My reaction to this film is very dichotomous. The film was revolutionary in the way that it was filmed: it shattered a longstanding code of film-making wherein studios were discouraged to include violent and sexual material. The film is known among film scholars as the genesis of a period of American film known as the Hollywood Renaissance.
Many agree that the film was groundbreaking, with new film techniques and risqué content never before seen on the big screen. This aside, the film was sickening in the way it portrayed the notorious thugs Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Most people who see the film know that Bonnie and Clyde were real criminals whose crime spree shook Midwestern America in the early 1930s. Perhaps many people don't realize the scope of their crimes, however.
By the time they were shot down by the FBI in 1934, the five criminals portrayed in the film had committed an extensive number of heinous crimes. Collectively, the group was thought to have murdered three police officers and four civilians; kidnapped a chief of police, a sheriff and two innocent people; and committed countless robberies and automobile thefts.
It is clear that these people were low-life cop killers and thieves. So why they were portrayed in such a heroic manor is beyond me. Some film scholars cite the reason for this shocking content as a social commentary on the rebellious attitudes of 1960s pop culture. This is a poor justification. The film undoubtedly contributed to the advent of popular films and video games in which cop killing and grand larceny is encouraged. Such a movement is a scar on our society.
My opinion of the film would be drastically different had the group been portrayed as the antagonists of the story. The film would have been much had the police been portrayed as the heroes in the film, working diligently to catch the group of homicidal criminals. Bonnie and Clyde would have been less likable and less sexualized. This approach, however, would have been much less groundbreaking and would have ended up being a typical detective movie popular in that period. Hollywood executives, as we would expect, clearly opted for the plot that would sell the most tickets.
The point to be made here is that Bonnie and Clyde were villainous murderers who had no regard for society or the law. They murdered innocent people and civil servants. The couple and those who joined them on their reign of terror are undeserving of the way they were portrayed in this film.
Many agree that the film was groundbreaking, with new film techniques and risqué content never before seen on the big screen. This aside, the film was sickening in the way it portrayed the notorious thugs Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Most people who see the film know that Bonnie and Clyde were real criminals whose crime spree shook Midwestern America in the early 1930s. Perhaps many people don't realize the scope of their crimes, however.
By the time they were shot down by the FBI in 1934, the five criminals portrayed in the film had committed an extensive number of heinous crimes. Collectively, the group was thought to have murdered three police officers and four civilians; kidnapped a chief of police, a sheriff and two innocent people; and committed countless robberies and automobile thefts.
It is clear that these people were low-life cop killers and thieves. So why they were portrayed in such a heroic manor is beyond me. Some film scholars cite the reason for this shocking content as a social commentary on the rebellious attitudes of 1960s pop culture. This is a poor justification. The film undoubtedly contributed to the advent of popular films and video games in which cop killing and grand larceny is encouraged. Such a movement is a scar on our society.
My opinion of the film would be drastically different had the group been portrayed as the antagonists of the story. The film would have been much had the police been portrayed as the heroes in the film, working diligently to catch the group of homicidal criminals. Bonnie and Clyde would have been less likable and less sexualized. This approach, however, would have been much less groundbreaking and would have ended up being a typical detective movie popular in that period. Hollywood executives, as we would expect, clearly opted for the plot that would sell the most tickets.
The point to be made here is that Bonnie and Clyde were villainous murderers who had no regard for society or the law. They murdered innocent people and civil servants. The couple and those who joined them on their reign of terror are undeserving of the way they were portrayed in this film.