Bonnie and Clyde

Released: August 13, 1967

Studio: Warner Bros.

Genre: gangster/romance

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 70.00 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 397.00 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Arthur Penn

Screenwriting: Robert Benton, David Newman

Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard

Review:

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty star as the infamous Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the real-life bank robbers from the 1930s, in this “groundbreaking, controversial, stylish crime drama/romance, and road film” ^FS “that mixed romance, adventure, glamour, comedy and violence in a way never seen before.” ^A07 The “trend-setting film” ^LM about these “unlikely heroes” ^LM “has spawned many imitators but still leads the pack.” ^LM

“The wit, excitement and star chemistry of [director] Arthur Penn’s landmark film remain as vivid as a hail of bullets.” ^TV He used Bonnie and Clyde “to reflect the youth rebellion of the Sixties” ^RS against a backdrop of “Dust Bowl panoramas and cloud-shaded wheat fields.” ^TV

“The notorious advertising slogan for Bonnie and Clyde (‘They’re young. They’re in love. And they kill people’) should have included ‘And they look absolutely marvelous.’ Within minutes of the film’s opening credits (and what great opening credits they are), an audacious close-up of a young, ravishing Faye Dunaway all but screams ‘a star is born.’ Beatty is just as comely and never more charming.” ^TV

The story shows their “easy-going, folksy flavor” ^FS in contrast to their “fast, vicious lives.” ^VD “Gun-toting, amoral, impotent drifter Clyde (Beatty) rescues dreamer Bonnie (Dunaway) from her drab existence by regaling her with colorful tales of the outlaw life. Joined by Clyde’s brother (Hackman), his wife Blanche (Parsons), and a gas-station attendant (Pollard), the gang goes on a bumbling crime spree through Texas and Oklahoma.” ^FS

The story details “their first meeting through the string of bank hold-ups and cop shootouts to the gruesome violent ending.” ^VD Highlights include “that odd, lyrical sequence of the doomed Bonnie’s family reunion” ^TV and Gene Wilder in a brief comic performance, making his debut as an undertaker kidnapped by the gang.” ^TV The controversial “slow-mo climax” ^RS “marked the coming increase in visceral cinematic violence.” ^FS

Sources:

^A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition”
^FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films”
^LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century”
^RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years”
^TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video”
^VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 2 – including Best Supporting Actress (Parsons), Best Cinematography

Nominations: 10 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Beatty), Best Actress (Dunaway), Best Supporting Actor (Hackman), Best Supporting Actor (Pollard), Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design