Bonnie & Clyde

[Quigley Brown]

anyone going to buy the special edition that was just released today???

 

[texasgirl]

Oh, I hadn't heard about this. I guess I'll have to check it out. Thanks!!

http://bonnieandclydedvd.warnerbros.com/

 

[Caledonia]

Absolutely, if they release it over here. Can't see why they won't.

 

[Jedburgh OSS]

Watch for the Burma Shave signs

I noticed it was the only movie I've ever seen the Burma Shave signs. This was, of course, at least five years after they disappeared from the road sides. They don't even show up in movies from the Burma Shave era. You can see them during one of the chase scenes, but they appear to be slapped up in a field where there's no real road. Nice touch, anyway and all the while Foggy Mountain Breakdown plays away.

 

[RetroQueen]

I just watched this movie last night, not the re-release, but one I borrowed from the local library.

We were talking about this in The Glenn Miller Story thread, too, I was wondering about some of the historical accuracy of Bonnie and Clyde? I know a little about them...but what are your thoughts on this? I think Faye Dunaway's hair was more 60s than 30s. It seemed that they had Blanche look more 30s than Bonnie. I have seen a few pictures of the real Bonnie Parker, and her hair was in her hat, so maybe Faye Dunaway's hair was accurate. And from what I have read it seemed they changed some things about their life or added things in. Also, to me, Warren Beatty is too much of a pretty boy to play that type of character, in my opinion. He acted it ok, but I guess it was his looks that distracted me a bit. I liked that they had mentioned Bonnie's poems. And that the movie touched on that some people felt that Bonnie and Clyde had helped them out vs. hurting them.

Again, I am just wondering as I have only barely scratched the surface of research on the real Bonnie and Clyde, but this movie did not impress me really.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Yes, Faye Dunaway's look was quintessential 1960s.

As we've often observed here: hairstyles are virtually always from the time in which a period film is made, rather than when it's set. This is often the case with the costumes too, although it's generally not as obvious as the hair.

The bottom line is, most of the time very little research or effort is expended to make someone really look period-accurate - it's more important to make them attractive to the contemporary audience. There are definitely exceptions, but you can nearly always determine when a film was made just by checking out the actors' hair!

Added: And as to the quality of the film itself, again, it was not really meant to be accurate as history. The film's importance is the way in which it captured and played to the huge shift taking place in America's consciousness, methods of artistic expression, and view of itself in the mid-1960s. What is hard to understand now is how shocking and entertaining these beautiful antiheroes, and their violent on-the-run lives and extremely unconventional love story (an impotent hero?!?), were in 1967. Having seen the film during its original release when I was 12, I can tell you that it was something very new and different, and it was exciting and thought-provoking as well as entertaining...

 

[texasgirl]

Also, here's a great site if you want to read about Bonnie and Clyde.
http://texashideout.tripod.com/bc.htm

 

[Twitch]

For those interested in the actual duo, keep an eye on the History Channel schedules as they've run multiple times pretty informative programs about them and other gangsters of the era.

 

[Spiffy]

It's pretty brilliant that they're re-releasing it.
Of course, I got my copy out of the $5 bin at Wal-Mart.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

A couple of nostalgic views from '67

Forty years ago folks! That's longer than the span between B&C's heyday and the making of the movie!

-dixon cannon

 

[NoirDame]

My grandmother went to school with Clyde Barrow. She told us a story about him 'hugging' his younger brother until the baby turned blue. It could be a schoolhouse rumor, but gran certainly believed it. She said he was a very nasty kid.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

The Death Car

Here is the infamous Bonnie & Clyde Death Car in it's final resting place, off the road after years of fairgrounds, carnivals and road-side attractions.

-dixon cannon

 

[Bugsy]

??

Does anyone know if that was a movie prop or a real vintage car? Would they really shot up an actual vintage automobile?

 

[KY Gentleman]

For those interested in the actual duo, keep an eye on the History Channel schedules as they've run multiple times pretty informative programs about them and other gangsters of the era.

The History Channel has run "Crime Wave: 18 Months" a documentary that covers Bonnie and Clyde, Babyface Nelson and John Dillinger pretty much all day today. I'm watching it now and its been great. Try to catch it if you can.