'' (1967) is a film about
Bonnie Parker And Clyde Barrow ,
Bank Robber s who roamed the
Central United States during the
Great Depression . As in real life, the couple is eventually ambushed and killed by
Law Enforcement . The film was directed by
Arthur Penn , and starred
Warren Beatty as Clyde Barrow and
Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker. The screenplay was written by
David Newman and
Robert Benton , with
Robert Towne doing some uncredited work.
The movie was partly filmed in and around
Dallas, Texas , in some cases using actual locations that the real Bonnie and Clyde either robbed or used as hideouts. Only loosely based on Barrow and Parker, the film sometimes deviated widely from the historical record, and did not include many of the killings for which the real Barrow and his associates were responsible. (Barrow was a probable shooter in approximately ten murders, though there's no solid evidence that Parker shot or killed anyone.) The movie portrayed
Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (
Denver Pyle ) as a vengeful bungler who had been captured, humiliated, and released by Bonnie and Clyde. However, the first time the real Hamer met either of them was when he helped kill them on
May 23 ,
1934 . He was not a Texas Ranger at the time.
When released, the film was controversial for supposedly
Glorifying Murderers , and for its unprecedented violence. ''Bonnie and Clyde'' was the first film to feature extensive use of
Squibs — small explosive charges, often mounted with bags of red liquid and fired from inside an actor's clothes to simulate bullet hits.
Estelle Parsons won an
Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, and
Burnett Guffey won an
Academy Award For Best Cinematography for his. The film is #27 on the
American Film Institute 's "100 Years, 100 Movies", #13 on its list of 100 American thrillers, and #65 on its list of 100 American romances. The line "We rob banks" was also ranked at #41 on the
American Film Institute 's list of the 100 Greatest Movie Quotes. ''Bonnie and Clyde'' has been selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry .
Bonnie and Clyde is also a landmark film in cinema history as it is regarded as the first film of the
New Hollywood era, an era often regarded as Hollywood's second golden age. The film broke taboos, a common characteristic of the era and its success opened doors for other films.
The background music "
Foggy Mountain Breakdown " by
Flatt And Scruggs has been made famous by this movie.
