I was reminded of another great Sidney Lumet film – again this is a film I saw in my religious studies course in high school (I think it was Freshman year).At the time I found it a little slow and plodding but upon reflection, it was a very good well-played courtroom drama.
This is taken directly from WENN news (via the Internet Movie Database):
Butch & Sundance Top Bromance Poll
Paul Newman and Robert Redford have topped a new Internet poll listing the top 10 Movie Bromances of all time.
The pair’s Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid roles beat Lethal Weapon’s Murtaugh and Riggs, portrayed by Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, on RoddysRockinReviews.com’s online countdown.
Naming Newman and Redford’s portrayals number one, the website claims Butch and Sundance are the “Bromance of Bromances,” adding, “When things in their wild world goes awry the two have so much devotion to each other that they face their imminent doom together without even blinking.”
Point Break’s Bodhi and Johnny Utah, played by Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, Star Trek’s Spock and Captain Kirk and Top Gun’s Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Iceman (Val Kilmer) also make the new top 10.
Personally, I could not agree more! Butch and Sundance is one of my favorites all-time.
What do you think? Did the public get it right? What other bromances did the pollsters miss?
In being an “everyman”, an “ordinary” man if you will, he was extraordinary. There was the unprecedented charity work that made giving to those in need really, really cool. Butch Cassidy/Cool Hand Luke for goodness sake! The almost mythic for Hollywood 50 year marriage to Joanne Woodward is stuff o’ legend – you CAN make it.
His screen persona (as already noted in several places) was striking, disarming and oh so appealing; “The Long Hot Summer” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” immediately spring to mind. The defiant, affable rogue/rascal of “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting” captured audiences. Granted I speak as a 30-something person who was not even born when the aforementioned films were out in theatres.
One film that I WAS release in my lifetime is one I watched when I was in high for religion class; “The Verdict” showed a real pathos and journey of discovery in my opinion – the troubled man who finds himself crusading in a sense to do the right thing.
It is a credit and privilege that we were able to see this progression of man throughout his career in several stage through the roles he portrayed over the course of over 50 years.
In closing, I refer to a song sung by another man known for his dazzling blue eyes; I feel like this captures the essence of a life that is lived to its fullest:
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which I’m certain.
I’ve lived a life that’s full.
I’ve traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Regrets, I’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
…
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.
I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried.
I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say – not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!
Farewell and rest in peace, my friend.
Revisiting The Sting (*)
Set in Depression-era Illinois (Joliet and Chicago), the action starts with Johnny Hooker (Redford) and his partners in crime Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones, James’ dad) and Joe Erie unwittingly and inadvertently running a scam on gangster Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), bilking him out of a large sum of money. Lonnegan’s henchmen track the grifters down and Luther is murdered. Upon finding out his friend’s fate, Hooker books it to Chicago in search for Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), who Luther had earlier recommended Hooker seek out if he wanted to learn from the best in the long con.
Hooker vows to avenge Luther’s death; he tracks down and enlists the help Gondorff, who is a little down on his luck when Redford’s character first meets him. After some urging, Gondorff decides to take him up on his offer and under his wing; the wheels are now set in motion for setting up the large-scale con known as ‘the wire’.
He assembles a group of various con men to stage the elaborate trap for Lonnegan. Add to the mix, coppers and federal agents who are hot on the trail of our ‘heroes,’ and what you have is a wonderfully paced caper that entertains and amuses, with various twists and turns at every corner.
As much as the film is memorable for the acting and camaraderie between the lead actors, it is the music, notably for the use of the Scott Joplin ragtime composition, “The Entertainer,” that always sticks with me.
Check out the trailer: