Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie and Clyde. 1967 Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Pictures.
Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, Gene Wilder
Director: Arthur Penn
Buy Bonnie and Clyde (two-disc special edition) at Amazon.

Another classic American film, heavily influenced by the so-called French New Wave.

During the Great Depression, Clyde Barrow (Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Dunaway) meet when she catches him trying to steal her mother's car. Intrigued by Clyde, and bored with her job as a waitress, Bonnie hooks up with him. Their early efforts at holdups are exciting, but not that lucrative. Soon, they expand their gang, adding a dimwitted gas station attendant C.W. Moss (Pollard), as well as Clyde's brother Buck (Hackman) and his wife Blanche (Parsons). Blanche and Bonnie start bickering right off the bat. Bonnie and Clyde start robbing banks, and some of their exploits become more violent, which included capturing and humiliating a Texas Ranger named Frank Hamer (Pyle).

Hamer vows revenge, and sets into motion the events that ultimately lead to the film's climax, the bloody roadside ambush of Bonnie and Clyde.

Highly recommended. To my surprise, some of the more violent scenes had elements of slapstick violence before shifting into genuinely disturbing and gory sequences.