Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in search of a more successful criminal career. In 2003, the film was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The American Film Institute ranked "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as the 73rd-greatest American film on its "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)" list. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were ranked 20th greatest heroes on "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains". In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy is the affable, clever, talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion
The Wild Bunch his previous film "Major Dundee" (1965) and his firing from the set of "The Cincinnati Kid" (1965), Peckinpah's stock had improved following his critically acclaimed work on the television film "Noon Wine" (1966). An alternative screenplay available at the studio was "The Wild Bunch", written by Roy Sickner and Walon Green. At the time, William Goldman's screenplay "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" had recently been purchased by 20th Century Fox. It was quickly decided that "The Wild Bunch", which had several similarities to Goldman's work, would be produced in order to beat "Butch Cassidy" to the theaters. By the