1967. dir. Arthur Penn, starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael Pollard.
Seen it before? No.
Warren Beatty is a very attractive man. Faye Dunaway is a very attractive woman. And the lives of the people they portrayed on-screen were interesting too...in a very weird way. Who knew (unless you studied up on Bonnie Parker) that Bonnie wrote poetry? I just remember that there was the famous (or infamous) photo of her straddling a car hood and holding the gun. Who knew that Clyde was practically asexual in that he was not really good with intimacy and barely satisfied Bonnie? I certainly didn't.
The story was interesting. All I knew was that Bonnie and Clyde were bank robbers and they were a couple. Seeing it come to life in a way that was moderately violent (although I am sure that in the late sixties this was terribly controversial) was interesting. Has Gene Hackman ALWAYS been that old? And the funniest part is that if Bonnie and Clyde were redone today Gene Hackman's character would be portrayed by John C. Riley I am sure of it!
I wouldn't not watch it again but I wouldn't own it. I know Sam thinks Warren Beatty is a wasted talent and I am inclined to agree. Reds is on Netflix On Demand so I'm going to see if I have time to watch 3 hours and 15 minutes worth of one of Warren Beatty's best work.
Showing posts with label Bonnie and Clyde. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bonnie and Clyde. Show all posts
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
#93 Bonnie And Clyde: They'll bury them side by side
1967. dir. Arthur Penn, starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael Pollard.
Seen it before? No.
I consider Warren Beatty to be one of the all-time biggest wastes of talent. Check out his imdb entry: Everything he's done since 1981 has been crap-ola. I distinctly remember seeing Dick Tracy as a child, and even then I was like, well that sucked. And mind you, I did not have particularly discriminating taste in movies back then.
It's a shame, because this movie, which Beatty produced when he was 28, is revolutionary. First of all, it is the godfather of graphic film violence. There's a scene early on where Clyde shoots a guy in the face, and he immediately gets all bloody and falls off the car. This had never before been done all in one shot, and wouldn't have even been possible in Hays Code era Hollywood. I'm sure it was pretty shocking at the time. I'm all desensitized to it myself, since this was my other favorite movie back in 1990. Also revolutionary is the way it's shot; lots of jump-cuts, handheld shots, that sort of thing. That's the influence of the French New Wave, but this is one of the first American movies to feel this jittery and kinetic.
As for the performances, I'd say Faye Dunaway as Bonnie carries this movie; Beatty plays Clyde Barrow as sort of a one-dimensional cartoon, but Dunaway shows a lot more vulnerability and inner conflict. Probably my favorite scene in the movie is her family reunion towards the end, where she meets her mother for the last time; the scene feels more like a funeral and Dunaway just nails it.
Position on the list: 215
Hey! It's that guy: Dub Taylor, who's in pretty much every Western ever made, including yet another of my 1990 favorites, Back To The Future Part III.
Obligatory Simpsons quote: "They didn't start chasing us until you turned on that getaway music!"
Seen it before? No.
I consider Warren Beatty to be one of the all-time biggest wastes of talent. Check out his imdb entry: Everything he's done since 1981 has been crap-ola. I distinctly remember seeing Dick Tracy as a child, and even then I was like, well that sucked. And mind you, I did not have particularly discriminating taste in movies back then.
It's a shame, because this movie, which Beatty produced when he was 28, is revolutionary. First of all, it is the godfather of graphic film violence. There's a scene early on where Clyde shoots a guy in the face, and he immediately gets all bloody and falls off the car. This had never before been done all in one shot, and wouldn't have even been possible in Hays Code era Hollywood. I'm sure it was pretty shocking at the time. I'm all desensitized to it myself, since this was my other favorite movie back in 1990. Also revolutionary is the way it's shot; lots of jump-cuts, handheld shots, that sort of thing. That's the influence of the French New Wave, but this is one of the first American movies to feel this jittery and kinetic.
As for the performances, I'd say Faye Dunaway as Bonnie carries this movie; Beatty plays Clyde Barrow as sort of a one-dimensional cartoon, but Dunaway shows a lot more vulnerability and inner conflict. Probably my favorite scene in the movie is her family reunion towards the end, where she meets her mother for the last time; the scene feels more like a funeral and Dunaway just nails it.
Position on the list: 215
Hey! It's that guy: Dub Taylor, who's in pretty much every Western ever made, including yet another of my 1990 favorites, Back To The Future Part III.
Obligatory Simpsons quote: "They didn't start chasing us until you turned on that getaway music!"
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