Yale Celebrates 40th Birthday of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"

The Whitney Humanities Center at Yale, 53 Wall St., is rolling out the red carpet on October 23–24 for the 40th birthday of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the classic movie that teamed American cinema icons Paul Newman and Robert Redford in starring roles.

The two-day celebration begins on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium, with a screening of the movie, which — in addition to the star power of Redford and Newman— also boasts an Oscar-winning screenplay by William Goldman and Oscar-winning score by Burt Bacharach. The movie spoke vividly to its times and sparked an influential reimagining of the American western, say celebration organizers. The Friday screening will be followed by remarks and a question-and-answer session with Goldman and the film’s editor, Robert Crawford, who wrote and directed the documentary “The Making of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The discussion will be moderated by Michael Kerbel, director of Yale’s Film Study Center.

On Saturday, at 1 p.m., the Film Study Center, Films at the Whitney and the Whitney Humanities Center will continue to explore the work of director George Roy Hill — first by screening the Emmy Award-winning documentary about making “Butch Cassidy” by Crawford and another documentary “The Making of Slaughterhouse-Five,” co-directed by Crawford and Nicholas Doob, which features rare, on-screen interviews with author Kurt Vonnegut. Both documentaries give compelling insight into Hill’s way with actors and the technical challenges of filmmaking, say festival sponsors. Crawford, who has served as production assistant, associate producer, or producer on nine films directed by Hill, will introduce these films and take questions afterwards along with director, producer, and cinematographer Doob.

The celebration of Hill’s work will conclude Saturday evening with a screening of “Slaughterhouse-Five” at 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with Crawford, Doob and Kerbel.

There will be an encore screening of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” on Sunday, October 25, at 3 p.m.

The Gallery at the Whitney exhibition of “The Making of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’: Materials from the George Roy Hill Collection” will be on view for the last time October 24, 12:30 to 1 p.m. and during the break in the afternoon screenings.

The Gallery at the Whitney hours are Monday –Wednesday, 3–5 p.m. or by appointment at (203) 432-0670