Bouncing around from decade to decade without a care in the world, I decide to venture into the fascinating decade for cinema that was the 1960s. What I find fascinating about the 1960s is how much international cinema still continues to dominate much like it was in the 1950s.
By comparison, Hollywood cinema was suffering. I say that there were obviously some amazing exceptions going against the rule, but the early 60s were still embracing the tired and archaic boundaries of the Hays Code. Once we get to the late 60s and the advent of the MPAA rating system...which is still problematic in its own way...we begin to see a dramatic shift in the kinds of films we will see come out from Hollywood as the seeds are planted for the glorious renaissance of the 1970s.
I wrote about 1960 a couple of years ago, which you can read about here. I have yet to tackle the rest of the decade, so we shall start with 1961 and proceed.
I do want to make one comment about a film that I am leaving off this list which will likely surprise a lot of you. I am not including West Side Story, and I will say that as a fan of musicals, I have a bit of a rocky history with this one. I do acknowledge its groundbreaking legacy for how certain stories could be told in a musical, but I do think the film suffers GREATLY thanks to its leads. Richard Beymer gives such a wooden and lifeless performance as Tony that it is hard to even connect with him. Natalie Wood fares a little bit better as Maria, but of course...she is acting in brownface.
The Hays Code did say that different races could not appear onscreen in a romantic capacity, which would lead to some rather heinous casting decisions in those first 30-40 years of Hollywood.
With that said, we shall begin the list with...not surprisingly...a non-English-language film.
==========
#10 - A DIFFICULT LIFE
Directed by Dino Risi
Written by Rodolfo Sonego
A somewhat forgotten Italian film that got lost in the shuffle next to works by the likes of Fellini and Antonioni, A Difficult Life is one of the pinnacles of Commedia all'italiana.
Dino Risi is a filmmaker who reveled in this style, and he is able to make a story surrounding a rather serious topic and give it a lot of levity.
Silvio (Alberto Sordi) is a journalist who had fought during WWII and is facing the changes in Italy's political arena, but when he writes some vitriolic articles against the fascist regime, he ends up facing jail time. The story is told from the ending of WWII up to 1960 and it is remarkable how the film is able to accomplish telling so much from that span of time.
It manages to be such a strong and biting satire while having this amazing mix of melancholy at the same time. It manages to tell so much while not sacrificing a lot of our emotional well-being...not that a film that drives us to tears is a bad thing, but it is always the mark of a strong filmmaker when he can mold comedy and tragedy together and not make it seem jarring in any way.
_____________________________
#9 - THE END OF SUMMER
Written & Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
Co-written by Kogo Noda
While not as discussed as some of his other works, The End of Summer is yet another strong effort from the master that was Yosujiro Ozu, a filmmaker I have raved about many a time on this blog and one that I feel had one of the most consistent streaks of any filmmaker in history.
The End of Summer would also be his penultimate film (spoiler alert: we will be seeing his final film on the 1962 list), as he passed away in 1963 at only 60 years old.
As is the case with many of his works, the story revolves around family dynamics within the confines of Japanese cultures and society. An older man by the name of Manbei (Nakamura Ganijiro) is the proprietor of a small sake factory, but his family becomes concerned as finances seem to be dwindling fast. They soon discover that he has been visiting with an old mistress from his past and that he may be giving her a lot of his money.
As expected, some of Ozu's regulars are here, such as the ever-lovely Setsuko Hara...but this is also one of the very few films that Ozu made in color. For some reason, I always felt him working in color was a bit jarring...but I will admit that the images of this film are quite lovely and it might be where the color cinematography works best.
Ozu was so adept at making these bittersweet stories that could be described as tragicomic and this is one of his strongest in that regard. It is essentially a look at the idea of death and the changing of Japan...which still seems particularly fitting with Ozu nearing the end of his own life.
__________________________________
#8 - LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD
Directed by Alain Renais
Written by Alain Robbe-Grillet
Combing the feeling of the French New Wave mixed with the flourishes of Italian masters like Fellini and Antonioni, Alain Renais and his collaborator were able to achieve something so surreal with Last Year at Marienbad. In fact, Renais wanted the film to feel like it was a relic of the silent era of cinema and even asked Eastman Kodak to help him recreate the sort of mildly warped look old film often had...and in the process, wanted his performers to wear makeup more appropriate for the 1920s. The filmmaking effect was not fully achieved, but it still very much comes off as a fascinating aesthetic.
The image above is very well known as we see long shadows of the people, but the trees don't give off a shadow. This is because there was no sun that day, so the shadows of the people were painted on the ground. Oh, the magic of filmmaking...
Set at a luxury hotel with a ornate park accompanying it on the property, we meet two people who are only credited as "The Man" and "The Woman", these would be Giorgio Albertazzi and Delphine Seyrig (yes, Jeanne Dielman herself!). Everything about them, and a second man who appears (Sacha Pitoeff) are more or less a mystery.
We think that the man and the woman may have met before and it is possible they may have had an affair. The second man's identity also seems to be in question, but it is also possible he is the husband to the woman.
A lot of the reason why I wanted to include Last Year at Marienbad here is that it feels like one of the most unsung achievements of arthouse cinema. It is so surreal and unusual in its approach but made with such style and care and detail that I can't help but admire it.
It isn't necessarily a film I have a desire to revisit often, but it is one that I do think deserves more attention for how successful it is at setting out such an alluring and mysterious story that challenges its audience to not fully grasp what is happening and even if it may be real.
________________________________
#7 - A TASTE OF HONEY
Directed by Tony Richardson
Written by Shelagh Delaney w/Richardson
We are right in the heart of the era of British entertainment where the "social realist" style became quite popular, or as it became to be known: "kitchen sink dramas".
Usually these plays/films were mostly connected to that of writer Harold Pinter but another writer (and a female at that) who received a lot of attention for that genre was Shelagh Delaney.
In 1958, her play A Taste of Honey premiered to great success at the Theatre Royal Stratford East which was considered a fringe socialist theatre and one of the only outlets that would take it on as it was deemed a bit too radical for the relatively stuffy British society at the time. Delaney's goal was to revitalize British theatre and address social issues that weren't being discussed. That production happened to star two legends: Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright.
Our lead is Jo (Rita Tushingham), who is 17 going on 18 and living with her other Helen (Dora Bryan), a loud- and foul-mouthed woman who is unable to pay the rent and frequently takes in gentleman callers (and apparently not the kind that send jonquils...I guess Helen isn't like Amanda Wingfield...).
Helen ends up going off with Pere, a much younger man while Jo takes a similar path by meeting a younger black sailor named Jimmy (Paul Danquah). When it seems as though they may get married upon Jo turning 18, he goes back out to sea and Jo discovers she is pregnant by him.
Once she gives birth to the child, she takes up lodging with an acquaintance named Geoffrey (Murray Melvin) who just so happens to be gay...although he becomes something of a surrogate father.
I think A Taste of Honey is the kind of film that was very important for its time...and it is no surprise that it began its life as a play. While some of the storylines might scream like something you'd see on a soap opera, the dynamics and the grittier smokestack surroundings of North England ground you.
I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I once had a coworker who claimed that the Brits don't make good films...and shockingly, I understood what he meant when he said it. And yet...now I think about it, and I realize how terribly wrong he was.
____________________________
#6 - THE HUSTLER
Written & Directed by Robert Rossen
Co-written by Sidney Carroll
When I think of actors who exuded some kind of charisma that could be seen as "off the charts" with a screen presence that felt cool even as they entered old age, I wouldn't object if that list began and ended with Paul Newman.
In one of the defining roles of his illustrious career, the titular hustler known as Fast Eddie Felson is one cocky son of a bitch and he is out to prove something. His goal is to challenge a legendary pool shark known as Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) and strengthen his reputation, but in reality, his own self-destructive tendencies get the better of him.
Hmmm...could someone revamp this into a modern-day story for Timothee Chalamet????
It's not just Newman or Gleason who give strong performances here. You also have the great George C. Scott and Piper Laurie, both also nominated for Oscars as well. Laurie, in particular, is captivating here and its also interesting how she stopped working for 15 years after this film only to get an Oscar nomination for her first film upon her return: Carrie...a dramatic horror film no less.
Perhaps the film does falter a bit in the middle. In fact, that was one of the major reasons I never thought much of the film when I first saw it, but it is hard to deny how slick and stylish The Hustler is. Black & White cinema was seen by some as archaic as people viewed silent films in the 30s, but the truth is that B&W can be so glorious. It also lends itself perfectly to films like The Hustler to the point where I don't think its vibe would've exceeded as well in color.
Newman would go on to win his long overdue Oscar for the film's defacto sequel The Color of Money, which certainly isn't a bad performance, but it is the prime example of how the Academy has the history of finally giving a legend an Oscar for lesser work. Newman could've won for The Hustler (although the person who did win that year is in the next film on this list and he was very deserving), but I do think Newman was truly win worthy for Cool Hand Luke and especially The Verdict. He did always seem to compete against people who always edged him out, but if he had won for any of those films, it would've been well deserved.
__________________________________
#5 - JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG
Directed by Stanley Kramer
Written by Abby Mann
The highest of the Hollywood films to make the list for this year, Judgement at Nuremberg is a fictionalized depiction of the legendary Nuremberg trials that saw four judges and prosecutors (in reality, it was 16 total) facing charges for crimes against humanity as they had been part of the judicial system during the Nazi Occupation in Germany.
Even if the film is fictionalized, I do think that Mann's script handles the subject matter with a lot of dignity and vitality. Considering how pulpy or melodramatic films in the same vain as this could often get at that time, I feel like the emotional power was earned here.
The ensemble here is stellar. Spencer Tracy doing sterling work alongside Maximillian Schell in his Oscar winning performance as the German defense attorney Hans Rolfe; he especially is such a fascinating screen presence. He would even go on to have a lot of power in such a minimal role in 1977's Julia that he'd get an Oscar nomination for it. Nowadays, it actually feels like a surprise when these awards bodies actually give their trophies to legit supporting performances rather than co-leading ones. But I digress...
Lancaster, Dietrich, Widmark, and Montgomery Clift (in what may be his best work) give their all...it makes me feel like this may have been the film to win the SAG Best Ensemble award had it existed in the 60s. Although, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the lady of prowess that is Judy Garland.
In a smaller role as Irene Hoffman, Garland gives one of the finest performances of her career. It doesn't require any of her musical talents whatsoever but proves just how capable she was as a dramatic actress. Her scene on the stand when she feels as though she may indirectly end up helping the prosecution despite the horrors she faced during the Holocaust is so captivating. Aside from A Star is Born, this is easily the finest achievement of her career. She was expected to finally win an Oscar for it but lost in what was considered an upset to Rita Moreno for West Side Story. Unlike her loss to Grace Kelly when she was up for A Star is Born, it is hard to begrudge Moreno's win as she was far and away the best thing about West Side Story.
Sorry, I went off on a tangent there. Nevertheless, Judgment at Nuremberg is a strong achievement from this era of Hollywood. A very bold and intense look at such a horrific time in human history.
___________________________
#4 - THE HUMAN CONDITION 3: A SOLDIER'S PRAYER
Written & Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
The first two installments of The Human Condition trilogy came out in 1959, which is a year I have not discussed on this blog. Those films are both great, but it is the final installment of A Soldier's Prayer that is the grandest. However, Kobayashi's best work will be featured on my 1962 list so stay tuned for that.
My history with the whole trilogy is not exactly positive, but I think part of that was due to how horribly these films were presented when they were released on DVD in the late 90s. I had been compelled to check them out after having seen and loved Kurosawa's work, so it only made since to give Kobayashi a try. The visual and audio quality of those DVDs were horrendous to the point I couldn't even finish the films in full.
In 2009, The Criterion Collection stepped in and worked their magic. I am fully convinced that a lot of people had a similar experience as me because in the past 15 years, the passionate raves this trilogy has received are undeniable. As of this writing (though it is subject to change very fast, and I didn't even realize it was THIS high), A Soldier's Prayer is ranked as the #2 film of all time! Part 1 is 9, and Part 2 is at 25. Yet another spoiler alert: the current #1 on Letterboxd just so happens to be the next Kobayashi film that I said will be on my 1962 list.
I do eventually want to talk about the first two installments once I make my way through the 50s to 1959, but the main storyline of the film follows Kaji (Tatsuka Nakadai) leading his soldiers behind enemy lines after Japan had lost their battle with Russia.
This is not a film with a happy ending, but it stays with you: that image of Kaji walking through the bitter winter landscapes desperate for aid. I get the idea of not wanting to watch depressing films all the time, but I am of the belief that I don't always want something to end on a positive note. Life doesn't work that way, and I feel like films need to take on that approach. It all depends on how you frame it, and in the case of something like A Soldier's Prayer, it is first class.
__________________________
#3 - THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
Written & Directed by Ingmar Bergman
As is his won't, Bergman is ready to delve in headfirst to tell the tale of a family in crisis amped up to 11. One of his earlier mainstays, Harriet Andersson, plays a young wife with schizophrenia named Karin. She is married to Martin (another Bergman regular, Max von Sydow) and they are traveling to a remote island (the first of many films shot on the island of Faro) along with Karin's novelist father David (yet another Bergman regular, Gunnar Bjornstrand), and her youngest brother Minus (Lars Passgard...in his film debut and wouldn't work with Bergman again).
This was a period of Bergman's career where he was heavily focused on faith in God whether that be in relation to questioning his existence, his motives, if he is love or if he is hate.
Andersson gives quite possibly her finest performance in this, and it is easily one of the greatest Bergman ever captured. It is to be expected that if you were to watch the majority of Bergman's biggest successes, you aren't in for the easiest of rides.
Through a Glass Darkly is beautiful, but also very haunting and you're left with a near-constant sense of unease. You could even go as far to say that the film is essentially us witnessing pure mental torment for nearly 90 minutes...but by golly, if there is a filmmaker who is going to make me willing to go along for that ride, it is Ingmar Bergman.
I will add that one thing that greatly hurts this film is its ending, which is something Bergman himself has regretted as he felt as though the idea of "God is Love" was mainly disingenuous and that it felt as though he was trying to "smear a diffuse veneer of love" to be more positive and reassuring.
Also - if you want shock value, you get some incest and talk of God as a spider trying to rape you so there's that. ;-)
__________________________
#2 - YOJIMBO
Written & Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Co-written by Ryuzo Kikushima & Hideo Uguni
What is so hilarious about Yojimbo is that despite its high pedigree, it might be his 4th or 5th best film when it would likely be the best film for pretty much any other director. The themes of the film would go on to inspire Sergio Leone to make his spaghetti westerns, such as A Fistful of Dollars...although, Leone essentially plagiarized Yojimbo which led to a lawsuit.
Our protagonist is a nameless ronin (a forerunner to Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name in the previously mentioned Leone films). A ronin essentially means a samurai without a master, and not surprisingly, he is played by Kurosawa's muse Toshiro Mifune. This is likely one of his absolute best performances he ever gave which is sure saying a whole hell of a lot.
He takes on the name of Sanjuro Kuwabatake and gets involved with crime lords who are seeking for full authority of their small village. His "in" with the lords are that they both want to hire him as a bodyguard.
This might also be the funniest of Kurosawa's works as it is dripping with satire and farcical elements, and with how it takes on the brackets of the class system, I do think of it as having elements that would also go on to describe how Bong Joon-ho would tackle class in Parasite...although that was with far bleaker results.
I do have to say one of my favorite stories about this film is how it had a screening in Maryland back in 1968 and that the hosts of the event hid away in the bathroom as attendees were freaking out at the violence. My how the times have changed...
___________________________
#1 - LA NOTTE
Written & Directed by Michaelangelo Antonioni
Co-written by Ennio Flaiano & Tonino Guerra
Antonioni was, perhaps, the true definition of an arthouse filmmaker. I don't typically put him on the same level as someone like Ingmar Bergman, but if we are talking about a filmmaker who is able to drive a lot of his films based on mood/vibe and making it compelling, I would put money down on Antonioni being a master at that.
La Notte was the second film of a trilogy that began with 1960's L'Avventura (which was featured on my list for that year) and was followed by 1962's L'Eclisse (spoiler alert: that will be on that year's list)...and I might be inclined to say it's my favorite of the trilogy even though I am not even sure why that is the case.
====================
FINAL THOUGHTS:
As I mentioned in my intro, the first half of the 60s was mainly dominated by international films...but perhaps what I find really interesting about the first part of the decade is how erratic it becomes year by year. I really love 1960 as a year for film, but 1961 wasn't as strong in comparison. 1962 is often considered one of the great years of cinema, while 1963 is one of my least favorites off the top of my head...despite there being a couple of masterpieces. That trend continues as I recall 1964 being better and then 1965 taking a bit of a dip.
Things start to turn with 1966...and while I would argue the decade ends on a mild whimper with 1969, I do consider this to be such a fascinating decade in so many facets beyond just cinema.
Stay tuned for 1962!
No comments:
Post a Comment