butch cassidy and the sundance kid

the year: 1969

the genre: western


the cast: Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy); Robert Redford (Sundance Kid); Katherine Ross (Etta Place)


the plot: Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, and 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".


don't miss: the friendly banter between Butch and Sundance.


listen for: "Is that what you call giving cover?" "Is that what you call running? If I knew you were going to stroll..."


did you know: this movie was filmed on the sound stage next to Hello, Dolly! Director George Roy Hill believed that the studio would allow him to film the New York scenes on "Dolly's" sets, since the two films' daily shooting schedules were totally different. After production started, though, the studio informed him that it wanted to keep the sets for "Dolly" a secret and refused him permission. To work around this, Hill had Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Katharine Ross simply pose on the sets as photos were taken of them. He then inserted images of the three stars into a series of 300 actual period photos and spliced the two different sets (real and posed) together to form the New York montage.


extra bonus points: if you know why Sundance doesn't want to jump off the cliff.



disclaimer for Erika: the ending is bittersweet.

the sting

the year: 1973

the genre: dramedy


the cast: Paul Newman (Henry Gondorff); Robert Redford (Johnny Hooker); Robert Shaw (Doyle Lonnegan); Charles Dunning (Lt. Snyder); Ray Walston (J.J. Singleton); Eileen Crennan (Billie); Harold Gould (Kid Twist); Dana Elcar (FBI Agent Polk)


the plot: Johnny Hooker, a small time grifter, unknowingly steals from Doyle Lonnegan, a big time crime boss, when he pulls a standard street con. Lonnegan demands satisfaction for the insult. After his partner, Luther, is killed, Hooker flees, and seeks the help of Henry Gondorff, one of Luther's contacts, who is a master of the long con.



listen for: "What was I supposed to do - call him for cheating better than me, in front of the others?"


don't miss: the sting.




did you know: Robert Shaw injured his ankle and incorporated the resulting limp into his performance.



extra bonus points: if you know when Robert Redford finally saw this movie.


also listen for: "Sit down and shut up, will ya? Try not to live up to all my expectations."



did you also know: if you listen when Lonnegan (Shaw) first walks into "The Operation", you can hear over the P.A. that one of the horses running is called Steve McQueen.

sneakers

the year: 1992

the genre: suspense


the cast: Robert Redford (Martin Bishop); Sidney Poitier (Donald Crease); Dan Ackroyd (Darren "Mother" Roskow); David Strathairn (Irwin 'Whistler' Emery); River Phoenix (Carl Arbogast); Ben Kingsley (Cosmo); Mary McDonnell (Liz); James Earl Jones (Agent Bernard Abbott)


the plot: A burglar, a spy, a fugitive, a delinquent, a hacker, and a piano teacher... and these are the good guys. Martin Bishop is the head of a group of experts who specialise in testing security systems. When he is blackmailed by Government agents into stealing a top secret black box, the team find themselves embroiled in a game of danger and intrigue. After they recover the box, they discover that it has the capability to decode all existing encryption systems around the world.



don't miss: Carl trying to get a date.



watch for: the jacket Robert Redford wears. It's the same one he wears in The Natural.



listen for: "Uh, could we maybe just go back to the "they might kill us" part?"


extra bonus points: if you can name what each of the gang wants from the NSA in exchange for the encryption chip.



also listen for: "We got bupkis! We turn ourselves in now, they'll give us twenty years in the electric chair!"