Bonnie and Clyde
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.03 You Save: $11.95 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.00 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Bonnie and Clyde
Movie Review: After 35 Years....
Summary: 5 Stars
It remains for others far better qualified than I to comment on this film's historical authenticity, especially insofar as its portrayal of Bonnie Parker (Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Beatty) is concerned. The comments which follow are based entirely on the film as produced by Beatty and directed by Penn. But it should be noted that it created a great deal of controversy when first released (1967) because many people objected to that portrayal as being unduly sympathetic to Parker and Barrow. Others objected to the presentation of their violent deaths which bear striking resemblance to the death of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1975). Of course, the film hasn't changed but my own reactions to it have during the past 35 years. For example, I am more upset now about the killing of the bank guard (shot in the face through the getaway car's window) and by Blanche Barrow's situation near the end of the film (Parsons received an Academy Award for supporting actress for her portrayal of her) than I once was by the brutal deaths of Parker and Barrow. Also, I now have a greater appreciation of the work of the supporting cast (notably Pollard, Hackman, Parsons, Taylor, and Cavitt) than I did when I first saw the film. No change in my high regard for Penn's direction, Burnett Gurney's cinematography (he was the recipient of the film's other Academy Award), and Charles Strause's music score. Other reactions? For whatever reasons, I no longer have any interest whatsoever in the ambiguous sexual relationship between Bonnie and Clyde, nor can I bear to hear another recitation by Bonnie of her dreadful "poetry." For me, that dimension of their relationship and the verse (to a lesser extent) have become irritating distractions. Also, I now wish I had been provided with at least some background information about the two lead characters (i.e. prior to when they first meet) so that I can better understand the basic motives of each prior to and then during their shared life of crime and violence. Finally, I wish there had been at least a few more scenes such as when Moss (Pollard) returns to empty the cash register before joining the "Barrow Gang" and then later when an elderly hired hand is invited to shoot out a window of a farmhouse in foreclosure. Scenes such as these invest the otherwise intense narrative with elements of humanity amidst the high-speed chases, shoot-outs, and other forms of mayhem.
In years to come, Bonnie and Clyde may become primarily a period piece, perhaps revealing more about the 1960s than about the 1930s. If not historically authentic in all respects, the film remains nonetheless an entertaining account of two generally likable young people who make bad decisions and eventually pay for them with their lives.
Movie Review: A MASTERPIECE OF AMERICAN CINEMA
Summary: 5 Stars
What can I say about BONNIE AND CLYDE that hasn't been said before. Deservedly one of the AFI's top 100 of all-time despite a no-message[?], romanticized story about robbing & killing. This is a tribute to the individuals who put this together especially director Arthur Penn who got GREAT performances from all protagonists involved including Faye Dunaway [Bonnie] in only her fifth film, Warren Beatty [Clyde Barrow] just coming off the forgettable and embarrassing PROMISE HER ANYTHING [1965] and a particularly memorable spit-fire performance from the then little-known Gene Hackman. The film was imbued with a sense of stark realism throughout. You really got a feel that you were with this bunch traversing the mid-west countryside robbing banks. Micheal J. Pollard was a lots of fun, as usual, as C.W. Moss---a wayward oddball who joins the gang. Gene Wilder, with the apropos name 'Eugene Grizzard', has a short but memorably funny spot here. He and his girlfriend are picked up by the gang and are about to become members until Wilder reveals his line of work: undertaker. Estelle Parsons, who plays Hackman's wife Blanche, is a riot. Another impeccable performance with her ranting and screaming and inability to stay calm being continually annoying and putting the group in peril. The scene where Bonnie wants to stop and visit her mom, with hopes of an eventual reunion, only to have the old lady walk off advising "girl, you keep on running" is incisive and a major reality check. This is a haphazardly violent and even brutal movie for 1967's Summer of Love: from Beatty's near dismembering by a cleaver-wielding storeworker during an early holdup to his brother's [Hackman as Buck Barrow] wailing after a shotgun wound to the head to that unforgettable ambush ending that leaves even B & C foes stunned. Bedroom scene between Beatty and Dunaway dealing with Clyde's sexual disinterest vs impotence vs something else is sensitive and frank. This was not your typical gangster. There were obviously other character traits that attracted B to C---guts, commitment [though misguided], a sense of adventure and risk-taking?---or what it the bond, hope, security, the definition he provided her. Why does one person follow another despite certain peril and extirpation? After watching this one you will easily see why Gene Hackman is one of the greatest actors of all time---modern era or not. That final split-second moment at the end when Beatty and Dunaway pause and look into each others eyes---things not just right---with birds suddenly flying off just before the cops' emphatic movie-ending fusillade, is stirring. Don't forget, when asked at your next social function what line of work you and yours are in, to reply: "...WE ROB BANKS"..Movie Review: The Beginning of Modern American Film
Summary: 5 Stars
The Helpful Part: The movie tells the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, two Texans who formed a gang during the Depression and robbed banks. The events were high publicized and they captured the hearts of America before they were eventually ambushed by the law. While several of the events are true to life, it's still a romanticized account of the actual events.
The Review: If you're just beginning to take an interest in older films, this is a perfect one for starters. If you're already into action movies, classics, or art films, this movie is a must see. "Bonnie and Clyde" was a film that marked the beginning of Hollywood's best years. It combined the action and intensity of the modern era with the artistic stylings of the French New Wave and the charismatic star presence of the thirties and forties.
"Bonnie and Clyde" was obviously inspired by the films of the French New Wave and it brought a new, fresh depiction of love and violence to Hollywood. Along with the French films, it served as a template for hundreds of other films about star-crossed lovers ("Badlands," "Drugstore Cowboy," "Natural Born Killers," etc.).
When this movie opened it was a failure critically. American critics were still looking for conservative, unoriginal romantic comedies. But it quickly developed a cult following as the bluegrass soundtrack and the berets and skirts worn by Faye Dunaway became popular. Eventually the movie was re-released, made a lot of money, and won multiple Oscars.
Some films age poorly, but not this one, despite being almost 40 years old. Part of the reason is because it's not much different from a modern film. The depictions of violence and human behavior seem real, not censored. Another reason is because people will always be attracted to the story line of outsiders on the run in search of happiness. But I think the biggest factor has to be the two leads. Warren Beatty is exceptional as Clyde, making him a sympathetic character despite being a murderer, and every guy on the planet would be a fool to not fall in love with Faye Dunaway's Bonnie. When this movie was made, Beatty was the only established star, but it was cast so well that many of the unknowns became household names--including Dunaway, Gene Hackman, and Gene Wilder.
Overall, if you like older films but aren't afraid of violence or sexuality, you'll love this movie.
Movie Review: A masterpiece that dares to be excessive!,
Summary: 5 Stars
'Bonnie and Clyde' is not a film about two real people famous for so many bank robberies and murders across the big country... It shows a new kind of fury in which people could be harm by weapons... The film, however, manages to carry the impression that these two youngsters took great pleasure in robbing banks and stores... It also suggests that it was very easy for them to fool the law--as certainly occurred in real life... Though merited punishment caught up with them, audiences laughed at their remarkable deeds and wanted them to get away...
In 'Bonnie and Clyde,' Penn created an emotional state, an image of the 1930s filtered through his 1960s sensibility... The sense of this period reflects Penn's vision of how the 1930s Depression-era truly was, and for all the crazy style and banjo score, this vision is greatly private...
What is also personal about 'Bonnie and Clyde' and constitutes its incomparable quality, is its unusual mixture of humor and fear, its poetry of violation of the law as something that is gaiety and playfulness...
'Bonnie and Clyde' is both true and abstract... It is a gangster movie and a comedy-romance... It is an amusing film that turns bloody, a love affair that ends with tragedy...
A modification between pleasure and catastrophic events is important to the essential aim of the film... In their second bank robbery, a daring and joyful action goes morosely embittered when Clyde is forced to kill an executive in the bank, and real blood pours out from his body...
Bonnie and Clyde take self-gratification posing for photographs with their prisoners... But when surrounded by detectives in a motel, they turn into vindictive bandits struggling for their lives... C. W. Moss, specially, brings to mind Baby Face Nelson, when he murders policemen with a blazing machine gun...
One of the stimulating moments in the film happens when Clyde chases Bonnie through a yellow corn field, while a cloud transverses the sun and slowly shadows the landscape... Here the characteristic quality of the Texas countryside and the vague aspect of the story are beautifully communicated......
Penn's masterpiece nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, won two Oscars, one for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and another for Best Cinematography...
Movie Review: They're Young..They're In Love..And They Kill People!
Summary: 5 Stars
That was the movie poster tagline for this 1930's gangster and his gun totin' moll's, "buddy" picture, set in the dustbowl depressed locales of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, produced by a 28 year old Warren Beatty..Before "Bonnie and Clyde" was screened in 1967, Warren Beatty was a peripatetic pretty-boy with a well worn reputation as a lady-killer, working perpetually on a seemingly dead-end project, a script, with nothing tangible to show for it but continued hype and a cache of high-profile conquests; to wit: famous only for being infamous, dubious to the real players in town..He was further branded by the studio bossess, as long on looks, short on accomplishments, yet coddled by the A-list leading ladies traipsing in and out of the penthouse suite he maintained at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel..One of his lady friend advocates told her mogul/husband, you just wait, Warren's about to do something really important, it's shameful how you all underestimate him!..And that important thing was to get "Bonnie and Clyde" made into a film, as its producer..The tattered script had ricocheted around Hollywood for years, like a radio-active hot potato..The project had the moribund reputation in the industry as that French new wave cinema that will never get made, regardless of who gets involved!!..hmm..The rest is American cinematic history, since Beatty lined-up an unknown blonde beauty, Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker, Gene Hackman as Buck Barrow, whose next film became "The French Connection", Estelle Parsons a distinguished stage actress as Blanche Barrow, and then netted Arthur Penn to direct..Naturally, Beatty cast himself as Clyde Barrow, the film's central anti-hero..The bases were loaded..All Jack Warner at Warner Brothers Studio could do was greenlight the picture, with caveats, a razor-thin budget, and an impossibly tight shooting schedule.."Bonnie and Clyde" cost Warner Bros. $2,500,000 to shoot but gated 60 million dollars in domestic sales, the second highest grossing Warner Bros. picture at the time, that summer's runaway hit..After that, pardon the pun, Beatty was indeed a very made man!