Bonnie & Clyde

The story of Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow is retold in this 2013 hit miniseries (which premiered simultaneously on the A&E, History, and Lifetime channels). After opening in the aftermath of the couple's bloody deaths, Bonnie & Clyde flashes back to the beginning, with Clyde (Emile Hirsch) recounting his birth, childhood, and initial forays in crime. British actress Holliday Grainger costars as Bonnie, a small-town Texas beauty who is swept off her feet by Clyde and helps him to escape from jail. Bonnie gets a kick out of robbing banks and she promotes their exploits to the newspapers, shaping coverage of the pair as romantic rebels who are fighting the system. This production features details overlooked in the famous 1967 film with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway—notably the couple's numerous arrests, and Bonnie's savvy control of their media image—and the actors here are closer to the ages of the real criminals, who were only in their mid-20s when they died. But it also distorts facts (Clyde logged his first murder before he ever joined Bonnie), presents Bonnie as the bloodthirsty instigator of their violent spree, and paints their demise as a double suicide planned by Clyde to end their reign of terror: entertaining melodrama to be sure, but not reliable history. Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes (with a bonus featurette on the Blu-ray release). With its likable young stars and a good supporting cast (including Sarah Hyland, Holly Hunter, and William Hurt), this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)