Bonnie and Clyde
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts | Release Date: August 13, 1967
8.2
USER SCORE
Universal acclaim based on 137 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
125
Mixed:
8
Negative:
4
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
8
TheMovieCriticAug 8, 2012
A great movie with great acting based off the real bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, that shows that a life of a criminal is no life at all. A movie worth seeing.
4 of 4 users found this helpful40
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8
CritiqueGirlMar 2, 2011
Really violent but a good movie. I have to say I really thought the end was done well. You know, the part where they finally catch up with Bonnie and Clyde.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
RegOzJan 24, 2012
I still love it now as much as i have loved it before. It is pretty unique in its genre. I can't wait to watch it again so I will be renting it tomorrow. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour...go and watch it...I am sure you are goingI still love it now as much as i have loved it before. It is pretty unique in its genre. I can't wait to watch it again so I will be renting it tomorrow. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour...go and watch it...I am sure you are going to enjoy it!… Expand
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8
SpangleMar 24, 2017
While not containing any nudity, Bonnie and Clyde jumps out of the gates by showing audiences that a new era was about to kick off in American cinema. No longer would sexuality be left to flirtatious hints in the dialogue and no longer wouldWhile not containing any nudity, Bonnie and Clyde jumps out of the gates by showing audiences that a new era was about to kick off in American cinema. No longer would sexuality be left to flirtatious hints in the dialogue and no longer would the violence be safe. Instead, Bonnie and Clyde ushered in New Hollywood, an auteur driven era that found American directors reveling in the lifting of the Hays code and lifting all censors from their work. However, American audiences still had to shed their own conceptions as to what can and cannot be allowed in a work of art and it was Bonnie and Clyde that started to make critics and audiences alike realize the potential of this new era. Opening up with Faye Dunaway nude with her back to the camera, it was clear that cinema was about to become far friskier. Rushing to the window without clothes on after hearing the mysterious Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) poking around with her mother's car, Dunaway's Bonnie Parker soon takes up with Clyde with Dunaway turning the iconic crime spree girl into a real sexpot. From trying to help Clyde with his impotence to stroking his gun and looking seductively into his eyes, Bonnie Parker practically single-handedly lifts America into this new era with her sultry disposition and raw sexuality.

Criticized for celebrating these two murderers, the film actually does anything but when you really look at it all. Bonnie and Clyde are the protagonists, yes, but the film shows their insanity, their hubris, their stupidity, and their greed. Always confident they will never be caught, they take chances and mock those that chase them. They take photos with the police and meet up with random people from whom they had stolen a car. These are two dumb kids who, while maybe not wholly evil, are malevolently moronic. Any average criminal would get caught, but the duo were the benefits of their free wheeling attitude and willingness to drive across the whole of America in committing their crimes. Turning them into myths, the two would show up randomly into a town and rob a bank while the newspaper would attribute them with three times as many robberies in places they had never been. They were ghosts and the go-to for any news story. Had they not driven all over and the media not started printing falsehoods, it is entirely possible they would have been able to be tracked by the police. Instead, it was a wild goose chase until they were able to turn CW Moss (Michael J. Pollard) against the couple.

Unafraid to show the graphic results of the couple's violence, we see them kill innocents and kill cops right up close. We see them take on the cops and, yet, we root for them. Through all of their stupidity and murderous intent, the couple are classic cinematic antiheroes who make you root for them out of respect for their pure brazenness and utter lack of inhibition. The film's portrayal of violence, however, breaks through this a bit. From when they kill innocents to when they are finally executed in a hail of bullets, we see what this life of crime brings: violence and a lot of it. Director Arthur Penn uses this violence, alongside the sexuality, to usher in that new era of Hollywood, but to also jar the audience. The violence is unexpected from a film released in 1967. For it to be so bloody and so graphic, audiences at the time had to be running for the hills. I mean, we see a guy get shot five inches from the camera. We see a woman lose her eye. This is a brutal, brutal film. Penn does this shocking level of violence to underscore that Bonnie and Clyde are not to be revered. Their hands are covered in blood and their hubris has caused many good people to die and leave their families behind. While the papers and their legacy has romanticized their status to an insane degree, the gritty details are simple: they are murderers. Bonnie and Clyde is a film that is unafraid to confront this reality, no matter how much it may shock.

A boundary smashing film, Arthur Penn's rendition of the classic crime couple Bonnie and Clyde finds Penn introducing overt sexuality, sensuality, and violence to American films in telling this classic story. Not romanticizing it in the least, Penn offers up gruesome recountings of the couple's crime spree across America and shows their immaturity and pride, which ultimately led to their demise in a hail of bullets. Finding Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway doing some of their best work as the classic couple alongside a charismatic and scenery chewing Gene Hackman, Bonnie and Clyde ushered in a new era in film while decisively closing the book on the more romantic beliefs some had regarding Bonnie and Clyde. There is no romance in violence, underscored by Clyde's impotence and the film's refusal to show them as anything but remorseless idiots that stole from others simply because they could, while being unafraid to shoot their way out of a tight spot.… Expand
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8
Compi24Nov 28, 2012
Boasting some brilliant performances across the board, "Bonnie And Clyde" challenges audiences with shocking imagery, enduring pathos, and some truly iconic onscreen relationships.
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8
MovieGuysSep 29, 2013
All the way back in 1967, not all directors had the balls to make movies like these: violent, raw, and realistic. It wasn't until after this movie that ratings and thematic material in movies became apparent. So technically, this movie is oneAll the way back in 1967, not all directors had the balls to make movies like these: violent, raw, and realistic. It wasn't until after this movie that ratings and thematic material in movies became apparent. So technically, this movie is one of the first of its kind. Bravo.… Expand
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10
kyle20ellisMar 18, 2022
I am not sure whether I can add to the commentators who have talked about how good Bonnie and Clyde is, but I'll have a go. I didn't see Bonnie and Clyde until quite recently, and I can completely understand the film's reputation as it is aI am not sure whether I can add to the commentators who have talked about how good Bonnie and Clyde is, but I'll have a go. I didn't see Bonnie and Clyde until quite recently, and I can completely understand the film's reputation as it is a fantastic film. It is very well made, with crisp cinematography and a superb period recreation. The violence here is not cartoony, it is very violent and shocking, as seen in the ending which I also found quite affecting. Arthur Penn directs beautifully, there is a compelling story, a slick pace and a cracking script with some of the most important and sharpest dialogue in any film of the '60s. I was amazed by the last scene with Bonnie and her mother, it was a scene that is very chilling but also one that resonates emotionally too. And the acting I have no qualms with. Gene Hackman is wonderful as is Estelle Parsons as a somewhat annoying character. Also Gene Wilder makes a brief but funny appearance. But the film belongs to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunnaway, who actually become the characters rather than just playing them. Overall, a fantastic film and one of the best and most important of its decade. 10/10 Bethany Cox… Expand
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10
timoneNov 9, 2018
You know, I had never heard of the film called Bonnie and Clyde and the fact that they both died in real life which is abrubtly shocking of me because everything about Bonnie and Clyde is memorable and in some film people say the name BonnieYou know, I had never heard of the film called Bonnie and Clyde and the fact that they both died in real life which is abrubtly shocking of me because everything about Bonnie and Clyde is memorable and in some film people say the name Bonnie and Clyde which is something that made me remember the two couple in general and the reason I said that is because this is a famous film in the decade. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway did a fantastic portrayal as Bonnie and Clyde and they go rob banks and drives away with Clyde's friend and his wife. The characters are portrayed very well and the cast in this is beautifully well done not to mention Gene Wilder is in this. He's in the film for the short time. I absolutely really love the cinematography in this. It is really fantastically shot. This is something that you will see in the cinema. It really is beautifully made and the acting from Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway is so mesmerizing. And the ending of course is so amazing. Years ago people said it became one of the bloodiest death scenes in cinematic history. Britian's say these two are a bunch of idiots because they rob banks as the tagline says "We rob banks." As 60's cinema goes, this is an impeccable film with great directing and everything that defines the 60's in filmmaking. Bonnie and Clyde is a fantastic film and my new favourite film of all time.… Expand
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7
FilipeNetoAug 8, 2021
This movie is considered a classic because it is very realistic and violent. It's one of those must-see films for film students, movie buffs or specialized critics. However, it is a film largely forgotten by the general public, and is rarelyThis movie is considered a classic because it is very realistic and violent. It's one of those must-see films for film students, movie buffs or specialized critics. However, it is a film largely forgotten by the general public, and is rarely shown on TV, even on specialty channels.

Directed by Arthur Penn, the film addresses the criminal trajectory of Bonnie Elizabeth Parker, a young married woman, and her lover Clyde Chestnut Barrow. In real life, they had a short existence, in the mid-30s, but they roamed a good portion of the Midwest, where they robbed banks, convenience stores, gas stations, etc., totaling more than a hundred robberies and were about twenty people were killed (as the film shows, they avoided gratuitous violence and preferred to avoid confrontations and shootings). The film wastes no time and, in the first few minutes, reveals to us the sudden, even improbable, way in which they both meet and fall in love.

However, one of the problems with the film is that it actually continues to create myths around the bad guys, just as the press at the time did. They're charming, they're charismatic, they're almost heroes, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with robbing banks in this movie. To make everything even more dubious, the production chose for the protagonists two beautiful actors, who are nothing like the real thugs. Indeed, the film tells a pleasant story, yet it is not historically rigorous, nor does it accurately report what they did.

The cast is led by two good actors: the beautiful and blonde Faye Dunaway is very good, charismatic and elegant, and makes in this film one of the works that immortalized her as an actress, and the same can be said of Warren Beatty, who gave life to Clyde, with commitment, professionalism, energy and passion. In fact, the work of the two actors is impeccable, and the way they work together, the intense chemistry that emanates from them when they're together, is something powerful. Do they give us an idealized view of the bad guys? Yes… but they are extremely competent for the task and are doing what they are asked to do. The film also features Michael Pollard, Gene Hackman and Denver Pyle, all of whom are high quality additions, who put a lot of effort into their characters. For me, only Estelle Parsons spoils the scene with her irritating, histrionic character, always screaming, or crying like a repentant Magdalene. I honestly can't understand how the hell she won the Oscar with this movie!

Technically, it is a film with several interesting aspects to consider, starting right away with an excellent cinematography, full of realism, without excessive embellishments and exaggerated artifices. The sets are good, they are within what I expected to find; I loved the cars used in the film, and the way the film takes advantage of them. In the same way I also liked the landscapes, which show us an arid and desolate view of the American Midwest, devastated not only by the difficulties of the Great Depression but also by a severe drought, the “Dust Bowl”. The visuals, specials and sound effects work very well, particularly in the action scenes, and that scene where the shootings destroyed the bandits' car is truly anthological. The only thing I didn't like, although I understand and think it fits well with the film, the way it was thought out and executed, is the soundtrack, with all those banjo solos.… Expand
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8
EvilClownApr 14, 2018
Great gangster film with an all star cast. Warren Beatty is a little clean cut for the role but grows more menacing as the film progress. It’s a little dark but a great ride. If you’ve never seen this one, you need to fix that.
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7
Wavy_YeezyMay 13, 2019
Pretty good film, not as good as it's universal acclaim says. A very abrupt ending.
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8
MahmusAug 22, 2019
Excellent performances, groundbreaking use of violence and one of the most iconic endings in cinema history.
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7
Bradh6886Jan 10, 2021
Easily one of the top on screen chemistries in Hollywood history. Supporting characters seemed stock but it's to be expected from the time. Wildly entertaining ride but at times doesn't elevate beyond an archetypal genre film.
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9
Richard552Aug 11, 2022
If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour...go and watch it...I am sure you are going to enjoy it!$1 to buy a Netflix account, Google search: vtvshare
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