CITYist

If you haven’t seen the original, now is the time: Bonnie and Clyde is about to become the latest in a long line of Hollywood remakes. Now, we aren’t saying the new version will be terrible, necessarily, but we think this tidbit speaks for itself: the new Bonnie Parker will be played by Hilary Duff, most recently seen in the TV movie Beauty and the Briefcase. On the other hand, the beautiful, black and white 1967 version cast a regal Faye Dunaway as the girl outlaw, looking lethal with a beret and a shotgun. Add to that Warren Beatty in his prime, acclaimed director Arthur Penn and the French New Wave as muse, and you’ve got a landmark of American cinema.

François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim was the catalyst that set American filmmakers scrambling to imitate and hopefully improve on the French’s revolutionary new style—loose in narrative, frank in subject matter and raw in character. Beatty was the mastermind behind the film, acting as a first-time producer, lining up the director (and nearly acquiring Truffaut for his first English-language film) and unofficially editing the script. Upon its release, old-guard critics were appalled by the unsentimental treatment of violence for what was then one of the most-gory dramas ever released to American audiences. To everyone’s shock, Bonnie and Clyde went on to gross over $70 million worldwide.

Although the film is monumental for its effects on American film, that’s not the only reason to see it. Bolstered by strong performances, powerful images of Depression-era Middle America and, of course, stunning fashion, Bonnie and Clyde beats any modern-day drama/thriller in intelligence and style alone. Here’s to hoping the remake doesn’t butcher its legacy—though we think that would be rather hard to do.

Images courtesy of mptvimages.com