Bonnie and Clyde mainly uses continuity editing, in which each scene flows naturally to the next. However, similarly to other films of the New Hollywood era, elements of discontinuity editing are also used.

Discontinuity editing can be seen in the death scene of the titular characters, in which there are rapid cuts between Bonnie, Clyde and the policemen shooting them from several angles.

What style of editing is used in Bonnie and Clyde?

Arthur Penn uses shot-reverse-shot in the diner conversation, tempo, timing, along with joining shots to enhance the film. The simplistic editing and use of close ups encourages the audience to focus on the dynamic between the characters as Clyde is revealed to be insightful and intuitive and Bonnie to be surprised and impressed. The most renowned scene in the film is the final scene of the film where Penn used various shots to capture several emotions and actions within seconds of film time. He also utilises narrative seuencing to tell the infamous tale of Bonnie and Clyde.

diegetic : used Rapid jarring cuts between Clyde, Malcolm and Bonnie are used as they hear the diegetic sound of frightened birds flying away. This sound of the birds foreshadows their own sudden deaths in the seconds that follow.

non-diegetic : not as loud as the shutter sound: this opening music can be compared to the fanfare given through sound at the start of Casablanca

Location

Location, a key part of mise-en-scene, is crucial to the film Bonnie and Clyde. The film itself, set in Texas, shows many scenes that emphasize the film set being in Texas like the diverse landscapes featured in the film and the strong southern culture.

Sets (interiors)

There are many interior sets in Bonnie and Clyde because they are always on the run. For example this scene shown below, it is a good example of the simplistic yet at the time good enough for them life they had. They didn’t have much but after robbing the banks were able to afford more things. So the sets featured in the film continuously get better and better because of their increasing money from robbing.

Costumes

The costumes in Bonnie and Clyde are important in the sense that they show the typical styles of the era in which the film was set in (the early 1930’s). It also shows each characters persona, like for example in this scene, Bonnie is wearing her clothes that she wears for work as she meets Clyde before her work begins in the morning. It shows her lack of wealth before meeting Clyde and that shes really only just a Texan girl from the village. Clyde, throughout the film, is shown to dress smart and business like, as if he’s always ready to go out and make money. It shows his serious character persona with a hint of glamour and wealth.

Props

The main props in Bonnie and Clyde consist of guns used for shooting and defense. Here, Bonnie and Clyde are practicing shooting their guns. The use of props helps to emphasize the narrative of the film and show that the film is a crime/action.