Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

1967’s Bonnie and Clyde changed the landscape of American movies in a major way. This picture allowed movies with gratuitous violence and realistic sex scenes to make their way to the forefront. This is the picture that allows us to see movies as we today in today’s modern cinema. Detractors criticize the film for allowing heavy violence that we see in nearly every film. With the changes made to 1960’s cinema, one can easily forget that this is actually a very good film. It tells the story about the famed criminal duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Robert Benton’s screenplay allows for ripe characterization and Arthur Penn’s direction was smooth and had the perfect landing.

 

Robert Benton, who created the screenplay with David Newman, molded his script around the French New Wave movement, which some characteristics you can see in the final product including jarring, sudden shifts in tone and choppy editing which comes to play near the film’s end. Benton got French names such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Loc Gudard to take interest in his script, but they turned the film down. Warren Beatty was in Paris at the time where he learned of the script and then decided to pursue the movie as actor/producer. Warner Brothers definitely had some concern. They did not like that the film took somewhat of a comedic view of the studio’s 1930’s gangster films heyday and of course they felt the audience would not like the violence. Boy, were they ever wrong.

 

We cannot effectively talk about the movie if we cannot mention the floodgates it opened in terms of violence. Prior to this film, most shootings were bloodless, and victims did not suffer. Penn gave his audience a much-needed jolt as he introduced bloody realism to the picture. The ending, during the famous shootout, Penn did not hold back. Honestly, I would have loved to travel back in time so I could document the shock on the audience’s faces. This film, in the short-term, allowed films like The Wild Bunch to be made. In the long-term, it allowed blood and violence to be portrayed in a realistic manner, perhaps even too much so. Regardless, the audience loved it and Warner Brothers were surprised at the box office receipts. They hardly promoted the picture, but it ultimately became a box office smash.

 

Like all films depicting true events, they take liberty upon the source material so do not expect every scene to be factual. Bonnie (Faye Dunaway) is a gum-chewing waitress and Clyde (Warren Beatty) is a felon just out of prison. They meet by chance in Dallas and thus the beginning of their world-famous relationship. Despite loaded guns, they originally had no plan to kill people. All they wanted to do was rob banks…and have fun. They recruit a mechanic, C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard) as their getaway driver, Clyde’s older brother Buck (Gene Hackman) and his spouse Blanche (Estelle Parsons) to finalize their gang. Eventually, they start killing and terrorizing the Midwestern towns. Ranger Frank Hamer (Denver Pyle), comes out of retirement, to track down the gang and protect the law.

 

Mostly, the performances were fantastic. The film allowed Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to go to stardom. Beatty made an unlikely Clyde, but his performance won me over. Dunaway is stunning beautiful and delivers an excellent performance. Both actors have wonderful chemistry. Dunaway, in particular, shows some great acting chops in two scenes that come to mind; the scene where she interacts with Moss for the first time, and the scene with her mother. Pollard and Hackman likewise do an excellent job. Ironically enough, I did not buy Estelle Parsons’s performance…and neither did she. She has an amusing quote that describes her characterization. She was annoying and loud…and somehow won the Academy Award. Oh, keep an eye out for Gene Wilder as one of the gang’s hostages. This is his film debut.

 

The studio thought Bonnie and Clyde was destined for failure. Instead, it became a box office hit and was nominated for ten Academy Awards and winning two of them. The movie doesn’t play these characters as a straight drama. More humor than expected was involved which led to some interesting tone shifts. Burnett Guffey’s cinematography is incredible, and I really enjoyed the atmospheric music from Charles Strouse. The movie packs plenty of power and the ending is awesome. It still made me jump despite being used to violent films. This is one of the most influential films in cinema because it introduced change, change that allows us to see the type of films we see today. But do not forget that this is still a great movie.

 

My Grade: A