Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

I like to put things into my own words usually, but in this case I find myself in such perfect agreement with the late Roger Ebert that I feel compelled to quote his review of this movie at length:

"The movie starts promisingly, with an amusing period-piece newsreel about the Cassidy gang. And then there is a scene in a tavern where Sundance faces down a tough gambler, and that's good. And then a scene where Butch puts down a rebellion in his gang, and that's one of the best things in the movie. And then an extended bout of train-robbing, climaxing in a dynamite explosion that'll have you rolling in the aisles. And then we meet Sundance's girlfriend, played by Katharine Ross, and the scenes with the three of them have you thinking you've wandered into a really first-rate film."

I concur wholeheartedly, and I also agree with Ebert when he goes on to observe that it all falls apart about halfway through.  this is especially true of the dialogue, which eventually

". . . gets so bad we can't believe a word anyone says. And then the violent, bloody ending is also a mistake; apparently it was a misguided attempt to copy "Bonnie and Clyde." But the ending doesn't belong on "Butch Cassidy," and we don't believe it, and we walk out of the theater wondering what happened to that great movie we were seeing until an hour ago."

This last line perfectly captures what went wrong.  What happened to the good, though not great, movie this could have been?  What misbegotten committee is responsible for turning it into a monstrous hybrid of Godard, Bacharach, and Apatow?  The only circumstance under which I could recommend this movie is to an aspiring director, as an example of how to lose one's vision.