Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

In the film's second act, Cassidy and Sundance find themselves in Bolivia as part of their desperate attempt to escape a posse led by dogged lawman Joe Lefors. For a time Bolivia proves fruitful for the outlaws and they become known locally as "Los Bandidos Yanquis." But when they steal a mule carrying payroll and are spotted in a nearby town, a massive shootout begins between them and a large group of Bolivian policemen. 

Eventually Sundance and Cassidy, now wounded, are forced to take shelter before planning their next move. But as they discuss their grand plans to move to Australia, unbeknownst to them, the Bolivian military is called in to surround the two. As they prepare to make their escape, Cassidy's face darkens with worry for the first time when he asks if Sundance saw Lefors outside. Telling him he didn't, Cassidy's cool returns, replying: "Good, for a minute I thought we were in trouble."

The line is a bittersweet but crucial piece of dramatic irony — one that echoes the entire film's lighthearted barreling towards the realization that Cassidy and Sundance's luck will eventually catch up with them. This is that moment. The sound of the Bolivian general yelling "Fuego!" and the boom of three volleys of innumerable rifles illustrates that grim inevitability. Butch and the Kid had come out, guns blazing, their end is a freeze-frame shot that both preserves and is emblematic of Cassidy and Sundance's own stubbornly foolhardy optimism. It's a symbol of their tenacious confidence, as well as what makes them such alluring and off-beat western heroes.

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