Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story

While this movie portrayed several events that were not included in the 1967 movie "Bonnie and Clyde," calling it the "True Story" is a mis-statement. As is often necessary in the confines of a two hour TV movie, characters and events are combined for dramatic purposes. I think the way Bonnie and Clyde are portrayed in this movie is more appropriate than the glamour that Beatty and Dunaway gave these killers in 1967. Blanch Barrow is definitely portrayed in a different light. The scenes where Clyde and W.D. Jones brutally kill two law enforcement officers at a dance in OK as well as the car accident that left Bonnie near death with two severely burned legs (two true events) seem conspicuously absent from the 1967 version after seeing this one. The method in which Bonnie and Clyde are executed is more accurate in this picture as, unlike the original, they never stopped their car or got out when it was hit with the hail of bullets. This movie also provides a bit better ending than the 1967 version. Not a great movie, but it is what one would expect from an early 90s TV movie. Worth watching once but not exactly the "True Story" as the title suggests.

Saw it on pay-channel decades ago, only vaguely remember. The 7 is given because I do remember having liked it when I saw it back then. Been trying to find it on DVD, but my search was hindered, kept bumping against that History Channel documentary of (almost) the same name. That problem here has now been resolved after I brought it to IMDb's attention. Unfortunately, the movie itself remains something I cannot find through a local importer. And there isn't even a trailer to download. All that I really remember, is what vultures the onlookers became when Bonnie's dead body was at their disposal.

Rrsearch on those two real-life characters reveal that they were two totally unlikely people to have earned such fame. What total losers grabbed the public's imagination, fueled by a desire simply to sell newspapers!

This is one of those movies that you happen across when you're channel surfing on a Saturday afternoon, and you get drawn into it and end up watching the whole thing. I thought that it was well acted and it really made me feel for the characters. Though it's a bit slow moving, focusing more on the relationships between Bonnie and Clyde and their family members, it never got boring. We don't really see too much of all the robberies that they were so legendary for, and instead most of the shootouts take place when they're ambushed by the police. I thought Tracey Needham, who played Bonnie, really did a good job with her character. Going from a nice country girl to a cold-blooded killer is a challenging thing to portray, and I enjoyed the subtlety she brought to the role.

Overall, an above average effort, especially considering it was a made for TV movie.

Here we have 2 misunderstood kids who never stood a chance against a cruel, poverty riddled existence: Robin Hoods singled out by the police for persecution because they were a trifle wild at times. Gad! According to this crap Bonnie was the sweetest little thing west of the Missouri who was taught to be a psychopathic murderer by a fun loving boyfriend who didn't really want to hurt anybody....he just wanted things without putting a lot of energy into getting them. Badly acted, poorly filmed, unbelievable dialogue, unrealistic use of weaponry, gore that looked more like grape jelly than the real thing. Avoid this bilgewater. Thumbs down. -5 stars.

While it contains facts that are not widely reported, it is not exactly the truth. They took a lot of liberties in rearranging events, excluding people, and using sets that do not meet the facts of their lives in the 30's. There were more than just Bonnie, Clyde, and W.D. in the gang at various times, and those people had as much to do with the facts as those included. Buck and Blanche went to convince Clyde to go straight much earlier than the one shootout, and in fact got drawn back into crime. Some of the events that were portrayed in daylight actually took place at night. Bonnie's wound was much more severe and never healed right. It was so bad she had to be carried around by someone until it healed up, and even then it stiffened up so she walked stiffly. Clyde also walked with a limp because while in prison he cut off a big toe. I know, I'm being nit picky, and it was a TV movie, but even without these factual errors in this "TRUE" story, the movie moves too fast from event to event and comes across more as several separate snapshots of their lives, rather than being a cohesive flowing story.

I'd recommend reading a book or seeing a documentary if you want to get closer to the truth.