Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

As an example of another New Hollywood Western, I did enjoy this, and almost gave it five stars, but it wasn't as tight a story or as lyrical as Bonnie & Clyde or The Searchers. For me, the timing of watching this as particularly apt, given I'm about to go to the Sundance Film Festival (named by Robert Redford for his character in the film). Steve McQueen was droll and fun to watch, but I didn't warm to Robert Redford's character.

Easy Rider

Meh. That's all I have to say about this film. Peter Fonda is nice to look at, Dennis Hooper is an ass. Fun to know they really smoked and did all the drugs shown in the movie. I know this is the beginning of 'new Hollywood', but the scene cuts were schizophrenic and the graphics really poor in comparison to Apocalypse Now and Bonnie & Clyde, especially in the scene where Jack Nicholson gets beaten to death. I also question the intelligence of hiding the money in something as flammable as the gas tank.

The French Connection

I'm a sucker for gansta films, though I suppose this doesn't quite fall into that genre in the way that The Godfather and Bonnie & Clyde are. I enoyed Gene Hackman's portrayal of Doyle, but wish that Roy Scheider had been given a bit more to do since his subtlety and inner struggle to play by the rules or stick by his partner added a nice depth that Hackman's 'a man apart' attitude didn't have. I liked the New Hollywood camera angles during subway chase and the two scenes where Doyle's car rolls by the bicycles with a mounted stationary camera. Overall a better role for Hackman than Bonnie & Clyde was.