Bonnie and Clyde

Whether you love or hate it, Bonnie and Clyde was, and remains to this day, a ground-breaking film in the history of American cinema, and should be praised hugely for that alone. Aside from the re-defining techniques of showing violence on-screen and the depiction of main characters who are far from typical heroes, it contains career-boosting roles for many actors, and comes from a very talented director of the time, Arthur Penn.

The story follows the titular real-life bandit couple of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The story traces them from first meeting, and follows their crime-spree throughout a Depression-era America with their gang, robbing banks, evading police and creating a notorious reputation for themselves. The film is slightly romanticised, depicting the couple as young, foolish kids who don't really seem to realise what they're getting into, but the violent and unpredictable undertone and the impressive period detail ensures an edge that lifts it above typical gangster movies, and always assures us that what's happening isn't remotely romantic, while granting the characters and events gritty depth.

Penn is on fine form from the beginning, and handles a range of different scenes with ease and a huge amount of skill, from thrilling banks-robberies and shootouts, to the more intimate character scenes, in particular those between Bonnie and Clyde, which depict one of the most interesting and unusual screen couples to date. The cinematography and editing are used to huge effect, and resulted in some of the most ground-breaking scenes of the 60's, while the folk-style soundtrack gives an air of humour.

The film tends to play a bit fast-and-loose with the facts- like condensing several real-life members of the gang into the single character C.W. Moss, and neglecting the fact that for nearly a year, Bonnie was almost unable to walk due to a car crash, but writers David Newman and Robert Benton can be forgiven for these inaccuracies considering they succeeded in crafting a story that is both thrilling and exciting as well as tragic and thought-provoking.

But the story would be nothing without first-rate cast it boasts. Warren Beatty as Clyde excels in the multi-layered, dramatic role that he had sought after for so long, and more than succeeded in his attempt to be taken seriously as an actor. Beatty's depiction of a confident, intelligent, but naive young man looking to make his name and fortune is spot-on, and while romanticised to a certain degree, is never glorified. His Clyde is more than matched by Faye Dunaway's Bonnie, who gives a hugely convincing portrayal of an everyday girl getting caught up in something she should never have become part of. The two have an excellent and very unusual chemistry, even by today's standards, and work together brilliantly as a man not used to such intimacy and a woman desperate to live the romantic life of an outlaw with him.

The supporting players may not be quite as strong as the leads, but hold their own quite well, particularly Gene Hackman as Buck. In my opinion one of the greatest actors of all time, Hackman gives a brilliant performance that's both spirited and grounded as Clyde's brother, expressing the same wide-eyed desire for the life of an outlaw as the others and maintains a hugely convincing brotherly relationship with Beatty throughout. Michael Pollard also performs well as gang member C.W, whose quiet demeanour assures his character stands out, despite being relatively small. Estelle Parsons suffers with Blanche, a supremely annoying character that personally I found too irritating. But in fairness, that's precisely the intention behind the character, and Parsons certainly manages to convey it. Throw in one of Gene Wilder's first screen performances and you have an extremely talented and interesting cast.

But aside from the great cast and direction, the truly ground-breaking, incredibly influential aspect of the film is much simpler and much more important- the depiction of on-screen violence and the impact it makes. For the first time, when people were shot or killed, it looked like it hurt. Bad. Penn and his crew pushed boundaries that before, hadn't even been considered. Suddenly, violence was being portrayed in a gritty, shocking and unsettling way. For the first time, screen violence was truly violent. This is what made the story of a group of young and naive people deciding to become criminals so powerful- the fact that we really saw what that really meant. We see what it's like to be shot, and this helps to drive home their story with such impact and power. This was the first step taken that shaped the entire future of motion-picture, and inspired other films to follow it's example, such as The Wild Bunch, and later films like MASH and Jaws that continued to push the limits of what could be done on screen.

Now, I am definitely NOT a fan of gore or extreme violence. Give me E.T and Toy Story before all the Saws and Texas Chainsaw Massacres in the world. But that doesn't mean violence in films is wrong. Violence can be a means of driving home a point, or setting a film's atmosphere, or at times it can even just be pretty damn satisfying. But whether you're a pacifist or a gore-hound, it can't be denied that violence in films is prominent, and many times it's done well, while other times it's not. This film revolutionised it. And more than that, it gave film-makers the influence to do other new things, and was the perfect film to kick-start the revolutionary era of the late 60's and 70's, and inspired them to use their own ideas rather than what would make money.

This is a very special film. Personally, not one of my favourites, but it deserves a good 8 out of 10 purely for its historical relevance and powerhouse cast. It may not be perfect, but if you haven't seen it, see it, and know that you're watching history being made.

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.

The picture tells the lurid criminal story of a famous couple of delinquents, detailing a mythologized biography. In the time of the Great Depression , Clyde Barrow (top-notch Warren Beatty) recently out of jail meets Bonnie Parker(gorgeous Faye Dunaway). 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 stole a store , fired a few shots and then stole somebody else's car. At that point they had not yet been introduced , subsequently both of whom become usual bank robbers. The antiheroes go across the American Midwest and South robbing banks and stores during the 30s , embarking in a criminal rampage . They form a criminal gang , along with accomplices as Cyde's brother named Buck (incomparable Gene Hackman) and his spouse (Estelle Parsons was Oscar winner), besides an unexperienced young (unforgettable Michael J Pollard). But they're mercilessly pursued by a revenger sheriff (Denver Pyle). "The strangest damned gang you ever heard of. They're young. They're in love. They rob banks." There has never been... You have never seen... a motion picture like this one! They're young... they're in love... and they kill people !.

This classic movie displays drama , a peculiar love story , noisy action, violence and being quite entertaining . A brilliantly directed movie , a groundbreaking film that chronicles the short lives of America's most infamous criminals. In spite of thirty years from film-making still hold well and remains interesting . In the wake of the recently released Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch, the flick is plenty of grisly violence including a really violent ending that was extremely polemic. Colorful and glittering cinematography by cameraman Burnett Guffey was Oscar winner, and atmospheric musical score by Charles Strouse . Excellent art direction by Dean Tavoularis and evocative costumes by Theodora Van Runkle. The motion picture was magnificently directed by Arthur Penn . The picture spawned pretty imitators, and created a sub-genre about Great Depression outlaws, such as : Dillinger , Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine Gun Kelly, among others. And other updatings about Clyde Borrow and Charlie Parker life are the following ones : ¨Bonnie Parker story¨(1958) by William Witney with Dorothy Provine and a rendition for TV (1992) by Gary Hoffman with Tracy Needham and Dana Ashbrook.

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 wasn't surprise to find out that Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard had been seriously considered to helm the tragic tale of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Fortunately Arthur Penn took over. I say fortunately, not because I think any less of Truffaut or Godard but I'm sure nobody could have made this glorious American classic but Arthur Penn. Somehow there is an air of Frenchness permeating every frame even if Bonnie and Clyde is profoundly American. For a foreigner, like me, America has always been a Country to admire even if puzzling. Guns and Bibles. Violence with a poetic aura that it's as startling as it is disturbing. Warren Beatty is superb as Clyde - the real life character was homosexual but for the film he is impotent - more acceptable? Amazing to think of it now. Faye Dunaway became an icon, deservedly so. Gene Hackman, the extraordinary Estelle Parsons, Michael J Pollard and even Gene Wilder complete the cast of this extraordinary American film.