Introduction
The production of Bonnie and Clyde saw a transformation in the movie industry that Americans had never witnessed in filmmaking history. Per se, it coincided with the Golden Age in Hollywood that had overstayed with the dominant American cinema ruling theatres over a century hence, becoming obsolete. Consequently, this was a highly purposeful American crime blockbuster produced in 1967 with an undertone of manipulation (Glushanok 14). Featuring Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, the film is a replica of the Romeo and Juliet play. In addition, the storyline revolved around the infamous outlaws who were convicts and robbers moving across the United States during the economic turmoil of the 1960s.
Further, the film starred Faye Dunaway as the male actor and Warren Beatty as her female counterpart, directed by Arthur Penn. Moreover, it has been highlighted as the most volatile gangster production that combined love, comedy, terror, and violence and one of its kind to break taboos hence becoming popular among young people (Glushanok 15). Bonnie and Clyde failed to conform to the Hays Code by displaying violence, sex, and death resulting in a new era in Hollywood that led to radical changes in script editing.
New Era in Hollywood
The failing production codes
Before Bonnie and Clyde, the film industry was experiencing radical change, and the golden age of Hollywood, which had dominated American cinema for half a century, was losing momentum. The associated iconic style that favored old-school sensibilities and invisible editing that carefully avoided anything that resembled a controversial topic was no longer attracting the counterculture youth of the 1960s. In addition, due to volatility in the film industry during the time, they had to make changes to make profits. Background script editing was in tune with conservatism and was preferred in previous films.
With Bonnie and Clyde, a fictional film that heavily modifies the story and lives of actual events, the source materials transformed to suit the youthful American audience. Consequently, the film led to an excellent, tightly controlled premise production of good movies (Cawelti 34). However, this model could not survive the changing trends, especially among the counterculture young generation. While highlighting some reasons, Glushanok asserts that death and love were the two misinterpreted phenomena by film producers during the cinema era (16). Therefore, the romanticism of hopeless violence exhibited by major war films that appealed to viewers had become unrealistic to the new generation as they became aware of the lies behind most productions.
The French New Wave
Consequently, during the shooting of the film, it became clear that it had to change the system for the industry to remain relevant. Furthermore, the 1960 transformations coincided with the arrival of film professionals from colleges, with Penn creating a myth where he intricately and carefully showed the humane of his characters hence changing the film-going experience (Glushanok 16). Thus, Bonnie and Clyde presented a morally liberal approach to filmmaking by discarding an industry characterized by censorship, making it the new Hollywood.
Review of the Film
Bonnie and Clyde have been lauded as a fascinating film that has graced the American theatre. While writing its review, Kael says, “It makes a different contact and feeling to the American audience” (1). In addition, the film brings a lifeline to the movie industry after “The Manchurian Candidate” as it connects people to their childhood fantasies. Although the film mentioned above divides the audience, it shows the typical characteristics of a good movie. For instance, there is excitement from a group of people watching Bonnie and Clyde as they hear and feel their private thoughts spoken aloud (Kael 1). Therefore, Americans can only contrast the contemporary feeling from watching the movie with “You Only Live Once,” which was almost false with historical facts.
It may be the peculiarity of the present times characterized by modernity that does not believe in factual facts. On the contrary, Bonnie and Clyde became the only film to show that we can tell our stories straight. Although “The Manchurian Candidate” demonstrated the connection of art to people’s daily lives, the film did not bring out the wild component that is a prerequisite in a thriller (Kael 2). Bonnie and Clyde keep their audience in suspense, where they remain in a nervous imbalance, eager for the following action.
As a reminiscence of the 1937 story, the film features Eddie (Clyde), a loser who wants to start a new life after bouts of jail, but people are reluctant to hire a convict. In scene 1, Bonnie notices Clyde trying to steal her mother’s car (Bonnie and Clyde 3:40).
However, instead of reporting him, something attracts her to him, and despite knowing that he’s from prison, she accepts his invitation to come into town with him. Clyde realizes that he can only count on Bonnie, whom she marries. Bonnie and Clyde embark on a countrywide rampage across the US (Kael 4). Consequently, they become outlaws blamed falsely for other crimes they did not commit. As the press paints a picture of two vicious thugs living a good life out of the proceeds of crime, Bonnie gives birth in a jungle as her husband brings flowers. In the end, they are trapped by the police and die holding each other.
Influencing Factors Leading to Its Modification
While the storyline is based on the daily lives of real people, it was modified to suit the audience’s expectations of the time. Consequently, many scholars and movie critics have highlighted various influencing factors that led to the transformation and modification of the source materials. In his book Bonnie and Clyde, Friedman asserts that the 1967 Penn Arthur production led to a scandalized mainstream popular opinion.
Further, it captured the emerging youth and their protest movements through its subversive violence concerning the Vietnam War. The movie spoke to the young generations that conservative elders marginalized. Therefore, they quickly identified with the main character; Warren Beatty, who also was part of the production team, and Faye Dunaway (Friedman). However, many have accredited the participation of Beatty in the production because he introduced a new twist to the film as he agreed to portray Barrow being an impotent man. That was unheard of in the movie industry for a leading actor of his status to take a sexually dysfunctional role.
As a result, the film became the prototype of a new Hollywood era marked by moral neutrality, sexual tolerance, and the anti-authority syndrome (Friedman). Although other critics loathed it, Bonnie and Clyde changed the film styles and critical attitudes.
Another influencing factor that led to the formatting of the original material was the production cost associated with filmmaking. Bordwell expounds on the factor mentioned above by tracking the dynamism of and continuity in the movie industry about imminent changes experienced in the 60s (1). Consequently, film production showed a regression during the period mentioned above. While the court decisions in the late 1940s saw companies diversifying their theatre control, a few were granted the distribution of movies which was more lucrative. However, Bordwell says, “attendance was falling at an alarming rate” (1). That can be attributed to the monopoly of companies such as MGM and Universal companies.
In addition, the failure of films such as Mutiny on the Bounty (1965) and Cleopatra led to many studios closing due to losses running to half a billion dollars; hence they were controlled by conglomerates. As a result, the source material of Bonnie and Clyde had to be transformed into the dwindling American market, necessitating the introduction of a new concept appealing to the youthful audience. To achieve this, they had to reduce production costs while maximizing profits. With a budget of $2.5 million, the film realized over seventy million US dollars, the best high-gross movie of the year (Bordwell 4). Thus, it became a landmark film cementing its place in history in both financial triumph and the highlighting of contentious issues in society.
Moreover, the 1960s saw the rise of cinematography professionals replacing producers with film directors who popularized new filmmaking methods across the globe. Furthermore, it led to the demise of the old norm or Hays Code, which consisted of guidelines followed in movie production and prohibited some materials from being featured in films. Accordingly, the film ushered in a more liberal climate as the film used taboo subjects in the new Hollywood Era (Glushanok).
While many films were on the front line to bring the recent change, none were better suited than Bonnie and Clyde. Consequently, the new symbolized a new dawn with the crossover from the old conservative to contemporary and liberal society with violent sexual depictions reflecting the shun happenings of society. In addition, the film spoke directly to the American youth who had been disoriented by the strict confines dictated by a conservative society.
The New French Wave contributed immensely to the transformation of the source material. Following the movement’s success, directors could control their work by providing changes where they deemed fit. The film offered leading roles in the initial movie to both Truffaut and Godard, who were superb directors but later dropped them for an American counterpart suited for the domestic market (Thompson et al. 45). This affected the initial material by adding feelings of paranoia and uneasiness.
Conclusion
In summation, the film Bonnie and Clyde is based on real people and their daily lives but was modified due to the present circumstances in the movie industry. Various factors have been highlighted for changing the source material. For instance, the filmmaking business was making losses due to high production costs. In addition, the youthful audience was constrained by the moral code played by most Hollywood films that had their bearing on conservatism. As such, they wanted something experimental, touching their daily coexistence. Although the changes in the movie have compromised its morality, it remained intact and has a degree of integrity. Lastly, the production is among the best-gross films that made profits; hence Bonnie and Clyde were successful.
Works Cited
Bordwell David. The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies. University of California Press. 2006.
Cawelti John G. Focus on Bonnie and Clyde. Prentice-Hall. 1973.
Glushanok Paul. “Bonnie and Clyde.” Cinéaste. 1967. pp. 14–17.
Kael Pauline. “Bonnie and Clyde.” New Yorker Magazine. 2003.
Bonnie and Clyde. Directed by Arthur Penn. 1967. Goojara. Web.
Thompson Kristin et al. Film History: An Introduction. Fifth ed. McGraw Hill 2022.