...whizzes by in a compact 111 minutes, while carrying an image of people and places that is hard to forget.
Screenwriters David Newman and Robert Benton (with an uncredited Robert Towne helping out) say in the disc's accompanying documentary that they were striving to produce a kind of New Wave realism in their story, which accounts for all the bloodshed and personal character interaction. However, I'm not sure the screenwriters expected director Arthur Penn ("Little Big Man," "Alice's Restaurant") to inject as much humor into the story as he did. Bonnie and Clyde's first few bumbling attempts at crime are more comic than serious. Then, as the plot proceeds, the violence becomes more intense and the gun battles become more severe.
The Academy nominated "Bonnie and Clyde" for practically every award they could offer, with the aforementioned Ms. Parsons winning for Best Supporting Actress and Burnett Guffey winning for Best Cinematography. Surely, the look of the film is almost as important as its violence, humor, and characters. Guffey recreates the feel and appearance of Depression Era Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana in his depiction of the lonely countryside, the hollow desolation, the dispirited society, and the generally broken tenor of the times, helped in no small measure by Flatt and Scruggs's "Foggie Mountain Breakdown" playing in the background.
"Bonnie and Clyde" whizzes by in a compact 111 minutes, while carrying an image of people and places that is hard to forget. If you haven't seen the film, it's worth a look. If you haven't seen it in quite a while, it's worth a revisit.
Video:
Warner Bros. engineers remastered the video from restored original film elements, and the results are excellent for a movie some forty years old. It's true there is a fair amount of film grain evident in outdoor location footage, some shots are a bit soft, and facial hues can be a touch dark on occasion, but, that said, the majority of the colors are quite realistic, the definition is superb for an SD disc, and the screen is clean, clean, clean. Contrasts, too, are strong, if a little glassy, and the overall appearance of the film is probably as good as the day WB made it.
Audio:
I'm afraid the movie's original monaural soundtrack doesn't come up as well remastered as the video does. The Dolby Digital 1.0 processing brings out a pinched, nasal quality in the voices, with a touch of background noise thrown in at higher volume. Midrange clarity is key, though, so despite the vocal characteristics, the dialogue is easy to understand. The overall sound has good impact but not a lot of range.
Extras:
Disc one of this Two-Disc Special Edition contains the feature film and little else. There are thirty-five scene selections but no chapter insert; a full-screen teaser trailer and a widescreen theatrical trailer for the film; English as the only spoken language; English, French, and Korean subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Disc two contains the bulk of the extras. Here, you'll find a new, fortieth-anniversary, commemorative documentary, "Revolution: The Making of Bonnie and Clyde," sixty-four minutes and divided into several chapters. Warren Beatty hosts it, and it includes segments on just about every aspect of the filmmaking. Interestingly, it tells us that initially the screenwriters wanted French New Wave director Francois Truffaut to helm the project, but he was busy with another commitment, so they brought in Arthur Penn. They had wanted Truffaut because they had attempted a kind of New Wave naturalism in the script, which they figured a French director could appreciate.
Anyway, after that, you'll find a History Channel documentary, "Love and Death: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde," forty-three minutes, that provides details on the real-life outlaws. Then, there is a seven-minute segment on Beatty doing wardrobe tests; and two deleted scenes lasting about five minutes. The discs come housed in a slim-line keep case, further enclosed in a colorful, embossed slipcover.
Parting Thoughts:
"Bonnie and Clyde" may seem a bit tame compared to today's shoot-'em-ups, but it still carries a punch, skillfully combining violence and humor in equal measure. More important, though, you'll get to know these characters and appreciate them, whether they represent the actual, historical figures being another question altogether. The movie weathers the test of time.
The Academy nominated "Bonnie and Clyde" for practically every award they could offer, with the aforementioned Ms. Parsons winning for Best Supporting Actress and Burnett Guffey winning for Best Cinematography. Surely, the look of the film is almost as important as its violence, humor, and characters. Guffey recreates the feel and appearance of Depression Era Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana in his depiction of the lonely countryside, the hollow desolation, the dispirited society, and the generally broken tenor of the times, helped in no small measure by Flatt and Scruggs's "Foggie Mountain Breakdown" playing in the background.
"Bonnie and Clyde" whizzes by in a compact 111 minutes, while carrying an image of people and places that is hard to forget. If you haven't seen the film, it's worth a look. If you haven't seen it in quite a while, it's worth a revisit.
Video:
Warner Bros. engineers remastered the video from restored original film elements, and the results are excellent for a movie some forty years old. It's true there is a fair amount of film grain evident in outdoor location footage, some shots are a bit soft, and facial hues can be a touch dark on occasion, but, that said, the majority of the colors are quite realistic, the definition is superb for an SD disc, and the screen is clean, clean, clean. Contrasts, too, are strong, if a little glassy, and the overall appearance of the film is probably as good as the day WB made it.
Audio:
I'm afraid the movie's original monaural soundtrack doesn't come up as well remastered as the video does. The Dolby Digital 1.0 processing brings out a pinched, nasal quality in the voices, with a touch of background noise thrown in at higher volume. Midrange clarity is key, though, so despite the vocal characteristics, the dialogue is easy to understand. The overall sound has good impact but not a lot of range.
Extras:
Disc one of this Two-Disc Special Edition contains the feature film and little else. There are thirty-five scene selections but no chapter insert; a full-screen teaser trailer and a widescreen theatrical trailer for the film; English as the only spoken language; English, French, and Korean subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Disc two contains the bulk of the extras. Here, you'll find a new, fortieth-anniversary, commemorative documentary, "Revolution: The Making of Bonnie and Clyde," sixty-four minutes and divided into several chapters. Warren Beatty hosts it, and it includes segments on just about every aspect of the filmmaking. Interestingly, it tells us that initially the screenwriters wanted French New Wave director Francois Truffaut to helm the project, but he was busy with another commitment, so they brought in Arthur Penn. They had wanted Truffaut because they had attempted a kind of New Wave naturalism in the script, which they figured a French director could appreciate.
Anyway, after that, you'll find a History Channel documentary, "Love and Death: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde," forty-three minutes, that provides details on the real-life outlaws. Then, there is a seven-minute segment on Beatty doing wardrobe tests; and two deleted scenes lasting about five minutes. The discs come housed in a slim-line keep case, further enclosed in a colorful, embossed slipcover.
Parting Thoughts:
"Bonnie and Clyde" may seem a bit tame compared to today's shoot-'em-ups, but it still carries a punch, skillfully combining violence and humor in equal measure. More important, though, you'll get to know these characters and appreciate them, whether they represent the actual, historical figures being another question altogether. The movie weathers the test of time.
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