I have now watched 100 films that were released in 1960. A complete list can be found here. It was a great year and I have 17 films for my favorites list. This may be the first year that the Best Picture winner is also my very favorite film of the year. Excellent films I didn’t have room for are: The Bad Sleep Well; Wild River; Shoot the Piano Player; The Virgin Spring; Inherit the Wind; Two Women; and Late Autumn. The list is no particular order, though I can’t think of anything that would move The Apartment out of the top slot!
I am having a family medical emergency (not my own) so it may be awhile until I start 1961.
10. The Naked Island – directed by Kineto Shindo
9. Psycho – directed by Alfred Hitchcock
8. Peeping Tom – directed by Michael Powell
7. Purple Noon – directed by Rene Clement
6. Le Trou – directed by Jacques Becker
5. Rocco and His Brothers – Luchino Visconti
4. L’Avventura – directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
3. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs – directed by Mikio Naruse
2. La Dolce Vita – directed by Federico Fellini
The Apartment – directed by Billy Wilder
1960 was a fascinating year, truly rolling toward a new American/World Cinema. So many forces at play. Thanks for calling the nuances to our attention!
Thanks for reading my ramblings (and for everything else)!
I am in the process of watching The Apartment, but I can already say that I will probably agree with you playing that movie at the top. Otherwise you have some good movies on the list but I would replace one of the Italian movies with another Italian movie that I loved more: The Mask of Satan.
I hope the medical situation is not too serious.
My husband had a heart attack and we thought he would need heart bypass surgery. But a wonderful doctor opened up his blocked arteries using stents, he is walking around, and coming home from the hospital tomorrow! I am sooo happy!
I am sorry to hear that. That is a little too close, but good that they managed to fix the issue and get him home.
Thank you. Modern medicine, for all its faults, is a wonderful thing. The feeling of relief is indescribable. If you ever have any chest pain, Heaven forbid, take it seriously!
I remember you saying you had a family(?) affinity for courtroom dramas (hope I remember correctly) and saw this one wasn’t on your list. As BB is the lead I did think you might have seen it but then again maybe not. Here BB plays a “real” person, not an ornament, and does a good job IMHO.
I thought it was damned good and that maybe it deserved a mention
La Verite (1960)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054452/?ref_=nv_sr_7?ref_=nv_sr_7
I love Clouzot, the director, and really wanted to see this film but couldn’t easily find it for rent or streaming. My affinity for courtroom dramas comes from my distant past as an attorney (before I joined the Foreign Service).
I just had to mention this small gem having just seen it – a perfect portrayal of childhood innocence in an uncaring world…and you’ll like the director!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053578/
Ooooh, that does sound good. Wonder why I didn’t see it when I did 1960. Thanks for the tip.
Maybe missed because it’s in a genre so often overdone. Also not typical of his work?
I’ll have to give it a whirl someday and find out!
……..back again, just watched this one. It’s one of those “I’m not sure but needed to flag it.” Helps if you know how rigid were the unsaid “rules” of the time (A Japanese Catch 22??). A movie that seemed to me ahead of it’s time with realistic sets, realistic action and a touch of romance. The male lead carries this well. Hope I haven’t been overly swayed by this coming out of Japan. The Japanese title seems a far better name – Wine, Woman, and Spear as it is far more than a martial art film.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198994/
Another one for the everlasting List. Thank you. Hope you and yours are well. Are you under orders to stay home/self-distance? Husband and I are getting on each others nerves but are otherwise well here in Lockdown.
All well thanks Bea – kids and wife always get on my nerves so nothing is really any different here in Lockdown Town Oz
So glad to hear it. Keep on keeping on.