I have now watched 115 films that were released in 1964. A complete list can be found here. it was a fairly strong year and I had 17 films for my favorites list. They could have been sliced and diced in any number of ways. The films I reluctantly left off my Top Ten were: Charulata; The T.A.M.I. Show; Point of Order!; Alleman; Seduced and Abandoned; Marnie; and My Fair Lady. I was unable to locate Before the Revolution or Black God, White Devil from The 1001 Movies List. I will watch Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors as a 1965 film. My favorites are no particular order.
10. Mary Poppins – Directed by Robert Stevenson
9. A Hard Day’s Night – Directed by Richard Lester
8. Onibaba – Directed by Kaneto Shindo
7. Kaidan/Kwaidan – Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
6. Seance on a Wet Afternoon – Directed by Bryan Forbes
5. Nothing But a Man – Directed by Michael Roehmer
4. I Am Cuba/Soy Cuba – Directed by Mikhail Kalatazov
3. Woman in the Dunes/Sunna no onna – Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
2. The Umbrellas of Cherbourgh/Les Parapluies de Cherbourgh – Directed by Jacques Demy
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – Directed by Stanley Kubrick
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I won’t be starting my 1965 reviews until I return from a vacation on August 7. In the meantime, I intend to continue my pre-Code binge and might review some films from the List that pre-date 1934 when I began this blog.
So many movies on your top 10 off the List. I do not think the List editor were good at picking the best movies of the year. The one I would have added to the list of favourites is A Fistful of Dollars.
Where are you going on your vacation this summer?
A Fistful of Dollars would have made a worthy addition. I’m looking forward to For a Few Dollars More when I get back to 1965.
We are taking a cruise on the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Minneapolis. I’ve never seen the South (except for New Orleans itself) or heartland of America.
I have to add this as it’s a genre we both like – period and a long look at a life covering 30 odd years – I hesitated as I can’t quite say “brilliant” but you might think more of it and it is certainly worth the 7.5 on IMDB (ie past your “7” scale). Flagged in case you’d never heard of it (only 24 scorers on IMDB indicates “forgotten by many” to me- and I do realise, “there’s simply not enough time”)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058269/
Trailer appears to have been removed but this comment on Letterbox’d is far more eloquent than I’ll ever be
This has to be the The Human Condition of geisha films. “Complex plot” is quite an understatement here as it follows Tomoko’s life right from her birth up until her old age. Interestingly, The Scent of Incense subverts the common plot of the nagging mother (step or in-law) by making Tomoko the one who always complains about everything her mother does. But ultimately she ends up living only half a life because of it.
The Scent of Incense is definitely a test of endurance but as a viewer you get rewarded with interwoven plotlines that feel very lifelike and natural. There is melodrama and there is also some lightheartedness in here. So, as always, if you enjoyed Mikio Naruse, this one might be for you as well.
Another interesting tip. Thank you! One of the reasons it may have so few viewers is that it does not seem to be available here. I’ve watched a lot of Kinoshita through Criterion but they are missing this title.