Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Arthur Penn's violent and ground-breaking bio-pic about a pair of real-life 1930s bank robbers caused a tremendous stir when it was released in 1967. Critics were horrified that Penn had made romantic heroes out of the hoodlums. Many tried to bury the movie, but it was picked up by Pauline Kael, the film critic for The New Yorker, and began to generate its own momentum.

Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) is a disillusioned small-time bank robber who has recently been let out of prison. When he meets bored small-town girl Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway), together they form the nucleus of a gang of bank robbers that terrorises the southwest of America during the 1920s, leaving a string of violent robberies and newspaper headlines in their wake.

Based on the true story of Bonnie and Clyde, the film personalises them while never flinching from showing the violence that went along with them. Younger audiences loved its sense of style - Dunaway never looked sleeker - and the way it made iconic anti-heroes of the two leads.

The film received five Academy Award nominations for acting alone (Beatty, Michael J Pollard, Dunaway, Gene Hackman), and snapped up Best Actress for Estelle Parsons. Nominated for Best Picture, Screenplay, Director and Costume Design, the film also won the Best Cinematography statuette for Burnett Guffey.

Highly recommended.