'...he had to be such a lonely life' (Clyde Barrow)
'Can you imagine the pain she had to go through' (in reference to Bonnie following her being severely burned in a fire)
Just about every episode of "American Experience" is exceptionally well crafted, entertaining and informative and this one is no different. However, despite the usual polish and style, I think this is clearly one of the lesser episodes for the series for two fundamental reasons. First, many of the 'experts' being interviewed are folks who were family members of either police or the gang...but due to their ages they didn't know the stories first-hand. Each had been told stories by their families--and historically speaking, this is a very inaccurate way to present history. Second, the film often lost objectivity and the way they referred to Bonnie and Clyde was offensively romantic. They were several times compared to Romeo and Juliet--though these Shakespearean characters never killed anyone...let alone more than a dozen innocent people! To me, this also really isn't history but myth-promoting and the show, while interesting, really dropped the ball in making these two savages seem decent. They weren't.
'Can you imagine the pain she had to go through' (in reference to Bonnie following her being severely burned in a fire)
Just about every episode of "American Experience" is exceptionally well crafted, entertaining and informative and this one is no different. However, despite the usual polish and style, I think this is clearly one of the lesser episodes for the series for two fundamental reasons. First, many of the 'experts' being interviewed are folks who were family members of either police or the gang...but due to their ages they didn't know the stories first-hand. Each had been told stories by their families--and historically speaking, this is a very inaccurate way to present history. Second, the film often lost objectivity and the way they referred to Bonnie and Clyde was offensively romantic. They were several times compared to Romeo and Juliet--though these Shakespearean characters never killed anyone...let alone more than a dozen innocent people! To me, this also really isn't history but myth-promoting and the show, while interesting, really dropped the ball in making these two savages seem decent. They weren't.
