It's somehow been four months since we've done one of our "Siri Says" posts! And that's a darn shame. I know y'all enjoy them, and I do too, so let's reboot the season this week (although no promises we'll keep any momentum going given how I've got several film festivals lining up real quick for our immediate future) with a look at the Movies of 1965, after the lady who lives inside my telephone whispered the number "65" in my ear when I asked her for a number between 1 and 100.
One, I am surprised I hadn't done 1965 yet -- there are still good years left scattered about, although the pickins have admittedly gotten as slim as Jean-Paul Belmondo's waist. And Two, I was surprised by how many damn good movies there are from 1965 when I got to digging; movies I truly adore. So instead of our usual five movies I chose ten faves. And it's almost all foreign cinema? Foreign or genre film, anyway. The 1960s have all sorts of gems to offer once you escape Hollywood's bloated lameness.
My 10 Favorite Movies of 1965
(dir. Sergey Bondarchuk)
-- released on July 1965 --
(dir. John Schlesinger)
-- released on August 3rd 1965 --
(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
-- released on November 5th 1965 --
(dir. Fellini)
-- released on October 19th 1965 --
(dir. Elio Petri)
-- released on December 2nd 1965 --
(dir. Russ Meyer)
-- released on August 6th 1965 --
(dir. David Lean)
-- released on December 22nd 1965 --
(dir. Noriaki Yuasa)
-- released on November 27th 1965 --
(dir. Mario Bava)
-- released on September 15th 1965 --
(dir. Roman Polanski)
-- released on May 19th 1965 --
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Who Killed Teddy Bear - Fun thriller. Elaine Stritch is a lesbian in it.
ReplyDeleteThe Truth About Spring - One name: Hayley Mills
A Thousand Clowns - A delightful movie
The Sound of Music - Still one of the greatest movie musicals of all time
Darling - One name: Julie Christie
The Collector - Directed by William Wyler, a good thriller
Bunny Lake Is Missing - Noel Coward in an exciting movie
Doctor Zhivago - A masterpiece!
Ship of Fools - Great movie, Vivien Leigh's last film.
Shenandoah - Excellent western
The Sandpiper - Liz and Dick in great trash.
A Patch of Blue - Lovely film
The Nanny - Bette Davis gives a marvelous performance
Young Cassidy - Rod Taylor and Maggie Smith in Sean O'Casey biopic.
Inside Daisy Clover - Natalie Wood, Ruth Gordon, Robert Redford. Good movie
Cat Ballou - Lee Marvin's Oscar winning performance. Terrific fun.
Help! - The Beatles best movie
Hallelujah Trail - Hilarious.
Die! Die! My Darling! - One name: Tallulah Bankhead!
My Top 10
ReplyDelete1) The Sound of Music
2) Juliet of the Spirits
3) War and Peace
4) The Collector
5) La Bonheur
6) My Way Home
7) The Shop on Main Street
8) Pleasures of the Flesh
9) Darling
10) An Innocent Witch
I'm one of the few people who went to see Planet of the Vampires in a movie theater.
ReplyDeleteDave -- I didn't see it in its original run (I was not alive!) but I got to see it in the theater a couple of years ago! Goddamn do Bava's colors melt your face off in that; it's one of my absolute faves of his. It's so weird
ReplyDeleteRuss Meyer told me once that you have to pronounce the exclamation points and the pauses in the title and you have to get louder with each successive word to get it right:
ReplyDeleteFaster Pussycat! (pause) Kill! (1/2 pause) KILL!!!
What a character he was!
Why oh why did no one ever make "What's New, Darn Pussycat, Kill Kill!"
ReplyDeleteJean Sorel in Sandra is truly something to behold. Swoon city.
ReplyDeleteYay!! So happy to see a new one of these. They’re a blast!
ReplyDeleteYou’ve never seen Cat Ballou?! (Clutches table to keep from falling over!) It’s such a boisterous fun time at the movies. Jane at her early endearing blonde peak, all effervescent bubbly comic goodness. Lee Marvin a delight in a dual role (though I wouldn’t have given him the Oscar), Nat King Cole & Stubby Kaye as a pair of strolling musicians who act as a Greek chorus, a terrific supporting cast and several cute men all set to a jaunty pace!
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is very much worth seeing as is The Naked Prey. That Darn Cat is cute but not essential. Who Killed Teddy Bear is strange but worth it for Sal and the oddly assembled cast (Juliet Prowse, Elaine Stritch, Jan Murray!).
I haven’t seen all your choices (I’m missing 3-I’ll be tracking down The 10th Victim post-haste) but glad to see my girl Julie Christie landed two in your top ten, it pains me to admit though that I find Doctor Zhivago a beautiful slog of a film even with her radiating star power all over the place. Repulsion doesn’t rank as high for me, but it is a great film and I will be forever baffled how Catherine Deneuve failed to garner at least a nomination, were it up to me she would have won. She’s amazing.
Also, glad to see The Nanny in your runners-up. It gets unfairly dumped in with the hagsploitation flicks of the period, which I love but they are at a certain level that The Nanny rises above. Die, Die, My Darling however very much belongs in that group and is a delightful wallow in excess.
While the 40’s is my favorite movie decade the sixties are packed to the gills with great films as well. ’65 is no exception. I cannot possibly stick to 10…. I’ll just be warming up!
My top 25:
Cat Ballou
The Flight of the Phoenix
The Great Race
The Sound of Music
Bunny Lake is Missing
Ship of Fools
Baby, the Rain Must Fall
Dear Brigitte
Strange Bedfellows
The Cincinnati Kid
Mirage
The Rounders
The Shop on Main Street
Red Beard
Moment to Moment
The Fool Killer
Darling
Sandra
Beach Blanket Bingo
Sylvia
Return from the Ashes
That Funny Feeling
A Study in Terror
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Ninety Degrees in the Shade
Runner-ups more or less in order of preference:
Love Has Many Faces
The Nanny
The Sons of Katie Elder
That Darn Cat
Shenandoah
Hail! Mafia
Repulsion
Brainstorm
The Liquidator
The Satan Bug
The Third Day
Die, Die My Darling
Never Too Late
Thunderball
The Ipcress File
A Rage to Live
In Harm’s Way
Up from the Beach
A Very Special Favor
The Money Trap
Young Cassidy
The Bounty Hunter
Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion
Help!
Le Bonheur
The Truth About Spring
Alphaville
The Naked Prey
Collector-This is full of absolutely brilliant acting, but I found it an extremely disturbing film to watch and would never do so again. With that said it is worth seeing the once.
Special Mention: The Dot and the Line-This is only a ten-minute short but it’s wonderful and inventive.
you’ll definitely appreciate sal mineo in ‘who killed teddy bear’
ReplyDeleteI've only seen Sound of Music, but in my defense, I was not alive.
ReplyDelete