Blu-ray Review: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the title roles as two outlaws who are always on the outlook for some quick cash, either by robbing trains and banks or some crooked card playing. The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards in 1969, winning 4, including cinematography, best original song and best screenplay. Recommended as a film but as noted below, I can’t really recommend this release unless you are a real diehard fan of the film, I mean a real diehard.

THE VIDEO: 2 stars out of 5
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is presented here encoded with Mpeg2 in its original aspect ratio of 2:35:1. Unfortunately, this release is a real mess. Clearly, the original print used for this release is in need of a major restoration. The print itself appears to be in dubious shape which I am sure leads to the overall poor quality of the image. The release falls way short in just about every factor important in producing a fine high def film image. Black level is poor giving the film a flat and lifeless looking image. The image itself is rather fuzzy looking with poor detail. Colors are washed out and vary from scene to scene and even within a scene. The fact that the video quality can vary so much during a scene is clear evidence to me that the fault here lies with the print. It is hard to believe that a release of this significance would go ahead with a print in so poor a condition. I look forward to the day when the film can be restored and re-released so we can see it how it was intended to be seen in all of its glory.

THE AUDIO: 2 1/2 stars out of 5
Not surprising for a film of its vintage, the audio here is nothing to write home about. The film appears to have been originally released i mono and it shows here even with the DTS HD Master Audio encode. New audio encoding tools can only do so much with dated material. On the positive side, the dialogue is clear and distinct and easy to follow. The rest of the audio lacks any dynamics with the exception of some explosions which show some degree of life. The rest of the audio is rather flat and un-involving. I could live with the audio provided the video was of top notch quality. Unfortunately, it isn’t. far from it.

IN CONCLUSION
Unfortunately, this release of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a real disappointment in terms of audio and video. If you have this film already on DVD, I would pass on this release and wait until the film is remastered and reissued.

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