|
British Sixties Films L-R
Lawrence Of
Arabia ( 1962 ) 
An Englishman's adventures
amongst the Arabs.
***********
Stylish, spectacular, breathtaking.
But ultimately we are
little wiser about the man. Albert Finney reputedly turned
down the role that Irishman Peter O'Toole made his own.
Directed by David Lean ( Bridge On The River Kwai
Dr. Zhivago )
***********
Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Jack Hawkins
Anthony Quayle, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness
Writer: Robert Bolt Director: David Lean
Peter O'Toole
amid the dunes, oases and wadis
The Lion In
Winter ( 1968 )
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
share their
Christmas but end up in a family dispute.
***********
As one might expect from those involved, this
is an acting 'tour de force'.
***********
Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Jane Merrow,
Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton
Writer: James Goldman Director: Anthony Harvey
Lolita ( 1962
)
A middle-aged lecturer falls for
the 14
year-old daughter of his land-lady and marries
the mother so that he can be close to the daughter.
***********
An over-long and, at times, arty
interpretation of
the novel. However, well played by the leads and
influential enough to place the term 'A Lolita' into
the English dictionary.
***********
James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers
Writer: Vladimir Nabokov Director: Stanley Kubrick
Lolita - the
object of James Mason's affections
The
Loneliness Of The
Long Distance Runner ( 1962 )
A young man, incarcerated in a
Borstal jail, excels
at running. This is the only success in a desperate
and trouble-filled young life.
***********
Depressing and bitty, earthy and
gritty.
Good social commentary.
***********
Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam,
Julia Foster, Alec McCowen
Writer: Alan Sillitoe Director: Tony Richardson
The Long
& The Short &
The Tall ( 1960 ) ( aka Jungle Fighters )
In Malaya in WWII, a Japanese
scout is captured
by a British patrol.
***********
Unflinching war drama.
***********
Laurence Harvey, Richard Todd, David McCallum,
Richard Harris, Ronald Fraser
Writer: Wolf Mankowitz Director: Leslie Norman
Lord Of The
Flies ( 1963 )
After a plane crash, a group of
British schoolboys
turns savage on a desert island.
***********
This story doesn't translate from
book to film very well.
***********
James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards
Writer/Director: Peter Brook
Without the
trappings of modern life he has turned savage
A Man For All
Seasons ( 1966 )
Sir Thomas More opposes the
divorce of Henry VIII,
which inevitably leads to his execution.
***********
Ideally balanced, magnificent sets,
costumes and
scenery and beautifully acted. Scofield's
performance here is legendary.
***********
Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Susannah York,
Robert Shaw, Orson Welles, Leo McKern,
Nigel Davenport, John Hurt, Corin Redgrave
Writer: Robert Bolt Director: Fred Zinnermann
Paul Scofield (
More ) and Robert Shaw ( Henry )
The
Millionairess ( 1960 )
The world's richest woman falls
for a poor Indian doctor.
***********
The only apparent purpose of this
movie was to provide
an outlet for the stars involved. Despite their best
efforts, they have all been better elsewhere.
***********
Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim
Writer: Wolf Mankowitz Director: Anthony Asquith
The Mind
Benders ( 1963 )
An experiment to remove emotion
and feeling goes
badly wrong when the scientist becomes a sadist.
***********
Enjoyable for-the-moment sci-fi
though in no way remarkable.
***********
Dirk Bogarde, John Clements, Mary Ure, Michael Bryant
Writer: James Kennaway Director: Basil Dearden
A brainwashed
Dirk Bogarde
Morgan, A
Suitable Case
For Treatment ( 1966 )
A young woman wants to leave her mad
husband
whose behaviour is anti-social and uncivilised.
***********
Humorous and swinging marital
fantasy.
***********
Vanessa Redgrave, David Warner
Writer: David Mercer Director: Karel Reisz
Morgan's wife
has a lot to put up with
Oliver! (
1968 )
A young orphan escapes a strict
workhouse in
Dunstable for London and meets rogues who befriend
him. He ends-up unwittingly in trouble with the
law, but is rescued by a friendly man-of-wealth.
A surprising family connection is revealed.
***********
Blockbusting musical version of Charles Dickens'
novel about Oliver Twist. Brilliant songs from
Lionel Bart, superb performances, particularly from
Ron Moody as Fagin. A memorable spectacular.
Some critics did observe that the jollity and
family nature of the movie was at odds with the
subject matter. After all, it did cover pimping,
prostitution, murder, kidnap, and theft!
***********
Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Harry Secombe,
Peggy Mount, Mark Lester, Jack Wild, Shani Wallis
Writer: Vernon Harris Director: Carol Reed
"You've got
to pick a pocket or two"
On Her
Majesty's Secret
Service ( 1969 )
James Bond is on the trail of Blofeld in Switzerland.
***********
Famously, the first Bond without Sean Connery - a difficult
act to follow. I actually like this film a lot. On the down
side, the dubbing is hilarious from the opening shot outside
the hotel. But we have the beautiful and talented Diana Rigg
in a rare film appearance. And Lazenby does surprisingly
well. The last five minutes is very touching - unusual for
a Bond movie - this is only spoiled by the re-emergence of
the Bond theme to spoil the mood.
***********
George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
Writer: Richard Maibaum Director: Peter Hunt
The Prime Of
Miss Jean
Brodie (1969 )
In the 1930's, a liberal schoolmarm is a bad
influence on her impressionable girls.
***********
A nice try, but a shame that such an enjoyable book
lost some charm in the conversion to the big screen.
Nevertheless, an enjoyable couple of hours and
Maggie Smith, as always, is excellent value.
***********
Maggie Smith, Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin
Writer: Jay Presson Allen Director: Ronald Neame
Prime not prim -
Maggie Smith and her girls
Privilege (
1967 )
A pop star's hype turns him into a
semi-religious cult figure.
***********
Ex-Manfred Mann frontman Paul Jones and model
Jean Shrimpton appear in this hit-and-miss star
vehicle. Jones takes the acting honours while
Shrimpton looks enigmatic and stunningly beautiful.
The original story was by Till Death Us Do Part
writer, Johnny Speight.
***********
Paul Jones, Jean Shrimpton, Mark London
Writer: Norman Bogner Director: Peter Watkins
Repulsion (
1965 )
A girl in swinging London is repulsed by sex. She kills
her boyfriend and landlord amid nightmarish daydreams.
***********
Repugnant imagery makes this a grotesque view but it
succeeds as a piece of high-art cinema with the
bonus of sixties sights and sounds.
***********
Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser,
Patrick Wymark, Helen Fraser
Writer: Roman Polanski, Gerard Brach
Director: Roman Polanski
|
