When looking at a year like 1967, this is what a consider an even bigger turning point away from what was Old Hollywood and what would eventually be dubbed, conveniently enough, New Hollywood.
In Mark Harris' book Pictures at a Revolution, he talks extensively about the 5 films that received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture that year and when you really examine them, you can see how much the tides are turning...though, full disclosure, the flat-out erratic nature of 1969's list is even more bonkers so stay tuned for that.
Of the 5 films nominated for Best Picture, only two will make my list. Some of my readers who might follow this stuff more intently may already know which two of those films I will single out...but I also don't want to spoil more about it. I will bring up the other nominees at the very end.
Are we about to see an uptick for Hollywood films on this list? Truthfully no. I would say it's still about average based on how a lot of the years have been, but there will be a victory of sorts with this year. Could we finally have a film from the US actually make it to my #1 slot???? The last time I did that was for 1960, so maybe the time has come ;-)
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TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Jungle Book
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, & Vance Gerry
The significance of The Jungle Book in Disney's is that it was the last film Walt Disney supervised production on prior to his death in December of 1966.
There have been some criticisms of racist interpretations, namely with the character of King Louie the ape. Disney himself wanted Louis Armstrong to voice him, but it was quickly nixed because of the horrendous implications. Italian jazz singer Louis Prima would be given the role, and a lot of the character's mannerisms were distinctly his style.
At the time, actor Gregory Peck was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, AKA The Oscar people. He was very much a champion of embracing the idea of what would become "New Hollywood" and also calling attention to younger performers/artists/filmmakers and acknowledging that films not normally considered "worthy/prestige" were actually films they should consider. He lobbied hard for The Jungle Book to get a Best Picture nomination, which sadly did not happen. It would still take another 24 years until Beauty & The Beast would become the first animated film to achieve that feat.
Oh, and "The Bare Necessities" is an absolute banger and it's bonkers that it lost the Oscar to "Talk to the Animals" from freaking Doctor Doolittle.
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In Cold Blood
Written & Directed by Richard Brooks
While he doesn't get discussed much when it comes to other famous directors, I have always commended Richard Brooks for being one of the few filmmakers who came from the Hays Code era of Hollywood who jumped in headfirst towards the darker and far more intriguing material of New Hollywood.
As based on the nonfiction crime novel of the same name by Truman Capote, In Cold Blood shows us a glimpse into the world of Perry Smith and Dick Kickock (Robert Blake & Scott Wilson), two men who would murder a family of 4 in Kansas.
Due to Robert Blake eventually being found guilty in a civil court of murdering his wife Bonnie Lee Bakely in 2005, that does add an unfortunate and uncomfortable layer to this film...but aside from that, I do think this is quite the achievement in this kind of storytelling for this time period.
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#10 - COOL HAND LUKE
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Co-written by Frank Pierson & Donn Pearce
Well...Paul Newman is in it. Need I say more?
I have talked about the appeal of Paul Newman many times, but it isn't even necessarily from an attraction standpoint. He is simply one of the most captivating and charismatic performers to ever grace the screen, and I would say Cool Hand Luke is one of his peak efforts.
Set in an early 50s Florida prison, Luke Hanson (Newman) is beginning a 2 year sentence for damaging several parking meters. He is not willing to comply to anyone's rules, especially the prison's sinister warden whom we only know as The Captain (Strother Martin) and he also goes up against the power of the prison yard leader Dragline (George Kennedy).
However, Dragline and the other inmates begin respecting the will and grit of Luke...especially as he continues enduring a lot of abuse for not complying with The Captain ("What we've got here is...failure to communicate")
Nowadays, Cool Hand Luke plays really well, especially as more and more people have realized how heinous our prison system actually is. Even at the end, when it is clear that he has made a fool of these people, nothing changes. The Captain gets the last laugh...and it does hit you with a thud.
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#9 - MARKETA LAZAROVA
Written & Directed by Frantisek Vlascil
Co-written by Frantisek Pavlicek
This is admittedly one of those films that I am putting on a list from memory after only having seen it one time over a decade ago. While I clearly do think highly of the film based on my memories, this is also one that could use a rewatch for me.
Marketa Lazarova is the daughter of a feudal lord named Lazar. She had been planning on joining a convent, but shortly before this, she is kidnapped by two robber knights as an act of vengeance against him after he refused to help them with a defense pact against the potential wrath of the German king.
What I remember beyond that is how dreary the film was, but not exactly in a negative way. It is the mark of a good filmmaker to be able to immerse you fully in the world that they are creating onscreen and I would say Vlascil does that here.
One other thing I do want to mention is the setting itself. This is during the 13th century where Christianity had not fully replaced paganism, and the film clearly tries to create conflict in that way between the characters.
It is an unflinching look at how diabolical humanity can be, and how nothing may be exactly as it may seem.
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#8 - BOB DYLAN: DON'T LOOK BACK
Written & Directed by P.A. Pennebaker
Another instance of me including a documentary on one of my lists, but this is one of the truly iconic documentaries especially when coming from a musical standpoint. As conceived by documentarian legend D.A. Pennebaker, Don't Look Back follows Bob Dylan as he travels the UK for his 1965 tour.
Dylan has always had an allure and an air of mystery about him, and not surprisingly, Pennebaker still manages to keep that allure and mystery alive. This was right at that point where Dylan would be subjected to a lot of attention in the press for embracing more of a rock style seemingly at the expense of his folksier roots.
Dylan is also a man who marches to the beat of his own drummer, and we see him here in all of his unfiltered glory...even if he is often being a jackass to others. In the end, Pennebaker offers a very cinema-verité glimpse into the world of an artist experiencing peak success and how he offered something so new and fresh and remarkable in terms of his output.
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#7 - PLAYTIME
Written & Directed by Jacques Tati
Co-written by Jacques Lagrange &
He only made six feature films in his career, but Jacques Tati was able to make a name for himself and also a bit of a market that felt very different compared to the edgier and rough-around-the-edges work of his French New Wave contemporaries.
Tati had been a mime and really embraced the idea of the whimsical in a lot of ways. I will admit that I have never been as passionate a fan of Tati, but I do admire greatly the kind of energy and vibe he brought to his films, mainly because I do think of him in one particular way: the French Charlie Chaplin.
I still wouldn't say he matches that level in terms of the pathos, but Tati would star in his films as a character named Monsieur Hulot. He had a very distinctive look: overcoat, pipe, hat, but he was often clumsy and somewhat oblivious to the world around him. Tati would say that one major difference between him and Chaplin was that the latter was smaller and able to finagle himself more bombastic situations and could be very unassuming if he needed to be. Tati's stature and build made him far more susceptible to being noticed and maintains a certain level of subtlety. Even with how the two walked, Chaplin had that distinct sort of "waddle" while Hulot sort of glided.
Playtime is likely Tati's best work, but this is at a time when he was growing a bit resistant to playing Hulot as a fully central character in his work, so he toned down a lot of his immediate involvement. The sets for the film, which are massive, were built specifically for the film and they certainly do create a very fascinating and vast playing field.
The film links two characters indirectly having similar experiences and crossing each other's paths: Hulot of course but also a young American tourist named Barbara who are having difficulty adjusting to the bustling new life filled with growing technology in Paris.
The film utilizes very little dialogue, and even when it does, a lot of it is background noise and a mix of various languages. In many ways, if someone likes very subtle and conceptual humor, Tati's work is a great gateway to foreign cinema since a lot of it doesn't require extensive use of subtitles.
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#6 - BELLE DE JOUR
Written & Directed by Luis Bunuel
Co-written by Jean-Claude Carriere
We make our first stop upon the "Catherine Deneuve Looks for Love in All the Wrong & Even Colorful Places" train.
Following the adoration and acclaim she received with her work in Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Deneuve managed to solidify herself as an absolute icon with her work in Luis Bunuel's Belle de jour... which means "beauty of the day" as she is a married woman who does sex work during the day while her husband isn't home.
I do have to add really quickly that despite how well the film turned out; Deneuve and Bunuel did not have the best working relationship. He felt he was forced to use her via the producers and the influence of her then-lover at the time, Francois Truffaut. He also said that he felt Deneuve was a bit of a prude about the sexual content. I do think that's a bit interesting considering she had already appeared in Playboy at that point. Deneuve felt that she was being used and that she wasn't fully being respected by Bunuel.
Deneuve's character of Severine is married to Dr. Pierre Serizy (Jean Sorel). They both legitimately love and care deeply for one another, but Severine is unable to be intimate with him due to some past sexual trauma. Beyond that, Severine has sexual fantasies that are beginning to consume her such as exploring S&M and domination in general.
She does eventually find her way into entertaining gentlemen callers, which surprisingly leads her into embracing more of a sex life with her husband. However, one of her "johns" named Marcel (Pierre Clementi) is able to provide her the thrills and excitement she craves...but at what cost?
Belle de jour is certainly one of the films I think of from this time that began pushing the envelope when it came to telling complex stories about sex and also the fact it came from the viewpoint of a woman.
It also feels somewhat unique for a Bunuel film, but he is still able to give it his usual surreal edge at time, particularly with the use of fantasy sequences.
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#5 - THE PRODUCERS
Written & Directed by Mel Brooks
Considering most people didn't see this film until 1968, and it would win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for that year, I had always considered The Producers a 1968 film...but it seems as though everything lists it as 1967 these days so I will just go with that.
Mel Brooks had mainly worked as a comedy writer, but he was inspired to write something about an old Broadway producer he used to work for who had a very inspired way to try to raise money for his productions: seducing old ladies and having them write out checks to the title of his latest play - "Cash".
Originally, he wanted to do it is a play but was told that there were too many different locations to make it work. He tried it as a book but was told "too much dialogue, not enough narrative". Therefore - he made it into a movie script, and managed to weasel his way into directing it as well. How so? It would save the producer money.
The original title of the film mirrored the musical in the play: Springtime for Hitler. Not surprisingly, this freaked people out and they even suggested he call it Springtime for Mussolini. Thankfully, the biting power won out and all that changed was the film's title, the more banal The Producers.
Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) has produced Broadway flop after Broadway flop but still has a catalog of horny old ladies that he prowls upon for money. His accounting firm sends over a new accountant to help do his books named Leopold Bloom (Gene Wilder), who by happenstance comments that under the right circumstances, a producer could wind up making more money with a flop than he could with a hit. If a play was a surefire flop, the producer would not have the means to pay the backers so he'd essentially walk off with a couple million.
While I would argue a lot of the structure of The Producers would be improved once it became a Broadway musical, namely the final third of the show after Springtime for Hitler premieres, there is still something so bold and invigorating about this. Many years later, South Park did a joke where it had been 23 years since the AIDS epidemic had been at its peak, so now it was able to be joked about. That sentiment came from The Producers, which had its peak success 23 years after Hitler was found dead.
If you truly want to see how well it is to tackle something that dabbles in shock value: The Producers is a forerunner in that subgenre.
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#4 - LE SAMOURAI
Written & Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Co-written by Georges Pellegrin
The term "film noir" is associated with crime/dark drama films from the 40s/50s that usually incorporated shadowy B&W cinematography and usually contain a femme fatale in some cases. We eventually would get the revamped version of this in "neo-noir", which incorporates those sensibilities, but the films are made in color and depict more explicit forms of violence and sexuality.
Examples of those would be Chinatown, Taxi Driver, Body Heat, and Blue Velvet. Although I would agree with the claim that Le Samourai was the granddaddy of this entire genre style shift.
A hitman named Jef Costello (Alain Delon) lives rather meagerly and goes about his work, creating alibis to keep himself out of harm's way. These are often given to him by his lover Jane (Nathalie Delon, then married to Alain). Jef is hired for a new contract but seemingly has someone trying to kill him, all while a commissaire (Francois Périer) is on his tail.
Everything about Le Samourai is cold in the best way. The cinematic palate is an array of gloomy grays and blues, everything feels sparse and ugly, while also somehow being pristine and eye-catching.
It is also doesn't hurt that we have Alain Delon as our lead, someone who has popped up multiple times in these posts from Rocco & His Brothers to Le Cercle Rouge. Delon was easily one of the coolest actors to have ever lived, up there with Paul Newman. His charisma level was off the charts, and he just had such a stunning face that could've been passed off as just "handsome but stupid", but Delon was as talented as he was attractive.
Le Samourai might not necessarily be his best, but this might very well be him at peak "cool".
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#3 - BONNIE & CLYDE
Directed by Arthur Penn
Written by David Newman & Robert Benton
I always talk about how Hollywood of the 60s inches closer and closer to the New Hollywood era of the 70s where we finally caught up with the rest of the world. In many ways, Bonnie & Clyde is the film that led that charge, and the mixed reviews that often got vitriolic at the time proved that so many people weren't ready for it.
The subject matter is certainly well-known: a true story based on two lovers by the names of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty) who go on a crime spree killing people and robbing banks left and right during the height of the Great Depression.
It is kind of humorous to me that there was such an outcry about the depiction of violence onscreen considering that eventually violence seemed far more accepting than anything remotely sexual. With the push of films like Bonnie & Clyde and with 1966 giving us a bit of a jolt with films like Blowup and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the Hays Code was officially dead and by the next year, the MPAA would be formed...for better and eventually for worse in a lot of ways.
The interesting thing about Bonnie & Clyde for me is that it was one of the big examples of a highly acclaimed film that I watched and didn't truly connect with at first...but despite that, it kept staying on my mind and building in esteem in the decades since I first watched it.
Obviously, Dunaway and Beatty are magical together, but I found a lot of enjoyment in the supporting players more. This was Gene Hackman's breakout role and still one of the true pinnacles of his career, which is saying a lot. You also have the rather infamous performance of Estelle Parsons as Blanche, who despite winning the Oscar (one of only two that the film received, which left Warren Beatty incensed after the ceremony), seems to divide fans down the middle as being perfect at capturing this distinct character or being way too shrill and obnoxious. I fall more in the "she was great" camp, because that is what Blanche Barrow needed to be...plus by the end, when she is left a blind shell of her former self, you almost pity her as much as you enjoy seeing her put in her place.
This is a film that has been written about so frequently that it is hard for me to truly feel like I can add anything new, but I will reiterate at the very least that I admire and respect what this film achieved and how it opened the door to more daring films to emerge from the Hollywood floodgates.
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#2 - THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT
Written & Directed by Jacques Demy
I think what is remarkable about The Young Girls of Rochefort is that it could just be seen as some kind of attempt of Jacques Demy to capture the magic he had with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. You take a noun and pair it with a place...and then cast Catherine Deneuve.
And yet...The Young Girls of Rochefort does not feel like a rehash in any way.
Considering that The Umbrellas of Cherbourg could be seen more as a bittersweet romantic tragedy despite the fact that one of them truly ended up finding happiness, Young Girls feels a bit brighter in its world of glorious colors of reds and yellows compared to the more pastel vibes of Umbrellas. There is a jovial nature to this one that might make it more of vibrant and, perhaps, more of a classic musical in the sense that we get choreographed numbers that are more reminiscent of the MGM musicals from the 30s and 40s.
It is pretty evident with a role like this plus her work in Belle de jour, Catherine Deneuve proved she had the range and was quickly becoming one of the more captivating screen presences of that era.
We meet twin sisters named Delphine and Solange, played by Deneuve and her real-life sister Francoise Dorleac. They live in the small seaside town of Rochefort off the Bay of Biscay. The two of them long to move to Paris with the goal of Delphine becoming a dancer and Solange becoming a composer.
There's a lot of chaos in their town currently as a carnival is passing through, and it is that type of atmosphere that gives this film such a glorious sense of place. While Umbrellas popped with color, the weather always seemed to be overcast and rainy or, famously, snowy in its last scene. Here, it is like we are living in a sun-soaked world that makes you want to jump right in.
It is hard to say which of the two I prefer. I honestly don't think that there is a firm consensus as I have seen a fair amount of people prefer one over the other...but if you were to ask me my personal opinion at this exact moment, I might say Umbrellas. This makes me want to watch Rochefort this coming weekend, because maybe that opinion will change. Both of them are very much their own distinct being and offer something special onto themselves.
In the span of just 3 years, Jacques Demy gave us two of the greatest musicals ever captured on film...and a lot of praise needs to be given to Michel Legrand for his compositions as his work here is simply infectious and jazzy to the nth degree.
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#1 - THE GRADUATE
Directed by Mike Nichols
Written by Buck Henry & Calder Willingham
As I cheekily alluded to at the beginning, I am finally giving my #1 spot to a film that came from the US for the first time since 1960.
What I find really interesting about The Graduate is that it is an example of a film that seemed highly acclaimed, but a lot of people have taken a step back from it. Even when looking at the infamous AFI Top 100 Films of All Time lists (that only included American films), The Graduate was #7 on the 1997 list but dropped to #17 when they redid it in 2007.
I was talking with one of my film buff friends yesterday (shout out to Dan) and he mentioned how he also felt the film was fine, and he didn't really respond to it.
I do think a lot of what helped The Graduate stick for me was seeing it during my formative years of becoming a film fanatic. I believe I was 12-13 when I first watched it, and I really took to the story and the very eccentric nature of it.
Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) just completed his undergrad studies and is planning to attend graduate school in the fall...but he is feeling a bit loss and uncertain about his future. During a welcome home party, a longtime family friend and neighbor Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) barges into Benjamin's room as he tries to escape from the cacophony downstairs and asks him to drive her home.
Benjamin eventually picks up on the cue: "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?"
So yes, Benjamin begins an affair with a woman twice his age, married to a guy who seems pretty respectful (the great character actor Murray Hamilton), and a daughter who is about to start college named Elaine (Katherine Ross).
However, things become a bit more interesting for Benjamin when he takes a liking to Elaine.
The Graduate is interesting in that it sort of has moments that make it feel like it is still trapped in an early 60s aesthetic, but Mike Nichols' direction, the witty script, and particularly the use of Simon & Garfunkel's iconic score give this film such a unique vibe and it is clear to see why it was viewed as such a departure from the norm in 1967.
During the opening credits when we see Benjamin on the moving pathway at LAX as "The Sound of Silence" plays, it instantly puts you into this world and the mind of our protagonist...and it leads to a great bookend.
While I would argue that Bonnie & Clyde, The Young Girls of Rochefort, and Le Samourai might be a bit more vibrant and a bit more widely bombastic in varying ways, I always find myself thinking about The Graduate and at how well it captures that sense of aimlessness that a lot of us felt when we entered adulthood.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
What I ended up finding fascinating about 1967 is that it was certainly a year that became a turning point for Hollywood...but at the same time, a lot of those films have been written up to the max that it almost made me feel less enthused to discuss them; as if I didn't think I could offer anything that new or insightful about them.
I do want to mention the other Best Picture nominees from that year like I said I would do at the beginning as they are a great example of what was happening within Hollywood at the time.
As I stated, Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate represented the "New Hollywood" movement that would take off fully in the 70s, but it was the other three nominees that were rather fascinating.
You have Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? which certainly dealt with a very relevant and controversial topic for the time: interracial marriage. It came just half a year after the legendary Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia which granted that all 50 states should recognize and allow interracial marriage. Aside from maybe one scant moment involving the maid played by Isabel Sanford, I would argue that there is a very glossy and classic Hollywood sheen over that film. It is certainly a relevant topic for the time, but it does feel a bit docile.
Then you have the eventual winner: In the Heat of the Night. In a lot of ways, I feel like this was the film that bridged between New and Old Hollywood in that it did have more bite than Guess, but it was still inherently a "racism bad/white southern racist becomes less racist" piece.
But there is one more nominee to discuss, and it is easily one of the worst films to get a Best Picture nomination at least in the last 70 years: Doctor Doolittle.
The insane thing about this nomination is that 1) FOX had a big party to try to woo voters into nominating it and 2) It was a critical and box office dud and 3) It was the kind of over-bloated film that was starting to become less relevant. Even though My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music just won Best Picture 3 and 2 years prior, the movie musical was quickly on a decline. It's just a shame that if something more kid-friendly were getting in, they couldn't have just made history by nominating The Jungle Book.
We are now about to take a look at 1968 and I have to admit, I can't say for certain how this one will turn out. Yes, there are a couple of films that instantly make me think "that's a definite" but I wouldn't be shocked if I end up finding a couple of hidden gems or perhaps find myself a bit less enthralled.
I will be back soon with '68!
