Warren Beatty:
Previous films Beatty has been in include Dick Tracy and Heaven Can Wait. He was a star before being in Bonnie and Clyde as he starred in Splendor In the Grass which was made in 1961. I think he was casted as Clyde as he has been the leading male in other previous films. it is also because of his strong presence to be a rising star as well as his connection with producers.
Faye Dunaway:
Dunaway started her carrier in the 1960s on Broadway and then it swiftly moved over to movies. Bonnie and Clyde was her first movie meaning she was not a film star before. previous films she was in before include The Handmaid’s Tale (film) and Mommie Dearest. I think Dunaway was casted for Bonnie and she is youthful and pretty but also from past experience of being in theatre.
Michael j pollard:
Before Bonnie and Clyde was released Pollard featured in The Wild Angels and Summer Magic, he wasn’t a lead in these films, named part. He was a star before Bonnie and Clyde as he was on television series and also on Broadway. he got casted for his distinct looks and strong acting ability.
Gene Hackman:
Hackman started off his carrier by performing on off-Broadway plays such as The Saintliness of Margery Kempe in 1959 however, he made his Broadway debut in Children From Their Games. He soon moved on to a television series called the invaders, before Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde was he very first film. I think he was casted in this role because of his background (having experience).
Estelle Parsons:
worked as a writer, producer and commentator for The Today Show. She made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the ensemble of the Ethel Merman musical Happy Hunting. Her Off-Broadway debut was in 1961, and she received a Theatre World Award in 1963 for her performance in Whisper into My Good Ear/Mrs. Dally Has a Lover (1962). She featured in one film before Bonnie and Clyde called Ladybug Ladybug.
Denver Pyle:
Pyle was not a major star before Bonnie and Clyde, but he is notable in are in a tv show called “Briscoe Darling, Sr”. I think Pyle was casted for this because in previous shows his in he has played rugged, grizzled characters so he has experience.
Dub Taylor:
Taylor was not a major role before Bonnie and Clyde however was featured in lots of tv shows and films especially westerns and B-movie roles. His early carrier include roles in “The Wild West”, he usually seen to be the humorous side kick. He was casted because of his extensive experience of being in western films which made him perfectly fit the role of Ivan Moss.
Gene Wilder:
Wilder was not a star before Bonnie and Clyde. His breakthrough role happed afterwards however, the movie was released in the same year (1967), the film was ‘The Producers’. Previous films Wilder was in before Bonnie and Clyde is “The Little Prince” (1966) but he did have a small role. Wilder was cast for the role of Eugene because of him excellent versatility skills, he could easily perform the comedic parts and also the dramatic.
Mise-en-scene:
Sets/Locations:
Bonnie and Clyde are from Texas, on location filming was always used (real locations). Verisimilitude heavily used, very realistic at all times: streets, houses, fields. Great Depression happening at these times of the movie of which it is set in (1930s), and Bonnie and Clyde helps show what life was like then, era is vividly shown throughout the entirety of the movie.
Costume/Props:
Bonnie’s fashion was very 1960s Gangsters costuming was very authentic, realistic with costume, sets and props. Props used are guns and cars however, with having real locations when filming various different props can be seen in the backgrounds.
Editing:
Bonnie and Clyde use discontinuity editing, meaning the audience/viewers are always aware that cuts are happening. this ruins the flow of the film and it can also help support the story line/plot.
first sequence of Bonnie and Clyde description:
Extreme close up (her lips filling the whole camera), Close up (camera focuses on her face /shoulders upwards, suggests to the audience she is naked), close-up (between her bed bars is her head is amplifies she is trapped).medium (she starts getting changed behind a stand you see from her hips upwards), establishing (when the camera jumps the Clyde outside then changes to her it establishes where she is/seeing her from her window). This does not follow the Classical Hollywood style as it does not start with an establishing shoot, instead of pronouncing where, who is being shoot it went straight to an extreme close of her face then panning to a closeup of her in the mirror. The editing is continuous in my opinion until it jumps to Clyde outside. The extreme close-up suggests she cares about her looks. It uses both French new wave and classical Hollywood, at the beginning its French new wave/ unconventional however when Clyde is established it uses classical editing, such as shot reverse shot, and it is important of the telling of the story.
Bonnie and Clyde both reinforces and changes the sequence of Classical Hollywood. However it uses some attributes to help storyline.
Sound:
Music has a period feel to it, Blue Grass “foggy mountain breakdown” (sound motif) evokes the period of the great depression. Deep souths feel to it (Louisiana, Mississippi) it is played on a banjo. In tone that it is upbeat and lively, enhances the period and location.
Dialogue takes up majority of the film, (most scenes have speaking)
Music is used for car chases however; music stops when a bad person is on shot as is dramatically changes the mood completely indicating to the audience the upbeat fun music does not represent them as a character.
Gun shots that are used effect on the viewer. Foley sound is deliberate (the volume level).
Aesthetics:
The tone in Bonnie and Clyde varied throughout the film. You could go from watching a comedic car driving with upbeat music over the top to suddenly seeing a shooting scene with bombastic gun shots.
Overall Bonnie and Clyde is realistic, from the costumes, music, setting all attributes make it believable to the audience that it is set in the 1930s and there is no scenes that use anything cartoon based.
The visual French New Wave style is reinforced within Bonnie and Clyde as it is set on real locations which is a feature in the FNW style and also has 360 degree shots.
Representation:
Women: By only having two female protagonist, the characteristics of them are very different. Bonnie is a powerful, independent, dominating character who creates a countertype for women and is a clear representation of New Hollywood. However Blanche is a weak, vulnerable character who stereotypically relies on a man, she represents Classic Hollywood. These two characters have totally different ways of being viewed.
Men: In Bonnie and Clyde are the ‘dominant characters. however they are not always the countertype gangsters people might see them to be. Clyde, who is the main gangster is easily dominated by Bonnie making him seem more vulnerable. Judging the men on their actions they are stereotyped to be the people who rob banks, kill and hurt people.
People of colour: Very few people of colour, two. shows that white men/people are dominant. No lines are given to any people of colour. Unfairness is shown and discrimination, no equality.
Working Class Americans: Clyde giving to poor, house taken from bank. The working class people in Bonnie and Clyde truly represent how their lives really were in the Great Depression. They are seen struggling with poverty and struggling with economic challenges. Characters are seen working in farms. A lot of the working class admire Bonnie and Clyde, they are seen to align themselves with Bonnie and Clyde as they are rebellious and are also seen as outlaws. In the film Clyde is giving to the poor, people are effected financially as one scene consists of one family re-visiting their house that got taken by the bank.
Political and Social Context:
The Great Depression (1930s), displayed a mass of poverty throughout America. It lead to people jobless and having to find work in farms. The 1960s were marked by civil rights movement, anti- Vietnam War protests, and a general distrust of authority.