With the abolition of the Hays Code in the late 1960s , studios and filmmakers found themselves free to produce films dealing with subject matter that had previously been off-limits . Early examples include Arthur Penn 's depression-era tale of '' Bonnie and Clyde '' ; '' Mean Streets '' , Scorsese 's cinema vérité story of a young aspiring mobster and his problem-gambler friend , played by Robert De Niro and Sam Peckinpah 's '' Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia '' , about the Mexican mob , family honor , and the opportunistic Bennie ( Warren Oates ) , friend of the eponymous Alfredo Garcia , looking to make a big score when the chance drops in his lap . Bonnie and Clyde was one of 1967 's biggest box office hit and garnered 2 Academy Awards and 8 other nominations including best picture . It , along with the others , however , were overshadowed by Francis Ford Coppola '' Godfather '' saga
Academy Awards
40th Academy Awards
Gangster film