Once again, we have reached the end of a decade in our movie journey. Fortunately for you guys, you don't have to read a sappy, sentimental recap, since I am not too thrilled with the sixties as a whole. I kind of feel like I did when my mean hamster died. There were still some excellent films that deserve to be praised. As always, feel free to disagree with me in the comments. Please refrain from calling me Ditzy McDingus, though. Words scar.
BEST PICTURE: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Nominees:
Psycho
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
West Side Story
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Young Ladies of Rochefort
Rosemary's Baby
The Birds
In the Year of the Pig
WORST PICTURE: Scorpio Rising
Nominees:
Blonde Cobra
The Ladies Man
Flaming Creatures
Andrei Rublev
BEST DIRECTOR: Sergio Leone
Nominees:
Roman Polanski
Alfred Hitchcock
Jacques Demy
Eric Rohmer
Guy Hamilton
BEST ACTOR: Anthony Perkins
Nominees:
George Chakiris
Tim O'Kelly
Henry Fonda
Jack Lemmon
BEST ACTRESS: Bette Davis
Nominees:
Rita Moreno
Catherine Deneuve
Francoise Fabian
Ann Bancroft
BEST LINE: "Mother, uh, my mother is, what is the phrase? She is not quite herself today."-Psycho
Nominees:
"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch."-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
"Why do you kids live like there's a war on?"-West Side Story
"Paris is small for great passion like us"-The Young Girls of Rochefort
Love this! I watched Psycho again recently, and was entertained by many of Anthony Perkins' comments. I had forgotten there were some funny ones! And of course, all quotes from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are wonderful! Good job!
ReplyDeleteAnother of those odd ones where I made a reply that seems to have disappeared.
ReplyDeleteNothing much to disagree with you in this.. except the minor, and predictable issue of 'Young Ladies of Rochfort'.oh, and perhaps Catherine Deneuve, but that is just me. Delighted to see 'Rosemary's Baby' in there..
You've lost me as to who Ditzy McDingus is though. I even googled it and it came up with nothing. I've now got the feeling I've said something very naff
Thanks Diana!
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, Ray, you don't like Catherine Deneuve? I didn't know that was possible!
Good list. Not exactly the list made upon finishing the sixties, but there are a lot we can agree on. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? also made my top 10. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was the undisputed winner.
ReplyDeleteBEST FILM: Onibaba
ReplyDeleteOther Nominations: L'Avventura, The Birds, The Battle of Algiers, Once Upon a Time in the West
Could have been any of these films and it could have been none of them. Onibaba is the outsider on the nominations list but, y'know, it packed a punch for me, which is the point maybe, rather than trying to assess quality in the cold light of day.
BEST DIRECTOR: Michelangelo Antonioni
Other Nominations: Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski, Sergio Leone
Another tight category. I'm sure I've given my favourite Alf the nod in other decades so maybe he gets edged here. Bergman was close, although I try not to let quantity decide over quality. On the other hand, Polanski and Leone weren't prolific from a list point of view. This isn't a retrospective moral assessment of people, BTW.
BEST ACTRESS: Catherine Deneuve
Other Nominations: Jeanne Moreau, Monica Vitti, Claudia Cardinale
The way the list is compiled, there's no other choice, is there? Quantity, quality and varied range.
Quick prediction: some time in the not too distant future, award shows will drop the distinction between actors and actresses. The word 'actress' has become unfashionable anyway, it's a needless divide and, when the time comes, will quickly get swept away in a tide of me-too moral angst. Quite right too. There can't be fewer categories, of course - that would defeat the purpose of even having awards. So they will be split by something like best serious drama, best comedy performance, best action etc.
BEST ACTOR: George C Scott
Other Nominations: Paul Newman, Marcelo Mastroianni
Similarly, this is hard to overlook Paul Newman. A pretty good range of roles in which he has led films with charisma and believability. But I like George C, loved him in both The Hustler and Dr Strangelove Or: How I etc etc. So he can have the gong.
Now, let's read what everyone else said...
Yes, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane was on my long list. On another day it could have got higher.
ReplyDeleteI remember really enjoying the start of the sixties, but looking back at the whole decade, I do feel a but underwhelmed. Was I expecting it to be a modern era, now the fun, classic movies begin? Has the classic era of studio system stars and style disappeared?