A film produced in 1967, Bonnie and Clyde has been celebrated as being one of the turning points for the modern age of film. It seemed to pave the way for other films, changing conventional wisdom and adding new and more extreme elements to the movie industry.
As I watched the film I noticed a variety of examples that exemplified these groundbreaking changes in the industry. The most obvious of these examples is the high amount of violence in the film, and the very explicit way in which it was shown. At the time the movie was made, in the late 1960's, movie audiences were not accustomed to high levels of violence in full length films. In the various scenes when Buck, Clyde, Bonnie, and even Blanche were wounded by bullets, the director had no problems showing the wounds, and showing the violent actions that produced them. And of course, the final scene of the movie, which concluded with the realistic portrayal of Bonnie and Clyde's assassination and the final shot of the bullet ridden car and bodies of the bandits, proved to be a shocking ending to the film. Basically, the violent aspect of this movie not only gave it a sense of realism, but set it apart from earlier films and paved the way for realistic, effective violence in future movies.
Another part of Bonnie and Clyde that changed the face of film was the change in the conventions of typical film. A typical movie during this time portrayed the "good guys" as the main characters, and the "bad guys" as characters you felt no sympathy or good will toward. However, Bonnie and Clyde and the rest of the Barrow gang were all outlaws and bandits, yet they were the people you admired throughout the movie. This changed the face of the common movie, making it acceptable for "bad guys" to be important, likable characters. It took historically dangerous characters, and romanticized them, turning them into folk heroes and movie legends.
Also, the realism of making Clyde have a sexual problem was a new and unusual aspect in the movie industry. To have a main character with such an odd flaw was a very new thing. Usually, lead male characters were "lover boys", yet Clyde struggled throughout the movie to satisfy Bonnie. Warren Beatty's portrayal of this outlaw who believed himself to be "the best" while having such an obvious problem, simply made the film more realistic and moving.
In general, this film paved the way for future films with its originality and its destruction of past film barriers. Bonnie and Clyde could effectively be described as the beginning of the modern age of film in America.
As I watched the film I noticed a variety of examples that exemplified these groundbreaking changes in the industry. The most obvious of these examples is the high amount of violence in the film, and the very explicit way in which it was shown. At the time the movie was made, in the late 1960's, movie audiences were not accustomed to high levels of violence in full length films. In the various scenes when Buck, Clyde, Bonnie, and even Blanche were wounded by bullets, the director had no problems showing the wounds, and showing the violent actions that produced them. And of course, the final scene of the movie, which concluded with the realistic portrayal of Bonnie and Clyde's assassination and the final shot of the bullet ridden car and bodies of the bandits, proved to be a shocking ending to the film. Basically, the violent aspect of this movie not only gave it a sense of realism, but set it apart from earlier films and paved the way for realistic, effective violence in future movies.
Another part of Bonnie and Clyde that changed the face of film was the change in the conventions of typical film. A typical movie during this time portrayed the "good guys" as the main characters, and the "bad guys" as characters you felt no sympathy or good will toward. However, Bonnie and Clyde and the rest of the Barrow gang were all outlaws and bandits, yet they were the people you admired throughout the movie. This changed the face of the common movie, making it acceptable for "bad guys" to be important, likable characters. It took historically dangerous characters, and romanticized them, turning them into folk heroes and movie legends.
Also, the realism of making Clyde have a sexual problem was a new and unusual aspect in the movie industry. To have a main character with such an odd flaw was a very new thing. Usually, lead male characters were "lover boys", yet Clyde struggled throughout the movie to satisfy Bonnie. Warren Beatty's portrayal of this outlaw who believed himself to be "the best" while having such an obvious problem, simply made the film more realistic and moving.
In general, this film paved the way for future films with its originality and its destruction of past film barriers. Bonnie and Clyde could effectively be described as the beginning of the modern age of film in America.