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Tis that time again, when I ask my phone to choose a digit between 1 and 100 and from there select my five favorite movies of the corresponding year. See our previous selections, ranging so far from 1930 to 1988, right here. Today Siri spoke to me "59" so 1959 it is. 1959 is right in the meat of the Roger Corman, the Vincent Price, and the Hammer Films years, and it took all my strength not to just choose five films from those folks. For every Hiroshima Mon Amour there were ten Wasp Womans. It was tough! Anyway here, enjoy...
My Five Favorite Movies of 1959
North By Northwest
(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
-- released on September 26th, 1959 --
(dir. Roger Corman)
-- released on October 21st, 1959 --
-- released on October 21st, 1959 --
(dir. William Castle)
-- released on February 17th, 1959 --
(dir Douglas Sirk)
-- released on April 30th, 1959 --
(dir. Billy Wilder)
-- released on March 19th, 1959 --
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Runners-up: The Tingler (dir. William Castle), Sleeping Beauty (dir. Clyde Geronimi), The 400 Blows (dir. Francois Truffaut), The Mummy (dir. Terence Fisher), Rio Bravo (dir. Howard Hawks) Suddenly, Last Summer (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz), Never Seen: Hiroshima Mon Amour (dir. Alain Resnais), Honeymoon (dir. Michael Powell), Floating Weeds (dir Yasujirô Ozu)
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Hiroshima Mon Amour is marvelous, especially for the love story featuring Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada. The screenplay is by Marguerite Duras and it's a fantastic story. Get it from the Public Library.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great year that just five are tough to choose but of the top of my head:
ReplyDeleteSome Like It Hot
Imitation of Life
The Best of Everything
The Devil's Disciple
North by Northwest
Next five:
Pillow Talk
A Hole in the Head
Room at the Top
A Summer Place
Suddenly, Last Summer
Imitation of Life (favorite of this year and of any year)
ReplyDeleteSuddenly, Last Summer
Sleeping Beauty
The Hanging Tree
The Horse Soldiers
I'd probably sub "Sleeping Beauty" or the Cushing/Lee version of "Hound of the Baskervilles" for "Bucket of Blood."
ReplyDeleteWhen I looked at the list of 1959 films, what struck me was how badly most of them have aged. Sure, "Some Like It Hot" is still as wonderful as ever, but "Imitation of Life," "A Summer Place," "Suddenly, Last Summer," and "Ben Hur" are really best enjoyed these days as campy reminders of an earlier and much more uptight era.
Now, "House on Haunted Hill" is another story. That movie so inspired me that I had a swimming-pool sized vat of acid installed in my basement. As I recall, most of my neighbours did the same. The real estate lady said it would add tremendously to the re-sale value of the houses....
For all its glorious melodrama I gained real respect for Imitation of Life when I saw it on a big screen here in NYC last year -- it hadn't been one of my favorite Sirks before that but it played incredibly well that way. Actually all the Sirks I managed to see (FSLC had a big series) did - his movies are really meant to be that much larger than life.
ReplyDeleteooh great choices. and thanks to Siri for picking that number.
ReplyDelete