1968 is also the year of seminal films like: "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Rosemary's Baby". Actor Clint Eastwood had three films released that year: "Coogan's Bluff", "Where Eagles Dare", "Hang 'Em High".
Good year: 1.Planet of the apes 2.Adieu l'ami 3. The party 4. Hang 'em high 5. Le tatoue (de Funes) 6. Le gendarme se marie (id) 7. Le Grand silence (Klaus Kinski film) and few others.
Indeed, excellent year. No way can I limit my main list to just 10.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)
2. The Swimmer (Perry/[Pollack])
3. Petulia (Lester)
4. Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone)
5. Oliver! (Reed)
6. Shame (Bergman)
7. The Bride Wore Black (Truffaut)
7. Stolen Kisses (Truffaut)
9. The Color of Pomegranates (Parajanov)
10. Finian’s Rainbow (Coppola)
10. The Producers (M. Brooks)
10. Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski)
13. Capricious Summer (Menzel)
also good: Bullitt, Bye Bye Braverman, Faces, Funny Girl, Greetings, Hell in the Pacific, Hour of the Wolf, Ice Station Zebra, If..., The Lion in Winter, The Loves of Isadora, Madigan, The Night They Raided Minsky's, The Odd Couple, The Party, Planet of the Apes, Romeo and Juliet, Star!, The Subject Was Roses, Targets, Witchfinder General, Yellow Submarine.
still need to see: Will Penny, Je t'aime je t'aime, The Birthday Party, The Bofors Gun, The Boston Strangler, The Brotherhood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Fixer, Paper Lion, Pretty Poison, Rachel Rachel.
2001: A Space Odyssey Rosemary's Baby Vargtimmen If. . . Planet of the Apes Petulia Romeo and Juliet The Producers Pretty Poison The Charge of the Light Brigade
Okay, I'll admit it, almost all of my favorite directors released something in 68.
2001: A Space Odyssey < perhaps the birth of modern film making, in several ways
Could you explain that? I feel movies have gone downhill since 2001 in 1968, and have gone even further downhill since the actual 2001. What do I mean? They're dumber.
2001: A Space Odyssey < perhaps the birth of modern film making, in several ways
Could you explain that? I feel movies have gone downhill since 2001 in 1968, and have gone even further downhill since the actual 2001. What do I mean? They're dumber.
Manderlay can probably explain this better, but 1967-68 is where we see a decisive shift away from the studio system era into the "New Hollywood" period in which American films, both independent and Hollywood productions, were experimenting more freely with more "arty" techniques heavily influenced by the European art cinema movement. There had already been films like 1964's The Pawnbroker which featured visions of nudity that lasted for longer than a quick flash, as well as an air of suicidal despair, and 1967's Bonnie and Clyde with its gory violence and amoral look at criminals. 1968 had films that contained then-unusual factors such as long, meditative takes (2001), odd and even surreal storylines (like The Swimmer) and jumpy back and forth in time narratives such as Petulia.
I would say 1981 was the last year of the New Hollywood era. There had been the disastrous premiere of Heaven's Gate the year before, and the lackluster box office performances of such "New Hollywood" styled movies like Cutter's Way, Blow Out and Prince of the City signaled the end of that period.
I agree that most Hollywood films since are very safe and "formula," and many of them insult the intelligence in a way that you would not find in most New Hollywood - and Golden Age Hollywood films as well. One has to keep an eye out for brilliant maverick American directors like the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson and others to find smart, delightful and genius-level cinema these days. (Obviously there are many great world cinema directors out there too, but I'm only discussing American films in this post.)
I would say 1981 was the last year of the New Hollywood era. There had been the disastrous premiere of Heaven's Gate the year before, and the lackluster box office performances of such "New Hollywood" styled movies like Cutter's Way, Blow Out and Prince of the City signaled the end of that period.
I agree that most Hollywood films since are very safe and "formula," and many of them insult the intelligence in a way that you would not find in most New Hollywood - and Golden Age Hollywood films as well. One has to keep an eye out for brilliant maverick American directors like the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson and others to find smart, delightful and genius-level cinema these days. (Obviously there are many great world cinema directors out there too, but I'm only discussing American films in this post.)
In my opinion, the new Hollywood died with George Lukas' "Star Wars": a foretaste of the 1980's. Even the directors you mention are not that bright after all compared to the past American directors. The Coen Bros started in the 1980's and most of their films are parodies and pastiches. Wes Anderson is totally shallow and anecdotal. That leaves Paul Thomas Anderson and its great "There Will Be Blood". Back in the 1980's, every film fans swore that Jim Jarmusch and David Lynch were the best. But it's all post-modernism that leads nowhere: sterile homages.
I would say 1981 was the last year of the New Hollywood era. There had been the disastrous premiere of Heaven's Gate the year before, and the lackluster box office performances of such "New Hollywood" styled movies like Cutter's Way, Blow Out and Prince of the City signaled the end of that period.
I agree that most Hollywood films since are very safe and "formula," and many of them insult the intelligence in a way that you would not find in most New Hollywood - and Golden Age Hollywood films as well. One has to keep an eye out for brilliant maverick American directors like the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson and others to find smart, delightful and genius-level cinema these days. (Obviously there are many great world cinema directors out there too, but I'm only discussing American films in this post.)
In my opinion, the new Hollywood died with George Lukas' "Star Wars": a foretaste of the 1980's. Even the directors you mention are not that bright after all compared to the past American directors. The Coen Bros started in the 1980's and most of their films are parodies and pastiches. Wes Anderson is totally shallow and anecdotal. That leaves Paul Thomas Anderson and its great "There Will Be Blood". Back in the 1980's, every film fans swore that Jim Jarmusch and David Lynch were the best. But it's all post-modernism that leads nowhere: sterile homages.
Yes, Jarmusch and Lynch are two other excellent choices for great American directors of the past 30-35 years. The ones I mentioned are particular favorites of mine, but there are many more good ones out there.
And I agree that the blockbuster level box office of fims like Jaws and Star Wars began to turn the tide and that by 1982 or so the "Blockbuster era" was firmly established. It certainly was there by '81 (Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman II for example), while my above mentioned films like Cutter's Way were the last gasps of that "New Hollywood" style. For the last 30 years one has to sift through the majority of junk product to find the few really good movies.
Wow! Great posts, you guys. I appreciate smart conversation here. I agree with all you've said. The "New Hollywood" period of the late sixties up to the mid-seventies was the last golden age of Hollywood movie making, when there were actually "director-driven" films. There still are, but the artisans making movies today are more at the mercy of their soulless corporate overloads, mostly because the costs of production are so much greater and risk on something original is just not something an Ivy League studio executive is going to stake his career on. I also agree that the decline really began with the saturation booking, blockbuster phenomenon of JAWS, then CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and STAR WARS. After that, the studios want little more than to chase after the next blockbuster and the best way to do that is just to pander, pander, pander, to the tastes of those that go to the movies the most, and go back again to see what they like, 14-year-old boys! And so, we have little more than superhero movies every summer, and their sequels, prequels and reboots. It's really quite depressing.
1968 is my favorite year for movies because of not only 2001 (and so many other titles), but especially PLANET OF THE APES. I was only eight when I first saw it in April of that year, but it totally floored me and no other movie has ever done that to me since, but if ever there was a movie that was a victim of its own success, it's POTA. Fox made the sequels for really only one reason, to cash-in on the success of the first, but at least there was some effort with a couple of the sequels to have intelligent scripts, but then Fox just ran it into the ground.
Anyway, I have a book, John Willis' "Screen World" annual for 1969, which covers the films of 1968. It's the only one I've bothered to get because of how much I love the year I "lost it at the movies."
Wow! Great posts, you guys. I appreciate smart conversation here. I agree with all you've said. The "New Hollywood" period of the late sixties up to the mid-seventies was the last golden age of Hollywood movie making, when there were actually "director-driven" films. There still are, but the artisans making movies today are more at the mercy of their soulless corporate overloads, mostly because the costs of production are so much greater and risk on something original is just not something an Ivy League studio executive is going to stake his career on. I also agree that the decline really began with the saturation booking, blockbuster phenomenon of JAWS, then CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and STAR WARS. After that, the studios want little more than to chase after the next blockbuster and the best way to do that is just to pander, pander, pander, to the tastes of those that go to the movies the most, and go back again to see what they like, 14-year-old boys! And so, we have little more than superhero movies every summer, and their sequels, prequels and reboots. It's really quite depressing.
1968 is my favorite year for movies because of not only 2001 (and so many other titles), but especially PLANET OF THE APES. I was only eight when I first saw it in April of that year, but it totally floored me and no other movie has ever done that to me since, but if ever there was a movie that was a victim of its own success, it's POTA. Fox made the sequels for really only one reason, to cash-in on the success of the first, but at least there was some effort with a couple of the sequels to have intelligent scripts, but then Fox just ran it into the ground.
Anyway, I have a book, John Willis' "Screen World" annual for 1969, which covers the films of 1968. It's the only one I've bothered to get because of how much I love the year I "lost it at the movies."
I love those "Screen World" annuals. I have every volume of the 1970s and 1980s, and am working on collecting the 1960s books. Thankfully, there are now other sources online to correct the several errors in these volumes, but they are still wonderful to leaf through and get lost in.
I have every volume of the 1970s and 1980s, and am working on collecting the 1960s books. Thankfully, there are now other sources online to correct the several errors in these volumes, but they are still wonderful to leaf through and get lost in.