tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post1282235674160119246..comments2024-03-26T05:01:57.793-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: BONNIE & CLYDE 1967Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-46170408456761525022020-08-30T07:48:02.992-07:002020-08-30T07:48:02.992-07:00Ha! I like your idea for an alternate ending for S...Ha! I like your idea for an alternate ending for SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS!<br />No, my personal take on Natalie Wood is that she hasn't got a common bone in her body, and as an actress I think she has a range that's broader than she's often given credit for, but one that doesn't encompass being able to convincingly pull off normalcy or commonness. <br />I don't think I could ever buy her as a dustbowl waitress. I cringe when I think of scenes in INSIDE DAISY CLOVER or THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED where she just has to behave like a regular person. She's like Jane Fonda as the railway orphan in WALK ON THE WILD SIDE...all indicating and no feeling.<br />Now, Anjanette Comer is another matter entirely...I could see it!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-12319529453529812262020-08-29T08:34:45.976-07:002020-08-29T08:34:45.976-07:00Why do you think Natalie Wood would have been horr...Why do you think Natalie Wood would have been horrible? Maybe not as good as Dunaway or Tuesday Weld (my personal choice) but horrible? Can't you see Deanie from Splendor in the Grass going on a crime/killing spree with Bud Stamper after his Dad lost everything in the stock market crash of '29 and killed himself?<br />I believe Anjanette Comer from Five Desperate Women was also considered. She would have been interesting.<br />Kipnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-60184950744338339072017-06-15T12:53:10.842-07:002017-06-15T12:53:10.842-07:00Hello Nick,
Alas, "Mickey One" has been ...Hello Nick,<br />Alas, "Mickey One" has been a somewhat elusive film for me as well. I've never seen it and know of it only by reputation as an early art film, somewhat impenetrable, and not everyone's taste. <br />I haven't thought of it in years, and I should perhaps check online to see if it has been released on specialty DVD or something. I'm sorry I can't offer any more info, as it strangely seems like just the kind of film I SHOULD have seen by now.<br />Thank you for visiting this blog and expressing an interest in my opinion, nevertheless. I'm flattered.<br />My best!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-86702642128042836502017-06-15T12:46:14.930-07:002017-06-15T12:46:14.930-07:00Hello Ken,
I was wondering if you have ever seen ...Hello Ken,<br /><br />I was wondering if you have ever seen Mr Penn & Mr Beattys earlier film Mickey One, and if so whether you found it worthwhile.<br /><br />I've only recently discovered it as it's quite difficult to get hold of a copy in the UK but it sounds rather fascinating and magnetic, and I was curious to know if you would recommend it. It seems to be far too little known sadly.<br /><br />Kindest regards <br /><br />Nick Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05814596121308355916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-49903859381891990632016-01-07T15:12:16.487-08:002016-01-07T15:12:16.487-08:00Max Frost --- Have you ever converted the shooting...Max Frost --- Have you ever converted the shooting schedule to digital? ThomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-75132499004677853412015-04-07T05:16:27.541-07:002015-04-07T05:16:27.541-07:00Hi John
Another mutually-liked film? I know whatyo...Hi John<br />Another mutually-liked film? I know whatyou mean about the silver screen allure of both Beatty and Dunaway. The 60s and 70s had a reputation for being all about anti-glamour, but these stars proved that it was merely glamour redefined.<br />I remember reading about all the various actresses considered for Bonnie before Dunaway landed her star-making role. Perhaps Beatty's desire for Leslie Caron (the usual Hollywood bed-partners to co-star casting thing) to play the role being the oddest of all.<br />I love Natalie Wood, but I think she would have made a horrible Bonnie. Thanks, John!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-33158824650624794372015-04-04T19:55:46.764-07:002015-04-04T19:55:46.764-07:00Not sure if I should comment...you said everything...Not sure if I should comment...you said everything there is to say, really. I so wanted to look like, act, talk like Warren Beatty...lol. Then again, later on, I think I felt the same way about Faye (?????) just kidding. trivia: Tuesday Weld was first choice for Bonnie. she said no because she had just given birth and didn't want to be out in the heat. Beatty then wanted Natalie Wood. Natalie turned it down because she was at a point where she was over Hollywood and needed a much needed break, with another suicide attempt behind her. Beatty didn't know much about Faye at all. A casting director thought she would be good. Beatty chose her after seeing a body shot of Faye in a photo, and seeing how much Faye wanted the part. Natalie Wood would later say that she was very upset by her decision....and had regret for some time.<br />John Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-10970168026339968012014-02-03T12:41:39.904-08:002014-02-03T12:41:39.904-08:00Hello Max (I have no idea if Max is your real name...Hello Max (I have no idea if Max is your real name, but every time I write it I hear Barbara Feldon almost purring it in "Get Smart"...it's one of my favorite names because of that)<br />Anyhoo...Thanks a heap for sharing that absolutely terrific series of recollections here! I would have been sorely disappointed had you thought better of it. <br />It's a great testament to the way movies can get under your skin, confirms that I wasn't the only kid out there who saw this mature movie at a ridiculously young age, and my favorite part is your relaying how Penn was still so enthusiastic talking about it.<br />I'm jealous as hell at your memorabilia, but I share your love of this film and really appreciate your sharing your decades-long affection for "B& C" here. Loved it!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-33206806523704385792014-02-03T11:32:27.066-08:002014-02-03T11:32:27.066-08:00This is late in coming seeing as you posted the Bo...This is late in coming seeing as you posted the Bonnie and Clyde piece two years ago but I have to share something. This is my #1 favorite movie. Saw it when I was 10 years old and it changed my life. I was already was in love with Faye Dunaway having her seen only a few months before in The Happening but even the poster itself signified something new and exciting. The pink wash over the photograph of Dunaway and Beatty, the small lone figures below. So different! I stared at it for weeks in anticipation, until the day the movie arrived. I can still remember where I was sitting. Then in 1977, I moved to be with family in Texas and got a job at a small movie production outfit in Dallas which was utilized by whomever happened to be shooting a movie in the area. Lo and behold, it was where they shot some interiors for Bonnie and Clyde years before. In storage: original props. To this day I still have the Ice Cream sign that was hanging outside the grocery where Clyde first impresses Bonnie with a hold up. Now, skip ahead to 1981 and I was living in New York. My then boyfriend was a critic for an obscure Canadian film magazine called Movie. He was interviewing Arthur Penn who was in town to promote Four Friends and asked if I could take some pictures. Of course, I jumped. It wasn't long before I hijacked the interview with questions about Bonnie and Clyde and Penn was delighted. He became truly animated for the first time. He LOVED talking about it. I told him that I'd been collecting every piece of B&C memorabilia since 1967 that I could find. He asked for my address before we left and left it that. About six months later I got a large envelope from Penn. In it, (among other things) a signed one sheet, a clear plastic overlay (presumably used to press onto the box office window) pocked with bullet holes and scrawled in lipstick: "Bonnie and Clyde wuz here" (today it's too brittle to even unfold) and a copy of the location shooting schedule that gave the exact addresses of the locations in and around the Dallas area. You know, at the time I nearly hyperventilated when I received these treasures. But now when I think back I am just so deeply moved that Arthur Penn, (Arthur Penn!) went out of his way to make an absolute stranger so absolutely happy. Thanks for listening, KenMax Frosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658178366102731338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-20278167563085395802012-03-27T00:50:59.324-07:002012-03-27T00:50:59.324-07:00Yes, whatever is within each of us that responds t...Yes, whatever is within each of us that responds to a desire to buck a system we perceive (rightly or wrongly) to be unfair is a bit of what is touched upon in our sympathetic response to "Bonnie & Clyde". Liked very much your post on your blog. Thanks for commenting and leaving your link address.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-28167889905860260542012-03-26T21:01:02.907-07:002012-03-26T21:01:02.907-07:00Insightful commentary...the amoralist in us or per...Insightful commentary...the amoralist in us or perhaps the rebel is what grips us...see celluloidofkewl blogDan the Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962435484214197826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-83550171855005390022012-02-17T10:47:15.253-08:002012-02-17T10:47:15.253-08:00Yes, for me everything in this movie is perfect. ...Yes, for me everything in this movie is perfect. Every piece. I think that's why the cumulative effect is so overpowering: everything you have seen is so varied and so perfect. The comedy (with Gene Wilder) is so skillful; the music; the sound in general (lots of wind is how I remember it); Estelle Parsons (who is this crazy combination of irritating and pitiful. And I always go back to Bonnie's poem and Faye Dunaway's accent and very deliberate ennunciation. It's so ominous and haunting and she's so proud and Clyde is so proud of her. Everything comes together in this movie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-25294189953865566092012-02-17T09:40:35.712-08:002012-02-17T09:40:35.712-08:00Hi Argyle. Glad you brought up that scene on the d...Hi Argyle. Glad you brought up that scene on the dunes. I swear, there are so many scenes from this film I wanted to write about but it would have been the longest post in history. Dunaway's face is great in response to what her mother says, and I love how the tone of the movie gets darker after this sequence.<br />I had never thought of how Dunaway doesn't really play Bonnie as likable. I was always so taken with her beauty, but you're right...it's kind of an unsympathetic performance that draws you in because she IS so real. Thanks for commenting!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-72751371263378601532012-02-17T09:34:11.334-08:002012-02-17T09:34:11.334-08:00Thanks very much, Mark. I of course agree with you...Thanks very much, Mark. I of course agree with you in saying that this film has become legitimately iconic and influential. I never heard of the book you mentioned but you have piqued my interest. I'm going to seek it out (hello, Amazon!) <br /><br />I'm sure it must be tempting for some filmmaker to want to tell the real story of Bonnie and Clyde, which this film deviates from greatly, but no matter how different the life story, the ending is the same. I can't imagine any filmmaker, no matter how gifted, being able to devise an ambush sequence that could emerge from the shadow of what Arthur Penn devised. <br />It would be like trying to find a new way of filming a shower murder...impossible! I guess that defines iconic.<br /><br />Glad you liked the gun/phallus screen caps. I loved that scene!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-51669520608300294702012-02-17T07:32:32.615-08:002012-02-17T07:32:32.615-08:00Ken, Argyle here. Thank you! Yes, this is one of...Ken, Argyle here. Thank you! Yes, this is one of those films that says so much. It's really poetry. If I happen across it on TV, I have to watch. Faye Dunaway never wants you to like her, she's pretty repellent, but she's so real. And she's so great looking and perfectly dressed and she moves beautifully. Whenever I see it, I wait for the scene where she reads her poem. That kills me. And then the scene where they meet up with Bonnie's mother in the dunes. And the mother listens to Clyde's well intentioned dreams of someday living near her so Bonnie can take care of her. And her mother listens, walking back to her car, and eventually replies. Unexpected and devastating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-78639384551332347432012-02-17T06:13:49.019-08:002012-02-17T06:13:49.019-08:00Brilliant summary, you can see why this is one of ...Brilliant summary, you can see why this is one of your staple films :)<br /><br />The terms iconic and influential get bandied about all too often these days; but this genuinely is. It's not without it's flaws I feel, but it's heart is there and it's ideas are first rate (the highlighted scene in the cinema being a prime example) and they paved the way for more perfected yet less genuine movies to come that followed a similar path.<br /><br />Love the photos of the phallic scene, hope you don't mind but I've saved that.<br /><br />Lastly have you read Go Down Together by Jeff Guin? A fascinating biography of the pair.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14569732807130090838noreply@blogger.com