Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid: The Ultimate Collector's Edition

The greatest anti-Western returns to DVD in a new, improved package that lives up to the hype. Released in 1969, the same year as Easy Rider, Butch was a sleeper hit that took both the mainstream and counterculture by surprise. Here was a Hollywood picture with an anti-Establishment vibe; time has not aged this film. Its humour, rebelliousness and pathos still shine. The story: outlaws Butch and Sundance rob trains and banks until they are chased out of America to South America where they try to go straight. Ironically, the film marks the end of the Western yet remains one of the genres most beloved films. At heart, Butch is a buddy picture that few have since matched. The DVD absorbs most though not all of its previous release but adds a lot more. The original director and cinematographer commentary is preserved, as are the 1994 interviews with the principal cast. What’s new is a commentary by legendary screenwriter William Goldman, who spent a decade researching and writing the script. True to form, Goldman is frank and honest in his recollections, recalling who got hired, why and who battled whom. Disc two offers a treasure trove of documentaries, starting with a good retrospective by stars Newman, Redford, Katherine Ross, Goldman and the producers. There’s also a fine feature about the real Cassidy and Sundance, plus a particularly smart one that compares the historical truth with the myths perpetuated by the film. The only thing missing from the previous DVD was the original 1969 "making of” feature that is also inexplicably missing here. Nearly compensating for this oversight is a new stereo audio track. (Fox)