Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

A somewhat romanticized account of the career of the notoriously violent bank robbing couple and their gang.

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

David Newman, Robert Benton,

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard

Won 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warren Beatty	...	Clyde Barrow
Faye Dunaway	...	Bonnie Parker
Michael J. Pollard	...	C.W. Moss
Gene Hackman	...	Buck Barrow
Estelle Parsons	...	Blanche
Denver Pyle	...	Frank Hamer
Dub Taylor	...	Ivan Moss
Evans Evans	...	Velma Davis
Gene Wilder	...	Eugene Grizzard

Storyline

A bored small-town girl and a small-time bank robber leave in their wake a string of violent robberies and newspaper headlines that catch the imagination of the Depression-struck Mid-West in this take on the legendary crime spree of these archetypal lovers on the run.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | crime spree | violence | robbery | love | 

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Taglines:

They met in 1930. She was stark naked, yelling at him out the window while he tried to steal her mother's car. In a matter of minutes they robbed a store, fired a few shots and then stole somebody else's car. At that point they had not yet been introduced.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bonnie & Clyde

Filming Locations:

Albertson Ranch, Triunfo, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 5,828,000 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, Tatira-Hiller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Since this was Estelle Parsons's first film, she was amazed at the extent of the special effects. When she and Gene Hackman attempt an escape from a motel room using a mattress for protection from police gunfire, Parsons was required to crank a concealed wheel that sequentially detonated squibs embedded in the foam, simulating police bullet hits.

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Goofs

The film portrays Texas Ranger Frank Hamer as a vengeful bungler who had been captured, humiliated, and released by Bonnie and Clyde. In reality, Hamer was already a legendary Texas Ranger when he was coaxed out of semi-retirement to hunt down the duo, and never met either of them until the moment he and his posse successfully ambushed and killed them near Gibsland, Louisiana in 1934. In 1968, Hamer's widow and son sued the movie producers for defamation of character over his portrayal and were awarded an out of court settlement in 1971.

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Quotes

Farmer: All I can say is, they did right by me - and I'm bringin' me and a mess of flowers to their funeral.

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Connections

Referenced in A New Wave (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Lucky Day"
(uncredited)
Music by Ray Henderson
Played while the gang steals Eugene's car

User Reviews

Good afternoon, we are the Barrow gang.

Bonnie & Clyde stands today as one of the most important films of the 60s, it's impact on culture alone marks it out as a piece of work to note, but as gangster films go this one is something of a landmark. Quite how writers Newman & Benton managed to craft a story of two deadbeat outlaws into cinematic heroes is up for any individual viewers scrutiny, but they bloody well do it because we all want to be in the Barrow gang, because we get lost in this romanticised outlawish tale unfolding in front of our eyes.

The film is a fusion of incredible violence and jaunty slapstick, and smartly pauses for delicate moments to let us into the psyche of the main protagonists, we know they have hangups, and with that we know they are fallible human beings, and this sets us up a treat for the incredible jaw dropping finale, and the impact of this finale hits as hard now as it did back with the audience's of 1967.

The cast are incredible, Warren Beatty gives a truly brilliant performance as Clyde, he looks good and suave tooting those guns, but it's in the tender troubled scenes where he excels supreme. Faye Dunaway as Bonnie is the perfect foil for Beatty's layers, she nails every beat of this gangsters troubled moll. Gene Hackman, Michael J Pollard, and Estelle Parsons put the cherry on the icing to give depth and range to the rest of the Barrow gang, and these fine actors are clothed in gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Burnett Guffrey. To round out the plaudits I finish with love for director Arthur Penn because it's his vision that gives us something of a nostalgic movie that plays up and down with its subjects with cheeky aplomb, in fact it's just like the banjo music that features so prominently throughout this wonderful film.

Nominated for 9 Oscars it won just the two, the entire actors who played the Barrow gang were nominated, and truth be told they all would have been worthy winners, as it is they gave out just the one to the least strongest performance from Estelle Parsons, go figure. It's legacy both in culture and box office lives on and for me Bonnie & Clyde is not only one of the best films of the 60s, it's also one of the best in history. 10/10