Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

Blogging has its own rewards, I guess. Up until today I didn’t know what they were. But now I hold in my hand a freshly minted  DVD of the Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, an all-new two disc set to be released on June 6. Curiously, I received this (free) DVD as the result of a mostly critical blog post I did on Newman’s Own Foods and their strange inconsistency in touting their philanthropy.
A marketing guy for the distributor did a Google search, I guess, and my blog came up. He emailed and asked if I’d be interested in posting a review. I said I would if he sent me a copy and a couple days later he did. This is one of my favorite films and I will watch it and review it at a later date. I’m certain I will like it. Always have. The special features look very interesting. Lots of interviews, of course, a making-of documentary and commentary by the director George Roy Hill, lyricist Hal David, cinematographer Conrad Hall and screenwriter William Goldman. Watch all the new stuff and you will be an expert on this Academy Award winning classic.
However, there is a part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that I really hated. It’s that song—Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head.  This song also won the Academy Award which began an Academy tradition of picking songs for Oscars that can drive one crazy. Raindrops is so bad it could have its own ride at Disneyland (like the excruciating It’s A Small World). It could be called Nailguns Keep Shooting Through My Brain. It’s one of those songs that stick in your memory like dog poo on your shoe. You can’t get it out with a sharp stick. If you question the impact of listening to this song for years, just take a look at Burt Bacharach. Raindrops is Scene 9 on the DVD and occurs, if you recall, the morning after Katherine Ross spends a romantic night with bad boy Robert Redford. They are in bed when Paul Newman rides by on a bicycle. Katherine jumps out of bed without waking Redford and goes off on a beautifully filmed if incongruous bike ride. I should point out here that it’s not raining. Yet we are “treated” to a pop style Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head in a scene which may have been the first music video. Props to Newman for cool bike tricks. Nice shots of Katherine’s inner thighs. A handsome bull to scare them away from the barnyard. But what was the point, anyway? I’ll be viewing the commentaries closely to try and find out why in the world this scene and this song found their way into an otherwise terrific film.

Comments

[Idetrorce]

very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce

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