Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
| Butch and Sundance: The Early Days | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Richard Lester |
| Produced by |
Steven Bach Jack B. Bernstein William Goldman Gabriel Katzka |
| Written by | Allan Burns |
| Starring |
Tom Berenger William Katt Michael C. Gwynne Peter Weller Brian Dennehy Christopher Lloyd |
| Music by | Patrick Williams |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Edited by | George Trirogoff |
Production company |
Pantheon William Goldman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | June 15, 1979 |
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million[1] |
| Box office | $5,136,913[2] |
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days is a 1979 Western film and prequel of sorts to the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It starred Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy and William Katt as the Sundance Kid.
It was directed by Richard Lester and written by Allan Burns. It generally received mixed reviews but was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.[3]
Plot
A young Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid are wannabe outlaws who find that breaking the law is not as easy as it seems.
Cast
- Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy / Robert Leroy Parker
- William Katt as The Sundance Kid / Harry Alonzo Longabaugh
- Jeff Corey as Sheriff Ray Bledsoe
- John Schuck as Kid Curry / Harvey Logan
- Michael C. Gwynne as Mike Cassidy
- Peter Weller as Joe Le Fors
- Brian Dennehy as O.C. Hanks
- Christopher Lloyd as Bill Tod Carver
- Jill Eikenberry as Mary Parker
- Joel Fluellen as Jack
- Regina Baff as Ruby
- Peter Brocco as Old Robber
- Vincent Schiavelli as Guard
- Hugh Gillin as Cyrus Antoon
- Sherril Lynn Rettino as Annie
- Elya Baskin as Book-keeper
Production
Allan Burns worked on the script with William Goldman, who was on board as executive producer; Goldman added some scenes and moments he wanted to introduce in the first movie but the bulk of the script was Burns'.[4][5]
William Katt had recently made First Love and was being called "a young Robert Redford" so ended up being cast as Sundance. Tom Berenger was cast after the studio were impressed by his performance in Looking for Mr Goodbar.[6]
Director Richard Lester stated he had never seen the first movie.[4]
Release
The film reportedly lost $4 million.[7]
A DVD of the film was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in February 2005. However, Anchor Bay has since lost distribution rights to the film and the DVD was forced to go out of print.
Shout! Factory acquired the rights to the film and released it on DVD as a double billing with Death Hunt on February 1, 2011.
It is currently available on BLU-RAY through Timeless Media Group.
References
- ↑ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Scarecrow Press. p. 259.
- ↑ "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days". Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "Academy Awards". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- 1 2 'Sundance': Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch... Lee, Grant. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) (Los Angeles) 23 Apr 1978: m40.
- ↑ The 'Hyphenate' Is Television's Latest Breed of Mogul: The 'Hyphenates' By Bill Davidson. The New York Times (1923-Current file) (New York City) 29 May 1977: 47.
- ↑ FILM CLIPS: DYAN CANNON'S SHOOTING STAR Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) (Los Angeles) 16 Nov 1977: g19.
- ↑ WHY THEY'RE SLOW ON THE DRAW: [FIRST Edition] Michael Blowen Globe Correspondent. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext) [Boston, Mass] 29 June 1980: 1.
External links
- Butch and Sundance: The Early Days at the Internet Movie Database
- Butch and Sundance: The Early Days at AllMovie
- Butch and Sundance: The Early Days at Rotten Tomatoes