22 Amazing Publicity Photos From the Set of “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)

Bonnie and Clyde is a 1967 American biographical neo-noir crime film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the title characters Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The film also features Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, and Estelle Parsons. The screenplay is by David Newman and Robert Benton. Robert Towne and Beatty provided uncredited contributions to the script; Beatty produced the film. The music is by Charles Strouse.

Beatty wasn’t the first choice to play Clyde Barrow, but he became deeply invested in the project and decided to produce the film himself. He was offered $200,000 for the role but instead opted for 40% of the film’s profits, which ended up making him millions.

Jane Fonda was considered for Bonnie, but she was in France at the time. Other actresses, including Tuesday Weld, Natalie Wood, and Sharon Tate, were also considered before Dunaway won the role.

Gene Hackman, who played Clyde’s brother Buck, was a relatively unknown actor then. Estelle Parsons, who played Buck’s wife Blanche, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Bonnie and Clyde is considered one of the first films of the New Hollywood era and a landmark picture. It broke many cinematic taboos and for some members of the counterculture, the film was considered a “rallying cry.” Its success prompted other filmmakers to be more open in presenting sex and violence in their films. The film’s ending became famous as “one of the bloodiest death scenes in cinematic history.”

In 1992, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” It was ranked 27th on the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 100 greatest American films of all time and 42nd on its 2007 list.