Disc: 50GB Blu-ray Disc
Release Date: March 25th, 2008
Book-style Blu-Ray-sized case

Synopsis: Based on the true-life exploits of notorious Depression-era bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, Bonnie and Clyde is recognized as one of the most violent films to come out of mainstream Hollywood. Bonnie is bored with life and wants a change. She gets her chance when she meets a charming young drifter by the name of Clyde Barrow. Clyde has dreams of a life of crime that will free him from the hardships of the Depression. The two fall in love and begin a crime spree that extends from Oklahoma to Texas. They rob small banks with skill and panache, soon becoming minor celebrities known across the country. People are proud to have been held up by Bonnie and Clyde; to their victims, the duo is doing what nobody else has the guts to do. To the law, the two are evil bank robbers who deserve to be gunned down where they stand.

***

One of the landmark films of the 1960s, Bonnie and Clyde changed the course of American cinema. Setting a milestone for screen violence that paved the way for Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, this exercise in mythologized biography should not be labeled as a bloodbath; as critic Pauline Kael wrote in her rave review, "it's the absence of sadism that throws the audience off balance." The film is more of a poetic ode to the Great Depression, starring the dream team of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the titular antiheroes, who barrel across the South and Midwest robbing banks with Clyde's brother Buck (Gene Hackman), Buck's frantic wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons), and their faithful accomplice C.W. Moss (the inimitable Michael J. Pollard). Bonnie and Clyde is an unforgettable classic that has lost none of its power since the 1967 release.

Excerpt from Amazon located HERE

 

 

The Film:

Reclaiming the American gangster movie after it had been stolen by the Nouvelle Vague, Penn's film was so successful (and so imitated) that it inevitably met with some grudging devaluation. But it's still great: half comic fairytale, half brutal fact, it reflects the essential ambiguity of its heroes (faithfully copied from history and the real-life Barrow gang which terrorised the American South in the early '30s) by treading a no man's land suspended between reality and fantasy. With its weird landscape of dusty, derelict towns and verdant highways, stunningly shot by Burnett Guffey in muted tones of green and gold, it has the true quality of folk legend.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

 

 

 

 

The Video:

On my system I did note quite a difference between this BRD and the SD (reviewed HERE). The Blu-ray seems darker in shadow scenes (day lit scenes are expectantly brighter) with much deeper black levels although skin tones might be a semi-tone more reddish. It has some very strong moments of detail and the, purposely, roughly-hone production edges appear well supported in this 1080P transfer. Obviously this is far superior than the original SD from 1999. The only flaw would be some very minor noise but otherwise this 50GB, dual-layered Blu-ray looks extremely impressive considering the age of the film. Dunaway is typically drop-dead gorgeous and colors don't overly explode on the screen thankfully avoiding the unnatural exuberance that we sometimes see in this new format. I don't suspect purists will object that 'it looks too good'. Everything is digitally presented with an air of precision; it is both clean and film-like. This is the absolute best way to see this landmark film in your home theatre.

 

NOTE: Louis tells us: "The movie opens with a series of depression-era photos interspersed with the credits. In the original film and in the earlier Warner edition of the DVD the photos are in sepia, whereas the new edition has them in black and white. This might seem minor, but (a) it is a mistake in presenting the film, and (b) the sepia tones really establish a mood that is missing in the current DVD edition. Shame on Warner for this."