There is no denying the great cultural impact of Bonnie and Clyde. At the time, it became the second-highest grossing film in the history of Warner Bros., behind only My Fair Lady. It recovered the acting career of Warren Beatty, who also produced. The film helped make stars of Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder.
Bonnie and Clyde was also nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Arthur Penn), Best Actor (Beatty) and Actress (Dunaway), Best Original Screenplay (David Newman, Robert Benton), Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey), Best Supporting Actor (Hackman, Michael J. Pollard) and Actress (Estelle Parsons), and Best Costume Design. Parsons and Guffey were the only winners, however.
Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) is a young armed robber and car thief. He meets Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) after she sees him stealing her car. For dramatic purposes, she is parading about naked in her room at the time. She is so impressed with his outlaw status that she runs off with him, despite his unlikely rejection of her enthusiastic passes towards him. Clyde's impotency is dramatically implied, although we later find out that he isn't impotent. Whatever.
By this time, Clyde has revealed that he has cut off some toes with an axe to avoid work duty in prison. Clearly, Clyde and Bonnie have already established themselves as being among the dumbest screen couples in film history. Bonnie even proudly announces to strangers, "We rob banks!".
Never mind that in real life, Bonnie was married to somebody else. Her husband was Ray Thornton, who had been imprisoned for murder. Bonnie and Clyde would eventually commit murder as well, and some of their dozen-plus victims weren't policemen. In the film, of course, they must be portrayed more sympathetically. Clyde is racked with guilt after his first killing, and the trail of bodies they leave behind are all cops shot in self defense.
They are also portrayed very glamorously. It's not enough to cast their outlaw characters with dazzling Hollywood actors. They also dress in great style, and their beautifully restored vintage automobiles look as if new. While Bonnie and Clyde succeeds in spawning a retro fashion trend, there's little credibility here as to how Dust Bowl outlaws would have looked or behaved.
Much is made of Bonnie and Clyde being Depression-era Robin Hoods. While robbing a bank, they allow a customer to keep his money. They encourage a displaced farmer to shoot at a sign that proclaims bank ownership of his house. But Clyde is also seen robbing convenience grocery stores and stealing cars, actions that are incongruous with his characterization as an anti-hero at war with the evil banking system.
Bonnie and Clyde was generally savaged by critics during its initial release. The glamorization of the serial killing robbers prompted moral outrage. The great commercial success of the film changed critical attitudes. Film censorship would decline rapidly during the late 1960s, and both critics and studios realized that the rules had changed.
The film was also highly controversial due to its violence, which was extreme by the standards of the day. Of course, it would soon be surpassed by The Wild Bunch (1969). Today, the film's violence seems commonplace, especially when compared to Scarface (1983) or Reservoir Dogs.
Bonnie and Clyde remains much celebrated today, and its stars and director have long since vindicated themselves by their subsequent films. The problem is not with the performances, but with the movie's feel. The depiction of small-time robbers and murderers as a crew of sympathetic, glamorous good time anti-heroes is not justified by their eventual inglorious end. (56/100)
Adrift in the Depression-era Southwest, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker embark on a life of crime. They mean no harm. They crave adventure -- and each ...More at Buy.com
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