Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

"Before the fame when fun was the name of the game."

1979 1h 51m EN

😐

5.0

MID

★5.0TMDB · 43

WesternComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Before the adventures that made them legends, they were charming mastermind Robert Leroy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and crack-shot outlaw Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, soon to be known as The Sundance Kid. This is the 'prequel' of how they met, their first clumsy robberies, the heroic dangers that abound them together, the secret that nearly tore them apart, and the impossible train heist that made them notorious for life. Saddle up and ride with the showdowns, shootouts, bad guys and good times in the days before the fame when fun was the name of the game.

“Before the fame when fun was the name of the game.”

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Cast

William Katt
Sundance Kid
Tom Berenger
Butch Cassidy
Jeff Corey
Ray Bledsoe
John Schuck
Harvey Logan
Michael C. Gwynne
Mike Cassidy
Peter Weller
Joe Le Fors
Brian Dennehy
O.C. Hanks
Christopher Lloyd
Bill Carver

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Lester
Writers: Allan Burns
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Lester, shot by László Kovács. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Trirogoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

William Katt and Tom Berenger and Jeff Corey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Before the fame when fun was the name of the game.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0078919 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Lester directs. László Kovács behind the camera. Patrick Williams scores. George Trirogoff cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

147 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Richard Lester, shot by László Kovács. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Patrick Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Trirogoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6William Katt and Tom Berenger and Jeff Corey carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Before the fame when fun was the name of the game.".
8IMDB entry: tt0078919 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 43 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: László Kovács
Original score: Patrick Williams
Editing: George Trirogoff
Production design: Brian Eatwell
Costume design: William Ware Theiss
Makeup / hair: Gary Liddiard
Sound: Gerry Humphreys
Stunt coordinator: Loren Janes
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)

Part of

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Collection

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman), and his partner Harry Longabaugh, the "Sundance Kid" (Robert Redford), who are on the run from a crack US posse after a string of train robberies. The pair and Sundance's lover, Etta Place (Katharine Ross), flee to Bolivia in search of a more successful criminal career. In 1979, Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a prequel of sorts, was released starring Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy and William Katt as the Sundance Kid. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by Allan Burns. William Goldman, the writer of the original film, was an executive producer. Jeff Corey was the only actor to appear in the original and the prequel.