Because other films might have some sex and some violence in it, but this one raised the bar and opened the gates and nothing was ever the same.

"Bonnie and Clyde" set a new standard for crime films in 1967, with its scenes of intense violence that had never before been seen in American film. This somewhat fictionalized account of Depression-Era bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker earned Oscar nominations for all five of the stars; Warren Beatty (Best Actor),Faye Dunaway (Best Actress),Gene Hackman and Michael J. Pollard (both for Best Supporting Actor),and Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Actress),who was the only one who won, for her fine performance as Blanche.

It also depicts the sexual tension between Bonnie and Clyde (its implied that he's either impotent and/or latently gay),and she's poor white trash who's never been in a meaningful relationship with a man. The final scene when Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by machine gun fire is one of the most visually graphic death scenes in film history.

It's got good character development. Bonnie and Clyde start out reckless, thinking robbery is fun, but one day they end up killing a fellow and at that point law enforcement makes them a priority. The farmers who lost their farms and homes to banks really didn't care as long as they were just taking stuff - they were considered heroes. Blanche, a timid soul, marries into more than she bargained for when she becomes a Barrow. And Denver Pyle plays s a lawman with revenge on his mind after Bonnie and Clyde capture and humiliate him. At least that was the story two years before the Summer of Love when movie goers thirsted for anti-establishment heroes. Watch the film "The Highwaymen" to get a truer look at what Bonnie and Clyde, and the lawman who went after them, were actually like.

This was also the end of the last of the movie moguls - Jack Warner. One day, rather fed up with Warren Beatty trotting about the studio demanding this and that, Warner pointed out the studio water tower with WB on it and asked him whose initials were on that thing anyways? Beatty replied - "Mine actually - Warren Beatty". The right answer being Warner Brothers. At that point Jack Warner decided to retire. It just wasn't fun anymore.

Every time I watch "Bonnie and Clyde" I'm convinced that this time it won't shock me. And every time I'm proved wrong.

"Bonnie and Clyde" was one of the first American movies to acknowledge that Americans are turned on by violence. People blame this movie for ushering in the increasingly graphic content of movies that in the present day makes it seem as if nothing is off limits. But this is wishful thinking on the part of people who don't want to admit that America has been a violent culture from day one. "Bonnie and Clyde" was a huge hit, but it's because it gave people what they wanted, not because it introduced them to something they'd never thought of before. At least in this film, you see what happens when a bullet tears through human flesh -- I can't say the same for the countless morale-boosting WWII films from the 1940s or the John Wayne westerns that are so beloved by conservative America.

In the world of "Bonnie and Clyde," sex and violence are extensions of the same impulse. Clyde can't get one "gun" to work, so he uses another. Bonnie is as restless as a cat in heat -- but Clyde won't scratch her itch, so she finds other ways of releasing tension. It's a movie that makes us identify with the killers. They're gorgeous and glamorous, but they're also vulnerable. They're Robin Hoods, justifying their crime by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor; but they're also naive in thinking that when they steal money from banks they're not also stealing from the poor rural people who use those banks. Authority figures aren't seen much in the film, but when they are, they're sadistic. Sheriff Hamer is a stony, craggy mass in comparison to the movie-star killers, and C.W. Moss's dad, who's finally the one to turn Bonnie and Clyde in, does what is right morally, but that's overshadowed by the fact that all we see him do is beat C.W. and call him white trash. It's no wonder this half-wit kid ran away with the Barrow gang in the first place. We know there's only one possible ending to the movie, yet by the time it comes, we find ourselves half hoping that Bonnie and Clyde can start over and make the American dream a reality. We've forgotten that they've killed, many times, in cold blood.

The most haunting scene in the film is the one in which Bonnie visits her mother for one last time, and her mom tells her what the audience has known all along but hasn't consciously acknowledged until that point: "You try to live within three miles of me, and you won't live long honey. You best keep runnin'." It's one of the most chilling and effective moments I've ever seen in a movie.

Grade: A+

"Bonny and Clyde" is a classic--now adored by critics and film historians. It's considered ground-breaking because of its style of film making as well as its violence--something previously unseen in films. And, while I did enjoy it, I just didn't understand the love people have heaped upon it. Yes, it was well made but the film was far from perfect. My biggest complaint against it is my history teacher complaint--it was bad history. Bonny was 4'10" and darker haired--nothing like the more glamorous Faye Dunaway. And many of the things attributed to them in the film were actually things done by John Dillinger , Pretty Boy Floyd or other criminals. And, most importantly, they were NOT heroes but evil bastards who killed and robbed with abandon. No, the film is NOT even close to being historically accurate.

Now I am NOT saying this is a bad film. It is exciting and enjoyable--and it presents Bonnie and Clyde as we WISHED they'd been. The exciting anti-heroes who actually were characters more of the 1960s than anything else. They flaunted convention, rebelled against the status quo and 'did their own thing'--sort of like hippie versions of the 1930s. It is a 60s version of the 1930s--sexy, crazy and fun...but NOT the actual Bonnie and Clyde. For what it is, it's very well done...but also a retired history teacher's worst nightmare! The acting is good, the direction very good and the story interesting. However, it is odd that Estelle Parsons won the Oscar among the five nominated actors--as she was god-awful. Her screaming and annoying character was not just historically wrong but very annoying. How she alone won an Oscar is beside me. A very good film...but a far from perfect film. And without Parsons' wretched characterization, I'd have given this one a 9.