The use of Diegetic sound is used to foreshadow Bonnie and Clyde’s death in the ending of the movie. Amidst the rapid cuts between Clyde, Bonnie and Malcolm, the sound of birds flying away in fear can be heard by both characters and spectator. This acts as the ‘calm before the storm’ a sign of danger that is pending.

The use of the non–diegetic banjo underscoring is used in the scene where the gang flee from police following their bank robbery, the spectator can hear an upbeat, jolly score of banjo – signifying how Bonnie and Clyde find their criminal life fun and amusing, and how they enjoy the chase and thrill that comes with their life above the law.

Dialogue

‘When i get my hands on those kids, Velma, I’m gonna tear them apart!’

‘What if they have guns Eugene?’

‘Listen we better get the police and let them handle this’

The use of Dialogue in this scene is used to create a comedic moment surrounding the victims of Bonnie and Clyde’s antics. By adding in this moment between Eugene and Velma, the spectator is encouraged to forget the seriousness of the crimes they commit, and instead share their joy and unbothered attitude in regard to their life of crime.

Sound Motif

The use of gunfire as a sound motif in the movie is effective, in the sense that the audience is led to connote gunfire with the fun and antics of Bonnie and Clyde. The spectator is desensitised to the sound of gunfire, as the use of it in the movie and beyond excessive and with a rarely bad result for Bonnie and Clyde.

The reoccurring sound of gunfire is also used to connect the movie all together, and reinforce the films overarching theme of violence. In the ending of the movie, the only sound that can be heard is gunfire, this prefaces how the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde was excessively violent and unexpected. The audience now redefines the connotation of gunfire from the success of Bonnie and Clyde to the downfall of the two.

Sound Mixing (atmos/foley)

Examples of foley sound in Bonnie and Clyde include and external sound from outside during dialogue, for example the scene that Bonnie and Clyde share on the field. In addition any gunfire that takes place behind dialogue.

Immediately in the film Bonnie and Clyde, director Arthur Penn uses editing to let the viewer know that the film will be moving at a rapid tempo.

As photographs quickly flash across the introduction, it lets the viewer know that the action will be fast paced. Throughout Bonnie and Clyde the use of editing does indeed romanticise the criminal activity of the Barrow gang, and is also used to recruit the viewer to the Barrow’s side.

Example of editing sequence in Bonnie and Clyde

A scene that stood out was the one where they had just robbed a bank and fled to Oklahoma, this scene stood out because narrative sequencing was used to depict a few results and opinions that resulted from the bank robbery all while they
were escaping from the police.

Narrative sequencing is used “to suggest the
simultaneity of events happening in different settings” (Pramaggiore 201).

While Bonnie, Clyde and the rest of their group were outrunning the police, a few shots of what was happening back at
the bank were entered into the sequence. these shots featured a policeman who was taking in the glory of having escaped the crimes of Bonnie and Clyde.

This was done to help the audience realize just how notorious Bonnie and Clyde had become. There is also a shot of an old man who thought what Bonnie and Clyde did was right by him.

A reason why this shot might have been added was so that the audience could sympathize with Bonnie and Clyde and not think of them as all that bad. 

Ultimately, Bonnie and Clyde were thieves and murderers but what Penn did with editing was to make the audience sympathize with them. He used tempo, timing, along with joining shots to enhance the film. 

Sound –

Diegetic – Used in scenes such as Glass breaks, a gun fires or a car speeds away, diegetic noise is used to set a dramatic mood within the film.

Non-Diegetic – Used in scenes of chases, examples include banjo music to set a mood of location of being out in west of the US.

Dialogue –

When being told off by Clyde for not keeping the car in the same location because he was distracted, Clyde describes him as “Boy” this shows that he is young and naïve and treated as so by the gang.

Underscoring –

During the scene where Bonnie runs away due to missing her mother, emotional underscoring is used to establish her sadness and longing to see her again.

Sound Motif –

throughout the course of the film, a recognisable sound motif of a banjo is played whenever the gang are in a highspeed chase. This use of a sound motif makes what is going on in the scene recognisable.

Sound mixing (Atmos/Foley) –

Due to the dangers of real ammunition on film sets, weapons fired blanks to replicate the visual appearance of gun fire, due to the sound being damped due to the blanks, Foley sound of gun fire was recorded and used for shutouts.

What global events had just taken place and were taking place at the time of the films production? Explain how these events may have impacted on the style and content of the film itself:

Made in 1967, Bonnie and Clyde was made nearing the end of the decade. Throughout the 60’s a plethora of events occurred involving the US that can possibly be shown to make an influence on the production of Bonnie and Clyde. From the 1st of November 1955 to 30th April 1975, the Vietnam war saw an large influence on political and social events. Due to the wars futility in making progress and the amount of American lives lost to fight a war for political ideology, growing unpopularity of the conflict grew in America, examples of this can seen with peace protests and the infamous peace symbol brandished by hippies, who rejected established institutions and “fought against the machine” (E.g. the Government), This can be said to make an influence on Bonnie and Clyde as their storyline follows a similar premise of revolting against the government for its unfairness and corruption, such as the banks in the 1930s and the military and government during the Vietnam war.

In addition to this the Cold War had reached it peak. In 1961, The CIA had orchestrated the soon to be failed bay of pigs invasion in Communist Cuba. Involving trained capitalist Cuban soldiers, who attempted to invade the bay of pigs their attempt was found out and stopped by Communist Cuban military. This relates to Bonnie and Clyde as it can be said the US is represented by the authority figures and the Cubans as the gang evading them and preventing suppression of democratic expansionism.