Directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the infamous gangster duo, 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde helped pave the way for the “New Hollywood” school of filmmaking, given its rapid shifts of tone, portrayal of sex and violence, and popularity with a younger audience. Earning two Academy Awards, a place in the National Film Registry, and the claim to “one of the bloodiest death scenes in cinematic history,” Bonnie & Clyde still remains a classic today.

This compilation in the Critical Insights Film series provides essays that take a closer look at the landmark film, its influences, and the controversies surrounding its release. Essays are 2,500 to 5,000 words in length and offer analyses of Bonnie & Clyde based on cultural and historical contexts, close viewings from particular critical standpoints (from traditional to postmodern), comparisons in the light of other films, and critical receptions over time. All essays are written by renowned film scholars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, providing in-depth, academic coverage of all key issues and interpretations.