Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8822 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-01
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the landmark films of the 1960s, Bonnie and Clyde changed the course of American cinema. Setting a milestone for screen violence that paved the way for Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, this exercise in mythologized biography should not be labelled as a bloodbath; as critic Pauline Kael wrote in her rave review, "it's the absence of sadism that throws the audience off balance". The film is more of a poetic ode to the Great Depression, starring the dream team of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the titular antiheroes, who barrel across the South and Midwest robbing banks with Clyde's brother Buck (Gene Hackman), Buck's frantic wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons) and their faithful accomplice C W Moss (the inimitable Michael J. Pollard). Bonnie and Clyde is an unforgettable classic that has lost none of its power since the 1967 release. --Jeff Shannon

Special Features
Full Screen
English
Region 2
Mono English
Mono
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Access
Arabic
English

Synopsis
Based on the true-life exploits of the notorious depression-era bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, BONNIE AND CLYDE has become a part of popular American culture and is recognized as one of the most violent films to come out of mainstream Hollywood.

Bonnie is bored with life and wants a change. She gets her chance when she meets a charming young drifter by the name of Clyde Barrow. Clyde has dreams of a life of crime, and freedom from the hardships of the depression. The two fall in love and soon begin a crime spree that extends from Oklahoma to Texas. They rob small banks with skill and panache, soon becoming minor celebrities known across the country. People are proud to have been held up by Bonnie and Clyde; to them the duo is doing what nobody else has the guts to do. To the law the two are evil bank robbers who deserve to be gunned down where they stand. Warrren Beatty (REDS, BULWORTH) and Faye Dunaway (CHINATOWN, DON JUAN DE MARCO) are marvellous as the young criminal lovers, delivering subtle and complete performances. Also excellent are Gene Hackman (THE FRENCH CONNECTION, UNFORGIVEN) as Clyde's brother, Buck; and Estelle Parsons as Buck's wife, Blanche; and the always enjoyable Michael J. Pollard as C.W. Moss. The extremely violent film has made a large impact on American culture, expressing the mood of rebellion rampant in the late 1960s and beyond.

Customer Reviews

Most important movie ever made
This Arthur Penn (father of actors Sean & Chris Penn) movie is one of the landmark films of the 20th Century, as it changed the course of American cinema forever. Having watched this classic again recently, I was struck at how brilliant the supporting actors are (Gene Hackman, M.J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons, Charlie Richard Pryor)- a surrogate family that made the film swing outside its frontline as well as tweaking the Hollywood rulebook.


Though Warner Bros had dumped the film in 1967, star Warren Beatty badgered the studio into a second release. Bonnie and Clyde then grossed over $20 million at the USA box office, landing on the cover of Time as the harbinger of the "New Cinema". Heavily influenced by the European art movies of the early 1960s, writers Robert Benton and David Newman intended to make a revisionist gangster movie in the spirit of the French New Wave; the film openly sympathised with its glamorous gangsters, who became analogues of hip 1960s counter-culture protestors, and its tone veered unexpectedly between slapstick comedy and serious consequences, galling more conventional critics who wanted the film to enforce a clear morality.


Faye Dunaway's strong-willed Bonnie and Beatty's impotent Clyde were hardly a traditional couple, and their gory demise in rapid-fire, slow motion montage went far beyond previous Hollywood bloodshed. Nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture, Bonnie and Clyde only two awards. The impact of its violence and youth appeal was confirmed by the ensuing success of The Wild Bunch 1969, while outlaw couple films from Badlands (1973) to Thelma and Louise (1991) have ensured its continuing legacy.

This movie ignited critics and the public alike when it was first released in theatres. Much discussion centered around the movie's graphic violence (which was considered shocking by 1967 standards --- two years later "The Wild Bunch" would raise the ante even higher); there was also considerable hullaballoo over the film's glamorisation of its lawless true-life anti-heroes (which was in fact an old Hollywood tradition best exemplified by a handful of late 1930's and early 1940's biographical Westerns including "Jesse James", "Belle Starr", "Billy the Kid", etc. in which beautiful actors portrayed the murderous title characters as Technicolored lads and ladies). Pure blinding genuis.

10/10.

Tooo good to miss...
Hard not to get caught up in this beautific phycho dram/road movie/doomed killer nerd/peon to 1930's depression America. It also makes great cinema. The music/cars/set piece action scenes add background and pace to the story of the doomed central characters. Bonny and Clyde (Beaty and Dunnaway never looked finer) meet up to terrorise rob kill and liberate depending on yer point of view.
Class supporting roles are provided by the remainder of the Barrow clan/gang - Estelle Parsons getting an oscar for her role as Buck Barrows understandably nervous wife. Gene Wilder adds some comic relief as the hapless victim along with his girlfriend of the Barrow gangs need to steal a new car for their journey.
That Bonny and Clyde are doomed is sensed throughout powerfully rendered in a family reunion with Bonny mother's advice: 'you best keep running clyde barrow and you know it'.The shoot outs were attested as the most genuine aspect of the movie by the real life C W Moss in a 1960's Playboy interview (shortly to be killed by a shotgun blast over a drug deal) The betrayal and final ambush scene of Bonny and Clyde finally bring the gritty reality of the movie home.

Great film but avoid this copy
This is a terrific film, although it does overglamourise two ruthless killers. But having said that, it is a thoroughly entertaining film and well worth having in your collection.
However, unless you dont mind the film having been chopped about, avoid this particular copy, as it is not shown in it's original wide-screen ratio. For the little extra expense, my advice would be to go for the 40th Anniversary copy (also on Amazon) which is in wide-screen format and is vastly superior. (The wide-screen version gets 4 stars!)