Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Won 2 Oscars
- 22 wins & 29 nominations total
Martha Adcock
- Bank Customer
- (uncredited)
Harry Appling
- Bonnie's Uncle
- (uncredited)
Garrett Cassell
- Cop
- (uncredited)
Mabel Cavitt
- Bonnie's Mother
- (uncredited)
Patrick Cranshaw
- Bank Teller
- (uncredited)
Frances Fisher
- Bonnie's Aunt
- (uncredited)
Sadie French
- Bank Customer
- (uncredited)
Garry Goodgion
- Billy
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is one of the greatest cops 'n robbers films of all time. Loosely based upon the real-life escapades of Bonnie Parker and her lover, Clyde Barrow, along with Clyde's brother, Buck, Buck's wife, Blanche, and C. W. Moss, the film details the gang's escapades throughout the American Southwest during the early years of the Great Depression. Action-packed from beginning to end, this film is total dynamite as well as flying lead. Beatty gives a dynamite performance as the vicious Clyde Barrow, who will stop at nothing to escape capture by the law...literally. Dunaway gives a stellar performance as Bonnie, an amateur poetess who allegedly entertained her fellow gang members with long poems. Gene Hackman is superb as Buck Barrow, the joke-cracking gang-member, and Michael J. Pollard is equally adept as C. W. Moss, the sissy-killer of the bunch, who cries after each killing he is involved in. Denver Pyle is great as Texas Ranger Frank Hamer who doggedly tracked he gang and ultimately engineered the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde, after the gang kidnapped him and send pictured of him "bein' just as friendly as pie," with the gang, as Bonnie Parker is alleged to have said. One bizarre note: Buck Barrow was actually shot in the head and after the gang had camped out following his shooting, they left him when "the laws," had surrounded them. Buck lived for several days in a hospital after his capture by the law and actually was pretty coherent several times, giving statements to the police, and even asking for a minister to whom he could give his "final confession," and hopefully receive Divine Absolution. Gene Wilder gives a fine performance as the hapless, would-be, funeral director (or "Undertaker," as they are referred to down south) Eugene Grizzard, and Evans Evans is equally fine as his harried girlfriend, who apparently lied to Grizzard about her age. (When she told Bonnie her true age, she had a very sheepish look on her face while Grizzard gave her an amazed look as if to say: "I didn't know you were THAT old!) Anyway, this is a great film and loads of fun to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else to do. It's great to watch with "The Untouchables," 1959, starring Robert Stack and "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre," 1967 starring Jason Robards. I rate this film 10 stars out of a possible 10.
I agree with most folks who have reviewed this film. It has everything a well rounded motion picture can have. Two very charismatic leads, several supporting roles of great depth, brilliant cinematography, and a good story. Even the most minor roles sparkle. This is a story about a sociopath (Bonnie), meeting up with a low self esteem wanderer who is pretty spineless until she shows up (Clyde) and what happens when you set into motion a series of events that can only lead to destruction. Of course, the final scene is one of the most famous in all of movie history and opened the door for future films. It also glamorizes the two anti-heroes and puts them out there. Personally, I don't see them as glamorous at all; they are low life killers with no real respect for human life. That said, their portrayal is extremely well done. When Bonnie sees her mother for the last time, there is that element that you can't go home again. They have cut a path through the film. They have become the stuff of fiction. They are even blamed for crimes they didn't commit. Children read dime novels about them.
I just wanted ot mention Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. They don't have the savvy and the bravado that the title characters have, but they fill the screen. Fantastic performances. When I was a child, my parents ran a restaurant. I got to know a drifter who washed dishes for us. He left and a couple weeks later, we found out he had been shot and killed when he and his partner tried to commit a robbery. I remember the police talking to may parents as part of a routine investigation. When I see the people who surround the main characters in this film, I think back to this guy, especially when I watch the Hackman role.
I just wanted ot mention Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. They don't have the savvy and the bravado that the title characters have, but they fill the screen. Fantastic performances. When I was a child, my parents ran a restaurant. I got to know a drifter who washed dishes for us. He left and a couple weeks later, we found out he had been shot and killed when he and his partner tried to commit a robbery. I remember the police talking to may parents as part of a routine investigation. When I see the people who surround the main characters in this film, I think back to this guy, especially when I watch the Hackman role.
"Bonnie and Clyde" is a real innovative film in the fact that it does contain some extremely violent content. 1967 was a different time in the cinema. This film was one of the first, if not the first, that really showed violence the way it would be in real life. People bleed when they get shot and they die in gruesome fashions. The film itself is the somewhat true story of the infamous bank robbers who terrorized parts of Texas and Oklahoma in the early-1930s before they were finally terminated by the authorities. Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, and Michael J. Pollard all received Oscar nominations. Estelle Parsons won one in the Supporting Actress category. Dunaway and Hackman proved to be the finds of the decade and Beatty became the first real star to be an instrumental part in the actual production of the film. Watch for Gene Wilder in a somewhat funny sequence during the course of the action. Unrelenting and overall exceptional, "Bonnie and Clyde" is easily one of the top 10 films of the 1960s and one of the greatest films of all time. 5 stars out of 5.
The catalyst of poverty without opportunity, combined with rage and a rejection of society, resulting in chaos, murder, mayhem, with a background of depression era America. Two of the greatest performances of the time capture the menace deployed by the Barrow Gang as they carve, shoot and slaughter their way into cult stardom, both on and off screen - the super antiheroes of their day.
It can be a challenge accepting interpretation over fact but if fact is a cornerstone of your experience then perhaps documentaries are more to your taste. Once you take the lives of others and throw them on the big screen it's done for entertainment not education, so you have to be prepared to take things with varying sized pinches of salt. You can always follow up the facts later if the fancy takes you. Cult heroes to some, raging psychopaths to others - either way, characters that appear in various guises over the course of cinematic history and more likely will continue to do so for some time to come - always a fiction but occasionally grounded in fact.
It can be a challenge accepting interpretation over fact but if fact is a cornerstone of your experience then perhaps documentaries are more to your taste. Once you take the lives of others and throw them on the big screen it's done for entertainment not education, so you have to be prepared to take things with varying sized pinches of salt. You can always follow up the facts later if the fancy takes you. Cult heroes to some, raging psychopaths to others - either way, characters that appear in various guises over the course of cinematic history and more likely will continue to do so for some time to come - always a fiction but occasionally grounded in fact.
Went to search for this movie online so I could review it and almost typed "Bonnie and Tyler" into the search bar. It's been a long day, so this one will be brief.
Bonnie and Clyde is mostly a great movie. I have all the admiration in the world for what it did for cinema. It helped kickstart the idea of having violence actually be messy and impactful in mainstream film, and the fact that it's a sympathetic portrayal of people on the run from the law was probably quite shocking back then.
If anything, however, Bonnie and Clyde feel more like heroes than anti-heroes. They rob banks; faceless organisations that are foreclosing people's houses and making The Depression more depressing. They have few other ways to get by. There are police casualties, but the police response is often excessively violent, and they're tools of a state who seem to be doing little else to help the people who are suffering in the 1930s.
Bonnie and Clyde and their gang aren't perfect people by any means, but they are more likable than those who they're pitted against. Within the last few years, figures like them stray further and further from the anti-hero label, and closer towards the hero one.
There's some really bold editing here, and the lead performances are all good (fantastic Gene Wilder appearance, too). The character of Blanche is a bit annoying, though. I wish the screenplay had toned her down a bit. The music and a couple of jarring editing techniques might not work for everyone, too, and I think the pace gets a little janky here and there.
But for the stuff this movie does well, I feel it's at least deserving of an 8/10 rating. It's not my favourite landmark boundary-pusher of the late 1960s, but it's up there.
I said I'd be brief, but that didn't end up happening. Guess there's a lot to talk about when it comes to a movie like Bonnie and Clyde.
Bonnie and Clyde is mostly a great movie. I have all the admiration in the world for what it did for cinema. It helped kickstart the idea of having violence actually be messy and impactful in mainstream film, and the fact that it's a sympathetic portrayal of people on the run from the law was probably quite shocking back then.
If anything, however, Bonnie and Clyde feel more like heroes than anti-heroes. They rob banks; faceless organisations that are foreclosing people's houses and making The Depression more depressing. They have few other ways to get by. There are police casualties, but the police response is often excessively violent, and they're tools of a state who seem to be doing little else to help the people who are suffering in the 1930s.
Bonnie and Clyde and their gang aren't perfect people by any means, but they are more likable than those who they're pitted against. Within the last few years, figures like them stray further and further from the anti-hero label, and closer towards the hero one.
There's some really bold editing here, and the lead performances are all good (fantastic Gene Wilder appearance, too). The character of Blanche is a bit annoying, though. I wish the screenplay had toned her down a bit. The music and a couple of jarring editing techniques might not work for everyone, too, and I think the pace gets a little janky here and there.
But for the stuff this movie does well, I feel it's at least deserving of an 8/10 rating. It's not my favourite landmark boundary-pusher of the late 1960s, but it's up there.
I said I'd be brief, but that didn't end up happening. Guess there's a lot to talk about when it comes to a movie like Bonnie and Clyde.
Did you know
- TriviaWarner Bros. had so little faith in the film that they offered first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of the gross instead of a minimal fee. The movie went on to gross over $70 million.
- GoofsThe 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. He never met either of them until 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.
- Quotes
Clyde Barrow: This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.
- Alternate versionsSeveral scenes (most of which can be read in the film's script) were shot but removed or altered for various reasons, either for content or to keep the running time under two hours. These scenes are, in chronological order:
- The earliest versions had Clyde shooting and killing the butcher during their fight. This was toned down to Clyde just shooting the butcher, and finally just pistol whipping him. In real life, speculation still exists as to whether Clyde Barrow actually committed the crime this is based on; although his photo was picked out, the method in which it was executed doesn't fit his MO. In the final cut, there is a brief jump in the film during the fight, where it was spliced from the original, more graphic conclusion.
- After picking up C.W., Clyde and Bonnie take him to a diner where they plan their next robbery.
- After Clyde kills Doyle Johnson (the man on the running board), Bonnie talks with CW in the bathroom while Clyde cleans his guns and laments his actions. In the bathroom CW bathes and Bonnie attempts to seduce him, but changes her mind when CW proves to be less than romantic material. A still from this scene-- Bonnie wearing a slip and Clyde's hat-- can be seen on the DVD.
- A longer scene of Buck and Blanche's approach to the motor lodge. Buck is singing Bible hymns and Blanche scolds him for bringing her to see Clyde.
- A longer version of Bonnie's visit home; she sits in the car and her sister gives her a perm (a portion of this-- Bonnie on the running board getting her hair put up-- exists in the final film).
- A very long sequence in which Bonnie and Clyde get drunk and come to terms with their impending death. They trash their room and rip out the mattress from their bed, turning it into a makeshift coffin. They then put on their best clothes and put makeup on each other so they can see what they will look like when they're dead. The scene concludes with Bonnie and Clyde dancing around CW by candlelight and chanting "The Hearse Song."
- During the Platte City raid, C.W. uses a machine gun to attack the armored car instead of grenades.
- The final shootout, in its earliest form, was done entirely with still photos shown over sounds of machine gun fire and screams, and we never actually saw Bonnie or Clyde dead. The movie ended with the two farmers running towards the car while "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" Played in the background.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 40th Annual Academy Awards (1968)
- SoundtracksDeep Night
Music by Charles Henderson
Lyrics by Rudy Vallee
Performed by Rudy Vallee
(heard over the opening credits)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Bonnie y Clyde
- Filming locations
- Red Oak, Texas, USA(Bank Robbery)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $2,560
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