Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

 I finally watched this film and it was absolutely ground-breaking.

Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) meets Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) completely by change. He's trying to steal her mother's car and she catches him. She finds his life of crime oddly satisfying and joins him, solely because she finds him attractive and fascinating. And yes, the two do eventually fall in love though he's incapable of making love to her until just before the final scene. 

Now, surprisingly few of their actual robberies are shown, though there must be plenty of them as that is how they make a living for approximately two years, gathering a gang as they go along, starting with the clueless getaway driver, C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard) before meeting up with Clyde's beloved older brother, Buck (Gene Hackman) and his jittery wife, Blanche (the great Estelle Parsons). Blanche and Bonnie get along like oil and water though when push comes to shove, Bonnie does comfort Blanche in her time of need. 

As time continues, there are more and more shoot outs and close encounters with law enforcement as they scurry all over the mid-west, robbing banks. There are a few plot holes, which unfortunately hangs a cloud over this brilliant screenplay including the scene with Bonnie's family. How in the world does Clyde get word over to them so they can come and visit? And how do they each have so many outfits? Still, the editing (kudos to Dede Allen), cinematography and score are utterly sensational. The acting is utterly flawless. All five of the main leads were Oscar-nominated and Parsons did win. And the ending was expected but also unexpected as Bonnie and Clyde finally appear to want to leave the wild life behind but are betrayed by C.W's father and are shot countless times by the police in an ambush. It is a wretchedly bloody end. However, they had just recovered from being injured so I'm surprised that they even made it to the end of the film. This film more than earned its slot in essential film history and film viewing. Grade: A

Side Notes:

-Bonnie and Clyde are almost like the Robin Hoods of bank robbing as they refuse to take any money owned by an individual person. 

-Does Bonnie end up actually killing anyone?

-Blanche is a preacher's daughter and is one of the few to still be alive at the end of the film.

-It would have been nice if this film had a bit of an epilogue, telling the audience what happened to C.W. and Blanche.

-The beginning credits were utterly brilliant, mixing in snapshots with the credits.