By Fred Topel | Image property of respective holders
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
So far, 20th Century Fox releases of their catalog movies have been hit and miss. Die Hard looks as good as a 20 year old movie could, but the likes of Commando and Predator have been average, with something like Robocop being downright bad. Going all the way back to Butch Cassidy and the Sundace Kid must have required some careful restoration, and they definitely did this one proud.
On Blu-Ray: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
It's still about half and half. I mean, the age of the movie has some inherent limitations. Some scenes are crisp and bright. Others show the grain and some faded colors by comparison, but that's also the nature of the cinematography. Compared to the similar Bonnie and Clyde Blu Ray, it's got more color and sharpness.
The opening sepia scenes are crisp with minimal grain and sharp shadows. The color landscape can be grainy of course, but there are a lot of lush greens and clays. Sometimes the sky clears up and sometimes a densely populated landscape looks flawless. Soft focus is even softer in HD.
There is a lot of dirt to the west too. Maybe you won't see every grain of sand but then some worn out train or decrepit brick station shows off the grit. Towns at night have deeper shapes. A shocking standout is the red "General Store" sign on an interior window.
Key scenes like the cliff jump are sharp. Close up shots show more detail of the rapids than distant ones, but that's the information they had to work with. Those old cameras didn't capture every little speck like they do now.
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