20 Great Movie Classics of the 1960's (Part 2)
Lawrence of Arabia ~ 1962
West Side Story ~ 1961
The Sound of Music ~ 1965
Cool Hand Luke ~ 1967
Bonnie and Clyde ~ 1967
The Planet of the Apes ~ 1968
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ~
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ~ 1969
Midnight Cowboy ~ 1969
Easy Rider ~ 1969
11. Lawrence of Arabia ~ 1962 Majestic and sweeping, Lawrence of Arabia lays claim to honor as one of the greatest classics of all time. A loosely-based historical account of the Turks and their role in World War I. Rich in detail and magnificent cinematography approaches lasting epic proportion. And the Oscar goes to... Sam Spiegel (Best Picture), David Lean (Director), Peter O'toole and Omar Shariff for their spectacular on screen presence.
12. West Side Story ~ 1961 Teen Musical meets Shakespeare. A Broadway musical exploration of the classic story of Romeo and Juliet. Gang members take over where the Capulets and the Montagues left off. Breathtaking choreography and memorable musical numbers take this film classic to a movie utopia. West Side Story won the Oscar that year for best picture. George Chakiris and Rita Moreno also won for their respective supporting roles.
13. The Sound of Music ~ 1965 Julie Andrews stars as the quirky yet lovable nun who takes over the role of governess to seven kids. Unfortunately, they also happen to be under the thumb of a controlling yet misunderstood patriarch. The opening scene showcases the virtuous singing talent of Julie Andrews atop a glorious Ariel view of a mountaintop. One of the most often played and identified movie scenes of all time.
14. Cool Hand Luke ~ 1967 There is no one quite like Paul Newman. No one has since had as much presence or natural star quality. Cool Hand Luke is a story about a guy named Lucas "Cool Hand" Jackson, who enters a life of small-town crime, followed by public vandalism and eventually thrown into jail. What could have been a simple stint in the pen, leads to an even more dubious exchange between the bad guys and the good. George Kennedy won an Oscar for his role as the naive tough guy and Paul Newman was nominated for best actor.
15. Bonnie and Clyde ~ 1967 Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway lead a charged and sophisticated film about the life of the very sexy duo by the name of "Bonnie and Clyde". The story follows two bank-robbers out to take the world by storm. The depiction of sex, scandal and brutal realism proved to be timely and highly successful. Warren Beatty who also produced Bonnie and Clyde won an Oscar for best picture and actor. Faye Dunaway won for best actress and Gene Hackman for best actor in a supporting role.
16. The Planet of the Apes ~ 1968 One of the most powerful, and most risky cinematic endeavors in movie history. A risky gamble of sorts on such a huge budget for the time. After all, with most of the actors costumed in ape suits, it must have been a hard concept to sell. But sell it did. Charlton Heston, as "Taylor", was perfectly cast in this Sci-fi adventure, as an astronaut whose spaceship crashes into the simian-infested parallel universe. Roddy McDowal and Kim Hunter are wonderfully charming as "Cornelius" and "Zira".
17. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ~ The Sixties marked a historic time of change. Moste notably, the era of the Civil Rights Movement. The topics tackled were ground-breaking and tried to answer to the dilemma of how to introduce your fiance (who happens to be African-American) to your family. William Rose won the Oscar for the script and cast Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Katherine Houghton and Sidney Poitier. . Sidney Poitier's presence is particularly outstanding and moving.
18. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ~ 1969 Whoever thought of pairing Paul Newman and Robert Redford was beyond brilliant. As the story unfolds, Butch (Newman) and the kid (Redford) are two outlaws on the run and trying to keep their gang "The Wall" under control. While staging a dramatic train robbery, things go awry and the adventure begins. William Goldman won the Oscar for best screenplay and Burt Bacarach for music.
19. Midnight Cowboy ~ 1969 New York City should be considered one of the main characters in this disturbing account of two misfits trying to make their way in a harsh and cruel world. Jon Voight plays "Joe Buck", a Texas dishwasher, who aspires to keep rich older débutantes company. When things don't pan-out as expected, "Joe" falls into an unlikely friendship with a crippled, slick native played by Dustin Hoffman. Who can forget that scene when Dustin Hoffman's character yells out "I'm walkin here"? The Academy bravely honored this film, even though it was given an "X" rating, for best picture that year.
20. Easy Rider ~ 1969 Easy Rider is considered to be one of the most important films of the decade. The amazing cast included Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Antonio Mendoze and Jack Nicholson. The story finds two hardcore, drug-dealing bikers on a cross-country trek that leads to jolting and brutal ending. Unexpected and unparalleled for it's gritty realism of usual scripts of previous years. A one-of-a-kind film that has surpassed all it's expectations. The music alone, Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, put this film in a category all it's own.