Daily Archives: March 13, 2020

1968 Re-Cap and Top Favorites List

Posted on March 13, 2020 | 4 comments

I have now watched 49 films that were released in 1968.  A complete list can be found here.  I felt that my experiment with reducing the number of movies worked out well. There were only 12 movies that I ranked 9/10 or above.  I’m listing them all in alphabetical order since I wouldn’t want to rank them.

Black Cat (Kuroneko) – Directed by Kaneto Shindo.

Faces – Directed by John Cassavetes

Funny Girl – Directed by William Wyler

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter – Directed by Robert Ellis Miller

 

If … – Directed by Lindsay Anderson

The Lion in Winter – Directed by Anthony Harvey

Memories of Underdevelopment (Memorias de subdesarrollo) – Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea

Monterey Pop – Directed by D.A. Pennebecker

Night of the Living Dead – Directed by George A. Romero

Once Upon a Time in the West  (C’era una vola al West) – Directed by Sergio Leone

Rosemary’s Baby – Directed by Roman Polanski

Shame (Skammen) – Directed by Ingmar Bergman

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Posted in Top Ten Lists

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

Posted on March 13, 2020 | 2 comments

Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Written by Ingmar Bergman
1968/Sweden
IMDb link
First viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
One of 1000 movies on They Shoot Zombies Don’t They

[box] Johan Borg: The old ones called it “the hour of the wolf”. It is the hour when most people die, when most children are born. Now is when nightmares come to us. And if we are awake -…

Alma Borg: We’re afraid.[/box]

Bergman goes surreal in this venture into the horror genre.  Everything about it is excellent but it misses out on a compelling story line.

The story is told in flashback by Alma Borg (Liv Ullmann).  She and her artist husband (Johan) plan to spend the summer on an island where Johan will be able to work on his paintings.  Alma is expecting a baby.  Johan is restless and uninspired.  Alma meets an old lady who tells her she should read Johan’s diary.

Johan’s mental state deteriorates as the days progress.  At last, Johan reveals his nightmarish fantasies to his wife.  With Ingrid Thulin as Johan’s ex-lover.

The acting, cinematography, direction etc. are all excellent.  I felt there was something lacking in the writing.  Perhaps Bergman got too caught up in this new genre to create relatable characters as well.

American trailer

*************************************

And with this review, I complete 1968!

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1968