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"They're young, they're in love, and they kill people," went the tagline of Bonnie and Clyde. The sentence succinctly captures both the undeniable allure of the story and its controversy-baiting subject matter. The film is usually cited - sometimes along with The Graduate, also released in '67 - as the beginning of the New Hollywood renaissance that lasted until the end of the following decade; it marked a total break from accepted industrial practices, as well as ignoring the Production Code that had worked to ensure that all Hollywood's films were morally permissible. It was, in many ways, revolutionary, and for many viewers took a while to adjust to; Newsweek famously panned it in its original review only to rebuff its own position a week later. Looking at it through 21st century eyes there are moments that seem dated, and the impact of the violence is unavoidably diluted, yet it is still a film that possesses a definite, distinctive power.
Originally conceived by first-time writers David Newman and Robert Benton as an American reaction to the French Nouvelle Vague of the early '60s, the influence of Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, et al is clear to see (the writers had even pursued the Gallic revolutionaries to direct their script). Arthur Penn was the man who ultimately found himself brandishing the megaphone, and his uncompromising approach to the material - which saw him facing major confrontations with traditionalist cinematographer Burnett Guffey, who went on to win an Oscar for his work here - is a major part of the film's enduring quality. Warren Beatty was an early champion of the script, in large part responsible for its eventual production, and took the role of both producer and star, creating his most iconic character in the process. His co-lead, Faye Dunaway, was plucked from relative obscurity and she shares a lightning chemistry with Beatty, despite this being one of the rare occasions when the notoriously womanising leading man did not woo the actress in reality.
At times during the film, Old and New Hollywood seem to crash together on screen: the clunky rear projection in the frequent in-car scenes really sticks out like a sore thumb, and some studio-shot scenes are staged rather statically, yet elsewhere the filmmaking is remarkably boundary-pushing and contemporary. The extensive location work conducted in the Midwest adds a crucial sense of authenticity that is one of the film's main virtues as well as one of its biggest departures from conventional practice (studio or backlot filming being the norm). As the episodic narrative unfolds, the viewer is drawn in to the lives of these hoodlums, resulting in an ambiguous moral connection. Often the film seems to side with Beatty's Clyde Barrow, the instigator of the crimewave - he is lent a Robin Hood quality through his choice to only rob businesses rather than individuals - though it doesn't shy away from the fact that he and his accomplices are killers.
The story takes the form of a series of vignettes, beginning with the meeting of the titular duo. Gradually as they traverse the prairies, going from town to town, their posse grows, first with the likeable young mechanic C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard), then Clyde's brother (Gene Hackman) and his reluctant wife (Estelle Parsons, who won the film's only acting Oscar out of the five nominated). Each episode - bank robberies, car thefts (one featuring a bit part for Gene Wilder in his first film role), police sieges, and meetings with parents - builds up and enhances the characters before the parts finally reach a critical mass and the Barrow gang's whole charade begins to collapse around them. The end is inevitable, even overlooking the infamy of the bullet-riddled imagery at the finale, yet there is nevertheless an inexorable building in tension as the conclusion approaches.
As gangster films go, Bonnie and Clyde is an utterly different beast from the measured composure of The Godfather, but it's hard to deny that the latter could not have happened without the rulebook being ripped to shreds by Penn's film. Nor indeed could the vast majority of Hollywood's output over the subsequent years. Bonnie and Clyde may have taken some while to sink in for the unsuspecting viewing public, but once it did, its impact could not be ignored. American cinema had changed for good.
The extras
The picture has been "Digitally Remastered for High-Impact Home Viewing Brilliance" according to the DVD sleeve, and while such a hyperbolic description may not quite be deserved, the transfer is still very good. Any minor shortcomings largely seem to be down to the cinema verité filming style rather than a poor print. Surprisingly, Warner Bros. have not shelled out for a new 5.1 sound mix, instead simply providing the original mono, but this is an omission that will not concern purists (the monaural track is perfectly acceptable).
There is sadly no commentary, and aside from two trailers, all of the bonus material is to be found on the second disc. The Making Of, produced by Laurent Bouzereau, is very similar to those found on many Special Editions of classic films (see, for example, the SEs of Dog Day Afternoon, The Sting, and Chinatown), in that it's well put together, informative and about an hour long. Featuring the participation of everybody you could want, including the reluctant but refreshingly honest Warren Beatty, it goes into greater depth than some Making Ofs and is well worth the time. The other main extra is a 45-minute documentary on the real Bonnie and Clyde made for the History Channel, which reveals how historically accurate the film is: not very, but you can see where the writers used the truth as inspiration. Unusually for an older film, there are actually two deleted scenes on the disc, albeit without sound (subtitles can be turned on, though), which are an interesting watch. Finally, there is a Warren Beatty wardrobe test, which isn't worth watching for more than a minute or so and is precisely as fascinating as it sounds.
The summary
Certainly a product of its era, Bonnie and Clyde remains an entertaining and engaging watch. Its liveliness and vigour have not been suppressed by the passage of time.
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