Bonnie & Clyde, 1967, directed by Arthur Penn. The two leading actors are both good looking, and stay in character amazing the entire movie, so it’s no wonder why the film made history.
There is a lot of history in this movie, that is still referenced in current day. I think the movie retells the story of Bonnie & Clyde well. Some say it isn’t entirely accurate for their lives, but I think it’s good enough without watching a documentary.
In my opinion, this film is a mix of a thriller, crime, and romance, even though it’s more categorized as a true crime or drama. I’m going to talk further about the film, the resources I chose for it, and how I really enjoyed this film!
The original trailer is a great piece of history for this movie because it really tells you what you’re going to see. Sometimes I’ve seen movie trailers that are supposed to make you wonder about the movie and make you want to see it, but I’m too confused to follow along with that type of stuff. I like how the trailer starts out with happy, giddy, music. You can clearly tell the time by the cars and the way the characters are dressed. But, then you seen Bonnie with a cigarette and gun, and it’s not the happy, giddy movie the music makes it feel. Then the trailer says “They kill people!” which I thought is something you’d never see in trailers today. Anyways, I just felt this was a good introduction to the movie and represents it well. It was one of my resources I wanted to talk about because i think it represents the film and time era well.
The opening scenes of Bonnie & Clyde starts out calm and mellow. You can tell the time era from the stuff in Bonnie’s room and the car outside. Clyde is looking in Bonnie’s mom’s car to steal it, and Bonnie catches him. Clyde plays it off like he’s been looking to by one, they both obviously hit it off well. Bonnie is completely unbothered that Clyde was looking in her mom’s car, and she is charmed by him as the viewers are too. Bonnie is a waitress and Clyde admits he was in prison for armed robbery before stealing cars. Bonnie is obviously interested in Clyde and is charmed by him. A normal person would stay clear of a man out of prison breaking into cars, but I think Bonnie was turned on by this thrill. I had a friend in high school and it was literally like “criminal” was her criteria in men, and Bonnie is like this. Bonnie begins asking Clyde what armed robbery was like, and you can see the thrill and excitement in her eyes.
I agree strongly with a lot of the critics at this time that the actors stay in character so well the entire film. Bonnie seems like she truly has butterflies over Clyde. Clyde plays his character so strong and well. I admire the actors chosen for this film and they couldn’t have chosen two better people to play Bonnie & Clyde.
As the movie progresses, Bonnie & Clyde start hanging out more and quickly form a relationship.
Before watching this movie, I wouldn’t have known if Clyde forced Bonnie into doing these crimes with him. I feel like Bonnie was a bad influence on Clyde and fueled the criminal ways in him even more.
The first time in the movie Clyde robs anyone, it’s to prove to Bonnie that he would because she says “I bet you won’t use that. [His gun.]” I think Clyde does this because he likes Bonnie, and sees she is interested in his criminal ways. He does this robbery and steals money to simply impress her. They also don’t formally introduce each other until after this scene.
This is when the movie really takes off and get exciting.
After that first robbery, they obviously become a couple quickly and Clyde starts teaching Bonnie his criminal ways like how to shoot a gun.
Bonnie & Clyde start meeting new people who are clearly intimidated by them. They were shooting their guns and scare a family but talk to them and become cool, and they also intimidate their mechanic. They tell the mechanic the car is stolen and they rob banks. They try to recruit the mechanic to rob banks with them. I noticed Clyde uses the same tactic Bonnie used on him, and Clyde tells the mechanic prove he’d rob someone, just like Bonnie told Clyde. I think this showed the manipulation and power both Bonnie & Clyde had on others. They recruit the mechanic to be their getaway driver, but he wasn’t very good at it.
There is a teaser scene where I thought it was over for Bonnie & Clyde. Police come and they are all shooting at each other. After shooting the police officer, Bonnie & Clyde drive away and make a getaway for it. This shows how dangerous they are, and that it took multiple attempts to capture them.
Even after the scary shootout with police, Bonnie & Clyde are back at it again with another armed bank robbery. The mechanic is still included in their gang.
Bonnie & Clyde aren’t scared at all after the robberies and killings, but are the opposite, so much thrill and excitement.
Bonnie & Clyde are sitting in a car and Bonnie is writing a poem about her and Clyde. She is very proud of herself. This poem goes viral in all the newspapers.
The movie pretty much ends in a slower paced scene than the police shoot out scene. Bonnie & Clyde are in the car driving. They run into a friend, Malcolm, they met at the beginning of the movie. When they pull over, birds dramatically fly away, and then Bonnie & Clyde are ambushed by bullets.
Overall, I think this movie is a great romance and thriller. Sure, the movie may not tell the accurate true crime between Bonnie & Clyde, but I’d watch a documentary if I wanted more facts. I think this is a great summary of how Bonnie & Clyde met, were criminals, and how their lives ended. The actors stay in character so well the entire time which makes it so much more enjoyable to watch. It feels like I’m back in the 50-60’s with them while watching this movie.
If you’ve seen Bonnie & Clyde, I hope you think this blog post represents the film well. If you’ve never seen it, I hope this makes you want to, or gives you a clear view of the movie without watching.
-Blake