Warren Beatty of the film, he credited Hackman with giving the "most authentic performance in the movie, so textured and so moving," recalls Dunaway. He was impressed with Gene Wilder after seeing him in a play and didn't even need him to audition, in what became Wilder's screen debut. And Beatty had already known Pollard: "Michael J. Pollard was one of my oldest friends," Beatty said. "I'd known him forever; I met him the day I got my first television show. We did a play together on Broadway." "Bonnie and Clyde" went on to be a critical and commercial success, despite the
Faye Dunaway Festival to accept the award. In 2014, Dunaway was recognized as the guest of honor by the Lumière Film Festival. Organizers praised the "immense contribution she has made to the emergence of the independent American films of the sixties and seventies, and the contribution is of the highest caliber". Her attendance at the festival was described as an "exceptional event". Dunaway received a standing ovation by a crowd of 5,000, and declared in an emotional speech following the tribute she received, "My fans and my friends have supported me in this search for all these years, and I thank you