Bonnie and Clyde: WTF Really Happened to this Movie?

Last Updated on February 8, 2023

1967’s Bonnie and Clyde is considered one of the seminal American films. Known for its provocative use of graphic violence, it helped bring U.S. films closer in line with what was being done in Europe and is one of the films responsible for the MPAA starting a new rating system. It was so controversial that for a while, its home studio, Warner Bros, deemed it unreleasable and initially dumped it in a regional release, only for the film to become a favorite of the sixties counterculture, leading to its eventual wide release. While eventually an iconic hit that launched Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as superstars, not much attention has been paid over the years to how truthful it was about the two gangsters it idolizes, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Were they romantic anti-heroes, as the film portrays them, or were they murderous bandits?

In this episode of What Really Happened to this Movie, we examine the titular duo’s criminal careers, examining their reign as killer bank robbers and eventual blood-soaked demise. We also pay tribute to director Arthur Penn‘s classic film, which is worth revisiting or discovering for those who haven’t seen it. Not only did the movie make Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway enduring stars, but it also introduced audiences to Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder, both of whom play key supporting roles. While many films of that era don’t necessarily hold up, Bonnie and Clyde remains an unassailable American film classic.

This episode of WTF Really Happened to this Movie is written by Eric Walkuski, edited and narrated by Adam Walton, and produced by Taylor James Johnson. What do you think of the way 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde depicts the bankrolling duo? At this point, is the legend more important than the truth? And in the end, does it really matter? Let us know in the comments!