Best of 1960s, a list by Bob Saggot

8.6

/88624/

85

/1880/

84

/1144/

4.7

/197912/

100

/10/

97

/415/

85

/9/

4.0

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

90

8.5

/777532/

82

/14258/

84

/10710/

4.3

/1246057/

97

/118/

95

/10325/

97

/18/

4.0

age 14+

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

90

8.4

/25018/

81

/540/

82

/500/

4.5

/59770/

100

/33/

93

/343/

4.0

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

90

8.2

/141563/

80

/2363/

80

/1613/

4.3

/162000/

96

/51/

96

/2271/

93

/17/

4.0

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

90

8.3

/547540/

81

/9139/

81

/5984/

4.3

/567661/

98

/98/

94

/10882/

97

/32/

4.0

age 14+

After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.

89

8.3

/216273/

81

/3989/

81

/2537/

4.4

/329365/

93

/107/

94

/2385/

94

/21/

4.0

age 13+

Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.

89

8.1

/28715/

78

/690/

79

/714/

4.4

/54052/

97

/77/

94

/535/

99

/24/

4.0

Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Though Gerbier escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseilles, France, and exacts his revenge on the informant, he must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis in an atmosphere of tension, paranoia and distrust.

89

8.4

/69684/

84

/1467/

83

/1059/

4.6

/185667/

97

/70/

95

/556/

90

/17/

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

89

8.1

/74420/

78

/1175/

79

/847/

4.5

/112151/

99

/94/

95

/1191/

96

/22/

4.0

Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu, a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe, a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing brutality, no violent act is too unthinkable.

89

8.3

/337819/

80

/5369/

80

/3296/

4.4

/311070/

93

/132/

93

/5601/

100

/8/

4.0

age 13+

During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.

88

8.3

/9410/

80

/84/

75

/148/

4.4

/15236/

100

/19/

94

/114/

4.0

The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

88

8.0

/196445/

79

/3199/

77

/1549/

4.2

/113912/

100

/56/

95

/4203/

92

/16/

4.0

age 14+

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

88

8.8

/881268/

85

/13572/

84

/9335/

4.5

/660478/

97

/76/

97

/11687/

90

/7/

3.0

age 15+

While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

88

8.5

/23015/

82

/594/

82

/538/

4.5

/47250/

95

/19/

96

/114/

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

88

8.1

/87702/

78

/1614/

78

/1240/

4.3

/83458/

95

/56/

92

/1200/

94

/10/

4.0

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.

88

8.0

/131725/

77

/2027/

81

/2462/

4.3

/241077/

97

/62/

91

/2559/

93

/23/

4.0

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

88

8.0

/255158/

78

/6231/

78

/4233/

4.2

/522119/

97

/88/

87

/4057/

96

/16/

4.0

age 16+

A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.

87

7.9

/34124/

75

/598/

77

/913/

4.1

/47288/

98

/50/

88

/407/

100

/12/

4.0

As Garibaldi's troops begin the unification of Italy in the 1860s, an aristocratic Sicilian family grudgingly adapts to the sweeping social changes undermining their way of life. Proud but pragmatic Prince Don Fabrizio Salina allows his war hero nephew, Tancredi, to marry Angelica, the beautiful daughter of gauche, bourgeois Don Calogero, in order to maintain the family's accustomed level of comfort and political clout.

87

8.0

/11784/

78

/272/

79

/311/

4.2

/31049/

95

/21/

90

/81/

91

/17/

4.0

Shuhei Hirayama is a widower with a 24-year-old daughter. Gradually, he comes to realize that she should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

87

8.1

/33544/

78

/555/

77

/594/

4.3

/43874/

94

/51/

93

/387/

86

/19/

4.0

A prominent politician is murdered during a demonstration. The government and army are trying to suppress the truth. But, a tenacious magistrate is determined to not to let them get away with it.

87

7.8

/28866/

76

/894/

77

/631/

4.2

/98185/

98

/55/

89

/577/

99

/19/

4.0

Clumsy Monsieur Hulot finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris. He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist, and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently meet, developing an interest in one another. They eventually get together at a chaotic restaurant, along with several other quirky characters.

87

8.0

/139111/

80

/2615/

81

/2345/

4.4

/381093/

91

/58/

93

/1489/

86

/18/

4.0

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.

86

8.3

/23066/

81

/379/

81

/392/

4.4

/29613/

73

/15/

95

/388/

90

/10/

4.0

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

86

7.9

/90468/

76

/1546/

77

/1038/

4.1

/56754/

94

/47/

92

/1351/

90

/18/

4.0

age 14+

Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

86

7.9

/84128/

75

/1216/

75

/773/

4.0

/54532/

97

/67/

90

/1500/

94

/20/

4.0

age 13+

Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.

86

8.3

/773565/

79

/19245/

81

/12255/

4.3

/1264917/

90

/164/

88

/17084/

84

/25/

4.0

age 12+

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

86

8.3

/5502/

79

/122/

77

/98/

4.2

/12684/

93

/27/

92

/28/

4.0

After her husband loses his job, a housewife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a salesperson.

86

7.4

/4129/

77

/166/

73

/132/

4.0

/16893/

100

/25/

85

/20/

100

/5/

4.0

China, year 1457. The Minister of Defense is executed, and his children are sentenced to exile by order of the tyrannical Tsao. Fearful of future revenge from the young people, Tsao sends cruel soldiers to murder them, but a brave group of swordsmen can change the course of the battle at the Dragon Inn.

86

8.3

/15412/

81

/267/

82

/256/

4.3

/20243/

100

/9/

93

/171/

90

/9/

3.0

The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.

86

8.2

/25403/

79

/392/

79

/639/

4.3

/37427/

91

/33/

94

/189/

84

/7/

4.0

When a impoverished widow’s family moves to the big city, two of her five sons become romantic rivals with deadly results.

86

7.7

/24561/

73

/457/

75

/486/

4.1

/60215/

100

/45/

85

/385/

98

/20/

4.0

The story of a donkey Balthazar as he is passed from owner to owner, some kind and some cruel but all with motivations beyond his understanding. Balthazar, whose life parallels that of his first keeper, Marie, is truly a beast of burden, suffering the sins of humankind. But despite his powerlessness, he accepts his fate nobly.

86

7.9

/29094/

77

/469/

77

/523/

4.2

/50786/

100

/29/

92

/490/

84

/10/

4.0

Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.

86

8.0

/27827/

77

/514/

76

/537/

4.1

/42914/

97

/32/

90

/404/

4.0

Viridiana is preparing to start her life as a nun when she is sent, somewhat unwillingly, to visit her aging uncle, Don Jaime. He supports her; but the two have met only once. Jaime thinks Viridiana resembles his dead wife. Viridiana has secretly despised this man all her life and finds her worst fears proven when Jaime grows determined to seduce his pure niece. Viridiana becomes undone as her uncle upends the plans she had made to join the convent.

86

8.0

/37743/

77

/722/

79

/708/

4.2

/63677/

94

/35/

92

/474/

4.0

After a lavish dinner party, the guests find themselves unable to depart... and, over the next few days, all of their elaborate societal pretenses and façades deteriorate as they are reduced to living like animals.

86

8.0

/64765/

78

/1616/

78

/1201/

4.2

/188240/

92

/51/

93

/1101/

90

/21/

4.0

After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.

86

7.9

/94617/

75

/1714/

75

/1285/

4.1

/71973/

91

/67/

90

/1765/

98

/20/

4.0

age 16+

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.

86

7.7

/106848/

77

/2379/

75

/1392/

3.6

/104047/

94

/89/

90

/6409/

95

/15/

4.0

age 6+

A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.

85

7.6

/46577/

74

/776/

75

/1029/

3.9

/83325/

94

/51/

89

/1072/

97

/18/

4.0

In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.

85

8.0

/59991/

78

/874/

79

/909/

4.4

/83069/

96

/46/

93

/674/

An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.

85

8.3

/65732/

80

/4187/

75

/1102/

3.9

/146148/

100

/28/

94

/90/

age 4+

Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of a nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. Disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he decides to raid the village to steal all the Christmas things.

85

7.7

/93855/

74

/1819/

75

/1951/

3.9

/269777/

95

/81/

90

/2243/

96

/24/

4.0

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

85

7.8

/30852/

78

/838/

76

/749/

4.2

/212739/

93

/54/

89

/321/

87

/22/

4.0

Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

85

8.2

/275018/

80

/4865/

79

/2737/

4.2

/138684/

94

/53/

95

/4759/

86

/16/

age 8+

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

85

7.7

/8188/

78

/256/

75

/227/

4.3

/66105/

100

/22/

84

/49/

4.0

In 1960s Tokyo, Gonda owns a bar in which the gay, cross-dresser, and trans scenes meet. Gonda is in a relationship with the madam of the bar, Leda. As the younger Eddie starts a passionate affair with Gonda, she ignites the jealousy of Leda, unaware of another kind of history between them.

85

7.8

/15811/

74

/336/

77

/345/

4.2

/41090/

96

/23/

87

/155/

4.0

The Catholic Jean-Louis runs into an old friend, the Marxist Vidal, in Clermont-Ferrand around Christmas. Vidal introduces Jean-Louis to the modestly libertine, recently divorced Maud and the three engage in conversation on religion, atheism, love, morality and Blaise Pascal's life and writings on philosophy, faith and mathematics. Jean-Louis ends up spending a night at Maud's. Jean-Louis' Catholic views on marriage, fidelity and obligation make his situation a dilemma, as he has already, at the very beginning of the film, proclaimed his love for a young woman whom, however, he has never yet spoken to.

85

7.9

/7981/

76

/256/

76

/180/

4.1

/10073/

93

/14/

89

/111/

4.0

A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain. After backing the film's development, the BBC refused to air it, publicly stating "the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting." It debuted in theaters in 1966 and went on to great acclaim, but remained unseen on British television until 1985.

85

8.0

/42854/

79

/716/

78

/800/

4.2

/93417/

100

/27/

93

/335/

In WW2, twelve year old Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev works for the Soviet army as a scout behind the German lines and strikes a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers.

85

8.0

/43893/

80

/911/

80

/689/

4.1

/59774/

100

/29/

95

/760/