Lists
- ranked 1 in Roger Ebert's Best Films of 1967
- ranked 13 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
- ranked 27 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
- ranked 48 in Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time
- ranked 65 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions
- ranked 66 in The Guardian Top 100 Films
- ranked 136 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (December 2006)
- ranked 141 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (August 2005)
- ranked 151 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (March 2006)
- ranked 244 in The IMDb Top 250
- one of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
- one of 101^w102 Movies You Must See Before...
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Nominees
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions Nominees
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills Nominees
- one of Guardian 1,000 films to see before you die
- one of Leonard Maltin's 100 "Must See" Films of the 20th Century
- one of The New York Times Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
- one of TIME Magazine All-Time 100 Movies
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies, 10th Anniversary Edition
The time has long since passed when Bonnie and Clyde's violence was shocking or remarkable, so the film has lost a great deal of its impact. What it has retained is its perfect construction: it unfolds; it foreshadows; it hints; there are meaningful glances and clear thematic arcs. As an exercise in film craft, it's masterful.
That isn't enough, though, and the movie so failed to be engaging -- indeed, seemed shot in such a way as to deliberately keep the characters' distance -- that watching it became a chore. I couldn't understand the gushing over Warren Beatty at the Golden Globes this year, and I still don't: what's the big deal?