The Whitney Humanities Center is pleased to announce a special exhibit and screenings to celebrate the work of Academy Award-winning director George Roy Hill (Yale College Class of 1943) and to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the world premiere in New Haven of his signature film: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
From Tuesday, September 8, through Sunday, October 25, the Gallery at the Whitney will present “The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Materials from the George Roy Hill Collection (Manuscripts and Archives).” This exhibit of storyboards, costume design, production stills, and other production material is drawn from the complete production record of the film, which George Roy Hill donated to Yale shortly after its completion. This exhibit has been made possible through the generosity of Paul Joskow (Yale ‘72 PhD) and the Yale Film Study Center, with support from Manuscripts and Archives (Yale University Library) and Hull’s Art Supply and Framing. The exhibit is dedicated to the memory of Paul Newman (1925-2008).
The celebration continues on Friday, October 23, with the fortieth-anniversary 35mm screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. With iconic performances by Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross, and with William Goldman’s Oscar-winning screenplay and Burt Bacharach’s Oscar-winning score, the movie spoke vividly to its times and sparked an influential reimagining of the American western. This screening will be followed by remarks and a question and answer session with screenwriter William Goldman and associate producer Robert Crawford, moderated by Michael Kerbel, director of Yale’s Film Study Center. The screening is at 7 pm in the Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium; a reception will be held at 6 pm in Room 108.
On Saturday, October 24, at 1 pm, 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 The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (directed by Robert Crawford) and 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 George Roy Hill’s way with actors and the technical challenges of filmmaking. Robert Crawford, who has served as production assistant, associate producer, or producer on nine films directed by George Roy Hill, will introduce these films and take questions afterwards. The celebration of George Roy Hill’s work will conclude Saturday evening with a 35mm screening of Slaughterhouse-Five at 7 pm, followed by a question and answer session with Robert Crawford and Michael Kerbel.
All screenings will take place in the Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium.