• Wael Khairy of Cairo
I remember the first time I watched "Bonnie and Clyde" like it was yesterday. I was seventeen years old and eager to broaden my knowledge in film. On weekends, I would go watch classic movies at my paternal uncles' who was a film buff himself. The only way to watch a movie uncut in Egypt was to purchase the video cassette from Europe or the USA and import it.
That is exactly what my uncle would do. His collection of UK video cassettes kept me busy for months. Every week I would visit him and we would watch one of Hollywood's classics together. It was there, at his living room filled with movie posters, that I was first introduced to such memorable characters as Norman Bates, Antoine Doinel, Tommy DeVito, Hal 9000 and of course Bonnie and Clyde.
I had heard he came back from London so I rushed over to his place to see which video cassettes would extend his collection and my viewing pleasure. As I walked into the living room, my uncle was standing on a chair replacing a poster of Tippi Hedren getting attacked by birds with a "Bonnie and Clyde" poster. I read the tagline and knew I was in for something different and special.
The impact a great movie has on a viewer varies and changes at different stages of his/her life. Had I reviewed "Bonnie and Clyde" at that very night of my first viewing I would probably have praised the flow of the plot revolving around a couple robbing banks and fooling the law. My review would have included how the ending had me staring at the credits for a few minutes.
However, had I reviewed the movie after one of the countless viewings that followed, the review would explain why I always felt the urge to revisit the 1967 masterpiece. The characters felt real not scripted. Bonnie, Clyde and Buck joked around, laughed, and argued with one another like everyone else, so the reason I went back to rewatch it so often was that I missed them and rewatching the movie felt like hanging out with old friends. My review would be different had I written one after watching the movie on a big screen in film class for its historical significance. I learned a lot about its influence and the many legends about the making of and like most reviews online that would've been the basis of my review back then.
The reason I'm mentioning all this is because this review will have a more modern take on "Bonnie and Clyde" as in I'm reviewing it based on where the movie stands today. In other words, this is a 2010 review of a 1967 movie.
The movie is set in the 30's yet like most Arthur Penn movies it's about the times of its release. Penn's "The Left Handed Gun" for example is a western that has more in common with "Rebel without a Cause" than any John Wayne movie because it was a movie that dealt with the teenage rebellion phase of the 50's and was only set in the Old West. "Bonnie and Clyde" like "The Left Handed Gun" has a message for its generation. It depicted the influence of the media and was like a wakeup call to how gritty violence is in the real world.
The scenes were in influential and the themes were relevant. Today, the movie is more relevant in terms of filmmaking. We live in an age where violence is overblown to add shock value rather than support realism. The scene where Bonnie and Clyde sit silently at the backseat of a car having just been shot by cops shook me more than watching Tim Roth covered in blood crying and yelling at a back seat in "Reservoir Dogs".
Both films are excellent heist pictures and both scenes are similar in content yet the former is more powerful because instead of watching someone in great pain trying to stay alive, I was watching two characters helplessly dozing off. They were bleeding to death and silently struggling to stay alive. Unlike the "Reservoir Dogs" scene I felt time was running against them.That realism impressed me most watching the film today. The violence is only there to support the story. As a viewer we forget that it's all fake because of how cleverly the violence was used. (Watch video review for more) This is also due to a handful of great performances by Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway and of course, the great Gene Hackman who steals every scene he's in.
One scene that always makes me smile is that of Buck and Clyde reuniting and hugging each other at the beginning of the movie. Buck gets all excited and says something in the lines of "Boy are we gonna have some time, aren't we?" they laugh, an uncomfortable silence follows and then he says "So what do we do now?" We're watching normal, flawed, average people robbing banks rather than watching the legend and myth of a criminal like in Michael Mann's "Public Enemies". These are very fully rounded characters that talk, joke, and fight with one another like everyone else. Realistic characters portrayals combined with realistic use of violence and realistic dialogue only adds up to a movie that is a slice of life and requires study by filmmakers now more than ever. "Bonnie and Clyde" saved American cinema once. The time has come for it to save it again.
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Newsreel footage of the actual death scene:
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Parody of the song "Bonnie and Clyde" as it was famously performed by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot
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Wael: the only reason I went out of my way to buy BONNIE AND CLYDE on VHS some 20 years ago was the insistence of two guys talking on TV named Siskel & Ebert. It's been a while, but if I remmember right, Roger made a point on how much better he thought this film was than BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.
I recommend that you listen to Francis Coppola's commentary in THE GODFATHER, he doesn't shy away from saying how much of an influence BONNIE AND CLYDE had on his making his movie.
Hi Wael,
I utterly enjoyed your excellent analysis of "Bonnie And Clyde". It's a great film, and as you said, violence is driven by the story, which is the way it should be.
Times though, as you rightly point out, have changed immensely.
"Bonnie And Clyde" has an influence on so many, as you said. From "Badlands" to "Straw Dogs" to "Thelma And Louise" to "Heat" to "Training Day" to name-that-movie, there's an imprint of Arthur Penn's film in each of them.
Wonderful work as ever Wael. I love the introductory story about watching uncut videos with your uncle: it gives so much context so quickly. It's a joy to (re)experience movies with you as a guide.
I agree entirely about Bonnie and Clyde altering the aesthetics of American film: I think it's as much responsible the fethisization of violence that's such a familiar aspect of modern movies as any other movie. One shot that I think is never celebrated, or at least considered, frequently enough is the one in which Bonnie is shot.
The way in which the firing of the gun, the impact of the bullet, and the agony it inflicts is shown in a single shot contrasts so strongly with the classic set up, often employed in Westerns and crime films, that showed the shooter drawing and firing, before a cut to the victim showed he or she clutching his or her chest and falling. The elimination of that cut adds so much reality to the image and leaves the audience utterly unprotected. (I once wanted to show this shot in a lecture, and couldn't as most of my audience was under 18 - which is surely evidence of the moment's enduring potency.)
I also think Penn's film gains an extra resonance when considered alongside the same year's The Graduate, which had a similar effect upon cinematic representations of relationships and sexuality as Bonnie and Clyde had upon portrayals of violence, and crime, on film. Preceding films like The Wild Bunch, Midnight Cowboy and (included here for its antiestablishment sentiments, not its realism) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid by two years, these two movies had an immeasurable impact upon the course of Hollywood filmmaking.
The editing in that finale is masterful. I'd compare it to the quality of Psycho's shower scene. The graphical level of the violence may be dimmed in the face of today's cinemas as you spoke of, but the exhilarating and raw power of the film making has possibly been amplified over time, at least for the close movie watcher. There is a sincere stab of emotion in that ending that doesn't over emphasize a single note. It doesn't linger in order to grind a point home. This is something we see so much of today in modern movie-making. I did in fact watch this film for my first time just last week. Just as you described, as your own reaction over forty years ago, I sat there just staring at the credits. The power of superb film making is timeless.
@Gerardo Yeah I know it's very influencial. Roger was probably the first professional critic to praise the movie when everyone else was standing against it. He also predicted its impact..Proof that Roger was always a wolf and never sheep.
@Omar Moore You forgot one very obvious one, "Natural Born Killers". Then again I probably left out hundreds of other titles. What makes "Bonnie and Clyde" stand out is how well it's done as you pointed out.
@Scott Thank you for the kind words. I always remember the great movie experiences and forget about the bad ones. A bad movie is never memorable.I rewatched their death scene again and you're right, the instant pain sudden death brief scene is unlike any other death scene I've ever seen. It was certainly the most shocking and effective one.
That scene probably is as influencial as the shower scene from 'Psycho'. I'm glad you chose this masterpiece for students in film class. The only time I watched "Bonnie and Clyde" for film studies was for its historical significance. I wish I had studied it shot for shot though.
As you said, 'The Graduate' was very influencial that year too. The 'Wild Bunch' followed in "Bonnie and Clyde"'s footsteps and it probably wouldn't be as violent had there been no Arthur Penn masterpiece.
@Paul S. I couldn't have said it better, but my first reaction wasn't fourty years ago. I'm much younger than you may think.
the thing about that scene is, we knew it would eventually happen. Each and every time I watch it again, I find myself hoping they would get away and escape their miserable fate sparing us the horror of that scene. It never works and I'm always as shocked as I was the first time.
This can't be said about other movies because the lack of character development. In "Bonnie and Clyde" we get to eat, joke, and fight with them. The camera treats us as if we're a member of that gang which makes that final masterstroke of filmmaking a much more personal experience.
The same thing happened with me.
First of all, I guess I should say that I was also probably 17 (I'm 27 now) when I first saw the movie and the way I would try to watch great movies or "classics" back then (before I read Roger) was I would go through the t.v. guide and look for the movies with 5 stars. "Bonnie and Clyde" was one of them, along with some others like "Shoot the Piano Player" by Truffaut and of course, many Orson Welles movies.
Okay, when I first saw the movie--yes, I was struck by the violence--but what really struck me then was the sex scene. This was a guy who was very insecure. And it really resonated with me because I was the same way (actually I'm still kind of the same way; we'll talk about it later). Then afterwards it was such a perfect moment when he asks her how he did and she said something like "it was perfect" and it was a really sweet moment. And then you see he is still kind of shy, but timidly admits that he did really good...and you really see the truth in his character there.
Then I saw the movie a couple of years ago and then there was so much meaningful emotion going on that I wasn't really sure what the meaning was but I knew that I was TOTALLY absorbed in these characters. Maybe that's what makes a movie great: when the characters transcend all the metaphors that kind of makes them (to borrow from Roger's "Amadeus" review) packages of meaning.
Another thing that totally made me absorbed were the jump cuts. One jump cut I thought was awesome, where he just walking and they do a little jump cut ( I guess borrowing from Godard's "Breathless") and kind of just skipped some of his walking. Why can't more editing be that way? Or even more radical like in Harmony Korine's "Julien Donkey-Boy."
Also, another thing that struck me on my last viewing was the guy's father who ratted them out to the police. It was a pretty great performance there too. He had that kind of face that is just perfect, you know, and movies are about faces as well.
It's just great how the characters are kind of so anti-Hollywood too.
Firstly I would like to thank you. Your entry allowed me to just spend an enjoyable afternoon with Arthur Penn. Found an incredible 2 hour interview @youtube.com-Arthur Penn Interview. Not for all tastes. Not recommending to anyone particularly-cineastic(a word I learned here)-in the most basic and best sense of the word. Only left me somewhat saddened knowing that those early TV classics from the nascent years of the late '40's'-early '50's' -that Penn so enthusiastically discusses- are mostly gone forever.
But, if you choose to look, what a joyous education in film history. And guarantee, if you do watch it from beginning to end, you'll learn much about "Bonnie and Clyde" and won't soon forget Penn or his mentor and friend, another of the great pioneers of modern filmmaking, the under appreciated producer, Fred Coe.
Speaking of characters transcending the metaphors, Juliette Binoche is an actress is an actress that does that. In the movie, "The Widow of St. Pierre" there's a moment where she looks at this character and she says everything while doing nothing. All right, I'll shut up now.
@Keith Carrizosa As you mentioned, the character development in this movie is among the best I've ever seen. They are fully rounded.
The sex scene is another one that impressed me. How often do you see a sex scene like that. Better yet how often do we get realistic portrayals of the fear of not performing well in sex. I wonder whether this was the case for the real Bonnie & Clyde or was just added to the script.
I love that part with the father. The scene makes me laugh unccomfortably. Isn't it funny seeing this man yell and hit his son for a tattoo and not reacting for the real horror of his sons' situation...being part of a gang and bringing home two wounded outlaws.
The best performance for me though was that of Gene Hackman. Boy I miss that actor.
@john in denver Do you have a link to that interview? I would love to watch that.
I think Roger was right when he said that the film has every human emotion in it (sorry, if my paraphrasing might not have did justice to that). We will probably pick up on some emotions more than others at different points in our lives. When I say that, I don't mean that it has to be any kind of "faze" or "stage" in our life either because it's so rich with so many things going on all the time.
Wael,
Not sure how compatible your internet is with the US model. Know from a nephew of mine who spent a couple of years in S. Korea, some of these sites don't share information overseas. The easiest way to access interview may be just to enter youtube.com- then {search}-Arthur Penn interview. That's what I did.
They are in 30 minute taped segments. youtube.com/watch?v=0yTpVehNFZI (tape 1)(note-that's a zero not an O, which caused me some grief). Produced by Archive for American Television-I bookmarked:emmytvlegends.org
Grown hesitant offering my suggestions as to what others should watch, unless its something silly like a cane toad eating a rat. But this is the real deal.The first thing about this interview that struck me was how engaging and astute, almost youthful, was Penn for a man, 86, and how sharp was the interviewer. Being a child of the Depression, I sensed almost immediately how Penn's memories from that troubled period had colored "Bonnie and Clyde." There would be other such moments. Anyhow I was hooked from then on. And the friends, mentors and acquaintances he made during and after the War were revelatory-looking back now- on, not just the course of early television drama, but movies as they would become during my lifetime. And I found it filled with surprises. Hell, Buckminster Fuller even makes a cameo appearance.
So much I learned. A couple examples. Their novel use of the lens in general-the earliest use of the zoom lens-how certain techniques of modern camera movement were developed-modern editing techniques that were created during this brief "magic" period of filmmaking in the very early "50's"-before,as Penn says wryly-"the advertisers caught on"- this golden moment in time of freedom and experimentation under the gun. Will remember the bittersweet segment about the TV production of the "The Battler" with Paul Newman replacing James Dean a mere couple of weeks after the actor's death - how Penn's involvement with JFK probably changed history. So much there.
Yet most memorable of all was Fred Coe and becoming aware of the incredible contributions he made to the whole motion picture industry. And of course Penn's poignant, most human portrayal of this man-his lifelong friend and mentor. If you do get to watch this, Wael, I can't imagine you not finding it rewarding from what I sense to be your fascination with the history of the film. And that's a good thing.
Wael: Great job on this review. Bonnie and Clyde remains one of my favorite movies of all time as well.
Gene Hackman did a great job in this film, and his character is one of the most likable bankrobbers in the history of heist cinema. This is true.
However, something needs to be said about Michael J. Pollard's role as CW Moss, one of the most underrated performances I have ever encountered. He plays the character so well, with the perfect combination of innocence, fantastical teenage whim, and bad @ssedness characteristic of a Tommy-wielding crook. After a while, we come to see that he embodies our own--that being the audience's--fascination and cult-like following of Bonnie and Clyde, and just as he comes to believe in their romanticized and overblown invincibility, so too do we.
Moss' shy little smirk is something that has always been in the back of my mind whenever I see this film--like a nervous impulse, he uses this half-smile to mask his fear, to hide whatever doubts he has about what he is doing. What Bonnie and Clyde are doing.
Man, what a great movie. Thanks a lot for bringing back the memories today--on my birthday, no less!
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@john in denver I will try to find the interview online and let you know if I had any luck
@Teddy Firstly, Happy belated Birthday.
I find your argument that Moss embodies the audience's perspective very intriguing.
You are right about his performance being underrated. It's rare for a film to have so many great performances..all complementing each other.
I will keep your take on Moss' existence in the film in mind the next time I watch this masterpiece.
Makes me want to revisit the film. I've only seen it once, but even with one viewing, I could see how great a film it was. Certainly the end sequence is a classic scene, and the acting is so good throughout, particularly the interplay between Warren Beatty and Gene Hackman. Watching them in this film, it's hard to believe they weren't brothers in real life.
@Wael, would like to expand on a few of the comments. These moments stay with me now after so many viewings. #1 is the ending- starting with the incredible establishing shot--the escaping flock of birds-as Bonnie looks up. Can you imagine a better opening shot? Arthur Penn addresses that in the interview.
Your remarks concerning the scene between C.W. and his Dad also hit home. I was a TV junkie as a kid. My earliest personal favorites were mostly half hour shows-westerns, cop shows,some comedies. My taste would expand as I, and the medium, grew and would include such quality productions like the US Steel hour and Playhouse 90. Among my favorite reading was the TV Guide. You got a brief synopsis of this week's shows and often a rundown of the players. Two staples of my youth were Dub Taylor and Denver Pyle. Always liked them both, and they had appeared in most of these shows one time or another. So by 1967, after seeing them endless times, I knew them well and by name. But this film was their finest hours. Dub primarily for the scene you mention and my #2 favorite moment. Can you imagine any one else for those two roles? And Denver Pyle primarily for the scene(my #3) where he interviews the fragile, blinded Blanche, so well played by Estelle Parsons. I wouldn't want to imagine anyone else for those roles. Find myself rewinding those scenes most of all now. And finally you are so right about Gene Hackman, among the finest and most enjoyable actors of my era of movie going. Also first noticed him on early TV.
My first encounter with this classic was dubbed version on TV, but its power was not diminished even with dubbing. I watched it again with DVD several years later and the movie was still fresh to me.
You said characters in the movie are normal average people, and that reminds me of one certatin scene. One couple(Gene Wilder and Evans Evans) try to chase them and then are chased by them and then get along with them well in one car.
Jolly atmosphere is set in the car for a while, but then guy's occupation is mentioned. The spell is broken and Barrow gangs leave the couple on their foot. Like any one of us, they're afraid of death. They know someday they will meet it soon and they don't like to be reminded. By the way, when the movie was released in South Korea and Japan, the title was "We Don't Have Tomorrow". They know it can be true for themselves anytime.