set designers did an effective job! Kudos to you!
Long-Shot
Aside from the brilliant design set up the movie incorporates the long-shot in many of the scenes. For example, in the scene where Butch and Sundance attempt to rob the train for the second time, the scenes after that the director specifically choose to use long-shot.
The director used long-shot for the rest of the chase scene between Butch, Sundance, and the lawmen. The use of the long-shot was effective because the audience never actually got to see the lawmen that were chasing Butch and Sundance. When the lawmen were shown it was only long shots of them from away, thus the audience never got to see them up close. It made the audience think who were these lawmen and how are they chasing down Butch and Sundance so effectively.
One of the lawmen that was pursuing Butch and Sundance was wearing a white straw hat, and later on in the film there was a man in Bolivia who had a white straw hat. This made Butch relapse and presented the idea that the lawmen that were trying to pursue them in America, might of made it to Bolivia and were trying to capture Butch and Sundance. The director did a great job with reincorporating this idea to foreshadow that something was going to occur later.
The director also used long-shot effectively in the sense that it showed the audience the was able to see the whole environment in which all the chase scenes were taking place. This reinforced the overall design of the whole movie. Yet again the audience was able to feel like they were in Western America. Kudos to the director for choosing such shots because the overall presentation was incredible!
Overall, the movie was entertaining at times it was a little slow but the action definitely made up for it! I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys westerns. It is an exceptional western movie and the scenery featured in the movie was quite ravishing!
The director used long-shot for the rest of the chase scene between Butch, Sundance, and the lawmen. The use of the long-shot was effective because the audience never actually got to see the lawmen that were chasing Butch and Sundance. When the lawmen were shown it was only long shots of them from away, thus the audience never got to see them up close. It made the audience think who were these lawmen and how are they chasing down Butch and Sundance so effectively.
One of the lawmen that was pursuing Butch and Sundance was wearing a white straw hat, and later on in the film there was a man in Bolivia who had a white straw hat. This made Butch relapse and presented the idea that the lawmen that were trying to pursue them in America, might of made it to Bolivia and were trying to capture Butch and Sundance. The director did a great job with reincorporating this idea to foreshadow that something was going to occur later.
The director also used long-shot effectively in the sense that it showed the audience the was able to see the whole environment in which all the chase scenes were taking place. This reinforced the overall design of the whole movie. Yet again the audience was able to feel like they were in Western America. Kudos to the director for choosing such shots because the overall presentation was incredible!
Overall, the movie was entertaining at times it was a little slow but the action definitely made up for it! I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys westerns. It is an exceptional western movie and the scenery featured in the movie was quite ravishing!
ReferencesBarsam, Richard. "Principles of Film Form." Looking At Movies. Fourth ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 20+. Print.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
"Movie Poster"
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"Butch and Sundance"
<http://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/5/000/2ac/3d3/373e95f.jpg>
"Butch and Sundance riding"
<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-REeFYaQGq64/T7_Th4sG8pI/AAAAAAAAGY8/GlopUFa004Q/s640/BC7doesntknowwhatBoliviais.JPG>
"Building #1"
<http://mediaserver.wyomingtourism.org/thumbnail/e15b0b5d-a069-436d-9876-ed5b62d3bd55?width=650&height=360&stretch=true&clip=true>
"Building #2"
<http://mediaserver.wyomingtourism.org/thumbnail/e6480f76-de59-459d-8c19-a769be97d9a4?width=650&height=360&stretch=true&clip=true>
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
"Movie Poster"
<http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_04kZGR_ltmE/S8r34ks3CEI/AAAAAAAAHEY/9FEELN0dWCk/s1600/Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid.jpg>
"Butch and Sundance"
<http://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/5/000/2ac/3d3/373e95f.jpg>
"Butch and Sundance riding"
<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-REeFYaQGq64/T7_Th4sG8pI/AAAAAAAAGY8/GlopUFa004Q/s640/BC7doesntknowwhatBoliviais.JPG>
"Building #1"
<http://mediaserver.wyomingtourism.org/thumbnail/e15b0b5d-a069-436d-9876-ed5b62d3bd55?width=650&height=360&stretch=true&clip=true>
"Building #2"
<http://mediaserver.wyomingtourism.org/thumbnail/e6480f76-de59-459d-8c19-a769be97d9a4?width=650&height=360&stretch=true&clip=true>