DVD Review of The Day (0041) - Bonnie and Clyde - 1967

0041 – Bonnie and Clyde – 1967- Directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty as Clyde Barrow and Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker, two notorious bank robbers from the 30s Depression era. One must understand the era before one can appreciate the movie. These people were not bank robbers or outlaws to the majority of the public at that time. They were folk heroes. They were people other people wish they could have had the guts to have been. There were millions who were out of work and wished they could have done the things that Bonnie and Clyde did, despite their anti-social behavior. It was a time of desperation and these were desperados. Of course, in the final analysis, there were criminals and had to be removed, one way or the other from the society of honest, hard-working and law-abiding citizens, but millions understood why Bonnie and Clyde did what they did. More than one critic had to recant their original reviews because they were so embarrassed by the critical and box office success of the film. Gene Hackman was very good in the film and it also was the debut of Gene Wilder, who added a bit of humor to the violence. The film was nominated for a bevy of awards, but only won two. Estelle Parsons for best supporting actress and Burnett Guffey for his brilliant cinematography. The siege sequence is unforgettable. This is a must-see film for all serious movie buffs.