Free Essay

Bonnie and Clyde

In:

Submitted By jonboyc
Words 1304
Pages 6
Bonnie and Clyde

There are two movies that have been made towards the Bonnie and Clyde legacy. One was made back in the year 1967, Directed by Arthur Penn and had an executive producer of whom is Warren beatty. The newer version made in 2013 , was directed by Bruce Beresford and had an executive producer of Neil Meron and Craig Zadan. Though known today for his dozen-or-so bank robberies, Barrow in fact preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. The gang is believed to have killed at least nine police officers and committed several civilian murders. Even during their lifetimes, the couple's depiction in the press was at considerable odds with the struggle of reality of their life on the road, particularly in the case of Bonnie Parker. Even though she was physically present at a hundred or more felonies during her two years as Barrow's companion, she was not the machine gun-wielding cartoon killer portrayed in the newspapers, newsreels, and, particularly, the pulpy detective magazines of the day. Gang member W. D. Jones was unsure whether he had ever seen her fire at officers. Parker's reputation as a cigar-smoking gun shooter grew out of a playful snapshot found abandoned by police at a hideout, released to the press, and published nationwide, while she did chain-smoke Camel cigarettes, she was not a cigar smoker.
Author-historian Jeff Guinn explains that it was these very photos that put the outlaws on the media map and launched their legend: "John Dillinger had matinee-idol good looks and Pretty Boy Floyd had the best possible nickname, but the Joplin photos introduced new criminal superstars with the most titillating trademark of all—illicit sex. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were young and unmarried. They undoubtedly slept together—after all, the girl smoked cigars.... Without Bonnie, the media outside Texas might have dismissed Clyde as a “gun-toting punk”, if it ever considered him at all. With her sassy photographs, Bonnie supplied the sex-appeal, the oomph, that allowed the two of them to transcend the small-scale thefts and needless killings that actually comprised their criminal careers." `So in other words, they carved the road for future criminals and outlaws. One of the article I chose was called Real Bonnie & Clyde: Has history been too harsh on her role in the infamous killer couple? . The article talks about how history has been wrong on the way they represent Bonnie Parker. On how people thought Bonnie was a “Cigar Smoking Gun moll” but now are realizing who the real Bonnie Parker was. People now saying she has never fired a gun or tried to convince Clyde to kidnap the people instead of killing them. The second picture shown in the article with Bonnie having a weapon and a cigar in her mouth is the thing that started it all. The other article that I read was from the New York Times when they first released the death of the both Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. It was talking about how the Police officers and a former Texas ranger surrounded the two in a trap that in which ended the outlaws lives in a volley of two rounds of gunfire, one stopping their vehicle and ending their lives and the second which was to “Make sure the job was done”. I would say the outline history of the movie Bonnie and Clyde was pretty much correct. But there were some scenes and parts of the movie that actually never happened. First off, Clyde Barrow never had visions that helped him get out of some situations in the movie. Also the movie makes it seem that Bonnie and Clyde started that life of crime together when Clyde actually already had a past criminal history prior to meeting Bonnie. But the movie did also show a lot of accurate events in order. The overall look of the film looks pretty well and thought out… I didn't see and Iphones or flat screen TVs in the movie . The buildings looked simple and plain enough , the vehicles looked like they would in the time period of around the 1930s.. Even the clothes they were wearing resembled their time period. So it seems that they had put some thought into the details and designs in the film. The characters in the film mostly talking normal, but I feel like they did not absolutely talk like they would if they were back in the day. They should of used words that they would of used back then.. Like the Slang words that we do not use anymore that they did .. But the problem would of been that we wouldn't know what they meant so I get why they didn't. I feel like the filmmakers of Bonnie and Clyde wanted you to really like and fall in love with the characters and story by showing the romance in the film and the dedication from bonnie to clyde and clyde to bonnie, also from the barrow gang which is made up mostly of family members of Clyde Barrow. “Sometimes I like to think that fever of unexplained origin, that I never came out of the other side, and the rest of my life... none of it ever happened. Especially that part where I got shot thirty seven times... giving my Bonnie Parker her big ending. “In the movie its Clydes last words before he drives into a hail of gunfire… Meaning that he never really found out who he was and why he was here on this earth in the first place. Also showing that Bonnie got what she wanted… To go down as a legacy and go down with a “Big ending”. “This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.” Was said by Clyde Barrow while they were asked who they were while they were robbing a bank. It shows that they were very proud and resembling that they know what they do and they are proud of it. You've heard the story of Jesse James / Of how he lived and died / If you're still in need / Of something to read / Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde. / Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang / I'm sure you all have read / How they rob and steal / And those who squeal / Are usually found dyin' or dead. / They call them cold-hearted killers / They say they are heartless and mean / But I say this with pride / That I once knew Clyde / When he was honest and upright and clean. / But the laws fooled around / Kept takin' him down / And lockin' him up in a cell / Till he said to me: "I'll never be free / So I'll meet a few of them in Hell." / If a policeman is killed in Dallas / And they have no clue to guide / If they can't find a fiend / They just wipe their slate clean / And hang it on Bonnie and Clyde / If they try to act like citizens / And rent them a nice little flat / About the third night / They're invited to fight / By a sub-guns' rat-a-tat-tat. / Some day, they'll go down together / They'll bury them side by side / To a few, it'll be grief / To the law, a relief / But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde. This was a poem written by Bonnie Parker and was read by her in the movie. I think shes saying that some of the murders were not committed by them, but because the laws couldn't find someone to pin it on they pinned it on them, also how they are not cold hard killers and mean like everyone thinks. That they used to be like regular people nice and clean.They went down together but were not buried side by side

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Bonnie and Clyde

...Abstract In the opinion of most Bonnie and Clyde where the most famous and most romantically involved criminals in American history, Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were two young Texans having and early 1930s crime spree before my time of birth would forever leave their legacy to be criticized by many and envied by most. Most people only live to tell the story of what was expected, but I am here to state the facts of who Bonnie and Clyde really were, grasping your attention, making your mind run full with imagination and placing yourself in the era owned by Bonnie and Clyde the 1930's. Bonnie Elizabeth Parker born October 01, 1910, Clyde Chestnut Barrow born March 24, 1909, both from Dallas, Texas and ambushed in Bienville Parrish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934 killed at least nine officers and other civilians, leaving Bonnie to always have her name placed first in the matter, as do to respect that ladies always come first. As most would lead you to believe by all the hype, what they say was a reality for the two young lovers, this let's the listener carry the idea of Bonnie and Clyde in all their fancy clothes, and broke all the rules of the norm. Bonnie and Clyde never feared the law and lived a life of infamous luxury keeping them on the run. Reality was different, Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow gang lived a hard, uneasy life left by narrow escapes, botched robberies, injury, and murder. They became one of the first outlaw media stars after...

Words: 956 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Bonnie and Clyde

...Bonnie and Clyde: Legends or Economics? What accounts for the persistence of the legend of Bonnie and Clyde? For two not particularly distinguished criminals from a bygone era in American history, the staying power in the collective consciousness of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker is nothing short of remarkable. In part, the media has played a substantial role, with the early 1967 Arthur Penn film having been succeeded in 2013 by a television miniseries about the duo and their gang. I hope to demonstrate through an examination of the historical source material that the reason for Bonnie and Clyde’s persistence is explainable in one single word: economics. What Bonnie and Clyde signify for later generations of interested readers is a response (howsoever criminal) on the part of ordinary people to the Great Depression that defined America during the Presidency of Herbert Hoover. Although certain other aspects of their short career—particularly their reliance on automobiles to commit their crimes, in a decade when automobiles were a more or less new national phenomenon—may play a role in maintaining the fame of Bonnie and Clyde long after their deaths, it is as a symbol of economic revolt, particularly in an era when the overall economy must have seemed perpetrated by criminals who operated on a much grander scale than these Texas youths, that their story finds its ultimate resonance. It is worth noting that the economic circumstances of both Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker...

Words: 1847 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Bonnie and Clyde

...Bonnie and Clyde: Legends or Economics? What accounts for the persistence of the legend of Bonnie and Clyde? For two not particularly distinguished criminals from a bygone era in American history, the staying power in the collective consciousness of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker is nothing short of remarkable. In part, the media has played a substantial role, with the early 1967 Arthur Penn film having been succeeded in 2013 by a television miniseries about the duo and their gang. I hope to demonstrate through an examination of the historical source material that the reason for Bonnie and Clyde’s persistence is explainable in one single word: economics. What Bonnie and Clyde signify for later generations of interested readers is a response (howsoever criminal) on the part of ordinary people to the Great Depression that defined America during the Presidency of Herbert Hoover. Although certain other aspects of their short career—particularly their reliance on automobiles to commit their crimes, in a decade when automobiles were a more or less new national phenomenon—may play a role in maintaining the fame of Bonnie and Clyde long after their deaths, it is as a symbol of economic revolt, particularly in an era when the overall economy must have seemed perpetrated by criminals who operated on a much grander scale than these Texas youths, that their story finds its ultimate resonance. It is worth noting that the economic circumstances of both Clyde Barrow and Bonnie...

Words: 1847 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Bonnie and Clyde

...Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were two of the most notorious criminals in American history. Throughout 1932 and 1934.They went on a crime spree that terrorized many parts of the South and Midwest. People posted rewards for their arrest. Many law enforcements died violently when they tried to confront Bonnie and Clyde. They created the barrow gang with Clyde's brother Buck and his wife Blanche. In the end, the law caught up to Bonnie and Clyde, and killed them while they were riding in a stolen car. Bonnie and Clyde's biography, crime spree, and death are the more interesting part about them. Bonnie Parker was born on October 1, 1910 in Rowena, Texas. She was 4'11" in her stocking feet, and weighed around 90 pounds. She got married at married young, at age 16. For money, she was forced to become a waitress. Bored and poor, she knew life had something more to offer. Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born in 1909 in Texas. He stood 5'7", weighed 130 pounds, slicked back his thick brown hair in the style of the day, and parted it on the left. His eye color matched his hair. Women found him attractive. He came into this world as one of many children born to dirt-poor tenant farmer parents barely making a living on the cotton fields of Teleco, Texas. Moving with his parents, brothers and sisters to the Dallas outskirts, where his father ran a gas station (in which the family members crowded as one into a tiny back room), Clyde quickly learned to abhor poverty. Bored and...

Words: 1136 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Bonnie and Clyde Analysis

...is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words ‘Bonnie and Clyde’? Could it be misunderstood modern-day Romeo and Juliet? How about psychopathic murderers who took pleasure in the pain and suffering of others? Regardless of how the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde depicts their relationship, more to the story exists than what was shown on camera. The duo is remembered today as being relentless and crime-crazed, but the real Bonnie Parker was nothing like her partner Clyde Barrow. In fact, historical evidence reveals that Bonnie was just in it to achieve attention from her first husband Roy and fill the void of his absence by accompanying Clyde in his murdering and bank robbing sprees. It is evident from the very beginning of the movie that Bonnie tended to throw herself on Clyde; he was a stranger stealing her mom’s car, and she immediately joined him in his endeavors without hesitation. Under normal circumstances, a young woman would call the police for or at least run away from the robber. This shows that she was desperate for adventure and that she had an abyss of emptiness in her heart. ‘From what?’ you may ask. At the age of sixteen, Bonnie married a man named Roy Thornton who is said to have been a “roaming husband with a roaming mind.” He was sent to prison for five years on account of robbery and left Bonnie with a broken, lonely heart (Ballinger). When Clyde found her in the movie, Bonnie was a waitress with nothing going for her in life, so it made...

Words: 995 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Violence In Bonnie And Clyde

...Bonnie and Clyde represents a lot of characteristics that are used to describe the 1960’s era. Once of the biggest being violence. Two characters who would steal cars and rob banks for a living, while shooting people they aren’t friendly with is not an appealing sight to most. However when you think about the timing and the era of the 1960’s having a film about violence fits in well, during this time there were tons of protests and people fighting. One of the protests that was taking place during this time was for women’s equality in the work place and mainly just for them to be treated equally to men. One thing you will notice in this film is how strong of a character the lead role Bonnie is. In order to make her look even stronger, her character...

Words: 399 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Bonnie And Clyde Crime Scene

...I will be analysis the scene when bonnie and Clyde was stand at the corner on of the street drink coca. Bonnie wanted to know how it was to do an armed robbery, so Clyde show her. He went into the convenience shop and robbed the clerk at gun point. Clyde also shot at him and lifted a vehicle to get away. Bonnie and Clyde was a 1967 America crime biographical film directed by Arthur penn. This crime film was about a men and lady who indulges in arm robbing across the county. They become a great duo in the crime would. Both the sound and editing element throughout the scene that was chosen was on point in my eyes. The cinematographer implemented the 180 rule by keeping the camera on one side of the action. This rule key especially when shooting...

Words: 339 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Bonnie and Clyde

...Bonnie and Clyde Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde changed the way violence was perceived and displayed in American cinema. Penn’s stylistic innovations and camera techniques were most noticeable during the ending death scene of Bonnie and Clyde. The 30 seconds of brutal and nonstop violence has had a lasting impact on audience for decades. Prince stated, “Penn was the first American filmmaker to conjoin multicamera filming, montage editing and slow motion systematically in the visualization of screen violence.” Though Penn was the first American filmmaker to use such a technique to depict violence, he was greatly influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. Bonnie and Clyde, was to American cinema as The Seven Samurai, was to Arthur Penn. The intercutting of shots and the slow/normal motion effects through a montage sequence was mastered by Kurosawa and used my many filmmakers after that. The usage of this technique shows the passage of time and creates a more moving and intense scene. The acceleration and deceleration of the death sequence makes the audience tremble and uncomfortable. Without the use this montage sequence, the death scene would be like any other “boring” and “mediocre” death. Many cinematic and theme similarities can be drawn from rescuing scene from The Seven Samurai, and the death scene from Bonnie and Clyde. The Seven Samurai is about a poor town that is held hostage by bandits, and is liberated by seven samurais. The shot, which uses such techniques...

Words: 424 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Bonnie and Cyde

...Films in Society Essay #2 When you think of the movie Bonnie and Clyde it always make people think back to a time when things were hard for everyone. The original film took place during the great depression, well what would make for a better remake of this film but to remake it during the time of 2007 when the U.S. was in the mist of another recession. How would todays Bonnie and Clyde look, act, and perform their daring robbers? Let’s start with casting the modern day Bonnie and Clyde cast: Matt Damon as Clyde Barrow Jordana Brewster as Bonnie Parker Alexander Skarsgård as C.W. Moss Eric Bana as Buck Barrow Liv Tyler as Blanche Barrow Denzel Washington as Frank Hamer Rob Lowe as Ivan Moss Since this is a modern day movie compared to its original, the wardrobe/costumes that the characters will wear will have to take on today’s styles. For instance, Clyde wore suits in the original as in the remake version, Clyde would be dressed in that tough guy image, maybe jeans or leather pants with t-shirts. He would also have a lot of tattoos on his arms. In the original Bonnie came off as a very beautiful woman, as in the remake she is still very stunning, but instead of dresses she would be wearing maybe some mini-skirts or shorts with low cut shirts. So when you look at the changes in the styles of the original to this remake there would have to be a lot of changes to appease the audience of today’s movie goers. By changing the costumers/wardrobe to a modern day look, you...

Words: 859 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Bonnie And Clyde's Misconceived Ignorance

...What is quicker than he vicious viper more complex than an Atom but excruciatingly ignorant? It is man kind's hideously hypocritical opinion. One's opinion is a deceiving and misrepresents others. The iconic couple Bonnie and Clyde's character is victim to our misconceived ignorance. In order to open you're mind you must know the full story. Clyde Barrow was born on March 23, of 1909 in Ellis County Texas. Even from birth it seems the odds are unfavorable for Clyde. He was the fifth out seven children and lived in a two bedroom shack. Clyde's dream from childhood was to be a country musician but sadly that dream will never leave his heart. Young Clyde often had to dig through the trash cans for food and steal to get by. Although he stole for survival it was still against the law. As result he was sentenced to 10 years for nonviolent crimes at the East ham prison farm. Eastham was notorious for it's disgusting condition and violence....

Words: 449 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Theater

...performance that I viewed is named “Bonnie and Clyde”. This performance is of the musical genre. It contained a series of musical acts that provided a different view to this historical event. The performance was directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun. Ivan Menchell wrote the performance and the music was composed by Frank Wildhorn. The musical selections within the performance developed the story in a unique way. Rather than having a narrator explain scenes and sections of the storyline, the performers revealed the plot with songs and dance numbers. While this helped the audience to understand the plot it also drew them in to the performance by stimulating emotions. There were musical selections such as “Raise a Little Hell” that revealed the pain of one of the main characters Clyde Barrow, while selections such as “You Love Who You Love” stimulated the audience in a passionate way. The characters were identifiable from the very beginning of the performance. All the characters in the performance were representations of real people in this story. The story was historical in nature therefore realistic features such as wardrobe, speech and settings developed most of the performance. One of the main characters was Clyde Barrow. His character was identifiable from the moment his story began because it started with his childhood and his parents would often scold him by yelling his name loudly. This is also similar to the second main character Bonnie Parker because she too was called...

Words: 1312 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Bonnie And Clyde Analysis

...be grief, to the law a relief But it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.” Bonnie Parker wrote in her poem Bonnie and Clyde predicting her and her lovers death long before they met their end. The legend of Bonnie and Clyde is known by most as two lovers whose lives as criminal masterminds in the Depression-era, were full of luxury and high-speed chases. From movies to television show to Broadway musicals, Bonnie and Clyde are notoriously depicted as a glamorously romantic bank robing duo. When in fact...

Words: 2027 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

John Dillinger Research Paper

... Adam Brown Ivy Tech Community College Dillinger on the Run English 111 Intro John Dillinger was one of the most well known bank robbers of all time. He reeked havic in the middle west during the Great Depression. He was born on June 22, 1903 in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis and this is also where he grew up. When he was only three years old his mother, Mary Ellen lancaster, died. His father remarried six years later to Lizzie Fields Dillinger who John resented. The Great Escape When John was frequently in trouble during his teenage years. He ended quitting school and got a job in a machine factory in Indianapolis. He was a good worker, but he soon got bored and started staying out too late. His father, John Wilson Dillinger, began to suspect that the city of Indianapolis was corrupting his son. He sold their property in Indianapolis and moved to a farm in Mooresville, Indiana. John’s actions did not change even though they moved to a rural area and he soon began to run wild yet again. Having some time on his hands, John Dillinger decided to pay visit to a lady friend he had met earlier that year. Her name was Mary Longnaker and she lived in Dayton, Ohio. Unknown to Dillinger and Longnaker, the police had been following him while he was gathering funds for the prison break. Once the police received a tip from the landlady, they stormed into the room Longnaker's and Dillinger had been in and arrested him. He was sent to the Allen County Jail in Lima, Ohio to...

Words: 923 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Bonnie and Clyde Film Essay

...The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde took many liberties with the infamous couple's true story. It is to be expected coming from Hollywood but is nevertheless disappointing if you're looking for accuracy and fact. From their meeting all the way to their death scene the film is riddled with inaccuracies and half-truths. In the life accounts of Bonnie and Clyde, the couple met at a friends house, becoming inseparable. In the film, a cocky and arrogant Clyde is creeping around outside of Bonnie's house, casing out her mothers car to steal. Bonnie catches him and goes with him to town and watches him rob a grocery store before jumping into the car to escape and molesting him as they speed away. After watching the documentary, the first few scenes in the film seem overly forced and unbelievable. I'm sure that was all added for dramatic effect and to garner interest in their story, however it seems to me that instead of stealing out of necessity and frustration as Clyde had started out, the film seems to show him acting out of pleasure. The film skips completely around Clydes Back story and the reasons why he is robbing in the first place. They don't seem to take much account of his criminal past and prison time except to mention him cutting off his toes twice. The film also would lead you to believe that Bonnie is slutty and wild in nature, someone who is always craving more out of life and can only find it by running around with Clyde shooting people. I think in the effort to make...

Words: 1154 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Bonnie and Clyde vs Breathless

...Bonnie and Clyde retains several direct links to Breathless: its influence can be felt in the editing of Bonnie’s bedroom scenes, where nervous jump-cuts suggest her sexual restlessness; in the headlong driving scenes, conveying the exhilaration of the open road; in the exciting acceptance of mistakes, as when a fight spills out of frame and the camera must scurry to catch up. As if to openly state it’s a relationship to Godard’s film, Bonnie and Clyde replicates the scene in Breathless where Michel and Patricia hide from the police in a movie theater, the onscreen dialogue offering ironic counterpoint to the characters’ situation. There’s even an odd reference near the film’s end, when the lens in Clyde’s sunglasses pops loose, just as Belmondo’s does in Breathless. But by comparing two lead characters from each movie you find major contrasts. On Characteristics alone you have some similarities: Both Clyde and Michel are trying to fulfill the dapper gangster look, by wearing suits and fedoras and fancy sunglasses. The comparisons go deeper than that as well, but more specifically the fact that they both rely on a strong female character for support is a major comparison. Although, with that, it brings to light one of the biggest contrasts: how different each of the lead male character’s relationship with the lead female character is. Michel is a more of a playboy and will lay with nearly anyone he can make a quick buck on. But with Patricia who he has slept with before,...

Words: 404 - Pages: 2