Best Movies of the Sixties

2 weeks ago 03rd Nov 13:57

Ok so the fifties had some of the greatest  movie icons of all time but the sixties introduced us to some of cinema's most influential filmmakers as well as having a string of stars at the peak of their box office power.

The sixties were a time of great change as Hollywood was in decline as more movies were being shot on location or at other studios, in particular Pinewood in London.

And while the likes of the sword and sandal movie was struggling at the box office the western was having no such trouble as it was this genre that made the name for two young actors.

Yes of course I'm talking about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford, which still remains one of the best movies in this genre.

Directed by George Hill this movie encapsulated the very meaning of the Western dramatic chase scenes on horseback to daring robberies of banks and trains all based around a friendship where either would die for the other.

Butch Cassidy's balance of drama, action, and humour is a winning combination on its own. But this excellent tale of friendship and adventure is most successful for its talented leads, who fill every scene with wit, skill, and machismo.

It's success was largely down to the sizzling chemistry of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, with Newman was at his roguish best and Redford mixing sex appeal with danger, it's hard to believe that this partnership didn't happen as the parts were originally offered to Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen.

Another movie genre that enjoyed success during this decade was the horror film, and that's no surprise with the genius that is Alfred Hitchcock at the helm with Psycho.

Today, nearly fifty years after it's release, Psycho still remains one of the Hitchcock's best movies and one of the best films in the horror movie genre.

And Hitchcock wasn't afraid to throw the movie rule book out of the window, that's what made him such a standout and respected filmmaker, and Psycho is where this is most evident; killing his leading lady in the first act of the movie.

Couple that with the fact that Janet Leigh was one of the biggest names at the box office at the time and it was a risky plan. But Leigh's demise, the infamous shower scene, still remains one of the most iconic and terrifying scenes ever committed to film.

How this film didn't win Best Picture at the Oscars is anyone's guess.0

Another horror movies of prominence was Roman Polanski adaptation Ira Levin's novel Rosemary's Baby, which has gone on to become a cult classic.

The decade is also famed for it's more radical and off the wall cinema, Easy Rider being the perfect example, but 1964 brought cinema goers Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers' classic Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a farcical look at the military and the Cold War.