Very entertaining but inaccurate
Added 10/17/2009
It has been about twenty years since I've seen this film and I recently watched it again because I had read Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, a very good and detailed biography of Bonnie and Clyde. Although I still think this is a groundbreaking and highly entertaining film, I was surprised at how many liberties the filmmakers took with the true facts. Almost every scene, from their first meeting to their deaths, is inaccurate when it comes to the true details about what really happened. The movie is good entertainment but if you want the real story, read the book!
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A MASTERPIECE OF AMERICAN CINEMA
Added 8/22/2009
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 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"..
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The Strangest Damned Gang
Added 8/11/2009
I absolutely abhore violence and mayhem (well I couldn't say that with a straight face). This was actually very well put together. One of the few movies based on a true story that I actually enjoyed. I had never seen Beatty in a film before this but he, and Gene Hackman, were brilliant. I loved how Beatty could be shouting and furious one minute and then discuss how he wants to settle down and start a family with Bonnie. Hackman, who can be humorous and deadly serious at the same time (Superman for example). It's funny when he tells his joke about the cow to Clyde then to see him tell Gene Wilder the same joke and see the others' bored expressions. Dunaway I had seen in Supergirl (not as bad as some think) and Towering Inferno (didn't really have much to do in that one did she) but her performance in this was, like her costar, excellent. One of the best scenes with her is when she reads her poem near the end of the film. Her and Beatty had excellent chemistry and it shows. A scene I enjoy is when they're about to make love and he pulls away and then she yells at him, through the implication of his impotence. Nowadays, they'd have to talk about his condition for hours. Estelle Parsons I couldn't believe was in a serious movie, compared to her performances in Roseanne (I know there's like a twenty year difference but still) is just as good as Dunaway. Though her screaming like an idiot can give one a headache after awhile but one of the best scenes with her is when she's sitting in the cell, blindfolded, and unknowingly telling a cop they embarrassed earlier everything, as she breaks down about her dead husband. Though I don't think she should've been the only actor to win an Oscar for her efforts. Pollard's character I found annoying. He was just annoying and I wish he wasn't given as many lines in the film. The lack of music (except for a few moments) I think adds to the film, especially in the bloody climax. With the way some films can be, its like the characters in this merely suffered some minor knife wounds.
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Great Movie
Added 8/3/2009
Great Movie, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a great hit. I actually had my teenage kids watch it with me, they even liked it. For an older movie, it really is great. And pretty historically correct, from what I've read. Warren Beaty and Faye Dunaway do an awesome job as Bonnie & Clyde. A+++ for us.
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Wow, still at the top of the AFI's top 100 and it is completely false. I am Ryan Methvin. The writers of this screenplay should be ashamed.
0 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Very entertaining but inaccurate
Added 10/17/2009
It has been about twenty years since I've seen this film and I recently watched it again because I had read Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, a very good and detailed biography of Bonnie and Clyde. Although I still think this is a groundbreaking and highly entertaining film, I was surprised at how many liberties the filmmakers took with the true facts. Almost every scene, from their first meeting to their deaths, is inaccurate when it comes to the true details about what really happened. The movie is good entertainment but if you want the real story, read the book!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A MASTERPIECE OF AMERICAN CINEMA
Added 8/22/2009
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 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"..
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The Strangest Damned Gang
Added 8/11/2009
I absolutely abhore violence and mayhem (well I couldn't say that with a straight face). This was actually very well put together. One of the few movies based on a true story that I actually enjoyed. I had never seen Beatty in a film before this but he, and Gene Hackman, were brilliant. I loved how Beatty could be shouting and furious one minute and then discuss how he wants to settle down and start a family with Bonnie. Hackman, who can be humorous and deadly serious at the same time (Superman for example). It's funny when he tells his joke about the cow to Clyde then to see him tell Gene Wilder the same joke and see the others' bored expressions. Dunaway I had seen in Supergirl (not as bad as some think) and Towering Inferno (didn't really have much to do in that one did she) but her performance in this was, like her costar, excellent. One of the best scenes with her is when she reads her poem near the end of the film. Her and Beatty had excellent chemistry and it shows. A scene I enjoy is when they're about to make love and he pulls away and then she yells at him, through the implication of his impotence. Nowadays, they'd have to talk about his condition for hours. Estelle Parsons I couldn't believe was in a serious movie, compared to her performances in Roseanne (I know there's like a twenty year difference but still) is just as good as Dunaway. Though her screaming like an idiot can give one a headache after awhile but one of the best scenes with her is when she's sitting in the cell, blindfolded, and unknowingly telling a cop they embarrassed earlier everything, as she breaks down about her dead husband. Though I don't think she should've been the only actor to win an Oscar for her efforts. Pollard's character I found annoying. He was just annoying and I wish he wasn't given as many lines in the film. The lack of music (except for a few moments) I think adds to the film, especially in the bloody climax. With the way some films can be, its like the characters in this merely suffered some minor knife wounds.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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