A Closer Look at Bonnie and Clyde

The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde is considered a "landmark film" as it broke many traditional restrictions. This film completely changed film making mainly because of its unique style of editing. There were times when this film was very slow - paced and casual (as in dialogue scenes). The shots in these scenes lasted longer. However, there were times when this film was fast - paced (chase scenes). The shots in these scenes quickly alternated from Barrow's gang to the police, or whoever was chasing them. There were also times in this film in which the editing seemed very “choppy” (Bonnie and Clyde death scene). I believe “choppy” editing occurs in this film because it is a timing thing. It stresses the importance of the pace of the film. It also adds suspense to the film. However, this combination of editing styles added to the overall quality of the film and added suspense to the film.

There were a few scenes in this film that had choppy editing. However, there were two scenes that really stuck out to me. I thought these two scenes had a lot of choppy editing. The first scene that stuck out to me was the chase scene that eventually led Clyde and his gang into Oklahoma. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVsovDXPBb8 In this scene, Clyde and his gang have just pulled off their first bank robbery together. The camera alternates between quick 2 – 3 second shots of the car getting away and 2 – 3 second shots of Clyde and his gang in the car. This is to basically add suspense to the scene.

Another scene that I thought had choppy editing was the Bonnie and Clyde death scene at the end of the film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5GDcs8i2ng&feature=related In this scene, Clyde and Bonnie discover C.W.’s father on the side of the road and they decide to pull over. They soon find out that they have been set up. C.W.’s father looks at the bushes when birds flew out and he hits the deck. Clyde realizes that he and Bonnie have been set up. The camera quickly alternates 1 second close – up shots of Bonnie and Clyde before they both end up getting shot to death. Again, this is to add suspense and uncertainty to the scene. Bonnie and Clyde have been caught and the choppy editing leaves the audience guessing about what’s going to happen to Bonnie and Clyde.

There were times in this film when the editing seemed choppy. However, the choppy editing occurred to add suspense to the film and to emphasize the overall pace of the film.