men: in Casablanca men are presented as powerful and responsible. this is the stereotype men had when the film was set and the director wanted to keep this stereotype. however when rick meets ilsa he becomes more venerable and shares his feelings. this shows the effect woman have on men i the film

women: in Casablanca women are mostly seen as romantic counterparts for the male characters. Ilsa is the main woman in the film and she loves 2 men at the same time (rick and victor , but she also shows independence by making her own choices such as threating rick with a gun (rick was not phased).

authority figures: in Casablanca authority figures are presented as corrupt weather it be for good or for bad.

people of colours: can be seen through the character of Sam, who challenges stereotypes by being among many white people while performing, in a time where racial segregation was a serious problem.

Europeans

americans

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.

realism: the realism in the film is mostly presented by the plot and how it relates to real world events such as WW2. the introduction sets the scene and tells us how so many people ended up in Casablanca which is factually correct.

tone: the tone of the film is mostly light-hearted and romantic and presents a sort of escapism for the audience who’s lives would have been affected by the war at this time

film noir: the film uses a film noir style as it uses lighting that would accommodate a black and whit movie. for example uses bright lighting for lighter scenes and darker lighting for more sadder scenes

dialogue: when rick says “everybody in Casablanca has problems yours may work out” he is telling ilsa that her problems are not that big compared to some of the other people who are in Casablanca due to the fact that the may be fighting in the war or have been exiled from there country

underscoring: when Rick shoots the general there is an underscore as this is a monumental point in the plot.

sound motif: when Sam the piano player sings “as time goes by” it reminds ilsa of the old times when she was together with rick and Sam

synchronous music : the music we here at the end of the movie is the same as the music at the start of the movie. this properly tells the audience that the movie is done and finished

sound mixing: The sound of dialogue, piano glasses clinking and background noise is all mixed into one scene

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.