Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#4
Dr. Strangelove:
Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb

1964
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Written by: Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern and Peter George
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden and Slim Pickens

If there's one thing that Dr. Strangelove shows, it's that when laughs are about things that also scare the hell out of you they are always better. The movie tells the story fanatic anti-communist general Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) who takes advantage of extraordinary powers given to him and orders a full scale nuclear bombing attack on the Soviet Union. Once this is discovered, the American President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) and his advisers try everything to recall the bomber planes but have trouble because of their orders to turn off all of their communication. General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) is part of a group of Muffley's advisers who begin to press the President to back this initial order and turn it into a full scale attack. It sounds like thriller, and the original novel Red Alert actually was, but its actually a brilliant dark comedy. Writer Terry Southern described once that they were writing the script late at night and they couldn't hep but laugh at the gravity of the situation they were writing about: nuclear holocaust. So naturally they turned it into a comedy. The scene where Muffley calls the Soviet Premier is great, check it out:

You have to remember that this movie came out less than a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Soviet missiles had been discovered in Cuba and this was such a shock that the Kennedy Administration threatened war if they were not promptly removed. Now the US also had nuclear weapons in Turkey at the time but they didn't figure into the equation. The issue was settled and the missiles were removed but for thirteen days nuclear holocaust was a real possibility. Children at schools were taking preventative measures like those fail proof drills where they hide under their desks. If you were caught up in the moment you probably would have been scared. When you laugh though you aren't scared, it's physiologically impossible. Dr. Strangelove was a way to laugh in a time of intense fear.

The film addresses some real issues too. Although it was made in 1964, over a decade after McCarthyism, the movie pokes fun at extreme anti-communists through the character of General Ripper. Back in the day you could call somebody a communist and their credibility and livelihood would be immediately disappear. There was such paranoia that the comparison to the witch trials are so fittingly often used. Ripper is the personification of the hardcore anti-communist conspiracy theorist. Believing as he does that communists are infiltrating every sector of American society he sees no other option but to use a loophole in the chain of command to order an attack and wipe out the threat at its source in the Soviet Union. He sees himself like as the saviour of all things American and good...like ice cream. Him explaining his point of view to RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers in the second of his three roles) is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The brilliance of Kubrick's direction can be seen here with the low angle close-up as well. It's his trademark shot to get deep inside the mind of disturbed individuals (think Alex in A Clockwork Orange or Jack in The Shining). The seriousness makes you laugh even harder the more you watch it:

The next clip is a little later in the movie and shows the transformation of Ripper into the nut that he is at heart. Here the movie becomes less dark and more openly comedic:

More seriously though, Dr. Strangelove, exposes the holes in the strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) which the nuclear arms race is based on. This is the belief that any attack on one country with nuclear weapons would inevitably produce a counter-attack and thus lead both sides to total destruction. The theory of Deterrence then is used to deter any opposing state to attack for fear of a counter-attack. This was what the Cold War superpower battle was all about. It is argued by many of those in the realist school of International Relations that this is why the Cold War never led to a full-scale nuclear war but only resulted in smaller proxy wars (Greece, Korea, Vietnam, etc.). By way of Rational Choice and the Nash equilibrium both sides will attempt to avoid the worst possible outcome which is nuclear annihilation.

As the movie shows, the major problem with this theory is that people do not act rational all of the time. How many people do you know that are perfectly rational and act according to their best interests all the time? General Ripper was pushed to the edge with his paranoia and was able to order an attack on the Soviet Union. People can be influenced by dogmas which distort their reality. Thus the movie really raises some important questions about International Relations and American foreign policy. But again, it makes you laugh while at the same time making you think.

For being one of the most daring dark comedies out there and attacking dominant IR theory, in my opinion Dr. Strangelove is the 4th best movie of the 1960s.

Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#5
A Hard Day's Night

1964
Directed by: Richard Lester
Written by: Alun Owen
Music by and Starring: The Beatles (George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr)

This movie is groundbreaking on so many levels. At first glance though one would think that it was just another attempt to cash in on the Beatles overnight success on both sides of the Atlantic. Something like the Monkees may have been capable of. If you think that, you're wrong. I can't imagine what movies, TV, and music would be today if not for this movie. It's hella entertaining and funny too.

The plot is simple enough. The fab four take a train from Liverpool to London for a live television performance. They bring along Paul's grandfather though whose a bit of a "villain, a real mixer." So he causes problems and after telling Ringo that he has a big nose, he gets upset and goes for a soul searching stroll in the London area. The rest of the band then have to go find him before the show starts. Nothing too dramatic really, but there are some real gem scenes in the movie. This first scene on the train for example is really good. Notice Ringo's failed attempt at acting with is horrid laugh:

The Beatles are more than happy to take shots at themselves and their celebrity lives. The opening scene for example is them running way from a crowd of young girls. In doing this it also brought to screen the celebrity lifestyle and craziness that characterized Beatlemania. This, along with the great album that is A Hard Day's Night shows explains just how entertaining this movie is. But as I said it's the fact that it's such a groundbreaking movie that puts it so high on my list.

The camera work in A Hard Day's Night was really ahead of its time. This was released in 1964 you have to remember, but the style resembles modern movies like The Bourne Supremacy. The quick cuts and fast editing created a distinct British-Pop film style which would dominant the rest of the decade. Nowadays it's normal to have around 20 or so cuts per minute, back in the pace of movies was much slower. It would have seemed distracting to many to have something move along so fast and, no doubt, A Hard Day's Night might have given some of its original moviegoers motion sickness. That's the influence of television and music videos which make most modern movies move so fast.

But what influenced the changes in TV and the creation of music videos? It was this movie of course. A Hard Day's Night even been called the very first music video; although an extended one. It was the first movie to be cut according to the rhythm and beat of the music. Just take a look at this excerpt from the movie with the song 'Can't Buy Me Love' and you'll see what I mean:

For greatly influencing the way movies are made today and being the first music video, in my opinion A Hard Day's Night is the 5th greatest movie of the 1960s.

Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#6
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

1966
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Cinematography by: Tonino Delli Colli
Music by: Ennio Morricone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef

What may be the greatest western of all time is a satire of the western genre itself. It would have to be that way. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is a spaghetti western part of Sergio Leone's Man With No Name trilogy (also includes Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More). The name the genre itself comes from the fact that much of the production and direction was by Italians, just looking at the credits I've listed above should tell you that. Other characteristics of these movies include: a mysterious main character symbolizing the drive to settle the 'uncivilized' American west, shot in the badlands of Spain and not the US itself for financial reasons, and a Spanish or Italian cast plus one either upcoming or aging American movie star.

That's where Clint Eastwood comes in. The TV show Rawhide may have made him a star, but his work in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly formed the basis of what his future career would be. This is, for example, the movie where he developed his famous sneer. This look, he claims, was developed by intentionally smoking bad cigars during filming so his sneer is more of a disgusted look actually. The plot revolves around his character, Blondie (The Good), who teams up with the bandit Tuco (Eli Wallach - The Ugly) to find stash of buried Confederate Army gold. Although they hate each other with a passion, only Tuco knows the name of the graveyard and only Blondie knows the grave site in which it is buried. However, they aren't the only men after the loot. Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef - The Bad) is also after the gold, and thus violently clashes with the other two characters. Nobody wants to split up the gold two ways, let alone three ways.

This brings in another staple of the western genre: greed. The men are blinded by their greed and insane drive for the gold that they will stop at nothing. Although, Blondie seems often ambivalent towards the prize, which is why he is The Good after all. Their journey through the American West leads them all to the graveyard and an epic Mexican standoff follows. Check it out, another one of my favourite scenes of all time:

The movie is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. The characters come into contact with both armies several times. It's fitting that the movie takes place during the American Civil War. Tension between the South and the North about who would settle the newly captured West is one of the most important causes of the war. The North was keen on having their industrial-capitalist economic model be the one that dominated the new America. They framed the issue as one about 'free labour', although the exploitation of untouched natural resources and workers desperate to survive in expanding and changing industries had to figure in there somewhere! The South on the other hand was characterized by their slavery economic model. Power was in the hands of large plantation owners and they had already Texas and other southwestern states from the 1820s-1850s. It was far easier for groups of rich landowners to work together to finance expansion of their economic model to bordering states than it was for the countless competing upstart capitalists with their new and unstable industries. So there was conflict. If the issue had been as simple as fighting racism by the way there would have been no war at all.

As American based westerns are all about settling the untamed west then they are ultimately mixed up with the American Civil War. What sets The Good, The Bad and The Ugly apart are the interesting parallels it draws. Tuco and Angel Eyes move in and out of Civil War scenarios with relatively ease, fixated not on any morals but on their drive to collect the gold. This mirrors the same way that the big industrialists of the North and the large plantation owners of the South are not concerned with the human or environmental costs of the war itself, but only the continuation of their comfortable lifestyle. This is a war for their future prosperity. Slogans of the Union may talk of the uncivilized and immoral slavery of the south and the Confederacy may have used the defence of their traditional way of life as a call to arms for their war effort, but it was really just masking the huge economic consequences that the settling of the West would have. Similarly, at different points in the movie both Tuco and Angel Eyes have claimed to be partisan when it advantaged them.

Blondie is The Good because the gold does not rule over him as it does the others. As I mentioned he seems ambivalent towards it. This leads us to believe that his goals are mainly to punish those that are blinded by their greed, which we saw in the Mexican standoff. Sounds almost biblical. The war also has a profound effect on him, and after seeing its carnage he is led to react, "I've never seen so many men wasted so badly." Blondie is voice of good in a rough land characterized by violence and greed.

For bringing the American Civil War to the forefront of the traditional western with spaghetti western style, in my opinion The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is the 6th greatest film of the 1960s.

Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#7

Blowup

1966
Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni
Cinematography by: Carlo Di Palma
Music By: Herbie Hancock
Starring: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, and The Yardbirds

If you're a mod, then this movie is for you. Set in Swinging London during the 1960s, the movie follows a hip photographer Thomas (David Hemmings) throughout what would appear to be a normal day in his life. The opening scene shows him beginning his day: he spent all night taking photographs in a factory with English workhouse conditions for a book of art photos he's working on. From there he heads to his workshop and starts his day job: photographing German supermodel Veruschka! Later on in the film he goes to a Yardbirds concert. Jeff Beck even smashes up his guitar on stage. That's the 1960s era London we all love. That's the mod life.

Despite this seemingly thrilling life though, David is not satisfied. We see this in the next seen where he chastises a group of five models for being too boring to put on celluloid. He ventures into a park to lighten up his day with some landscapes and sees a couple making out in the grass. The girl (Vanessa Redgrave) gets in his face and wants the photos so badly that you know something is wrong. At this point in the movie, it goes from being good to brilliant. Things get a little crazy and while examining his blow ups (enlarged prints of the photos), David convinces himself that he has witnessed a murder in the park. Now whether he has or he hasn't is something that is to be decided by the viewer. The director, Antonioni, gives you hints suggesting it is reality and then gives you another suggesting the whole thing was imagined. The brilliance of the double entendre title is obvious too. Blowup. Is he blowing things up, making something out of nothing?

The movie is all about how our mind can play tricks on us and the nature of reality. Can we really trust ourselves, if not what can we believe. How can we really know anything for sure. Is there a real outside world which we can sense or is everything just a product of our over-imaginative minds? Sorry to bring in Cartesian dualism, but that's one of the reasons that I love this film so much, so I think that the Descartes reference is perfectly acceptable. cogito ergo sum: I think, I am. It's impossible for us to really distinguish between what may be happening in some 'material' world and what we percieve is happening through the constraints of our own senses. Our senses are unreliable anyway. That's what I mean! It really gets under your skin and makes you think about it long after its over. The closing scene is one of my favourites of any movie and drives this point home:

So the mimes are miming a game of tennis, and doing a good job of it too. Back and forth, back and forth. David is watching intently, so much so that his head moves with each volley. When he is asked to get the ball he even joins in on their game and then throws it back. Then the coolest part: during a long close-up of just his face, the sound of a real tennis match grows until you can hear it clearly. It really messes with your mind. Is there really a match going on? It's a close-up, perhaps Antonioni is just trying to show that, for David, it is a real tennis match. It is his reality. How can it be fake if that's what he's experiencing? That's brilliant, that's a great way to end a movie. no wonder it won the Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival!

For being a great metaphysical/epistemological thriller, in my opinion Blowup is the seventh greatest film of the 1960s.

Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#8
Kes

1969
Directed by: Ken Loach
Based on a Novel by: Barry Nines
Starring: David Bradley

Kes, being a Ken Loach film, is a movie about class. It's about a boy from coal-mining town in Yorkshire, England. Raised by his single mom and sharing a room with his brutish half brother, Billy Casper (David Bradley) does not live a very comfortable life. Forced to wake up at 5am every morning to do a paper route to help pay the bills, he cannot succeed in school. Billy is a social outcast and this leads to destructive behaviour in the school and in the playground. It is because of this that teachers write him off as just another lost kid of a tainted generation. He is destined, like many youth in the town, to work in the coal mines when he grows up.

A very powerful scene in the movie is when a career counsellor visits the school to help students with their future plans. The absurdity of his role is shown as the counsellor is powerless to do anything but break the news to Billy that the coal mine is his only option. However, the coal mine isn't (and shouldn't) be seen as the problem itself. It is a job like any other. The problem is lifestyle faced by those working the mines. The cycle of poverty that faces many working class families. What chance does someone in Billy's position have so break the cycle? The movie pushes it's belief that the odds are one in a million. It may be enough for some people to hear about famous movie or sports stars coming from modest backgrounds, but is this isn't realistic for most. It certainly isn't for Billy a great (and actually quite funny) scene from the shows. The gym coach is spot-on:

The tag line for Kes is:

"They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn't break his spirit."

I think the movie offers a much bleakly picture though. There is no resolving of Billy's dilemma. The movie has its uplifting moments. Billy finds a temporary escape in his problems by raising and training a falcon which he names Kes. The scenes of Billy and Kes are very beautiful and inspirational. These scenes are there as a contrast to the harsh reality that is shown at the end of the movie.

Kes is typical of Ken Loach's film's. An expose of working class life in an industry where movies are all too often concerned with men of great wealth and stature. He makes you cheer and believe in the underdog before capitalist forces beyond their control crush the protagonist. It shows a Britain of intense stratification. The movie leaves you with the feeling that Billy's spirit is broken and that there is no hope for his future. He will have to come to terms with his fears of the underground coal mines because there is no other choice.

For epitomizing class struggle through a boy and his falcon, Kes is in my opinion the 8th best movie of the 1960s.

Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#9
The Graduate

1967
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Cinematography by: Robert L. Surtees
Music By: Simon and Garfunkel
Starring: Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft

The Graduate is one of those movies that even if you haven't seen it, you have seen it. It's satirized in so many other movies and TV shows. The final wedding scene where Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) crashes Elaine Robinson's (Katherine Ross) wedding is a great example. Off the top of my head I'm reminded of Wayne's World 2 where Wayne stops Cassandra from marrying Christopher Walken and saves the day (nobody wants to be married to Christopher Walken, I don't care how good he can dance). The Simpsons too with Grandpa Simpson breaking up the wedding between Mr. Burns and Mrs. Bouvier.

The homage is well deserved. The Graduate tells a story of Benjamin who is unsure about what his future holds after completing his undergrad at university. Returning home to live with his parents he wants nothing more than to relax after four long years of studying. Meanwhile he is under constant pressure to choose a career from his family and friends of the family. I'm at the point of my life where this movie resonates with me especially, as I'm sure it does most of my friends who are reading this! He then starts an awkward affair with Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) who is a friend of his parents. He falls for her daughter Elaine though and drama follows. If you don't already know what happens, I already spoiled it in the first paragraph. The movie speaks to the generation of the kids who love to read the beat poets and hear stories of personal liberation but are stuck in a cycle of work and responsibility. Benjamin shuns all this restraint and does things his own way.

But it's a hilarious movie too. If you have recently graduated, you know the hilarity of your situation too. Entering the real world isn't easy so it helps to make a big joke of the whole thing sometimes. The Graduate has some great comedic moments. My personal favourite is Mr. McGuire giving Benjamin advice for his future:

So it's a great story, sure, but that's not enough to make my list.

Mike Nichols direction is amazing and the cinematography of Robert Surtees is equally great. Indeed, many of the scenes in the movie are just the soothing sounds of Simon and Garfunkel over top of brilliant camera work. The pair go to great lengths to find unorthodox camera angles whether it be through Mrs. Robinson's legs or from underwater. Actually, maybe they overdo it a tad. One great scene though consists of Benjamin just lazing around the in the pool with 'The Sounds of Silence' playing. Great directing is not just making something that is aesthetically pleasing though. The scene also must contain crucial information pushing the plot and character development forward. This scene in particular shows us that Benjamin's preferred way to deal with the chaos of life after university is to block everything out altogether and focus on nothing at all: silence.

The film was also the breakthrough role of Dustin Hoffman. I thought he was convincing as a man in his early twenties considering that at the time of filming he was nearly forty. In fact, Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Robinson) were only six years apart in age. Its nice to see him bring complexity to a seemingly simple role. Most of his roles since then he has brought simplicity to complex roles (I'm not a fan of Rainman or Wag the Dog). The Graduate was definetely his finest work.

For being one of the best dark comedies of the 1960s, in my opinion, The Graduate is the 9th best film of the 1960s.

Top Ten Movies of the 1960s

#10

Goldfinger

1964

Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Based on a novel by: Ian Fleming
Starring: Sean Connery and Gert Fröbe

The opening scene in this movie says a lot about what makes James Bond such an enduring and lovable character.

First, he blows up a chemical plant and when asked to comment on his motivation he responds: "At least he won't be using heroin flavoured bananas to finance revolutions anymore." James Bond is the protector of the Empire and is a symbol of British prestige. At the time or course the United Kingdom was becoming a smaller player on the world stage and the Suez Canal crisis showed that it could no longer rely on military strength to get other countries to do what it wanted. The United States would see to that. With James Bond on the side of the Queen though, the UK could still be a shit disturber. He would ensure that Imperial ambition still had resonance with the population.

Second, he is then asked to get on a plane to Miami when he responds, "I'll be on it, but first I have some unfinished business to attend to." Of course, it's a hook-up he's somehow arranged while under cover working for her majesty. He enters her flat and she's already in the bath. But what happens? It's a trap. While he's holding her he catches a reflection of an attacker in her eyes. He swiftly pulls her in the way of the attacker's mighty fist. Take that bitch, nobody two-times James Bond!

Finally, after throwing the attacker into the bath and tossing in an electric fan for good measure to electrocute him comes the best remark of the opening sequence: "shocking." He's still got a sense of humour after going through all this trouble. What a great guy.

James Bond is the longest running franchise in Hollywood. While since 1962 he series has gone through ups and downs and tinkering with the formula, its popularity cannot be denied. Goldfinger is my personal favourite. It has everything that defines a James Bond film. In addition to the brilliance of the opening scene it also has:

• A villain with a heavy German accent and an erotic obsession with all things gold and thus turning people around him to gold as well. His dream is to melt down and steal all of the gold in Fort Knox. As if there's any gold there anyway! His death is equally fantastic.
  

• His Korean henchman 'Oddjob' whose specialty is to throw his hat and cut off one's head.

• A female character without a personality but with a dreadfully obvious double entendre name: Pussy Galore. She's also in charge of an all girl team of fighter pilots called the 'Flying Circus'.
  

• A great car chase in Bond's Aston Martin through the hills of Lower Germany.

• A now famous scene of Bond strapped to a table and being threatened with a laser: "Do you expect me to talk?" "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die."

• An opening song sung by pop-star Shirley Bassey. Everybody knows the 'Goldfinger' song.

For being the best of the great spy series that is James Bond, Goldfinger is in my opinion the 10th greatest movie of the 1960s!