1964 Movies
OSCARS Won/Nominated
IMDB Top 250
IMDB Top 250
OSCARS
Best Picture
Best Director Best Actor Best Adapted Screenplay |
Dr. Strangelove
Dir: Stanley Kubrick Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #57 What a glorious comedy, stuck in a time when comedies about the end of the world were unheard of. Give it to Stanley Kubrick, the man who can give you nightmares and disillusion you about the human spirit, to make one of the funniest films of all time. Watching Peter Sellers, funnier here than in anything else he has ever done, is a masterclass of comedy...and to watch George C. Scott respond and suggest to his milquetoast of a president...is sidesplittingly hilarious. The world is going to end...and I can't laugh about that absurdity enough. One of the rare, brilliant films that on paper...seems impossible. A DVD |
A Fistful of Dollars
Dir: Sergio Leone Stars: Clint Eastwood The simplicity of the Spaghetti Western is both its brilliance and its downfall. It doesnt muddy the waters by introducing a character that is pretty much and agent of chaos..and that's about it (Just like Django). In this first of the "Man With No Name" trilogy, Eastwood plays a man who pits one gang against another, playing the long con, getting in over his head, and causing all sorts of bloodshed and mayhem. It wasn't until Leone got around to Once Upon a Time in the West that he had a bit more epic vision. This is fun...don't get me wrong...but it is almost episodic in nature and single of purpose. It WAS nice to see that iconic scene that made its way into Back to the Future Part III though. B |
OSCARS
Best Sound Editing
|
Goldfinger
Dir: Guy Hamilton Stars: Sean Connery 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I just don't get it at all. Bond is not a good franchise. Connery isn't a good actor, the stunt fighting is laughable, the villains have ZERO charisma, and the central conciet during the climax is so absurd that I was angry. This is widely considered to be the best that James Bond has to deliver...if thats true, the adventure through the franchise is going to be painful. C- |
OSCARS
Best Art Direction (B&W)
Best Costume Design (B&W) Best Adapted Score |
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
Dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Probably the most excruciatingly dull and boring movie I have ever seen. Critics and articles I respect herald this movie as a masterpiece, praising the atheist, gay, Marxist director, Pasolini, his use of non-actors, and his strict adherence to biblical text. What I saw was a 140 minute bore that has a man in costume reciting bible verses. There was no emotion, no passion, no artistic quality, and no excitement whatsoever. It was infuriating. Say what you will about Mel Gibson, he put HEART behind his Passion of the Christ. There is NONE of it here. I hated every solitary second of this movie and it is the biggest disappointment of my 1001 project...and I doubt it will be trumped. F |
OSCARS
Best Original Score
|
The Pink Panther
Dir: Blake Edwards Stars: Peter Selers, David Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner What a huge disappointment. I have been looking forward to jumping into the original Pink Panther franchise for a very long time. What the hell is this? Peter Sellers is pretty funny in his subtle humor...but Inspector Clousseau is almost completely unnecessary in this film. He is definitely the 5th most important character and the others, while technically proficient, are playing out a heist/seduction that is so uninspired...I found myself confused. And then the movie that is 30 minutes too long ends so abruptly that I thought it was a mistake. This was just nothing...because the reason too watch the Pink Panther, namely Peter Sellers, is wasted. I don't even know if I want to continue these films. Maybe they figure out that Sellers is the greatest asset the film can have. C- |
OSCARS
Best Original Screenplay
Best Foreign Film Best Original Score Best Adapted Score Best Original Song |
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Dir: Jacques Demy Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon 1001 Movies You Must See before You Die Just because a movie was the first to try something new in the world of cinema, doesn't actually mean it was a success. Jacques Demy's famous "musical" is a delight to look at and listen to, but the premise was so incredibly odd, that I found myself so disengaged from the characters or the story. Genevieve is a cutie who works in an umbrella shop. Guy is a mechanic. They fall for eachtother, he gets sent to war, she misses him, yadda yadda yadda. On the surface...it is a sweet romance. But the fact that every single line of dialogue is sung was so weird for my taste. It wasn't akin to opera, because there were melodies or "songs"...just perpetual musical lines that seem to equate "pass the salt" to "I Love You". The main theme music is wonderful, and the gorgeous cinematography makes it a neat confection...but I really didn't think it worked. But I realize that I am in the minority here. C+ |