Cinema seemed to really shoot out in all directions in the 1960s. Spaghetti Westerns, samurai films, French New Wave, Italian masters. What a decade for film. I had a hard time getting down to a list of 32, god know how I’m going to choose my favourite out of these beauties.
There are a couple of films I hate or really don’t think much of, on this list - but hey, I was thinking of people’s favourites, and really an obscene amount of people seem to like The Sound of Music.
I’m going with Dr. Strangelove, which appears to be the only comedy on the list. Where’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, A Shot in the Dark, It’s a Mad Mad, Mad Mad World, The Odd Couple, Cactus Flower, Charade…? The list goes on man. Do you not like comedy or something?
“Take the Money and Run” and “The Manchurian Candidate” would also be worthy nominees. As would “Planet of the Apes” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
I also remember enjoying “El Cid” and “Zulu,” though they don’t attain to quite the same level of classic-ness IMHO.
From the list, I like “2001” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” Finally got around to reading “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” last year. Oh yeah, and Lawrence wasn’t really raped in Turkey. That was a lie intended to embarrass the Ottomans, based apparently on a kinky fantasy of Lawrence’s. I could go on and on about the factual problems with this movie, and yet, it’s beautiful to watch.
Glancing at the Wikipedia list, the ones I most want to see are “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” and “Go, Go Second-Time Virgin” (a Japanese movie featuring gang rape).
I can only appreciate “The Sound of Music” as badfilm. I mean, the music is decent enough, musically speaking (does that kid really sing “So…Do…Mi”?) but the writers obviously had no clue about Austrian history.
Not a good film by any means, but somebody really needs to remake “The World of Suzie Wong,” this time as a serious movie.
Dr. Strangelove is my favorite movie, period. Everything you need to know about war, politics, religion and internet message boards can be found there.
Well I could only include 32 films on the list. I’ve been reading a lot of ‘greatest films’ lists recently to stimulate my movie watching, and I had a look at several of those - critics lists and fan lists - to make a list of 32. Not the 32 best and certainly not my personal favourites, but the ones I thought people would most likely choose as favourites.
Films you’ve mentioned like The Manchurian Candidate, Planet of the Apes, To Kill a Mockingbird, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (a personal favourite), the Apartment and Midnight Cowboy, were all on my shortlist - but I had to whittle it down somehow
Comedies are tricky. They seem to me more personal than other genres. What some people find hilarious, others won’t even break a smile for. Yet they can be the most enjoyable films to watch. But do they deeply move you and leave a lasting impression, that makes you want to call them ‘favourites’? Perhaps, I guess.
Yeah, that’s a good movie. In Blowup, Jane Birkin (fox in the video below) had the distinction of being the first actress to show pubic hair in a movie. Other favs of mine from the 60s–Easy Rider, The Great Escape, Lawrence of Arabia, Once Upon a Time in the West (I’m a huge Sergio Leone fan), the Magnificent Seven.
Maybe it’s a generational thing, but I could never get into Sergio Leone westerns. I mean, Once Upon a Time in the West looks friggin’ AMAZING but it is so tedious to watch! I keep wishing all that awesome atmosphere and those beautiful hardscrabble looking people had a great story to be a part of.
I love the music in that movie. When it comes to scores for movies, I can’t think of a better team than Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone. Anything with John Barry will be memorable as well.
I’m tempted by necessity to divide the sixties into the first and second halves and opt for Dr Strangelove as my fave. It’s as blackly hilarious and meaningful as it;s ever been. Timeless.
