The sixties were that period of social and cultural change. Whilst in music, the sexual revolution and the political explosions of 1968 these changes are obvious, in film these changes; outside of the New Wave seem a little underrated.
A series of seemingly disparate films by many great directors and various countries, which share some interesting qualities. They take risks in their depiction of psychology, relationships, sociological changes, even their approach to religion. All of which appeared in the early to mid-60s.
Here’s some small examples and how they seemed to handle some extreme aspects of human behaviour in ways that push the boundaries of film;
Yojimbo - An image of a dog carrying a man’s hand in it’s mouth, a representation of a town’s evil.
The Miracle Worker - A child’s pain and frustration expressed at a level not seen outside of extremes of the supernatural The Exorcist.
Leon Morin pretre - An intense literary discussion of faith versus a forbidden attraction.
The Innocents - How a woman tasked with protecting children comes to do exactly the opposite.
Repulsion - A woman who cannot stand even to be touched, we see this idea taken to its extremes.
I could add examples from
Psycho, Persona, Peeping Tom, Last Year At Marienbad, Viridiana, Jules et Jim, La Dolce Vita.... each are stretching the boundaries of cinema in intellectual but also reckless ways.
I want to concentrate on this period in film to fill in the gaps in my film knowledge. It has become such a rewarding period. Every time, it seems, I watch a film of this era it gives lots back to me. These films have more to say and more interesting ways of saying it. I have chosen three films from each year 1960 to 1966;
When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (1960)
Butterfield 8 (1960), 109 minutes, D: Daniel Mann
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960, UK), 90 minutes D: Karel Reisz
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), 115 minutes, D: Blake Edwards
The Hustler (1961), 134 minutes, D: Robert Rossen
Through a Glass Darkly (1961, Swe.) (aka Sasom I En Spegel), 89 minutes, D: Ingmar Bergman.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962, UK), 104 minutes, D: Tony Richardson
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), 118 minutes, D: John Ford
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), 132 minutes, D: Robert Aldrich
Mahanagar (1963, India) D: Satyajit Ray
The Leopard (1963, It/Fr.) (aka Il Gattopardo), 187 minutes, D: Luchino Visconti
This Sporting Life (1963, UK), 134 minutes, D: Lindsay Anderson
Woman In The Dunes (1964, Japan) D: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Topkapi (1964), 120 minutes, D: Jules Dassin
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964, Fr./W. Germ.) (aka Les Parapluies de Cherbourg), 87 minutes, D: Jacques Demy
Le bonheur (1965, Fr), D: Agnes Varda
The Pawnbroker (1965), 114 minutes, D: Sidney Lumet
Pierrot le fou D: Jean-Luc Godard
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966, Fr./Swe.), 95 minutes, D: Robert Bresson
Blow-Up (1966, UK), 110 minutes, D: Michelangelo Antonioni
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), 129 minutes, D: Mike Nichols
Additiional films;
Léon Morin prêtreTirez sur le pianisteThe Pumpkin EaterKnife In The WaterCape FearAs you can see there isn’t a theme to these choices outside of the period in question. I have been looking for reasons to watch some of these films and a film like
Liberty Valance sits at the crossroads of old Westerns and the revisionist future with the grand old man Ford at the helm.
As always if you can see a better choice (given the criteria) to replace what you see as a weak one, I am happy to take suggestions