Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

David Newman (written by) &
Robert Benton (written by)

Release Date:

13 August 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

"The strangest damned gang you ever heard of. They're young. They're in love. They rob banks."

Plot:

A somewhat romantized account of the career of the notoriously violent bank robbing couple and their gang.

Plot Keywords:

Gas Station | Road Movie | Camera | Kidnapping | Motel

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	Clyde Barrow
Faye Dunaway	...	Bonnie Parker
Michael J. Pollard	...	C.W. Moss
Gene Hackman	...	Buck Barrow
Estelle Parsons	...	Blanche
Denver Pyle	...	Frank Hamer
Dub Taylor	...	Ivan Moss
Evans Evans	...	Velma Davis
Gene Wilder	...	Eugene Grizzard

Also Known As:

Bonnie and Clyde... Were Killers! (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #21395) (original rating) | West Germany:16 (re-rating) | Brazil:16 | Norway:(Banned) (1967 - 1968) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (re-rating) (2008) | UK:15 (re-rating: 2008) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | USA:M (re-rating) (1969) | Norway:16 (1968) (cut) | USA:R (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Tatira-Hiller Productions

Trivia:

Warner Bros. gave the movie a limited, "B" movie-type release at first, sending it to drive-ins and lesser theaters. When critics began raving about the film and young people began to show up at screenings, it was better promoted, given a wider release and became a huge hit.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On the opening credits, the card giving Bonnie's background mentions that she was born in Rowena which is in west Texas just outside of San Angelo. However later on when Bonnie and Clyde are in the café and Clyde is talking about her background, he says "You were born around east Texas, right?" to which she incorrectly responds "Yeah."

Quotes:

Clyde Barrow: I don't think he's lost. I think the bank's been offerin' extra reward money for us. I think Frank just figured on some easy pickin's, didn't ya Frank? You're no Texas Ranger. You're hardly doin' your job. You ought to be home protectin' the rights of poor folk, not out chasin' after us!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Soundtrack:

Bouquet in Heaven

One of the First, and Still Best, Movies About America's Obsession with Violence

Every time I watch "Bonnie and Clyde" I'm convinced that this time it won't shock me. And every time I'm proved wrong.

"Bonnie and Clyde" was one of the first American movies to acknowledge that Americans are turned on by violence. People blame this movie for ushering in the increasingly graphic content of movies that in the present day makes it seem as if nothing is off limits. But this is wishful thinking on the part of people who don't want to admit that America has been a violent culture from day one. "Bonnie and Clyde" was a huge hit, but it's because it gave people what they wanted, not because it introduced them to something they'd never thought of before. At least in this film, you see what happens when a bullet tears through human flesh -- I can't say the same for the countless morale-boosting WWII films from the 1940s or the John Wayne westerns that are so beloved by conservative America.

In the world of "Bonnie and Clyde," sex and violence are extensions of the same impulse. Clyde can't get one "gun" to work, so he uses another. Bonnie is as restless as a cat in heat -- but Clyde won't scratch her itch, so she finds other ways of releasing tension. It's a movie that makes us identify with the killers. They're gorgeous and glamorous, but they're also vulnerable. They're Robin Hoods, justifying their crime by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor; but they're also naive in thinking that when they steal money from banks they're not also stealing from the poor rural people who use those banks. Authority figures aren't seen much in the film, but when they are, they're sadistic. Sheriff Hamer is a stony, craggy mass in comparison to the movie-star killers, and C.W. Moss's dad, who's finally the one to turn Bonnie and Clyde in, does what is right morally, but that's overshadowed by the fact that all we see him do is beat C.W. and call him white trash. It's no wonder this half-wit kid ran away with the Barrow gang in the first place. We know there's only one possible ending to the movie, yet by the time it comes, we find ourselves half hoping that Bonnie and Clyde can start over and make the American dream a reality. We've forgotten that they've killed, many times, in cold blood.

The most haunting scene in the film is the one in which Bonnie visits her mother for one last time, and her mom tells her what the audience has known all along but hasn't consciously acknowledged until that point: "You try to live within three miles of me, and you won't live long honey. You best keep runnin'." It's one of the most chilling and effective moments I've ever seen in a movie.

Grade: A+