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New Hollywood/Bonnie & Clyde 1st response

What is meant by the term New Hollywood? (Consider how this links to the decline of the Hollywood Studio System of the Golden Age) New Hollywood refers to the shift in habits amongst Americans in the early 1960s, television took away audiences from cinemas.

Name some of the films, directors and stars from this period. Cleopatra (1963, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz– the release of this film coincided with the collapse of the studio system), Easy Rider (1969, directed by Dennis Hopper), Carnival Of Souls (1962, directed by Herk Harvey), The Godfather(1972, directed by Francis Ford Coppola). Some stars included: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster.

What events were taking place in America around the period identified as the New Hollywood era of cinema?  The New Hollywood era of cinema spanned from the mid-1960s to the 1980s, and within that time frame America endured: Three assassinations on public figures, John. F. Kennedy (1963), Martin Luther King Jr. (1968), and Malcom X (1965). In 1959, through till 1973, America was involved in the Vietnam war, soldiers were fighting in Vietnam whilst American citizens protested against the war (1966, White House protests) because Americans wanted to halt the spread of communism from soviet powers. President, Richard Nixon’s, Watergate Scandal from 1972 until his resignation in 1974. The Civil Rights movement which aimed to abolish legalised racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country (1954-1968).

How did New Hollywood directors like Penn approach film narratives? Many directors, such as Arthur Penn, approached film narratives with an ‘anti-establishment’ point of view, meaning that they went against the established norms for Americans and how they should behave. This typically involved ‘outsider’ characters and the pursuit of freedom which laid outside of societal norms; this was reflected in the real world with protests, riots, and movements.

What is discontinuity editing? A noticeable cut in a sequence which grabs the audience’s attention due to its unnatural and ridged nature. This jump cut technique is typically used to indicate a significant jump in time.

Why is this time in film production sometimes referred to as “The Rise Of The Auteurs” in Hollywood? A lot of the biggest names in Hollywood today gained notoriety during this time period, to mention a few: Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorcese. Unlike Old Hollywood, where the actors in a film created excitement around a film, this era shone the spotlight on the directors behind the films – a result of this was films being recognised for their ‘auteur style’.

What was the lasting impact of the New Hollywood style on modern films? The New Hollywood style left its mark on the film industry by allowing and encouraging director-driven creativity and experimentation.

Initial Rating – 5/10

Favourite moment – A moment which stands out to me the most is when they take pictures together with Clyde’s brother, Buck Barrow, and his wife Blanche. This stood out to me the most as Blanche seems to represent the ideals and morals of old Hollywood films, as well as, American society during the 1900s-1950s – as a woman she is defined by her husband and is almost docile. In the pictures, Blanche takes one with her husband whereas Bonnie, who stands for the second wave, feminist movement during the 1960s, poses alone with a cigar and a pistol.

NEW HOLLYWOOD BONNIE AND CLYDE

I liked this film. I like how the film starts with bonnie and we get to see the majority of the film from her perspective, bonnie is not treated as a trophy to be won, and she also joins Clyde in committing crimes which was a new outlook on how women were perceived in cinema. The opening of the film puts the main female character at the centre, as well as showing her as partially naked. conveying the female lead as naked and having her as the first thing the audience sees would have been a revolutionary move in cinema at this time, regarding the hayes code and societies view on women. This film gets a 9.5/10

Bonnie and clyde first response

First impressions of Bonnie and Clyde

2/10

I gave this movie a 2/10 because of a lot of the scenes and the repetitive nature of the movie. The movie randomly skipped through scenes without warning and the audience had to understand what is happening based on new context clues. The characters dying was strange since they would fall over or move in a weird way which made it more funny than serious. We never really get to meet and understand any of the characters since the movie jumped straight into the robb

My favorite scene in the movie is when they take pictures of each others and the pictures are the same as the actual bonnie and Clyde images. This little addition adds to the fact that the movie is based of real people.

Bonnie and Clyde

First Response

Rating – 8/10
Overall, I really liked this film, however I felt like the ending came really fast, and I wasn’t expecting them main characters to die that suddenly. I thought the overall genre of the film was shown really well through out the film and the character development of Bonnie was great to watch.

My favourite scene from the film was when they went into the bank and stole the money, this was my favourite scene as it showed key crime conventions throughout the whole scene, and showed they key character traits of a crime genre.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) First Response

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Dir. Arthur Penn

6.5/10 – I had high expectations going into this film, but I didn’t find that I enjoyed it nearly as much as I expected. I liked the historical aspect of it, and the fact that it was based on real people. I found the visual style overall very pleasing, particularly the costumes which were the standout for me. Faye Dunaway did a very convincing job at acting insane, but I just didn’t find the story particularly engaging, especially in the beginning.

The most memorable scene for me has to be when the police find out where the Barrel Gang had been hiding, and they ambush them with Buck being shot in the head in the process. This felt like a really important turning point in the film, and where I felt the story became far more interesting.

BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967, Arthur Penn) FIRST RESPONSE

Rating: 10/10

I was already interested in the real life case of Bonnie And Clyde, so I was excited for this movie and it definitely lived up to my expectations. It wasn’t very historically accurate but it was engaging, and there were a lot of standout scenes. The shootouts were engaging and tense, and the film was also surprisingly funny in a few scenes. I found the character dynamics interesting to watch, and the film itself looked beautiful, portraying American country landscapes and small towns.

Standout Scene: After The Shootout/Buck Got Shot

This film really stood out to me as it was really dark compared to what came before it in the film, and it acts as a turning point in the tone in the movie. This scene comes after a tense and action filled shoot out between the police and the Barrow gang. During this shootout two very important things happen: Buck gets shot in the head, and Blanche gets shot in the eye. This scene after the shootout is the Barrow gang trying to save Buck. The lighting really takes effect in this scene: it takes place in the night, the only light source being from the car headlights. The light casts shadows over the characters, making the shots interesting to look at. The darkness compliments the tragic events the characters experience. This is the first time the Barrow Gang has suffered consequences to their actions, and it is a real tragic moment in the film. There is no underscore, the only sounds are Blanche’s screaming, Clyde and Moss helping Buck, Bonnie uncharacteristically trying to comfort Blanche (A change in character, as Blanche and Bonnie were always against each other), and Buck’s delirious talking as Clyde bandages his head wound. Its a slow, harrowing scene, and marks the movie’s descent into tragedy.

‘Bonnie and Clyde’ 1st Response

Critical score: 7.8/10

Overall, I quite enjoyed ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, but I feel as if the fil is more style over substance, as I thought it looked really beautiful but to me the story wasn’t that engaging . I thought the chase scenes were really enjoyable to watch and I really liked the soundtrack throughout the film, especially the fast bluegrass, banjo tracks in the chase scenes. I thought the performances in the film were quite good, though I felt some performances were quite underperformed and a bit boring, which may of been intentional to add to the versimilitude of the film. I didn’t enjoy the pacing of the film, as I felt it was incredibly mismatched with sudden shifts in tone that didn’t, to me, seem to be that logical or make much sense.

Memorable Scene

As I said, the most memorable scenes for me in the film were the chase scenes when Bonnie and Clyde were escaping from the bank, as I thought the use of the fast-paced bluegrass soundtrack and the impressive long shots of the cars being chased were quite impressive and very enjoyable to watch. The use of the techniques mentioned add to the anticipation and energy of the scene, as upon first view, you as a viewer are wondering if these two criminals are going to be caught.

Bonnie and Clyde First Response

6/10

I have given Bonnie and Clyde a low score because it was hard to follow along I felt like. I felt like the film looked amazing and the scenes where beautiful of the American country. Although I felt it was a slow moving film that was hard to take off.

An obvious memorable scene is the end of the movie where Bonnie and Clyde got set up and shot multiple times to call an ending to the film and the story. I feel like the film ended to soon and it was not a climactic ending.