Les Joyeux Débuts de Butch Cassidy et le Kid

I have never been a fan of the original Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Though enjoyable, the film has been wildly overpraised for its overly cute script. Are these supposed to feared outlaws or a western Laurel and Hardy. Butch and Sundance the Early Days is pretty much of the same thing. It is fairly entertaining but it is also held captive by an overly cute storyline. This movie pretty much goes through the same territory as the same movie. The actors playing Butch and Sundance, Tom Berenger and William Katt, are very good. There are some enjoyable scenes but they go on forever, like the scenes in the snow that vary from slapstick comedy to an attempt at drama. Basically, if you are not a discriminating viewer and you don't have anything better to do, this is OK.

As the first of the modern-day prequels this has something of a bad rep, but baggage aside it's a pretty entertaining yarn. This is the first and only time director Richard Lester ventured into the western genre and he manages to place his own stamp on the film. Much of it takes place during the winter, which provides for a different visual palette (similar to the look of Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"), and Lester adds his usual throwaway lines to keep things light.

Tom Berenger and William Katt do a good job as Butch and Sundance, and at times Katt's resemblance to Robert Redford is uncanny. Likewise when Berenger wears his hat just so. Joining them are Peter Weller as LeFors (who ends their first encounter by saying ominously, "I'll see you again"), Brian Dennehy as a rustler out for revenge, Vincent Schiavelli as a casino guard, Paul Price (late of Lester's "The Ritz") as a stingy butcher, and John Schuck and Christopher Lloyd as a couple of bumbling outlaws. Also, if you look sharp you can catch Richard Lester's cameo about 34 minutes in, doing a double take during one of the duo's getaways.

All in all, "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days" may not in the same league as the original, but it's a good enough film in its own right, and at least worth a rental.

Under-Shown, under-appreciated, underrated and vastly overlooked gem. An entertaining little western with good performances and situations and with some genuinely funny lines. Look for Christopher Lloyd and John Schuck in brief but humorous character roles, and the menacing Brian Dennehy who offsets William Katt in the film's main gunfight. By no means the heavyweight and complex picture starring Newman and Redford that we all know and love but it gets along quite amiably on its own merits and does nothing at all to offend or tarnish the memory of George Roy Hill's classic. Still, one wonders just how great and memorable the premise could have been if it had been produced in the 90's with Matthew McConaughey and Brad Pitt as the younger Butch and Sundance. Think about it. While you do, pour yourself a shot of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid then watch Early days as the chaser.

Gorgeous scenery, well photographed. Good actors. Sweet tone. Inventive bits that echo the spirit of the previous movie. However, I agree with Leonard Maltin on the one flaw: no story. This movie is more or less a collections of vignettes, sometimes with little to no connection with each other. If there had been a developing story to hang these vignettes on, we would have gotten a movie very close to the quality of the previous movie. But as it is now, it's a simple pleasant movie. Even better when you realize the usual quality of sequels.

This prequel to the legendary Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford is not nearly as good but that doesn't make it bad either. If you're going to compare these two, this one is only going to suffer. But if you look at it on it's own terms you'll find there's plenty to enjoy here.

Tom Berenger and William Katt step into these legendary roles as Butch and Sundance and they do remarkably well. Director Lester focuses mainly on the comedic aspects of their relationships and at times the film is quite hilarious in depicting their early years as thieves who work their way up to become train robbers. In the final third the movie goes into serious and dramatic territory which isn't all that interesting nor enjoyable, but it does enhance the characters and give them more of a plight. But it picks up for a grand finale where the pair rob their first train.

With good supporting actors like Brian Dennehy, Christopher Lloyd and Peter Weller on board, Butch and Sundance; The Early Days is a film that should easily entertain most western fans and even admirers of the legendary "sequel" if viewers are willing to accept it on it's own terms.