Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
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90% of critics liked it
(48 reviews) -
84% of users liked it
(54,135 ratings)
Producer/star Warren Beatty had to convince Warner Bros. to finance this film, which went on to become the studio's second-highest grosser. It also caused major controversy by redefining violence in cinema and casting its criminal protagonists as sympathetic anti-heroes. Based loosely on the… More Producer/star Warren Beatty had to convince Warner Bros. to finance this film, which went on to become the studio's second-highest grosser. It also caused major controversy by redefining violence in cinema and casting its criminal protagonists as sympathetic anti-heroes. Based loosely on the true exploits of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker during the 30s, the film begins as Clyde (Beatty) tries to steal the car of Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway)'s mother. Bonnie is excited by Clyde's outlaw demeanor, and he further stimulates her by robbing a store in her presence. Clyde steals a car, with Bonnie in tow, and their legendary crime spree begins. The two move from town to town, pulling off small heists, until they join up with Clyde's brother Buck (Gene Hackman), his shrill wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons), and a slow-witted gas station attendant named C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard). The new gang robs a bank and Clyde is soon painted in the press as a Depression-era Robin Hood when he allows one bank customer to hold onto his money. Soon the police are on the gang's trail and they are constantly on the run, even kidnapping a Texas Ranger (Denver Pyle) and setting him adrift on a raft, handcuffed, after he spits in Bonnie's face when she kisses him. That same ranger leads a later raid on the gang that leaves Buck dying, Blanche captured, and both Clyde and Bonnie injured. The ever-loyal C.W. takes them to his father's house. C.W.'s father disaproves his son's affiliation with gangsters and enters a plea bargain with the Texas Rangers. A trap is set that ends in one of the bloodiest death scenes in cinematic history. The film made stars out of Beatty and Dunaway, and it also featured the screen debut of Gene Wilder as a mortician briefly captured by the gang. Its portrayal of Bonnie and Clyde as rebels who empathized with the poor working folks of the 1930s struck a chord with the counterculture of the 1960s and helped generate a new, young audience for American movies that carried over into Hollywood's renewal of the 1970s. Its combination of sex and violence with dynamic stars, social relevance, a traditional Hollywood genre, and an appeal to hip young audiences set the pace for many American movies to come. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Directed By
- Arthur Penn
- Written By
- Robert Benton, David Newman
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
- In Theaters
- Aug 13, 1967 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Critic Reviews
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Penelope Gilliatt, New Yorker
Bonnie and Clyde don't really know that killing kills. The film does -- unlike the run of movies about violence now, which mostly know that killing sells.
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Pauline Kael, New Yorker
Bonnie and Clyde is the most excitingly American American movie since The Manchurian Candidate. The audience is alive to it.
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Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
Considered New Hollywood's moment of arrival, tipping square critic Bosley Crowther into retirement (The New York Times, they were a-changin').
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, TIME Magazine
Like Bonnie and Clyde themselves, the film rides off in all directions and ends up full of holes.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It's by far the least controlled of Penn's films... but the pieces work wonderfully well, propelled by what was then a very original acting style.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Warren Beatty
as Clyde Barrow
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Faye Dunaway
as Bonnie Parker
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Michael J. Pollard
as C.W. Moss
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Gene Hackman
as Buck Barrow
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Estelle Parsons
as Blanche
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Gene Wilder
as Eugene Grizzard
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Denver Pyle
as Frank Hamer
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Dub Taylor
as Ivan Moss
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Evans Evans
as Velma Davis
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Martha Adcock
as Bank customer
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Mabel Cavitt
as Bonnie's mother
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Sadie French
as Bank customer
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Roy Heard
as Man
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Clyde Howdy
as Deputy
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J.J. Lemmon Jr.
as Sheriff
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Ken Mayer
as Sheriff Smoot
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Joe Spratt
as Farmer
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James Stivers
as Butcher
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Russ Marker
as Bank guard
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Ann Palmer
as Bonnie's sister

