Cinema60

Ep# 91 - Biker Films of 1969

Cinema60 — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:01:00 +0000

Kick start your engines! Throw on that cutoff jean jacket vest with the pro-fascist pins ‘n’ patches! Respect nobody and nothing - society’s rules least of all! That’s right, it’s time to hit the highway and live that dream of total freedom and cause some violent mayhem and wanton destruction! It’s biker movies of 1969!

In this season finale, as part of their once Bootleg Bond series, now expanded Genre series, Bart and Jenna explore all that hogs and leather have to offer. Don’t miss out on their in depth discussion on 1960s cinema classic Easy Rider and a film Jenna describes as truly evil, Satan’s Sadists.

The following films are discussed:

• Run, Angel, Run! (1969)
Directed by Jack Starrett
Starring William Smith, Valerie Starrett, Dan Kemp

• Hell's Belles (1969)
Directed by Maury Dexter
Starring Jeremy Slate, Jocelyn Lane, Adam Roarke

• Naked Angels (1969)
Directed by Bruce D. Clark
Starring Michael Greene, Jennifer Gan, Richard Rust

• The Cycle Savages (1969)
Directed by Bill Brame
Starring Bruce Dern, Melody Patterson, Chris Robinson

• Hell's Angels '69 (1969)
Directed by Lee Madden
Starring Tom Stern, Jeremy Slate, Conny Van Dyke

• Satan's Sadists (1969)
Directed by Al Adamson
Starring Russ Tamblyn, Scott Brady, Regina Carrol

• Easy Rider (1969)
Directed by Dennis Hopper
Starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson

Ep #90 - Russ Meyer in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 13:33:48 +0000

One a basic level, ‘60s cinema is the story of the complete breakdown of censorship rules about what could and could not be shown on American theater screens. Hollywood’s Production Code was already falling apart in the ‘50s when competition with television forced movies to offer kinds of entertainment that were not available on the small screen. Films from countries with fewer restrictions on content were being shown more frequently and naturist documentaries were getting around rules about nudity – though you had to go to “art” cinemas or less reputable theaters to see these things. While the studios still had strict guidelines on what was acceptable for release in mainstream theaters, smaller theaters were pushing boundaries on what they were willing to show audiences. As a result, Hollywood, in order to keep up, threw all their old self-censorship rules by the end of the ‘60s.

One of the major figures on the grindhouse circuit who continued to push the amount of sex and nudity that could be shown in films throughout the decade – and made enough money doing it for the studios to really take notice – was Russ Meyer. His goofy, satirical, surprisingly well-made exploitation films were cutting-edge smut that gained popularity over the course of the ‘60s because they delivered the sleaze they promised and dis it with skill and style. Eventually he gained a cult reputation among cineastes and reputable film critics that continues to this day, even though many of his films are more shocking by modern standards than they were when they first hit screens.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss all things boobs, sexual desperation and boobs. Bart takes on the brunt of the burden, getting through the entire decade and finding there’s more to Meyer than pure titillation. Jenna, however, is less than enthused with Meyer’s ‘comedic’ sensibilities, finding Bart’s cherry-picked selections mostly intolerable. But even both agree that at least a little bit of Meyer is essential viewing for anybody who want to understand the what the decade in cinema was all about.

The following films are discussed:

• Lorna (1964)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Lorna Maitland, Mark Bradley, James Rucker

• Mudhoney (1965)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Hal Hopper, Antoinette Cristiani, John Furlong

• Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Tura Satana, Haji, Lori Williams

• Good Morning and... Goodbye! (1967)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Alaina Capri, Stuart Lancaster, Haji

• Vixen! (1968)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Erica Gavin, Garth Pillsbury, Harrison Page

• Harry, Cherry and Raquel (1969)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Linda Ashton, Charles Napier, Larissa Ely

Also mentioned:

• The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Bill Teas, Ann Peters, Enrico Banducci

• Eve and the Handyman (1961)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Eve Meyer, Anthony-James Ryan, Frank Bolger

• Erotica (1961)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Denise Daniels, Kathy Lee, Candis McKay

• Wild Gals of the Naked West (1962)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Sammy Gilbert, Anthony-James Ryan, Jackie Moran

• Europe in the Raw (1963)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Veronique Gabriel, Gigi La Touche, Abundavita

• Fanny Hill (1964)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Miriam Hopkins, Letícia Román, Ulli Lommel

• Motorpsycho (1965)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Haji, Alex Rocco, Steve Oliver

• Mondo Topless (1966)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Babette Bardot, Darlene Grey, Pat Barringtonn

• Common Law Cabin (1967)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Jackie Moran, Babette Bardot, Adele Rein

• Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Anne Chapman, Paul Lockwood, Gordon Wescourt

• Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom

• Supervixens (1975)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Charles Pitt, Shari Eubank, Charles Napier

• Up! (1976)
Directed by Russ Meyer
Starring Edward Schaaf, Robert McLane, Elaine Collins

Ep #89 - Dirty Dozen Rip-Offs in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:17:04 +0000

The impact of The Dirty Dozen on the decade cannot be overstated – here was a big-budget, Hollywood star-powered blockbuster, about a popular topic, that simply didn’t hold back. Toss on the fact that there was no rating system at the time, it’s very likely Little Timmy didn’t know what he was getting into when he decided to go see that new World War II movie. With a few well placed curse words and a few dozen dead Nazis, director Robert Aldrich ushered a whole new era of screen violence into the American consciousness.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss the legacy of The Dirty Dozen by going straight to the immediate rip-offs that followed in its wake. There’s at least two surprisingly underseen gems in the bunch, as well as one other massive hit, all of which bring up the body count even as some question their own morality. Finally, some war movies even Bart can enjoy!

The following films are discussed:

• The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson

• Dark of the Sun (1968)
Directed by Jack Cardiff
Starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown

• The Devil's Brigade (1968)
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards

• Play Dirty (1969)
Directed by André De Toth
Starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green

• The Wild Bunch (1969)
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan

• Battle of the Commandos (1969)
La legione dei dannati
Directed by Umberto Lenzi
Starring Jack Palance, Thomas Hunter, Curd Jurgens

Ep# 88 - Dwight Macdonald's 60s Pick: Last Year at Marienbad

Cinema60 — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:06:46 +0000

Cinema60 is back with a ghost guest in order to highlight some notable opinions on film. Dwight Macdonald, a celebrity film critic of the ‘50s and ‘60s who is now more remembered as a cultural critic and political pundit, had a lot to say about the dumbing down of high art to appeal to middlebrow tastes. Championing films that challenged audiences, he famously took on Alain Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad as one of the most difficult films to ever be embraced by American audiences.

While he does not consider the film one of his favorites, he admires its techniques and ambitions. He would use it as a touchstone through his career to describe the type of film that pushes boundaries of what cinema can do and engages on a higher level. In this episode, Bart and Jenna respond to Macdonald, muse on the actual difficulty of such a film and use his word to illustrate their own mission statement.

The following film is discussed:
•Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
L'année dernière à Marienbad
Directed by Alain Resnais
Starring Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff

Text discussed:
• On Movies (1969) by Dwight Mcdonald

Other films mentioned:
• Citizen Kane (1941)
Directed by Orson Welles
Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore

• Children of Paradise (1945)
Les enfants du paradis
Directed by Marcel Carné
Starring Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur

• Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Directed by Alain Resnais
Starring Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas

• Breathless (1960)
À bout de souffle
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Jean-Pierre Melville

• La Dolce Vita (1960)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée

• Jules & Jim (1962)
Directed by François Truffaut
Starring Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre

Ep# 87 - Akira Kurosawa in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 13:03:27 +0000

For the first half of the 1960s, Akira Kurosawa was arguably at the peak of his career, making masterpiece after masterpiece at a rate that was sure to surpass the heights of his ‘50s glories. But then, after making the most beloved film of his career, he hit a wall. There would be several more great films to come, but for a while there it seemed like the career of one of cinema’s most widely celebrated masters had come to an end.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss what happened to Kurosawa’s second half of the decade, but mostly they relish the opportunity to finally cross off some ‘60s cinema heavy-hitters from their list. From the banging drums of Yojimbo, to the harrowing screams of Red Beard, with some striking and atypical gendai-geki thrillers along the way, the episode is packed with must-see films. Listen as Jenna admires Kurosawa’s artistry but occasionally struggles with his pacing, while Bart rapturously discovers that some old favorites are even better than he remembered.

The following films are discussed:

• The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
悪い奴ほどよく眠る / Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyoko Kagawa

• Yojimbo (1961)
用心棒 / Yôjinbô
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa

• Sanjuro (1962)
椿三十郎 / Tsubaki Sanjûrô
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi

• High and Low (1963)
天国と地獄 / Tengoku to jigoku
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa

• Red Beard (1965)
赤ひげ / Akahige
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Yūzō Kayama, Reiko Dan

• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
トラ・トラ・トラ！
Directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda & Kinji Fukasaku
Starring So Yamamura, Martin Balsam, Tatsuya Mihashi

Ep# 86 - Cinema60's Top Ten Films of 1962

Cinema60 — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:22:16 +0000

Bart and Jenna want to tell you what their favorites films from 1962 are, but the catch is that the films can only be selected from films covered on Cinema60 so far! But first, they’re going to talk about six films from 1961 that they’ve chosen to watch in hopes that they can snazz up their Top Tens with some bonus bangers. (Aka, basically it’s just Kiss Marry Kill by a different name.)

Jenna’s picks for the episode are a diverse range of societal critiques, but all three are favorite genres of hers: the anti-authoritarian fable, the dark, horror-adjacent satire, and the Commedia all'italiana. Bart’s pick are bit more uniform and specific - small-scale slice-of-life films about young women who’ve struck out on their own to make lives for themselves and end up involved in atypical relationship triangles. Six different nations are represented in their choices, providing a nice cross-section of what was going in in cinema in 1962.

The following films are discussed:

• Harakiri (1962)
    切腹/Seppuku
    Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
    Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita

• Adieu Philippine (1962)
Directed by Jacques Rozier
Starring Jean-Claude Aimini, Stefania Sabatini, Yveline Céry

• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono

• The L-Shaped Room (1962)
Directed by Bryan Forbes
Starring Leslie Caron, Cicely Courtneidge, Brock Peters

• Smog (1962)
Directed by Franco Rossi
Starring Enrico Maria Salerno, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori

• Strange Girl (1962)
    Čudna devojka
    Directed by Jovan Zivanovic
    Starring Spela Rozin, Vojislav Miric, Zoran Radmilovic

Ep# 85 - Bulgarian Cinema in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 21 May 2024 11:32:46 +0000

Following in the tradition of our episodes on Ukraine and Egypt, where we tried to find our way into national cinemas that are virtually inaccessible in the West (not to mention our other single-nation episodes on Poland, Brazil, Hong Kong, West Germany, Japan, Czechoslovakia and Mexico that focus more narrowly on a single movement or genre), we gathered up as many movies as we could find, read some academic articles, and then watched the six most promising Bulgarian movies from the ‘60s. Our intention, of course, is to give a taste of what the country has to offer, rather than a full overview. Plus, I mean gosh, appease all of those fans who have been lighting up our switchboard asking for Bulgarian ‘60s cinema…

In this episode, the starting point was Binka Zhelyazkova, who was the first Bulgarian female director. She was also one of the very few women from behind the Iron Curtain, pre-Glasnost era, to have her films shown in the West. From there we spread out to other filmmakers whose works seemed to get written about most often and, crucially, can be seen today with decent prints and English subtitles. Though Bart & Jenna generally agree on the most noteworthy film and least noteworthy film of the episode, there’s quite a bit of discussion in the merits of each. Dive in – none of these films require the kind of fortitude you might expect would be required to sit through little-known 60s art cinema from Bulgaria.

The following films are discussed:

• We Were Young (1961)
А бяхме млади/A byahme mladi
Directed by Binka Zhelyazkova
Starring Dimitar Buynozov, Rumyana Karabelova, Lyudmila Cheshmedzhieva

• The Inspector and the Night (1963)
Инспекторът и нощта/Inspektorat i noshtta
Directed by Rangel Vulchanov
Starring Stars Georgi Kaloyanchev, Nevena Kokanova, Dimitar Panov

• The Peach Thief (1964)
Крадецът на праскови/Kradetzat na praskovi
Directed by Vulo Radev
Starring Nevena Kokanova, Rade Markovic, Mikhail Mikhaylov

• Armourless Knight (1966)
Рицар без броня/Ritzar bez bronya
Directed by Borislav Sharaliev
Starring Oleg Kovachev, Mariya Rusalieva, Apostol Karamitev

• The Tied-Up Balloon (1967)
Привързаният балон/Privarzaniyat balon
Directed by Binka Zhelyazkova
Starring Georgi Kaloyanchev, Grigor Vachkov, Ivan Bratanov

• The White Room (1968)
Бялата стая/Byalata staya
Directed by Metodi Andonov
Starring Apostol Karamitev, Elena Rainova, Dorotea Toncheva

Ep# 84 - William Shakespeare in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 11:39:37 +0000

What-ho, Cinema60 fans! Six seasons we hath returned, recorded, and bearing our newfangled episodes. In this, our triumphant premiere we speaketh, perchance to wax lyrical, about the works of The Bard – on this April 23, his day of birth! Well enow, we'll cease our foolishness. But there were quite a few direct Shakespeare adaptations in the decade, let alone movies inspired by Shakespeare (West Side Story, anyone?). Whether you've read or seen these plays a thousand times, or are a first timer, the ‘60s offer a nice evolution from stage-bound adaptations to fully fledged cinematic delights.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna dive deep into a multitudinous flote of Shakespearean films in one fell swoop. Bart, a once English major, finds these films bedazzling. Jenna, green-eyed monster that she is, complains heartily about the lackluster source material – but the lady doth protest too much, methinks. They has’t a lively debate over how to approach these films, and about what it takes to adapt something as stylized as Shakespeare to a medium that leans so heavily towards realism. Though they each have their personal favorites amongst the episode’s selections, there’s one that they can agree is one of the decade’s greatest successes by any standard.

The following films are discussed:

• Hamlet (1964)
Гамлет
Directed by Grigoriy Kozintsev
Starring Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Mikhail Nazvanov, Anastasiya Vertinskaya

• Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Campanadas a medianoche
Directed by Orson Welles
Starring Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud

• Othello (1965)
Directed by Stuart Burge
Starring Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Maggie Smith

• The Taming of The Shrew (1967)
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Michael York

• Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968)
Directed by Peter Hall
Starring Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm

Ep #83 - Bands Playing Themselves in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 12:46:44 +0000

When A Hard Days Night exploded onto the scene in 1964, its charm and success was simply ripe for some good ol’ fashioned bootlegging. What followed was half a decade of wannabe music movies – specifically, movies in which pop bands play themselves while still following a strictly scripted plot. Mainly these were vehicles for British boy bands, but eventually they started to extend over to the Americas – where they warped from wholesome to hippie.

In this season finale, Bart and Jenna tackle several of these band movies head on – and with Head on. It’s an episode full of high highs (marijuana and LSD) and low lows (Herman’s Hermits and Freddie and the Dreamers), but quite frankly they’re all a treat as its such a decade-specific genre. Get ready for a whole lot of restless youths, square plots, stoner humor, and screaming, adoring fans.

The following films are discussed:

• Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964)
Directed by Jeremy Summers
Starring Gerry & The Pacemakers, Mona Washbourne, Cilla Black

• Having a Wild Weekend (1965)
Catch Us If You Can
Directed by John Boorman
Starring The Dave Clark Five, Barbara Ferris, Yootha Joyce

• Help! (1965)
Directed by Richard Lester
Starring The Beatles, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron

• Hold On! (1966)
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Starring Herman’s Hermits, Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Langdon

• The Cuckoo Patrol (1967)
Directed by Duncan Wood
Starring Freddie & The Dreamers, Kenneth Connor, Victor Maddern

• Good Times (1967)
Directed by William Friedkin
Starring Sonny & Cher, George Sanders, Norman Alden

• Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968)
Directed by Saul Swimmer
Starring Herman’s Hermits, Sheila White, Sarah Caldwell

• Head (1968)
Directed by Bob Rafelson
Starring The Monkees, Victor Mature, Annette Funicello

Also mentioned:

• The Ghost Goes Gear (1966)
Directed by Hugh Gladwish
Starring The Spencer Davis Group, Nicholas Parsons, Sheila White

• Los chicos con las chicas (1967)
Directed by Javier Aguirre
Starring Los Bravos, Enriqueta Carballeira, Manolo Gómez Bur

• Dame un poco de amooor...! (1968)
Directed by José María Forqué
Starring Los Bravos, Rosenda Monteros, Luis Peña

Ep# 82 - Sergei Parajanov & Yuri Ilyenko in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 13:16:46 +0000

In a follow up to the Ukrainian National Cinema episode, Cinema60 finally addresses the beautiful, surreal and unfairly banned films of Sergei Parajanov and Yuri Ilyenko – two figures that are essential to the story of what was getting made in that region while it was under Soviet control. In the case of Parajanov, his films of the ‘60s are amongst the most striking and influential ever made. In the case of Ilyenko, a lesser known but equally astonishing filmmaker, his unique visual sense of rhythm and movement are a sight to behold. Together, they made Shadows of the Forgotten Ancestors, a film that launched both of their careers towards a path of subversive, politically charged cinema that got them in trouble with Soviet authorities for decades to come.

In this episode, Bart & Jenna start with Parjanov’s straightforward Soviet Realist films from the early 60s, and then jump into the more radical work of Parajanov and Ilyenko in the later ‘60s. Hopefully our hosts’ struggles to make sense out of these challenging films will encourage listeners to be less fearful of the unknown – an entirely rewarding journey for those to attempt it.

The following films are discussed:

• Ukrainian Rhapsody (1961)
Українська рапсодія (Ukrainskaya rapsodiya)
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Starring Olga Reus-Petrenko, Eduard Koshman, Yuriy Gulyayev

• Flower on the Stone (1962)
Цветок на камне (Tsvetok na kamne)
Directed by Sergei Parajanov & Anatoly Slesarenko
Starring Inna Burduchenko, Lyudmila Cherepanova, Boris Dmokhovsky

• Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965)
Тіні забутих предків (Tini zabutykh predkiv)
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Cinematography by Yuri Ilyenko
Starring Ivan Mikolaychuk, Larisa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva

• A Spring for the Thirsty (1965)
Криниця для спраглих (Krynytsya dlya sprahlykh)
Directed by Yuri Ilyenko
Starring Dmitri Milyutenko, Larisa Kadochnikova, Feodosiya Litvinenko

• Kyiv Frescoes (1966)
Киевские фрески (Kiyevskiye freski)
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Starring Tengiz Archvadze, Vladimir Artman, Alexandr Kotchekov

• Hakob Hovnatanyan (1967)
Հակոբ Հովնաթանյան
Directed by Sergei Parajanov

• The Eve of Ivan Kupalo (1968)
Вечір на Івана Купала (Vechir na Ivana Kupala)
Directed by Yuri Ilyenko
Starring Boris Khmelnitskiy, Larisa Kadochnikova, Yefim Fridman

• The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
Նռան գույնը (Sayat Nova)
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Starring Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan

Ep #81 - The Many Faces of Django in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:51:03 +0000

In 1966, somewhere along the United States-Mexico border, a man wearing a tattered Union uniform drags a coffin across the desert… and into the hearts of the Italian moviegoing public. What was it about this mix of blood, violence, sweaty masculine tusslin’, and steely blue eyes? With just one film, Sergio Corbucci inspired over thirty five remakes, sequels, and rip-offs – the first two even in the same year the original film came out.

In this episode, as part of their once Bootleg Bond series, now expanded Genre series, Bart and Jenna make it their business to map out Django from the beginning. They start with the widely seen original and slowly make their way through a mix of western wannabes, surrealist desert violence and pure cowboy schlock. They also discuss what makes Django so appealing: is it the cathartic, unflinchingly bloody violence, or is it the leftist beating heart that many spaghetti westerns share? Why not both?

The following films are discussed:

• Django (1966)
Directed by Sergio Corbucci
Starring Franco Nero, Loredana Nusciak, Eduardo Fajardo

• A Few Dollars for Django (1966)
Pochi dollari per Django
Directed by León Klimovsky & Enzo G. Castellari
Starring Anthony Steffen, Gloria Osuna, Ennio Girolami

• Django Shoots First (1966)
Django spara per primo
Directed by Alberto De Martino
Starring Glenn Saxson, Ida Galli, Fernando Sancho

• Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967)
Se sei vivo spara
Directed by Giulio Questi
Starring Tomas Milian, Marilù Tolo, Piero Lulli

• Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)
Preparati la bara!
Directed by Ferdinando Baldi
Starring Terence Hill, Horst Frank, George Eastman

• Django the Bastard (1968)
Django il bastardo
Directed by Sergio Garrone
Starring Anthony Steffen, Paolo Gozlino, Luciano Rossi

Ep #80 - Cinema60's Top Ten Films of 1961

Cinema60 — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 12:21:30 +0000

Bart and Jenna want to tell you what their favorites films from 1961 are, but the catch is that the films can only be selected from films covered on Cinema60 so far! But first, they’re going to talk about six films from 1961 that they’ve chosen to watch in hopes that they can snazz up their Top Tens with some bonus bangers. (Aka, basically it’s just Kiss Marry Kill by a different name.)

Coincidentally, some specific topics end up popping up frequently in the episode. First and foremost, we get a lot of talk about commedia all'italiana – a ‘60s genre near and dear to our hosts’ hearts. Also broached are such subjects as
”Artists In Paris,” or “Guns Are Bad,” and “Legacies of WWII,” “Statutory Kissing,” “Staying True To Your Ideals,” and “Why Satire Rules.” It’s the trends and treasures of 1961 cinema served up for your delectation.

The following films are discussed:

• A Difficult Life (1961)
Una vita difficile
Directed by Dino Risi
Starring Alberto Sordi, Lea Massari, Franco Fabrizi

• The Guns of Navarone (1961)
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven

• Paris Belongs to Us (1961)
Paris nous appartient
Directed by Jacques Rivette
Starring Betty Schneider, Giani Esposito, Françoise Prévost

• Divorce Italian Style (1961)
Divorzio all'italiana
Directed by Pietro Germi
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Daniela Rocca, Stefania Sandrelli

• My Son, the Hero (1961)
Los hermanos Del Hierro
Directed by Ismael Rodríguez
Starring Antonio Aguilar, Julio Alemán, Patricia Conde

• Call Me Genius (1961)
The Rebel
Directed by Robert Day
Starring Tony Hancock, George Sanders, Paul Massie

Ep #79 - Susan Sontag's 60s Pick: Persona

Cinema60 — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 11:37:39 +0000

Once again, Cinema60 communes with the dead in order to highlight some notable opinions on film. Tonight’s ghost guest is Susan Sontag and her seminal Sight and Sound review on Ingmar Bergman’s Persona. Known primarily as an author, filmmaker and intellect, in the 1960s Sontag was just beginning her illustrious career as a writer – her essay “Notes on ‘Camp’” helped to define the camp aesthetic to the public at large. Simiarly, her 1967 review of Persona has endured throughout the ages, rising above other contemporary voices to help audiences (old and new alike) better derive meaning from Bergman’s rather abstract film.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna use Sontag’s article as a sounding board to dissect Bergman’s filmmaking and explore the depths of Persona. Easy enough for Bart, who likely would have chosen this film himself if the episode had been about his favorite ‘60s pick. Meanwhile, Jenna muses on the idea that all cinema must have a “point” – even if sometimes the point is that there is no point.

The following film is discussed:

• Persona (1966)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook

Also mentioned:

• Journey to Italy (1954)
Viaggio in Italia
Directed by Roberto Rossellini
Starring Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders, Maria Mauban

• L'avventura (1960)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Monica Vitti, Gabriele Ferzetti, Lea Massari

• Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
L'année dernière à Marienbad
Directed by Alain Resnais
Starring Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff

• Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
Såsom i en spegel
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow

• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Directed by John Ford
Starring James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles

• Winter Light (1963)
Nattvardsgästerna
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, Gunnel Lindblom

• The Silence (1963)
Tystnaden
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Birger Malmsten

• Hour of the Wolf (1968)
Vargtimmen
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gertrud Fridh

• Shame (1968)
Skammen
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Sigge Fürst

• Duet for Cannibals (1969)
Duett för kannibaler
Directed by Susan Sontag
Starring Adriana Asti, Lars Ekborg, Gösta Ekman

• The Passion of Anna (1969)
En passion
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow

• Brother Carl (1971)
Bröder Carl
Directed by Susan Sontag
Starring Geneviève Page, Gunnel Lindblom, Keve Hjelm

• The Point (1971)
Directed by Fred Wolf
Starring Ringo Starr, Mike Lookinland, Lennie Weinrib

• Promised Lands (1974)
Directed by Susan Sontag

• Inland Empire (2006)
Directed by David Lynch
Starring Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Jeremy Irons

Ep# 78 - Documentaries in 1969

Cinema60 — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:10:46 +0000

Here at Cinema60 we’ve embraced the endless task of putting a pin in the entirety of Sixties cinema. However, one area where we have been remiss in our duties is documentaries – a genre that truly came into its own during this decade. Films like Robert Drew’s Primary and Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin’s Chronicle of a Summer began to break from the popular “voice of God” expository mode, giving way to a greater variety of non-fiction documentary filmmaking techniques. By the end of the decade, the narrated newsreel style was relegated primarily to television, and movie theaters were home to the newer forms.

In this episode, Cinema60 looks at documentaries in 1969 – examining just how far the genre had progressed in ten years. Using Bill Nichols landmark text Representing Reality (1991) as a guide for describing what documentary looked like at the time, Bart and Jenna delve into the wealth of styles the genre had splintered into and take a look at some of the most exceptional documentaries ever made.

The following films are discussed:

• A Married Couple (1969)
Directed by Allan King
Starring Billy Edwards, Antoinette Edwards, Bogart Edwards

• Salesman (1969)
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Charlotte Zwerin
Starring Paul Brennan, Charles McDevitt, James Baker

• In The Year of the Pig (1969)
Directed by Emile de Antonio
Starring Lyndon B. Johnson, Ho Chí Minh, Robert McNamara

• The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
Le chagrin et la pitié
Directed by Marcel Ophüls
Starring Helmut Tausend, Marcel Verdier, Alexis Grave

• The Olympics in Mexico (1969)
Olimpiada en México
Directed by Alberto Isaac
Starring Enrique Lizalde, Tommie Smith, John Carlos

• Diaries, Notes and Sketches (also known as Walden) (1969)
Directed by Jonas Mekas
Starring Timothy Leary, Edie Sedgwick, Norman Mailer

Ep# 77 - Christopher J. Lee's 60s Picks: Battle of Algiers & Black Girl

Cinema60 — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 11:52:56 +0000

Bart and Jenna are rarely afraid to dive headfirst into uncharted areas of cinema, but certain movies are just too important for them to toss around in their usual subjective way. Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is one such landmark work that seems irresponsible to discuss without a maximum amount of context. That’s why Cinema60 invited African Studies and Decolonization scholar Christopher J. Lee to the podcast to help them unpack the history and politics of the film and the events that it depicts.

In addition, Chris wanted to talk about Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl, another film from 1966 with a very different, but equally harsh, perspective on French colonialism in Africa. The two films, taken together, give a well-rounded visualization of the revolutionary ideas of political philosopher Frantz Fanon, whose thoughts got to the heart much of the social upheaval of the era. Listen as Chris gives a global backdrop to the rebellious spirit that inspired the big changes in the way people governed themselves, and in the way they made movies, in the mid-20th century.

The following films are discussed:

• The Battle of Algiers (1966)
La battaglia di Algeri
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Starring Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi

• Black Girl (1966)
La noire de...
Directed by Ousmane Sembène
Starring Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine

Also mentioned:

• The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Directed by D.W. Griffith
Starring Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall

• De Voortrekkers (a.k.a. Winning a Continent) (1916)
Directed by Harold M. Shaw
Starring Dick Cruikshanks, Caroline Frances Cooke, Jackie Turnbull

• Rome, Open City (1945)
Roma città aperta
Directed by Roberto Rossellini
Starring Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero

• Paisan (1946)
Paisà
Directed by Roberto Rossellini
Starring Carmela Sazio, Gar Moore, William Tubbs

• Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Ladri di biciclette
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell

• Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)
Directed by Zoltan Korda
Starring Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson

• Le petit soldat (1961)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Michel Subor, Henri-Jacques Huet

• Cléo from 5 to 7 (1963)
Cléo de 5 à 7
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray

• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Les parapluies de Cherbourg
Directed by Jacques Demy
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon

• Nanny (2022)
Directed by Nikyatu Jusu
Starring Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls

Books discussed:

• The Stranger by Albert Camus (1942)

• Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramchi (1947)

• Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon (1952)

• God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène (1960)

• The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (1961)

• Frantz Fanon: Toward A Revolutionary Humanism by Christopher J. Lee (2015)

Ep #76 - Doris Day is Not That Kinda Girl in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 12:35:27 +0000

In the immortal words of Betty Rizzo: “Watch it, hey, I’m Doris Day – I was not brought up that way!” While teen stars could always be counted on to keep their pants on in the dying days of Old Hollywood comedy, Doris Day was a unique figure in that she played adult working women who were continually thrown into the most lustful of situations, and never worried audiences that she’d come out the other side without her virtue intact. As one of the biggest box office draws of the era, movie-goers would eagerly await her latest bedroom adventures in which she narrowly escapes certain fornication as frequently as James Bond narrowly escapes certain death. And, like Bond, there’s never any doubt that she’ll get her man.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna delight in some 1960s romcom frivolity as Doris Day turns down every leading man from Rock Hudson and James Garner, to Cary Grant and Rod Taylor. She also manages to do battle with a host of mechanical foes, from Automats and car washes to city-wide blackouts and robot vacuum trash dogs. Our intrepid hosts treat these movies with the seriousness they deserve.

The following films are discussed:

• Lover Come Back (1961)
Directed by Delbert Mann
Starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall

• That Touch of Mink (1962)
Directed by Delbert Mann
Starring Doris Day, Cary Grant, Gig Young

• Move Over, Darling (1963)
Directed by Michael Gordon
Starring Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen

• Send Me No Flowers (1964)
Directed by Norman Jewison
Starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall

• The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Starring Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Arthur Godfrey

• Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)
Directed by Hy Averback
Starring Doris Day, Robert Morse, Patrick O’Neal

Ep #75 - The Films of Federico Fellini in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:37:39 +0000

In the year 1960, Federico Fellini premiered La Dolce Vita and changed cinema forever. That sounds like hyperbole but it’s really just fact; it was the film that not only spawned a thousand knock-offs, both contemporary and legacy, but launched Fellini’s own career into the stratosphere. Known for his dream-like films, fantastical visuals, introspective storylines and iconic Nino Rota scores, the ‘60s truly defined his unique voice as a director. In finally tackling Fellini, Cinema60 has stared into the face of God and emerged with the heaviness that comes with the gaining of great knowledge and the irrevocable loss of youthful innocence.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna spend almost 30 minutes breaking down La Dolce Vita in great detail and then happily move on to the rest, because they’re all great too. Sure, the two heavy hitters here cast a long shadow over Fellini’s extensive body of work and over the entirety of ‘60s arthouse cinema. But the others that we cover are treasures in their own right – shining even more brightly due their comparative underexposure. I turns out, watching each of these films in order tells a rather gripping story of both the evolution of Fellini as an artist and of the self-immolating ambitiousness of the decade itself.

The following films are discussed:

• La dolce vita (1960)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée

• Boccaccio '70 (1962)
Segment: "Le tentazioni del Dottor Antonio"
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Anita Ekberg, Peppino De Filippo, Antonio Acqua

• 8½ (1963)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale

• Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Giulietta degli spiriti
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu

• Spirits of the Dead (1968)
Histoires extraordinaires - segment: "Toby Dammit"
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Terence Stamp, Marina Yaru, Salvo Randone

• Fellini Satyricon (1969)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born

Bonus Topics:

• Spirits of the Dead (1968)
Histoires extraordinaires - segment: "Metzengerstein"
Directed by Roger Vadim
Starring Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Serge Marquand

• Spirits of the Dead (1968)
Histoires extraordinaires - segment: "William Wilson"
Directed by Louis Malle
Starring Alain Delon, Brigitte Bardot, Katia Christine

• Fellini: A Director's Notebook (1969)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Starring Federico Fellini, Giulietta Masina, Marcello Mastroianni

Ep #74 - Carlo Vanstiphout's Guide to Kaiju in the '60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:42:37 +0000

After Godzilla leapt to the big screen in 1954, he quickly became Japan’s most recognizable pop culture expression of lasting trauma and remorse over the nuclear end of their involvement in WWII. In the 1960s, Godzilla-inspired kaiju movies took this same metaphor of an unstoppable destructive force that indiscriminately kills both the innocent and the guilty with equal fury, and made it fun! Carlo Vanstiphout of Back Row Cinema and CRUD Buddies shares his expertise on his favorite era of Japanese monster movies and help us understand how Japan learned to stop worrying and love the atomic monsters. While Godzilla is discussed in detail, Carlo focuses mostly on Big G’s Toho friends, as well as a certain fire-powered turtle and a stone giant from Daiei (Toho Studio’s main kaiju competition).

In this episode, Carlo navigates through the several dozen kaiju movies made in the Sixties and chooses six that he truly enjoys and thinks best represent what was happening in the genre at the time. Left to their own devices, Bart and Jenna could have blundered through these movies and perhaps drawn a few conclusions about the appeal of rubber monsters in the ‘60s. But thankfully Carlo is on hand to explain what the hell is going on in these colorful, outrageously fun, and often perplexing batch of films.

The following films are discussed:

• Mothra (1961)
モスラ
Directed by Ishirô Honda
Starring Furankî Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyôko Kagawa

• Frankenstein vs. Baragon (a.k.a. Frankenstein Conquers The World) (1965)
フランケンシュタイン対地底怪獣
Directed by Ishirô Honda
Starring Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Tadao Takashima

• Daimajin (1966)
大魔神
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Starring Miwa Takada, Yoshihiko Aoyama, Jun Fujimaki

• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (a.k.a. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster) (1966)
ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ南海の大決闘
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Starring Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Chôtarô Tôgin

• King Kong Escapes (1967)
キングコングの逆襲
Directed by Ishirô Honda
Starring Rhodes Reason, Mie Hama, Linda Miller

• Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
ガメラ対大悪獣ギロン
Directed by Noriaki Yuasa
Starring Nobuhiro Kajima, Miyuki Akiyama, Christopher Murphy

Ep# 73 - Cinema60's Top Ten Films of 1960

Cinema60 — Tue, 30 May 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Having already gotten to the end of the decade while playing Kiss Marry Kill, it was time for a change. Welcome to Top Ten, where Bart and Jenna each choose three movies – one they think they’ll love, one they know they love, and one wildcard choice – in hopes of adding to their top ten ranking of the year in question. So… not terribly dissimilar to Kiss Marry Kill.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna play Top Ten with the year 1960, focusing on foreign films they know and/or expect to love. From the most arthouse of arthouse choices, to some deeply cynical satires, all of their selections are worth your time – even if they didn’t all make it into the final rankings.

The following films are discussed:

• Late Autumn (1960)
秋日和
Directed by Yasujirô Ozu
Starring Setsuko Hara, Yôko Tsukasa, Mariko Okada

• The Naked Isalnd (1960)
裸の島
Directed by Kaneto Shindô
Starring Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka

• Purple Noon (1960)
Plein soleil
Directed by René Clément
Starring Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie Laforêt

• The Good Girls (1960)
Les bonnes femmes
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Starring Bernadette Lafont, Clotilde Joano, Stéphane Audran

• The Wheelchair (1960)
El cochecito
Directed by Marco Ferreri
Starring José Isbert, Pedro Porcel, José Luis López Vázquez

• The White Dove (1960)
Holubice
Directed by Frantisek Vlácil
Starring Katerina Irmanovová, Karel Smyczek, Vjaceslav Irmanov

Ep# 72 - Harry Alan Towers' Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu Movies in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 09 May 2023 11:33:50 +0000

The legendary Harry Alan Towers: independent film producer, part-time pimp and full-time opportunist. Britain’s answer to Roger Corman, Towers started off the 60s believing that your brain is the most powerful sexual organ. By the end of the Sixties, he accepted – like everybody else in the biz did – that, nope, your junk is. Turned on by the literary bone fides he’d get by adapting great books into great movies, Towers instead turned his attention instead to noted hate-crime enthusiast Sax Rohmer. His pet project focused on the most evil man who never lived: Dr. Fu Manchu.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna sidestep Bootleg Bond by focusing on Fu Manchu films, a revival franchise that never would have existed if not for ‘60s Bond Mania. Jenna moans and bitches about how much she can’t stand these admittedly dated and racist films even if she kinda secretly enjoys the pop-mod styled misandrist villains. And to his utter delight, Bart finally gets his vengeance for all of the Eurospy trash Jenna forced him to watch. You have not heard the last of…!

The following films are discussed:

• The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
Directed by Don Sharp
Starring Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, Tsai Chin

• The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966)
Directed by Don Sharp
Starring Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer, Tsai Chin

• The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967)
Directed by Lindsay Shonteff
Starring Shirley Eaton, Frankie Avalon, George Nader

• The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967)
Directed by Jeremy Summers
Starring Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer, Tsai Chin

• The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)
Directed by Jesús Franco
Starring Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Tsai Chin

• The Girl from Rio (1969)
Directed by Jesús Franco
Starring Shirley Eaton, Richard Stapley, George Sanders

• The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)
Directed by Jesús Franco
Starring Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Tsai Chin

Ep# 71 - Soviet Sci-Fi in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 12:33:13 +0000

In search of thought provoking astral projections from across the galaxy, the USS KINO60 has launched triumphantly for what will be remembered as a utopian journey through the stars. Cosmonauts Bart and Jenna have reported some bumpy viewing conditions and unstable nuke-happy alien civilizations, but for the most part their mission has remained stylish and largely made up of primary colors. We wish them the best – glory to the conquerors of the universe!

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a peak at some choice sci-fi genre flicks from behind the Iron Curtain. What started off as a look at the inspirations for 2001: A Space Odyssey morphed into an excuse to watch Ikarie XB-1 and settled in nicely with a dude standing on Venus shooting various Godzillas with a handgun. Please enjoy this peek into the optimistic future we could be living in right now if it weren’t for the selfish capitalist pigs who hate peace and cooperation.

The following films are discussed:

• Silent Star (a.k.a. First Spaceship on Venus) (1960)
Der schweigende Stern
Directed by Kurt Maetzig
Starring Yôko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski

• Planet of Storms (1962)
Планета бурь
Directed by Pavel Klushantsev
Starring Vladimir Yemelyanov, Georgi Zhzhyonov, Gennadi Vernov

• Encounter in Space (1963)
Мечте навстречу
Directed by Mikhail Karyukov & Otar Koberidze
Starring Larisa Gordeichik, Boris Borisyonok, Otar Koberidze

• Icarus XB-1 (1963)
Directed by Jindrich Polák
Starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

• The Andromeda Nebula (1967)
Туманность Андромеды
Directed by Evgeniy Sherstobitov
Starring Vija Artmane, Sergey Stolyarov, Nikolai Kryukov

• Mission Mars (1968)
Directed by Nicholas Webster
Starring Darren McGavin, Nick Adams, George De Vries

Ep# 70 - The Films of Robert Wise in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 12:23:54 +0000

Kicking off our fifth season are the films of Robert Wise, arguably the most important director of the sixties – that is if you’re going by box office profits. Despite the musical genre not being one he ever associated with before this decade, Wise almost single-handedly shaped the evolution of the Hollywood Musical. Previously known for his noirs and a few notable sci-fi and horror films, by the 1960s he became the director for two of the biggest movie musicals of all time.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna cover these two Best Picture-winning films along with several other notable films that he made this decade – a couple of which are a highly prized by film lovers as his two mega-blockbusters. Though widely regarded as a gifted director with many beloved classics to his name, it’s hard to put a finger on any distinct personality or trademarks he brings to his uniformly solid but varied films. Bart and Jenna attempt to pinpoint what, if anything, makes a film identifiably “Wisean” – a tought feat when you’re trying to link up The Sound of Music with a depressingly realistic, toxic love and divorce drama.

The following films are discussed:

• West Side Story (1961)
Directed by Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins
Starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno

• Two for the Seesaw (1962)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine, Edmon Ryan

• The Haunting (1963)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn

• The Sound of Music (1965)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

• The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Mako

• Star! (1968)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna, Michael Craig

Ep# 69 - Egypt's Golden Age of Cinema in the 60s

Cinema60 — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 13:35:15 +0000

Starting in the mid 1940s and continuing through the 1960s, Egypt experienced a Golden Age of cinema. With the third largest private film production system in the world, Egypt acted as Hollywood to most all Arabic speaking countries; producing commercially minded hit after hit, with crowd pleasing stories, star players and big wig directors. Yet, as with most industries during the time, by the 1960s the bottom had started to fall out – The Nasser regime nationalized the industry in 1966, bringing a close to what had been a rather free wheeling time of cinematic exploration and focusing more on political mindedness and general entertainment.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna dive into a positive who’s who of Egyptian cinema. This dazzling array of famous Egyptian directors, films, and actors includes young Omar Sharif, Shukry Sarhan and Soad Hosny, bombshells Shadia and Hind Rostum, multiple Naguib Mahfouz adaptations, and even two films that broke through to the Western world: the Muslim Crusade epic Saladin and the internationally celebrated The Night Counting The Years. Not only do these foreign films not feel so foreign, but it turns out this might have been the most rewarding watch of the entire podcast season – all thumbs up!

The following films are discussed:

• The Beginning and the End (1960)
بداية و نهاي
Directed by Salah Abu Seif
Starring Omar Sharif, Sanaa Gamil, Farid Shawki

• A Rumor of Love (1961)
إشاعة حب
Directed by Fatin Abdel Wahab
Starring Omar Sharif, Soad Hosny, Youssef Wahbi

• Chased by the Dogs (1962)
اللص والكلاب
Directed by Kamal El Sheikh
Starring Shadia, Shukry Sarhan, Kamal Al-Shennawi

• Saladin (1963)
الناصر صلاح الدين
Directed by Youssef Chahine
Starring Ahmed Mazhar, Salah Zulfikar, Nadia Lutfi

• The Sin (1965)
الحرام
Directed by Henry Barakat
Starring Faten Hamama, Zaki Rostom, Abdullah Gaith

• The Postman (1968)
البوسطجي
Directed by Hussein Kamal
Starring Shukri Sarhan, Seif Abdelrahman, Zizi Mostapha

• The Night of Counting the Years (1969)
المومياء
Directed by Shady Abdel Salam
Starring Nadia Lutfi, Ahmed Marei, Ahmad Hegazi

Ep# 68 - Korean War Movies in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 13:36:26 +0000

The Korean War is aptly known in America as the “Forgotten War.” During the 1960s, the subject took in its last cinematic hurrah before getting overshadowed by the rising unpopularity of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, South Korea was experiencing a fabled “Golden Age” of cinema that followed the civil war and continued into the ‘60s – one that had some of its most famous hits rather cruelly lost to time. At Cinema60, we’ve largely ignored the Combat Film genre on whole… until now!

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the war and “Golden Age” that time forgot. Watching three American films about the Korean War side-by-side with three films from South Korea on the same subject, they parse propaganda from profundity, patriotism from personal morality, and savagery from psychosis from two different nationalistic perspectives. While our two hosts don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on the entertainment value of the genre or what makes a film pro- or anti- war, there’s an unexpected amount of agreement on which of these films is worth a look and which you can skip.

The following films are discussed:

• All the Young Men (1960)
Directed by Hall Bartlett
Starring Alan Ladd, Sidney Poitier, James Darren

• Five Marines (1961)
오인의 해병
Directed by Kim Ki-duk
Starring Choi Mun-lyong, Shin Yeong-gyun, Hwang Hae

• War Hunt (1962)
Directed by Denis Sanders
Starring John Saxon, Robert Redford, Sydney Pollack

• The Marines Who Never Returned (1963)
돌아오지 않는 해병
Directed by Lee Man-hee
Starring Jang Dong-hwi, Lee Dae-yeob, Ku Bong-seo

• The Hook (1963)
Directed by George Seaton
Starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Walker Jr., Nick Adams

• Red Scarf (1964)
빨간 마후라
Directed by Shin Sang-ok
Starring Choi Eun-hie, Shin Yeong-gyun, Choi Mu-ryong

Ep #67 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1969

Cinema60 — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

With a starting list of over 15,000 features and documentaries to choose from, it’s unlikely that the Cinema60 team will ever run out of movies to watch and discuss from their chosen decade. But Bart and Jenna have crossed a significant finish line with today’s episode. Starting with Episode 5 back in March of 2019, Cinema60 has regularly put out “grab bag” episodes where your hosts pick three movies each from a given year - one they’ve never seen but are itching to watch, one they absolutely adore and have been itching to talk about on the show, and one terrible movie that they’re itching to disparage for your listening pleasure. They call these episodes “Kiss, Marry, Kill,” and you are about to listen to their tenth and final round of the game, having now gone through every year of the Sixties.

Jenna has chosen to keep things light and funny and has chosen three notable comedies from 1969 for discussion. Bart, on the other hand, has taken the opportunity to choose several firsts for Cinema60: their first Iranian film, their first kaijû movie, and, most importantly, their first Éric Rohmer film! So while Bart gushes for perhaps too long about what is arguably the best film by his favorite filmmaker, Jenna makes a tripartite bid to pull comedies out of the genre ghetto and defends their right to stand alongside any serious artsy movie you care to name.

The following films are discussed:

• The Cow (1969)
Gaav
Directed by Dariush Mehrjui
Starring Ezzatolah Entezami, Mahin Shahabi, Ali Nassirian

• Cactus Flower (1969)
Directed by Gene Saks
Starring Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn

• My Night at Maud’s (1969)
Ma nuit chez Maud
Directed by Éric Rohmer
Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Fabian, Marie-Christine Barrault

• Take the Money and Run (1969)
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring Woody Allen, Janet Margolin, Jackson Beck

• All Monsters Attack (1969)
Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki
Directed by Ishirô Honda
Starring Kenji Sahara, Machiko Naka, Tomonori Yazaki

• The Magic Christian (1969)
Directed by Joseph McGrath
Starring Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr, John Cleese

Ep #66 - Anthony Perkins in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 12:15:40 +0000

Partially due to his desire to not get typecast after his most famous role, as well an urge to escape the pressure put on him by the studios to not be so ‘out’ about his homosexuality, Perkins ran away from Hollywood and ended up having one of the strangest careers of any major star in the 60s. Fortunately, his self-imposed exile in France resulted in a bunch of movies that are exactly the kind of thing that the hosts of this podcast are always looking for: lost treasures that every cinephile should know about but not enough do. Pretty much all of these film are worth seeking out, but tune in and find out about at least a couple that rank as all-timers for the Cinema60 crew.

The following films are discussed:

• Tall Story (1960)
Directed by Joshua Logan
Starring Anthony Perkins, Jane Fonda, Ray Walston

• Psycho (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles

• Goodbye Again (1961)
Aimez-vous Brahms?
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Yves Montand, Anthony Perkins

• Phaedra (1962)
Directed by Jules Dassin
Starring Melina Mercouri, Anthony Perkins, Raf Vallone

• Five Miles To Midnight (1962)
Le Couteau dans la plaie
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Starring Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Gig Young

• Two Are Guilty (1963)
Le glaive et la balance
Directed by André Cayatte
Starring Anthony Perkins, Jean-Claude Brialy, Renato Salvatori

• Agent 38-24-36 (1964)
Une ravissante idiote
Directed by Édouard Molinaro
Starring Brigitte Bardot, Anthony Perkins, Grégoire Aslan

• The Fool Killer (1965)
Violent Journey
Directed by Servando González
Starring Anthony Perkins, Edward Albert, Henry Hull

• The Champagne Murders (1967)
Le scandale
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Starring Anthony Perkins, Maurice Ronet, Yvonne Furneaux

• Pretty Poison (1968)
Directed by Noel Black
Starring Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland

Also mentioned:

• The Trial (1962)
Le procès
Directed by Orson Welles
Starring Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider

• Is Paris Burning? (1966)
Paris brûle-t-il?
Directed by René Clément
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron

Ep #65 - Bootleg Bond in the 60s - Agent 077

Cinema60 — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 12:31:29 +0000

We’re back in the world of Bootleg Bond, navigating the vast number of rip-offs and spoofs that tried to cash in on the 007 craze.

In this episode, Cinema60 goes to Italy to scout out Agent 077 – the ever forgettable Eurospy with the ever changing name and face. Marvel as he shoots men, slaps women, skis mountains, flies helicopters, saves the world from nuclear meltdown and remains wholly unengaging throughout.

These six utterly disposable entertainments aren’t really the point here, though. The real meat of episode is Bart & Jenna’s philosophical inquiry into the true nature of knockoff cinema and what these films mean to their largely accidental audience. Moreover, they scrutinize the Italian film industry of the ‘60s that thrived on producing hundreds upon hundreds of cheap genre pictures and lousy imitations of hit films for international distribution, and ask the same men responsible for giving us the cinematic masterpieces of Fellini and Antonioni the crucial question: Cosa diavolo…?

The following films are discussed:

• Mission Bloody Mary (1965)
Agente 077 missione Bloody Mary
Directed by Sergio Grieco
Starring Ken Clark, Helga Liné, Mitsouko

• From the Orient with Fury (1965)
Agente 077 dall'oriente con furore
Directed by Sergio Grieco
Starring Ken Clark, Margaret Lee, Fabienne Dali

• 077 - Special Mission Lady Chaplin (1966)
Missione speciale Lady Chaplin
Directed by Alberto De Martino & Sergio Grieco
Starring Ken Clark, Daniela Bianchi, Helga Liné

• Secret Agent Fireball (1965)
Le spie uccidono a Beirut
Directed by Luciano Martino
Starring Richard Harrison, Dominique Boschero, Wandisa Guida

• Killers Are Challenged (1966)
A 077, sfida ai killers
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
Starring Richard Harrison, Mitsouko, Wandisa Guida

• Fury in Marrakesh (1966)
077 - Furia a Marrakech
Directed by Mino Loy & Luciano Martino
Starring Stephen Forsyth, Dominique Boschero, Mitsouko

Ep #64 - Francis Ford Coppola in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 11:46:22 +0000

In many ways, the story of Francis Ford Coppola in the 1960s is a true parallel to the story of the dissolution and subsequent restructuring of Hollywood throughout the decade. Coppola got into the film industry quickly after graduating college, he started in nudie flicks and worked his way up through various low budget Roger Corman pictures. After earning his MFA in film from UCLA in 1967, he graduated to working on blockbusters – only to find himself drawn to a style of independent film later known as New Hollywood.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna pinpoint what it is about Francis Ford Coppola that’s continually inspirational, and debate which of his many masterful films are their favorites - but then remember they’re supposed to be talking about all his ‘60s juvenilia instead. Listen as they brave a handful of lighthearted nudie flicks, mediocre genre cash-ins, a couple of fascinating failures and one genuinely great film.

The following films are discussed:

• Tonight for Sure (1962)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola & Jerry Schafer
Starring Karl Schanzer, Don Kenney, Marli Renfro

• The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola & Fritz Umgelter
Starring June Wilkinson, Don Kenney, Karin Dor

• Battle Beyond the Sun (1962)
Directed by Mikhail Karyukov and Aleksandr Kozyr & Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Ivan Pereverzev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Konstantin Bartashevich

• The Terror (1963)
Directed by Roger Corman & Monte Hellman & Francis Ford Coppola & Jack Hale & Dennis Jakob & Jack Nicholson & Jack Hill
Starring Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight

• Dementia 13 (1963)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Patrick Magee

• You're a Big Boy Now (1966)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Peter Kastner, Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page

• Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele

• The Rain People (1969)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring James Caan, Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall

Ep# 63 - Zoë Rogan's 60s Pick - Bells Are Ringing

Cinema60 — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 12:25:57 +0000

Four generations collide when Bart and Jenna sit down for a conversation with budding film scholar and popular Letterboxd personality, Zoë Rogan, about Boomer movies. Using the final Arthur Freed-produced MGM musical, Bells Are Ringing, as a taking off point, the three classic Hollywood fanatics get to the bottom of what it is about older movies that makes them so much more appealing than current cinema.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna grill Zoë on her method for getting contemporary film fans interested in 20th-century movies. Then, while Zoë and Jenna bond over their shared Dean Martin obsession, Bart does his best to politely nod and smile.

The following film is discussed:

• Bells Are Ringing (1960)
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Starring Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Fred Clark, Eddie Foy Jr., Jean Stapleton, Ruth Storey, Dort Clark, Frank Gorshin, Ralph Roberts, Valerie Allen, Bernard West, Steve Peck, Gerry Mulligan

Ep# 62 - Ukrainian National Cinema in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:44:39 +0000

With all of the talk of Ukraine happening right now, Cinema60 figured it was a good a time as any to see what films they could find. The films selected for this episode were mainly produced by Dovzhenko Film Studios in Kyiv during the post-Stalinist thaw that resulted in a push to create a uniquely Ukrainian Cinema that could be presented to the rest of the Soviet Union to demonstrate the diversity of cultures that have come together under one glorious united socialist banner.

And so, Cinema60 tackles its most obscure batch of movies yet! It’s a whole episode on Ukrainian cinema of the 60s that doesn’t even include Sergei Parajanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, the one Ukrainian film of the era that’s received significant international recognition. But before you turn that dial… wait! We’ve got at least four stone cold must-see classics here (which four those are depends on if you ask Jenna or Bart) plus a couple others that provide major insight into the values and traditions of a people that have been on all our minds lately. All six of these films are well-known and beloved by Ukrainians as major cultural touchstones and deserve wider recognition.

While Bart and Jenna discuss what it is that makes these films “uniquely Ukrainian,” they mostly focus on the films on their own terms and decide whether they can be appreciated and enjoyed by 21st Century Westerners. The answer is a resounding, “так!”

The following films are discussed:

• Chasing Two Hares (1961)
Za dvoma zaytsiamy
Directed by Viktor Ivanov
Starring Oleg Borisov, Margarita Krinitsyna, Nikolay Yakovchenko

• Song of the Forest (1961)
Lisova pisnya
Directed by Viktor Ivchenko
Starring Raisa Nedashkovskaya, Volodymyr Sydorchuk, Pyotr Vesklyarov

• The Enchanted Desna (1964)
Zacharovannaya Desna
Directed by Yuliya Solntseva
Starring Evgeniy Samoylov, Vladimir Goncharov, Evgeniy Bondarenko

• The Stone Cross (1968)
Kaminnyy khrest
Directed by Leonid Osyka
Starring Borislav Brondukov, Daniil Ilchenko, Yekaterina Mateyk

• Conscience (1968)
Sovist
Directed by Vladimir Denisenko
Starring Anatoliy Sokolovskiy, Viktor Malyarevich, Nikolay Oleynik

• Annychka (1969)
Directed by Boris Ivchenko
Starring Lyubov Rumyantseva, Ivan Mikolaychuk, Grigore Grigoriu

Ep #61 - Andrew Sarris's 60s Pick: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Cinema60 — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 12:25:48 +0000

Continuing our series of posthumous interviews, Cinema60 summons up Andrew Sarris from beyond the grave to talk about one of his favorite films: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Best known for having popularized the auteur theory to the English speaking world, Sarris was a powerhouse film critic in the 1960s who wrote primarily for The Village Voice.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss Sarris’ career and his unique voice in the world of film criticism before they get lost in a tangle of wildly differing opinions on the John Ford film of the hour. See, Jenna rides into town with a specific view on how things should be going down in this film, while Bart, with decades of teaching and rewatching experience, defends its honor in a more traditional way. Then Lee Marvin gets shot in the crossfire and everything really goes to hell!

The following film is discussed:

• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, Ken Murray, John Carradine, Jeanette Nolan, John Qualen, Woody Strode, Strother Martin, Lee Van Cleef

Also mentioned:

• The Informer (1935)
Directed by John Ford
Starring Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster

• Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Directed by Frank Capra
Starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains

• Stagecoach (1939)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine

• The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Directed by John Ford
Starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine

• The Long Voyage Home (1940)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter

• They Were Expendable (1945)
Directed by John Ford
Starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed

• Fort Apache (1948)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple

• 3 Godfathers (1948)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr.

• She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar

• Rio Grande (1950)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson

• Winchester ‘73 (1950)
Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea

• High Noon (1952)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell

• The Hanging Tree (1959)
Directed by Delmer Daves
Starring Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden

Ep# 60 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1968

Cinema60 — Tue, 24 May 2022 12:25:03 +0000

Cinema60 continues its series of Kiss, Marry, Kill, this time with a focus on the year 1968. As previously explained, it’s a variation on the ol’ FMK game, played year by year as we go through the decade. Bart and Jenna challenge each other to choose one film they love (“Marry”), one film they want to see (“Kiss”), and one film they hate (“Kill”) that was released in the year 1968.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna indulge in some of the best introspective cinema that 1968 has to offer – including in depth discussions on the pitfalls of ‘60s masculinity, the triumphs of ‘60s feminism, and getting super high in front of your parents. Or, well, Peter Sellers’ parents.

The following films are discussed:

• A Day Off (1968)
휴일 (Hyu-il)
Directed by Lee Man-hee
Starring Shin Seong-il, Ji Yun-seong, Kim Sun-cheol

• The Girls (1968)
Flickorna
Directed by Mai Zetterling
Starring Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom

• The Swimmer (1968)
Directed by Frank Perry
Starring Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule

• Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
Directed by William Greaves
Starring William Greaves, Don Fellows, Susan Anspach

• The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968)
Directed by Jack Cardiff
Starring Marianne Faithfull, Alain Delon, Roger Mutton

• I Love You Alice B. Toklas (1968)
Directed by Hy Averback
Starring Peter Sellers, Jo Van Fleet, Leigh Taylor-Young

Ep# 59 - King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 03 May 2022 12:24:55 +0000

What was it about Arthurian legends that so captivated 1960s audiences? Depending on who’s doing the retelling, and the century they’re living in, the tales of King Arthur and his knights vary wildly from stodgy conservative fables, to shockingly taboo love triangles, to intriguing surrealistic sorcery. When Lerner and Loewe’s play Camelot arrived on the scene in 1960 it quickly became a smash hit – an adaptation of T. E. White’s Freudian-heavy text, it starred Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and put Robert Goulet on the map. Camelot was further imprinted onto the public consciousness in 1963 when, after the assassination of her husband, Jackie Kennedy went on record to say it was one of Jack’s favorite soundtracks.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna dive headfirst into a world of myth, magic, legend and a whole lot of jousting. As they weave their way through a series of largely mediocre films that seem like they should’ve been made for children – y’know, if it wasn’t for all that nudity and violence – they look ever forward. Moving towards a shining ideal that they can see but cannot reach. For, like the Knights of the Round Table before them, they seek out the one true film that will unlock the truth and righteousness. A holy object that will single-handedly bring back the glory that was once known as… !!!

The following films are discussed:

• The Magic Sword (1962)
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Starring Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood, Gary Lockwood

• Lancelot and Guinevere (1963)
Directed by Cornel Wilde
Starring Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Aherne

• Siege of the Saxons (1963)
Directed by Nathan Juran
Starring Janette Scott, Ronald Lewis, Ronald Howard

• The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Voices by Rickie Sorensen, Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson

• Willy McBean and his Magic Machine (1965)
Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr.
Voices by Larry D. Mann, Billie Mae Richards, Alfie Scopp

• Camelot (1967)
Directed by Joshua Logan
Starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero

Ep# 58 - Stan Brakhage in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:58:06 +0000

The legacy of Stan Brakhage looms large in the crowded world of 1960s experimental film. His style of filming and editing has become instantly recognizable, as are the themes of nature, bodies, and children that he always circles back to. Having rejected a more conventional lifestyle, inspired in part by experimental artists he met in San Francisco and New York, Brakhage developed his own unique style of filmmaking from a young age – one that dabbled equally in refracted light, microscopic detail, inverted images, frenetic editing and aniline dyes. By the start of the 1960s, Brakhage had already begun to gain popular recognition on the film and arts scene. By the end of the decade, he had solidified his importance as, perhaps, the most influential experimental filmmaker of his century.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna challenge themselves to sit down to watch over five hours worth of largely silent experimental film. Which, funny enough, wasn’t actually as painful to either of them as it might have sounded when they started. For two people who consider themselves to be narrative supremacists, they sure have a lot to say about how to approach Brakhage for the first time and how to interpret his work. Heck, they might have even learned to love him a little bit…

(NOTE: They highly recommend you spend 3 minutes and 13 seconds, respectively, getting a little taste of Brakhage before listening, if you’re coming in completely blind. Though be warned: these pixelated transfers on YouTube are shoddy substitutes for Criterion’s gorgeous HD masters.)

The following films are discussed:

• Mr. Tompkins Inside Himself (1960, 16 mm, 42 mins.)

• The Dead (1960, 16 mm, 11 mins.)

• Thigh Line Lyre Triangular (1961, 16 mm, 6 mins.)

• Dog Star Man: Prelude (1961, 16 mm, 25 mins.)

• Blue Moses (1962, 16 mm, 10 mins.)

• Sartre's Nausea (1962–1963, 16 mm, 4 mins.)

• Dog Star Man: Part 1 (1962, 16 mm, 31 mins.)

• Mothlight (1963, 16 mm, 3 mins.)

• Dog Star Man: Part 2 (1963, 16 mm, 6 mins.)

• Dog Star Man: Part 3 (1964, 16 mm, 8 mins.)

• Dog Star Man: Part 4 (1964, 16 mm, 6 mins.)

• Song 1 (1964, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 2 (1964, 8 mm, 1.5 mins.)

• Song 3 (1964, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 4 (1964, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 5 (1964, 8 mm, 4.5 mins.)

• Song 6 (1964, 8 mm, 2 mins.)

• Song 7 (1964, 8 mm, 2.5 mins.)

• Song 8 (1964, 8 mm, 3.5 mins.)

• Fire of Waters (1965, 16 mm, 7 mins.)

• Pasht (1965, 16 mm, 5 mins.)

• Two: Creeley/McClure (1965, 16 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 9 (1965, 8 mm, 4 mins.)

• Song 10 (1965, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 11 (1965, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 12 (1965, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 13 (1965, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• Song 14 (1965, 8 mm, 3 mins.)

• 23rd Psalm Branch (1966–1967, 8 mm, 69 mins.)

• Scenes from Under Childhood (Section One) (1967, 16 mm, 24.5 mins.)

• Eye Myth (1967, 35 mm, 9 secs.)

• Love Making (1968, 16 mm, 36 mins.)

Also mentioned:

• Metaphors On Vision (1963, book by Stan Brakhage)

• Film as a Subversive Art (1974, book by Amos Vogel)

• Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde 1943-1978 (1979, book by P. Adams Sitney)

• Brakhage (1999, documentary directed by Jim Shedden)

• Stan Brakhage: Filmmaker (2005, book edited by David E. James)

Ep# 57 - Gabriele Caroti's 60s Pick - Bronco Bullfrog

Cinema60 — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Joining Cinema60 for this episode is Gabriele Caroti, former director of BAMcinematek and founder of film distribution company Seventy Seven. This month Seventy Seven is releasing into theaters the 2K restoration of Barney Platts-Mills’ Bronco Bullfrog, a gritty but delightful piece of British kitchen sink realism, originally released in 1970, set against the backdrop of the working class teens in East London.

In this episode, Gabriele speaks to Bart and Jenna about the labor of love that went into getting this underappreciated film into repertory cinemas across the country, and they oblige him by grilling him on its production history and enduring cult fandom. Topics of discussion include suedeheads, the band Audience, Princess Anne, young love, teenage boredom, electric blankets, time travel, bringing movies to the people and more. It’s a lively discussion of a lost classic ‘60s youth culture film with a fella who’s making old movies new again.

The following film is discussed:

• Bronco Bullfrog (1969)
Directed by Barney Platts-Mills
Starring Del Walker, Anne Gooding, Sam Shepherd, Roy Haywood, Freda Shepherd, Dick Philpott, Chris Shepherd, Stuart Stones, Geoffrey Wincott, J. Hughes Sr.

Also mentioned:

• Reign of Terror (1949)
Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, Richard Hart

• The 400 Blows (1959)
Les quatre cents coups
Directed by François Truffaut
Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier

• Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Directed by Karel Reisz
Starring Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts

• Billy Liar (1963)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Starring Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles

• Black Peter (1964)
Cerný Petr
Directed by Milos Forman
Starring Ladislav Jakim, Pavla Martinkova, Jan Vostrcil

• Three Sisters (1970)
Directed by Laurence Olivier & John Sichel
Starring Jeanne Watts, Joan Plowright, Louise Purnell

• Bleak Moments (1971)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Starring Anne Raitt, Sarah Stephenson, Eric Allan

• Private Road (1971)
Directed by Barney Platts-Mills
Starring Susan Penhaligon, Bruce Robinson, Michael Feast

• Scum (1979)
Directed by Alan Clarke
Starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth

• Babylon (1980)
Directed by Franco Rosso
Starring David N. Haynes, Trevor Laird, Victor Romero Evans

• Gregory's Girl (1980)
Directed by Bill Forsyth
Starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Jake D'Arcy

• Looks and Smiles (1981)
Directed by Ken Loach
Starring Graham Green, Carolyn Nicholson, Tony Pitts

Ep# 56 - British Spy Films in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:21:06 +0000

Or perhaps we should say British Anti-Bond Spy Films in the ‘60s. Everybody knows midcentury cinema was spy crazy, but it also goes without saying that these spy films were largely modeled after the action-packed espionage found in James Bond and very little on the kind of work actual spies do. What links the films in our latest Bootleg Bond episode is the common goal on the part of a number of British production companies to demonstrate that there’s plenty of drama to be found in a more realistic portrayal of spy work.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a dutch-angled romp through a series of nihilistic films that make zero effort to glamorize the life of a spy. They investigate how each of these chosen films work to subvert a different aspect of the Bond phenomena – from the sex and honor, down to the cinematic structure – and have an absolute blast doing it.

The following films are discussed:

• Ring of Spies (1964)
Directed by Robert Tronson
Starring Bernard Lee, William Sylvester, Margaret Tyzack

• The Ipcress File (1965)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Starring Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman

• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
Directed by Martin Ritt
Starring Richard Burton, Oskar Werner, Claire Bloom

• The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
Directed by Michael Anderson
Starring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Senta Berger

• The Deadly Affair (1967)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring James Mason, Maximilian Schell, Simone Signoret

• A Dandy in Aspic (1968)
Directed by Anthony Mann & Laurence Harvey
Starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, Mia Farrow

Ep# 55 - Mexican Horror Films in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:55:38 +0000

By the beginning of the ‘60s, Mexican Horror had developed its own distinct tropes, evolved from old Universal monster movies to create formulaic crowd pleasers with plenty of gothic atmosphere and vengeful supernatural creatures. But by the end of the ‘60s, they were already expanding into more original films that thoughtfully approached terror and dread in a way that’s reminiscent of modern horror techniques. So take a listen and don’t worry – this frightening trip is punctuated with moments of comedy and romance and endless bouts of wrestling along the way.

As promised, in this episode Bart and Jenna brave the unknown and journey to the land of Mexican Horror films to peek through their fingers at vampires, werewolves, ghosts and murderers – all of whom speak Spanish! With luchadors and lycars to protect them, they discover that there’s much to love about the genre than these scaredy cats expected.

The following films are discussed:

• Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (1960)
El esqueleto de la señora Morales
Directed by Rogelio A. González
Starring Arturo de Córdova, Amparo Rivelles, Elda Peralta

• Santo vs. the Vampire Women (1962)
Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro
Directed by Alfonso Corona Blake
Starring Santo, Lorena Velázquez, María Duval

• La Loba (1965)
Directed by Rafael Baledón
Starring Kitty de Hoyos, Joaquín Cordero, Columba Domínguez

• Pedro Páramo (1967)
Directed by Carlos Velo
Starring John Gavin, Ignacio López Tarso, Pilar Pellicer

• The Scapular (1968)
El escapulario
Directed by Servando González
Starring Enrique Lizalde, Enrique Aguilar, Carlos Cardán

• The Book of Stone (1969)
El libro de piedra
Directed by Carlos Enrique Taboada
Starring Marga López, Joaquín Cordero, Norma Lazareno

Also mentioned:

• The Ship of Monsters (1960)
La nave de los monstruos
Directed by Rogelio A. González
Starring Eulalio González, Ana Bertha Lepe, Lorena Velázquez

• The Brainiac (1962)
El barón del terror
Directed by Chano Urueta
Starring Abel Salazar, Ariadne Welter, David Silva

Ep #54 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1967

Cinema60 — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 13:04:53 +0000

Cinema60 continues its series of Kiss, Marry, Kill, this time with a focus on the year 1967. As previously explained, it’s a variation on the ol’ FMK game, played year by year as we go through the decade. Bart and Jenna challenge each other to choose one film they love (“Marry”), one film they want to see (“Kiss”), and one film they hate (“Kill”) that was released in the year 1967.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna stumble upon an intriguing pattern in their otherwise random choices. From anti establishment thinking, anxiety over consumerism, a stance on personal fascism, and deeply cynical sense of humor, 1967 turned out to be one the best Kiss, Marry, Kill years we’ve done yet.

The following films are discussed:

• Peppermint Frappé (1967)
Directed by Carlos Saura
Starring Geraldine Chaplin, José Luis López Vázquez, Alfredo Mayo

• Herostratus (1967)
Directed by Don Levy
Starring Michael Gothard, Gabriella Licudi, Peter Stephens

• PlayTime (1967)
Directed by Jacques Tati
Starring Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden

• The Sorcerers (1967)
Directed by Michael Reeves
Starring Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey, Ian Ogilvy

• How I Won The War (1967)
Directed by Richard Lester
Starring Michael Crawford, John Lennon, Roy Kinnear

• I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967)
Directed by Michael Winner
Starring Oliver Reed, Orson Welles, Carol White

Ep# 53 - Joanne Woodward in the 60s

Cinema60 — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 13:04:49 +0000

Ah, Paul Newman - arguably the biggest actor of the ‘60s. Who doesn’t get lost in those dreamy blue eyes? But this episode isn’t about him, really. It’s about his better half, Joanne Woodward, who had twice his acting chops but, unfortunately, a quarter of his drawing power on the marquee. But you don’t need to do the math to discover how great Joanne is after you watch all her ‘60s movies. Don’t just take it from us, this episode was actually inspired by a listener’s request for more Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward films. (Yeah, that’s a thing you can do! No promises we’ll always do it though.)

In this episode, Bart and Jenna trace Joanne Woodward's films alongside that of her more famous husband and decide that hers are the ones they really wanted to talk about. From her impressive range that spans dramatic to comedic to New Hollywood genuine, she has a charm that cannot be denied.

The following films are discussed:

• From The Terrace (1960)
Directed by Mark Robson
Starring Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Ina Balin

• Paris Blues (1961)
Directed by Martin Ritt
Starring Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier

• A New Kind of Love (1963)
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Starring Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Thelma Ritter

• The Stripper (1963)
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, Carol Lynley

• Signpost to Murder (1964)
Directed by George Englund
Starring Joanne Woodward, Stuart Whitman, Edward Mulhare

• A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
Directed by Fielder Cook
Starring Joanne Woodward, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards

• A Fine Madness (1966)
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Starring Joanne Woodward, Sean Connery, Jean Seberg

• Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Directed by Paul Newman
Starring Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Estelle Parsons

• Winning (1969)
Directed by James Goldstone
Starring Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Robert Wagner

Ep# 52 - Sapphic Cinema in the 60s

Cinema60 — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 13:00:13 +0000

While the end of the decade ushered in an explosion of gay rights movements, it’s no secret that the 1960s were not exactly the friendliest decade for LGBTQ people. When it comes to showing lesbians on film, there seemed to be a bit more wiggle room – in the same way laws were more punishing towards male homosexuality, the female variety seemed to be allowed to get away with being more openly about gay issues. Or you know, about peering into the lives of some “very close friends”… with benefits. The films that managed to get wide release in the ‘60s remain notable, both in their attempts to understand the plight of the gay community and serve as sometimes embarrassing reminders of how little progress we’ve made in cinematic representation.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a worldwide tour of lesbian cinema – specifically avoiding pornography and exploitation cinema, even though some of these blur the lines a bit. But nevertheless, they open their minds and hearts and experiment with a variety of films that explore the highs and lows of sapphic love.

The following films are discussed:

• The Children’s Hour (1961)
Directed by William Wyler
Starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner

• Manji (1964)
卍(まんじ)
Directed by Yasuzô Masumura
Starring Ayako Wakao, Kyōko Kishida, Eiji Funakoshi

• The Cats (1965)
Kattorna
Directed by Henning Carlsen
Starring Eva Dahlbeck, Gio Petré, Monica Nielsen

• The Fox (1967)
Directed by Mark Rydell
Starring Sandy Dennis, Anne Heywood, Keir Dullea

• Les Biches (1968)
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Starring Jacqueline Sassard, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Louis Trintignant

• The Killing of Sister George (1968)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Starring Beryl Reid, Susannah York, Coral Browne

• Le Altre (1969)
Directed by Alessandro Fallay
Starring Erna Schurer, Monica Strebel, Raul Lovecchio

Also mentioned:

• Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk
Starring Jane Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Capucine

• The Balcony (1963)
Directed by Joseph Strick
Starring Shelley Winters, Peter Falk, Lee Grant

• The Haunting (1963)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson

• Persona (1966)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook

• The Nun (1966)
La religieuse
Directed by Jacques Rivette
Starring Anna Karina, Liselotte Pulver, Micheline Presle

Ep #51 - The Milos Forman School in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Like the rest of Europe, Czechoslovakia was busy making its own cinematic waves in the 1960s. Arguably, the Czechoslovak New Wave was one of the broadest and most formidable, stretching from extremely abstract art films to slice-of-life kitchen sink dramas. These filmmakers went in search of truth – indulging in a mix of dark humor, social satire and pure absurdism – and they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for that dang ol’ Soviet Union eventually putting the smack down on them.

At the forefront of this movement was a special foreman – Miloš Forman, that is. By his side was Ivan Passer, Jaroslav Papoušek and Václav Šašek, all of whom graduated from FAMU and went on to work together closely as filmmakers. In our latest episode, Bart and Jenna take a plunge into the Czechoslovak New Wave and start with the Miloš Forman School of collaborators. Get ready for some killer Czech rock’n’roll, a whole bunch of brass bands, a lot of low-key existential crises and some super judgmental looks!

The following films are discussed:

• Audition/Talent Competition (1964)
Konkurs
Directed by Miloš Forman
Starring Vera Kresadlová, Jan Vostrcil, Vladimír Pucholt

• Black Peter (1964)
Černý Petr
Directed by Miloš Forman
Starring Ladislav Jakim, Jan Vostrcil, Vladimír Pucholt

• Intimate Lighting (1965)
Intimní osvetlení
Directed by Ivan Passer
Starring Vera Kresadlová, Jan Vostrcil, Zdenek Bezusek

• Loves of a Blonde (1965)
Lásky jedné plavovlásky
Directed by Miloš Forman
Starring Hana Brejchová, Jan Vostrcil, Vladimír Pucholt

• The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
Hoří, má panenko
Directed by Miloš Forman
Starring Jan Vostrcil, Josef Sebánek, Jan Stöckl

• The Most Beautiful Age (1969)
Nejkrásnější věk
Directed by Jaroslav Papousek
Starring Hana Brejchová, Vera Kresadlová, Ladislav Jakim

Ep #50 - The Soviet Fairy Tales of Aleksandr Rou in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Once upon a time, in a magical red world behind an iron curtain, there existed a very special man named Aleksandr Rou. Born to two foreign-born parents, Rou worked his way up from the stage to become one of Russia’s most celebrated film directors. But Rou wasn’t any ol’ director; he focused primarily on fantasy and fairy tale films for children – building up worlds of magical witches, talking animals, underwater kingdoms, gilded palaces, silken costumes, wicked warlocks and proletariat heroes.

Leaning heavily on traditional folktales at a time where being regionally unique was frowned upon, Rou’s career brilliantly walked the line between old and new to appease both nostalgia and social revolution. His popularity throughout the land was immense and he became an influence to a host of contemporary directors. And he lived happily ever after…. until one day, not so far into the 1970s, he died. The end.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna just soak it all in. This is the decade of Rou in his prime – from the fantastical tales with some questionable lessons for children, to the brilliantly designed technicolor madness of these costumes and sets. Yeah okay, sometimes some baffling culture shock too, but just enjoy!

The following films are discussed:

• Maria the Wonderful Weaver (1960)
Марья-искусница
Directed by Aleksandr Rou
Starring Ninel Myshkova, Viktor Perevalov, Anatoliy Kubatskiy

• Cinderella (1961)
Хрустальный башмачок
Directed by Aleksandr Rou & Rostislav Zakharov
Starring Raisa Struchkova, Gennadi Ledyakh, Elena Vanke

• Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (1961)
Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки
Directed by Aleksandr Rou
Starring Aleksandr Khvylya, L. Myznikova, Yuri Tavrov

• Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963)
Королевство Кривых Зеркал
Directed by Aleksandr Rou
Starring Olga Yukina, Tatyana Yukina, Tatyana Barysheva

• Jack Frost (1964)
Морозко
Directed by Aleksandr Rou
Starring Aleksandr Khvylya, Natalya Sedykh, Eduard Izotov

• Through Fire, Water, and… Brass Pipes (1968)
Огонь, вода и… медные трубы
Directed by Aleksandr Rou
Starring Natalya Sedykh, Aleksei Katyshev, Georgiy Millyar

• Barbara the Fair With the Silken Hair (1970)
Варвара-краса, длинная коса
Directed by Aleksandr Rou
Starring Mikhail Pugovkin, Georgiy Millyar, Anatoliy Kubatskiy

Ep# 49 - The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 14:04:12 +0000

If you were a teenager in the 1960s chances are you loved three things: The Beatles, Yo-Yos and The Man From UNCLE. Okay, likely you enjoyed a variety of other things, but the adventures of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin sure captured the hearts and minds of the many during their four year television run. But this is cinema60 so we’re exploring the eight Man From UNCLE movies that were released (not to be confused with the surprisingly charming Guy Ritchie movie) largely for foreign audiences and cash-ins for spy-fever (aka UNCLEitis mania, scientifically).

In this episode Bart complains about this being another Bootleg Bond episode and Jenna gushes about how much she likes Man From UNCLE but not so much these movies. Which isn’t to say they’re bad movies since they’re basically overlong television episodes but well… that’s kind of the issue. Either way, watching Vaughn and McCallum run around California national parks, midcentury dream offices and indoor rocket launch pads is anything but boring*.

*Bart disagrees with this statement.

The following films are discussed:

• To Trap A Spy (1964)
Directed by Don Medford
Starring Robert Vaughn, Luciana Paluzzi, Pat Crowley

• The Spy With My Face (1965)
Directed by John Newland
Starring David McCallum, Senta Berger, Leo G. Carroll

• One Spy Too Many (1966)
Directed by Joseph Sargent
Starring Rip Torn, Dorothy Provine, Yvonne Craig

• One of Our Spies is Missing (1966)
Directed by E. Darrell Hallenbeck
Starring Vera Miles, Ann Elder, Bernard Fox

• The Spy in the Green Hat (1967)
Directed by Joseph Sargent
Starring Jack Palance, Janet Leigh, Letícia Román

• The Karate Killers (1967)
Directed by Barry Shear
Starring Kim Darby, Herbert Lom, Joan Crawford

• The Helicopter Spies (1968)
Directed by Boris Sagal
Starring Carol Lynley, Bradford Dillman, Lola Albright

• How To Steal the World (1968)
Directed by Sutton Roley
Starring Barry Sullivan, Eleanor Parker, Leslie Nielsen

• “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (1964-1968)

Ep# 48 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1966

Cinema60 — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 12:03:11 +0000

Bart & Jenna play Kiss Marry Kill with the year 1966. The following films are discussed:

• Once Before I Die (1966) Directed by John Derek Starring Ursula Andress, John Derek, Richard Jaeckel

• The Round-Up (1966) Szegénylegények Directed by Miklós Jancsó Starring János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Molnár

• How to Steal a Million (1966) Directed by William Wyler Starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach

• Death of a Bureaucrat (1966) La muerte de un burócrata Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Starring Salvador Wood, Silvia Planas, Manuel Estanillo

• The Swinger (1966) Directed by George Sidney Starring Ann-Margret, Anthony Franciosa, Robert Coote

• Trans-Europ-Express (1966) Directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Marie-France Pisier, Catherine Robbe-Grillet

Ep# 47 - Stanley Kauffmann's 60s Pick - Jules and Jim

Cinema60 — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 12:49:33 +0000

Bart and Jenna dust off a 1962 article by critic Stanley Kauffmann on Truffaut’s Jules and Jim to use as a sounding board for how and why ‘60s filmgoers showed up for and reacted so favorably to challenging “art” films. They also discuss love in its various states, from the idealized to the understated love of a perfect friendship.

Ep# 46 - Nancy Kwan in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 11:07:16 +0000

In 1960, Nancy Kwan burst onto the screen in glorious color as the titular Suzie Wong. The film was a major hit that both launched her career and gained her lasting name recognition in the industry. After a memorable stint in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s celebrated Flower Drum Song, she went on to a bizarre mix of smaller films and bit roles but never seemed to find her place. How could this happen to such an attractive and charming leading lady?
Oh.
Right.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a look at Kwan’s career beginnings, the social context of the decade and the pitfalls of being a Chinese actor in the dominantly white world of Hollywood. They do their best to investigate the roots of how racist stereotypes get started, from orientalism to cinematic archetypes, and encourage you to turn to better sources than them for the full truth of the matter.

The following films are discussed:

• The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
Directed by Richard Quine
Starring Nancy Kwan, William Holden, Sylvia Syms

• Flower Drum Song (1961)
Directed by Henry Koster
Starring Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki

• The Main Attraction (1962)
Directed by Daniel Petrie
Starring Nancy Kwan, Pat Boone, Mai Zetterling

• Tamahine (1963)
Directed by Philip Leacock
Starring Nancy Kwan, John Fraser, Dennis Price

• The Wild Affair (1965)
Directed by John Krish
Starring Nancy Kwan, Terry-Thomas, Victor Spinetti

• Nobody’s Perfect (1968)
Directed by Alan Rafkin
Starring Nancy Kwan, Doug McClure, James Shigeta

Resources:

• The Other Question…, Screen, 1983
Written by Homi K Bhabha

• The Hypersexuality of Race: Performing Asian/American Women on Screen and Scene
Written by Arthur Dong

• Asian American Actors: Oral Histories from Stage, Screen, and Television
Written by Arthur Dong

• Hollywood Chinese (2007)
Directed by Arthur Dong

• Slaying the Dragon (1988)
Directed by Deborah Gee

Ep# 45 - Haskell Wexler in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 18 May 2021 09:45:00 +0000

There’s an argument to be made for the idea that Haskell Wexler was one of the founding fathers of modern cinema. With his emphasis on handheld cameras, naturalistic on-location shooting and dramatic lighting, Wexler stands out as one of the few true auteur cinematographers. Between his iconic visuals and his clear interest in and emphasis on political themes and social justice, his body of work acts as both a mirror for the decade and loudspeaker to progressive values.

Wexler remains a major influence to cinematographers to this very day – so who better to focus on for Cinema60’s first cinematographer-themed episode? Starting with his black and white beginnings, Cinema60 traces his narrative and documentary films through the decade, eventually culminating in Medium Cool – a proto-New Hollywood hybrid film that incorporates most every theme and camera trick he learned throughout the decade.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take on the roles of George and Martha as they play “hump the cinematographer” while trying to slowly tear each other apart through psychological torture.

(Side note: We had horrible technical problems during this episode so apologies if it sounds rougher than usual, but also… tough.)

The following films are discussed:• The Hoodlum Priest (1961) Directed by Irvin Kershner Starring Don Murray, Keir Dullea, Cindi Wood

• America America (1963) Directed by Elia Kazan Starring Stathis Giallelis, Frank Wolff, Linda Marsh

• The Best Man (1964) Directed by Franklin Schaffner Starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Ann Sothern

• The Bus (1965) Directed by Haskell Wexler Hour-long documentary

• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Directed by Mike Nichols Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal

• In the Heat of the Night (1967) Directed by Delbert Mann Starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Lee Grant

• Medium Cool (1969) Directed by Haskell Wexler Starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz

Briefly mentioned:

• The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) Directed by Norman Jewison Starring Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke

Ep# 44 - Ann Kibbie's 60s Pick - Days of Wine and Roses

Cinema60 — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 12:33:17 +0000

Guest Ann Kibbie, English Literature professor at Bowdoin College, joins Cinema60 to discuss Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick's Days of Wine and Roses – a film she classifies as firmly in the horror genre.

Ep #43 - Japanese New Wave Cinema in 1969

Cinema60 — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +0000

As part of our mission statement, Cinema60 boldly claims that modern cinema was born in the 1960s. However you want to look at that assertion, there’s no denying that cinema before the ‘60s was (well, at least since the mid-1930s) safe family-friendly entertainment with bits of adult content creeping in around the edges little by little–to a greater or lesser degree depending on where in the world you lived. But by the end of the ‘60s, adults in a majority of cinema-producing countries could legally see on a movie screen just about any kind of bloody violence or lewd sex act they could possibly imagine.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss one of their favorite New Waves of the decade, Japan’s ヌーベルバーグ (Nuberu Bagu). They pick up the story at the extreme end of the decade, when there were very few boundaries left for what could be shown in a movie. The films discussed certainly make this our most “not suitable for children” episode yet, but also just happen to be some of the greatest cinematic jewels produced, not only in the Japanese New Wave, but in the entire history of Japanese film. So pop in your earbuds or send your obaasan to bed, ‘cos anybody who listens to tonight’s episode is gonna need a shower afterwards.

The following films are discussed:

• Boy (1969)
Shônen
Directed by Nagisa Ôshima
Starring Fumio Watanabe, Akiko Koyama, Toshi Amatsu

• Double Suicide (1969)
Shinjû: Ten no Amijima
Directed by Masahiro Shinoda
Starring Kichiemon Nakamura, Shima Iwashita, Shizue Kawarazaki

• Eros + Massacre (1969)
Erosu purasu gyakusatsu
Directed by Yoshishige Yoshida
Starring Mariko Okada, Toshiyuki Hosokawa, Yûko Kusunoki

• Blind Beast (1969)
Môjû
Directed by Yasuzô Masumura
Starring Eiji Funakoshi, Mako Midori, Noriko Sengoku

• Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)
Bara no sôretsu
Directed by Toshio Matsumoto
Starring Pîtâ, Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshimi Jô

• Go, Go, Second Time Virgin (1969)
Yuke yuke nidome no shojo
Directed by Kôji Wakamatsu
Starring Mimi Kozakura, Michio Akiyama, Yôko Yamamoto

Ep# 42 - Paul Bishop's 60s Pick - The Professionals

Cinema60 — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 16:44:36 +0000

Guest Paul Bishop of the Six Gun Justice podcast joins us to discuss The Professionals (1966). From talk of truth and morality, sexism and racism, as well as some memorably badass women warriors, they’ve got quite a bit on their plate.

Ep #41 - Jazz Anxiety Films in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:12:25 +0000

Charles Mingus once said: “Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.” Jenna wasn’t thinking about this quote when she coined the term “Jazz Anxiety Movie” but it certainly fits. What she was thinking about was how many brilliant 1960s films about anxiety-inducing situations seem to have memorable jazz scores. But it was more than that–beyond just utilizing jazz to get across a mood, all of these movies seemed to actively reflect their scores in their filmmaking, resulting in punches of abstract visuals or non-linear plots. What indeed was this intrinsic connection between the sound of jazz and the visual representation of anxiousness?

In this episode, Bart and Jenna set out to define what exactly this genre is that they made up. While they have a solid handle on digging deep into the anxiety aspect, they call upon guest Kyle Eagle, host of The Major Scale jazz program and previous Cinema60 guest episode, to help fill in some much-needed music knowledge.

The following films are discussed:

• The Connection (1961)
Directed by Shirley Clarke
Starring Warren Finnerty, William Redfield, Roscoe Lee Browne
Soundtrack by Freddie Redd, feat. Jackie McLean, Michael Mattos, & Larry Ritchie.

• All Night Long (1962)
Directed by Basil Dearden
Starring Patrick McGoohan, Richard Attenborough, Marti Stevens
Soundtrack by Philip Green, feat. Charles Mingus and Dave Brubeck

• Pressure Point (1962)
Directed by Hubert Cornfield
Starring Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, Peter Falk
Soundtrack by Ernest Gold

• Repulsion (1965)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser
Soundtrack by Chico Hamilton

• Mickey One (1965)
Directed by Arthur Penn
Starring Warren Beatty, Alexandra Stewart, Franchot Tone
Soundtrack by Eddie Sauter feat. Stan Getz

• Mister Buddwing (1966)
Directed by Delbert Mann
Starring James Garner, Jean Simmons, Suzanne Pleshette
Soundtrack by Kenyon Hopkins

Ep #40 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1965

Cinema60 — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 16:10:13 +0000

Bart and Jenna play Kiss Marry Kill with movies in the year 1965, a year where you can feel the rebellion starting to bubble over.

The following films are discussed:• Man Is Not a Bird (1965) Covek nije tica Directed by Dusan Makavejev Starring Milena Dravic, Janez Vrhovec, Eva Ras

• Waqt (1965) Directed by Yash Chopra Starring Sunil Dutt, Sadhana, Raaj Kumar

• Rapture (1965) Directed by John Guillermin Starring Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Gozzi, Dean Stockwell

• Fists in the Pocket (1965) I pugni in tasca Directed by Marco Bellocchio Starring Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marino Masé

• What's New Pussycat? (1965) Directed by Clive Donner Starring Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider

• Run Home, Slow (1965) Directed by Ted Brenner Starring Mercedes McCambridge, Linda Gaye Scott, Allen Richards

Ep #39 - Marshall Terrill's 60s Pick - Bullitt

Cinema60 — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 11:15:38 +0000

Guest author Marshall Terrill speaks to Cinema60 about the life of Steve McQueen and the wild making of Bullitt

Ep #38 - Richard A. Lertzman's 60s Pick - Oceans 11

Cinema60 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Guest Richard A Lertzman talks frankly to Cinema60 about his new book Deconstructing the Rat Pack: Joey, The Mob and The Summit along with breaking down the impetus behind the original Ocean's 11 (1960)

Ep #37 - Luis Buñuel in the 60s

Cinema60 — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 13:13:04 +0000

After years of fighting against political turmoil, personal strife and artistic complacency, Luis Buñuel finally found a decade that embraced him for everything he was and could be. The famous Surrealist who was ejected from the European filmmaking community in the early ‘30s for blasphemy and a sensibility too outrageous for mass consumption, made his circuitous way back to the Continent in the ‘60s after self-imposed exile making low budget Mexican melodramas. Primed by youthful rebellion and the French New Wave, he finally found an audience for his particular brand of button-pushing non-conformity, and settled into his late career streak of unparalleled masterpieces.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna investigate the bizarre and Catholic guilt-ridden world of atheist filmmaker Luis Buñuel. To their own surprise, it turns out they don’t really see eye-to-eye on any of his films. Where this renowned auteur had a huge impact on turning young Bart into the cinephile he is today, Surrealist worshipping Jenna admirably justifies her respectful lack of enthusiasm for some of the Spanish director’s most beloved works.

The following films are discussed:

• The Young One (1960)
La joven
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Zachary Scott, Bernie Hamilton, Key Meersman

• Viridiana (1961)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Silvia Pinal, Francisco Rabal, Fernando Rey

• The Exterminating Angel (1962)
El ángel exterminador
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, Claudio Brook

• Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)
Le journal d'une femme de chambre
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Jeanne Moreau, Georges Géret, Michel Piccoli

• Simon of the Desert (1965)
Simón del desierto
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal, Enrique Álvarez Félix

• Belle de Jour (1967)
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli

• The Milky Way (1969)
La voie lactée
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Starring Paul Frankeur, Laurent Terzieff, Michel Piccoli

Ep #36 - Ryan Moore's 60s Pick - Barbarella

Cinema60 — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 16:19:21 +0000

Ryan Moore of Lost in the Longboxes! joins Bart & Jenna for a discussion on the Barbarella comic and film

Ep #35 - Eyeliner Westerns in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 13:44:58 +0000

Out here in the desert you only have two friends, your rifle and your flat angled eyeliner brush. One of Jenna’s favorite activities is spotting inappropriate fashion, hair, and makeup in meant-to-be period films. Some decades are certainly worse than others and the midcentury falls firmly in the ‘too self aware’ camp–I mean, how can you expect people to flock to the theaters if we can’t even see the general outline of some cleavage, am I right guys? While not as prudish as the 1800s, in the 1960s it was still pretty ‘shocking’ to show women in jeans, so perhaps this hybrid mod-Western style does lend some authenticity in its own way.

In this episode, Bart & Jenna curate a list of 1960s westerns starring women and their incredible ability to deflect desert heat from melting their full face makeup. It’s a positive who’s who of important ‘60s babes! They also consider what might have been if not for a lot of male insecurity behind the camera.

The following films are discussed:

•The Second Time Around (1961)
Directed by Vincent Sherman
Starring Debbie Reynolds, Steve Forrest, Andy Griffith

•4 for Texas (1963)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ursula Andress

•Cat Ballou (1965)
Directed by Elliot Silverstein
Starring Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Nat 'King' Cole

•The Ballad of Josie (1967)
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring Doris Day, Peter Graves, George Kennedy

•The Belle Star Story (1968)
Il mio corpo per un poker
Directed by Lina Wertmüller
Starring Elsa Martinelli, George Eastman, Robert Woods
(Please note: Martinelli vs actual Belle Starr)

•Shalako (1968)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk
Starring Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Stephen Boyd

•100 Rifles (1969)
Directed by Tom Gries
Starring Jim Brown, Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds

Ep# 34 - Deadpan International Bond Satires in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Sick and tired of Jenna torturing him with hours of terrible James Bond rip-offs, Bart takes the reins and chooses a mix of international bootleg Bonds that all have one very important thing in common: they make Bart laugh. How that is, or why that is, is the real question here; they border on enigmatic enough that even Bart isn’t too sure how to describe his sense of humor. Whatever it is, Modesty Blaise is certainly a big part of it.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a dive into Bart’s Choice of international, deadpan, satirical, meta, James Bond spoofs. They wrestle with the question of why it is James Bond has been so spoofed, remade and perpetuated throughout the entire world. They also do their best at trying to truly pin-point Bart’s sense of humor. You might ‘get it,’ you might not, but if nothing else you will definitely be introduced to some of the most memorable theme songs this side of “Goldfinger.”

The following films are discussed:

• Strike First Freddy (1965)
Slå først Frede!
Directed by Erik Balling
Starring Morten Grunwald, Ove Sprogøe, Essy Persson

• Modesty Blaise (1966)
Directed by Joseph Losey
Starring Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp, Dirk Bogarde

• Branded to Kill (1967)
殺しの烙印 (Koroshi no rakuin)
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
Starring Jô Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Annu Mari

• The End of Agent W4C (1967)
Konec agenta W4C prostrednictvím psa pana Foustky
Directed by Václav Vorlícek
Starring Jan Kacer, Kveta Fialová, Jirí Sovák

• Who's Got the Black Box? (1967)
La route de Corinthe
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Starring Jean Seberg, Maurice Ronet, Michel Bouquet

• Danger: Diabolik (1968)
Diabolik
Directed by Mario Bava
Starring John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli

Ep #33 - Danny Reid's 60s Pick - 36 Hours

Cinema60 — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Guest Danny Reid of pre-code.com joins us to talk about James Garner in 36 Hours

Ep #32 - New German Cinema in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:48:35 +0000

Don’t feel too bad if you don’t really know what was happening culturally in 1960s West Germany. The truth is not much was happening, at least for the first half of the decade. But once the mid-’60s hit, an interesting chorus of voices and visions started to emerge from Germany’s youth. Where there had been a heap of churned out fluff, suddenly filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alexander Kluge and other similar minded folks began to pop up. While New German Cinema truly came of age in the 1970s, a look back at its earlier beginnings make it clear that this movement, while varied in styles and focuses, tapped directly into a universal truth that helped to define the post-Nazi generation.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a closer look at several of these early New German films that walk the line between the personal and the political in order to navigate feelings of guilt and anger. They come away thinking that not only did Germany have more of a legitimate reason to revolt than most restless youth movements of the era, but, dang, did they sure know how to make great films about it.

The following films are discussed:

• Not Reconciled (1965)
Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt, wo Gewalt herrscht
Directed by Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet
Starring Heinrich Hargesheimer, Carlheinz Hargesheimer, Martha Staendner

• Young Törless (1966)
Der junge Törless
Directed by Volker Schlöndorff
Starring Mathieu Carrière, Marian Seidowsky, Bernd Tischer

• Yesterday Girl (1966)
Abschied von gestern - (Anita G.)
Directed by Alexander Kluge
Starring Alexandra Kluge, Günter Mack, Eva Maria Meineke

• Signs of Life (1968)
Lebenszeichen
Directed by Werner Herzog
Starring Peter Brogle, Wolfgang Reichmann, Athina Zacharopoulou

• Katzelmacher (1969)
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring Hanna Schygulla, Lilith Ungerer, Rudolf Waldemar Brem

• Hunting Scenes from Bavaria (1969)
Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern
Directed by Peter Fleischmann
Starring Martin Sperr, Angela Winkler, Hanna Schygulla

• I'm an Elephant, Madame (1969)
Ich bin ein Elefant, Madame
Directed by Peter Zadek
Starring Heinz Baumann, Wolfgang Schneider, Guido Baumann

Ep #31 - Natasha Degen's 60s Pick: Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

Cinema60 — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Bart & Jenna welcome guest Natasha Degen, chair of Art Marketing Studies at FIT, to discuss William Klein's Who Are You Polly Maggoo?

Ep #30 - Kiss Marry Kill in the 60s: 1964

Cinema60 — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 12:36:08 +0000

Bart & Jenna play Kiss Marry Kill with the year 1964.

The following films are discussed:

• The Train (1964)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Starring Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau

• Welcome, or No Trespassing (1964)
Добро пожаловать, или Посторонним вход воспрещён
Directed by Elem Klimov
Starring Viktor Kosykh, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Arina Aleynikova

• The Americanization of Emily (1964)
Directed by Arthur Hiller
Starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, James Coburn

• Woman in the Dunes (1964)
砂の女
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
Starring Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Kôji Mitsui

• Marnie (1964)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Bruce Dern

• La Ronde (1964)
Circle of Love
Directed by Roger Vadim
Starring Jane Fonda, Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Brialy

Ep #29 - Sophia Loren in the 60s

Cinema60 — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 12:47:16 +0000

We maybe got, uh, too ambitious when we set out to watch every single Sophia Loren film from the 1960s. But how could we not? Loren was a 1960s superstar and for good reason, she starred in a whopping twenty films during the decade. The inconsistent quality of these films is a little puzzling considering the majority were produced by her career-shaping husband Carlo Ponti. However they can perhaps be partly explained by a passionate love of her craft, bolstered by a strong work ethic, which helped to pull her up from poverty. This decade in film tells the tale of two Sophias–the magnetically charming goofball lead and the super serious big-budget dramatic actress. To Loren’s credit, she manages to switch between these two types seamlessly, using her charm and grace to elevate every role she’s cast in–no matter how disappointing the script may be.

In this double-sized episode, Bart and Jenna divide and conquer Loren’s filmography in all of its rambling, globe-trotting glory. They come together to discuss four of these films in depth: her star making performance in Two Women, her relatively muted role in the blockbuster El Cid, arguably her best of the decade Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, and the baffling A Countess From Hong Kong, Charlie Chaplin’s final directorial effort.

The following films are discussed:

• Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
Directed by George Cukor
Starring Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien

•It Started in Naples (1960)
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Starring Sophia Loren, Clark Gable, Vittorio De Sica

• The Millionairess (1960)
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Starring Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Vittorio De Sica

•A Breath of Scandal (1960)
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Starring Sophia Loren, Maurice Chevalier, John Gavin

•Two Women (1960)
La ciociara
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown

•El Cid (1961)
Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone

•Madame (1961)
Madame Sans Gêne
Directed by Christian-Jaque
Starring Sophia Loren, Robert Hossein, Renaud Mary

•Boccaccio '70 (1962)
Directed by Mario Monicelli, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica
Starring Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg, Romy Schneider

•The Condemned of Altona (1962)
I sequestrati di Altona
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Sophia Loren, Maximilian Schell, Fredric March

•Five Miles to Midnight (1962)
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Starring Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Gig Young

•Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963)
Ieri oggi domani
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Giuffrè,

•The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness

•Marriage Italian Style (1964)
Matrimonio all'italiana
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi

• Operation Crossbow (1965)
Directed by Michael Anderson
Starring Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard

•Lady L (1965)
Directed by Peter Ustinov
Starring Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven

• Judith (1966)
Directed by Daniel Mann
Starring Sophia Loren, Peter Finch, Jack Hawkins

•Arabesque (1966)
Directed by Stanley Donen
Starring Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel

•A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)
Directed by Charles Chaplin
Starring Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, Sydney Chaplin

•More Than a Miracle (1967)
C'era una volta
Directed by Francesco Rosi
Starring Sophia Loren, Omar Sharif, Georges Wilson

•Ghosts, Italian Style (1968)
Questi fantasmi
Directed by Renato Castellani
Starring Sophia Loren, Vittorio Gassman, Mario Adorf

Ep #28 - Rachael Guma's '60s Pick: Fahrenheit 451

Cinema60 — Thu, 28 May 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Bart & Jenna welcome guest Rachael Guma to talk about her love of Francois Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 (1966). She in turn blows their minds with a theory about how the film uses squares and circles as a visual language.

Ep #27- Technophobic Science Fiction in 1968

Cinema60 — Tue, 12 May 2020 15:38:24 +0000

It’s easy to judge the past solely by its accomplishments, but doing so never provides the full picture. In isolating only the achievements of the Space Age, the ‘60s come across as a glossy and utopian time of cultural and scientific development. Yet, by the end of the decade, most of the world was trapped in a near fever pitch of anxiety; the Cold War was looming larger than ever, the American presence in Vietnam was being openly and angrily questioned, the sexual revolution was ramping up, and a myriad of violent clashes were happening between protestors and police. To top it all off, technology was also developing rapidly–not just in space but in people’s day-to-day lives. As much excitement as there was for change, there was also an equal amount of fear: fear of technological advancement, fear of rapid change, fear of losing our humanity, fear of putting too much faith in science. The future was now and everything was seemingly happening at once. What’s an emotionally repressed 1960s’ Joe Blow to do with all of this uncertainty?

By 1968, science fiction had become the outlet of choice to express these collective anxieties. The genre was blossoming in literature, television and film–from Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick to The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. It proved to be both the perfect cypher for societal fears of progress and heightening violence, as well as the perfect genre for some well-deserved escapism. It also produced one of the greatest films ever made to feature a murderous computer who sings. In this episode, and discussed in order from the ridiculous to the sublime, Bart and Jenna watch several selections from this annus mirabilis of sci-fi films that engage directly with societal anxieties of the future.

The following films are discussed:• The Green Slime (1968) Directed by Kinji Fukasaku Starring Robert Horton, Luciana Paluzzi, Richard Jaeckel

• Project X (1968) Directed by William Castle Starring Christopher George, Greta Baldwin, Henry Jones

• Planet of the Apes (1968) Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner Starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter

• Charly (1968) Directed by Ralph Nelson Starring Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala

• Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968) Directed by Alain Resnais Starring Claude Rich, Olga Georges-Picot, Anouk Ferjac

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Directed by Stanley Kubrick Starring Douglas Rain, Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood

Ep #26 - Pauline Kael's 60s Pick: Bonnie and Clyde

Cinema60 — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 12:39:36 +0000

Guest Pauline Kael joins Cinema60 in spirit to talk about one of her favorite films from the ‘60s: Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde! No reading required as Bart & Jenna argue her case for the film against their own personal misgivings.

Ep #25 - Kyle Eagle's '60s Pick: Sweet Love, Bitter

Cinema60 — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Guest Kyle Eagle talks with Bart & Jenna about Sweet Love Bitter, an under watched gritty jazz film starring Dick Gregory

Ep #24 - Tennessee Williams in the '60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Tennessee Williams was always a man out of time, but by the ‘60s his time was sadly up. As the ‘50s came to a close, his career began a descent from its utmost apex to such a low that Williams himself fell deep into the bottle. Cinema, however, was still playing catch up with all of his later hits. With the way the decade was front loaded you’d hardly believe how quickly these films dissolved to a trickle after 1962. Perhaps it was due to slackening standards regarding explicit and shocking themes on celluloid. Or perhaps Williams’ celebrity had just gotten too big for Hollywood to truly do justice to these highly personal and narrow character studies.

In this episode, Bart enthuses rapturously about even the most mediocre of Williams’ 1960s offerings while Jenna condemns a surprising number of his characters to burn in hell, just because of the misery these poor tortured souls inflict on everyone they encounter. Listen as they discuss the highs and lows of Tennessee’s movie career and gossip about which characters they think are in the closet. (Spoiler: basically all of them.) Plus, there’s a film in here that Bart and Jenna agree is arguably the greatest of all Williams adaptations. But you’ll have to tune in to find out which one!

The following films are discussed:

• The Fugitive Kind (1960)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward

• Summer and Smoke (1961)
Directed by Peter Glenville
Starring Geraldine Page, Laurence Harvey, Rita Moreno

• The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)
Directed by José Quintero
Starring Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty, Lotte Lenya

• Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Directed by Richard Brooks
Starring Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight

• Period of Adjustment (1962)
Directed by George Roy Hill
Starring Jane Fonda, Jim Hutton, Anthony Franciosa

• The Night of the Iguana (1964)
Directed by John Huston
Starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr

• This Property Is Condemned (1966)
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Charles Bronson

• Boom! (1968)
Directed by Joseph Losey
Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Noël Coward

Ep #23 - Bootleg Bond in the 60s - O.S.S. 117

Cinema60 — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

While 007 may have been the original catalyst, what truly turned the 1960s into an era of Bond was the vast number of rip-offs and spoofs that tried to cash in on the craze. Welcome to a new segment on Cinema60 where we guide you through the magical world of Bootleg Bond!

You may have seen the Michel Hazanavicius O.S.S. 117 spoofs starring the ever charming Jean Dujardin, but Did You Know that O.S.S. 117 was actually a real franchise? O.S.S. 117 started out as a book series, created by the prolific Jean Bruce, who was practically unknown outside of his native France. Within the country, however, the books were a smash hit. Hundreds were written, even after Bruce died right when Eurospy fever was about to consume the planet. Bruce’s books and the subsequent film adaptations actually pre-date James Bond, even though ol’ O.S.S. 117 (Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath when he’s at home), was quickly eclipsed by his Scottish-accented brother-in-chest hair.

Join Bart and Jenna as they trudge through these largely terrible films. We promise it’s far a more fun episode to listen to than it was to watch the films, so consider this episode a bit of a riff on Back Row’s I Watched It So You Don’t Have To column.

The following films are discussed:

• OSS 117 se déchaîne (1963)
OSS 117 Is Unleashed
Directed by André Hunebelle
Starring Kerwin Mathews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick

• Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 (1964)
Shadow of Evil / Panic in Bangkok
Directed by André Hunebelle
Starring Kerwin Mathews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein

• Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117 (1965)
OSS 117: Mission for a Killer
Directed by André Hunebelle
Starring Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Raymond Pellegrin

• Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 (1966)
Mission to Tokyo
Directed by Michel Boisrond
Starring Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlady, Jitsuko Yoshimura

• Pas de roses pour O.S.S. 117 (1968)
OSS 117 Murder for Sale
Directed by André Hunebelle
Starring John Gavin, Robert Hossein, Curd Jürgens

• OSS 117 prend des vacances (1970)
OSS 117 Takes a Vacation
Directed by Pierre Kalfon
Starring Luc Merenda, Edwige Feuillère, Elsa Martinelli

Ep #22 - Greg Jackson's 60s Pick: Hands Over the City

Cinema60 — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Author Greg Jackson joins Bart & Jenna to talk about Francesco Rosi's Hands Over The City (Le Mani Sulla Citta)

Ep #21 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1963

Cinema60 — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The following films are discussed:

• Raven's End (1963)
Kvarteret Korpen
Directed by Bo Widerberg
Starring Thommy Berggren, Keve Hjelm, Emy Storm

• When the Cat Comes (1963)
Az prijde kocour
Directed by Vojtech Jasný
Starring Jan Werich, Emília Vásáryová, Vlastimil Brodský

• The Executioner (1963)
El verdugo
Directed by Luis García Berlanga
Starring Nino Manfredi, Emma Penella, José Isbert

• The Big City (1963)
Mahanagar
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Starring Leonardo Villar, Glória Menezes, Dionísio Azevedo

• It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Directed by Stanley Kramer
Starring Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman

• Contempt (1963)
Le mépris
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, Michel Piccoli

Ep #20 - The Legend of Faust in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 12:48:58 +0000

Let’s talk about dissatisfaction, frustration, futility and temptation. Let’s talk about Faust. Faust is a story about a man who sells his soul to the devil. Depending on the version, his reasons vary from a whim, to a bet, to a last resort scenario. What makes the story of Faust unique and intriguing is the fact that we have our hero engaging directly with evil and yet there's wiggle room on if he is ever truly, flatly condemned. The story of Faust is that of a philosophical riddle grappling with understanding the nature of evil.

Sly devil she is, Jenna tricks Bart into talking about 1960s Faust movies. Why? Well, why not! There are a strange amount of them during the decade, which may or may not have something to do with the change a-brewing throughout the world. Bart and Jenna investigate what exactly the connection is between the legend of Faust and the 1960s.

The following films are discussed:

• Faust (1960)
Directed by Peter Gorski & Gustaf Gründgens
Starring Will Quadflieg, Gustaf Gründgens, Ella Büchi

• The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Directed by Roger Corman
Starring Jonathan Haze, Dick Miller, Jack Nicholson

• The World’s Greatest Sinner (1962)
Directed by Timothy Carey
Starring Timothy Carey, Gil Barreto, Betty Rowland

• Seconds (1966)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Starring Rock Hudson, John Randolph, Salome Jens

• Bedazzled (1967)
Directed by Stanley Donen
Starring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron

• Doctor Faustus (1967)
Directed by Richard Burton, Nevill Coghill
Starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Andreas Teuber

• The Strange Case of Doctor Faust (1969)
El extraño caso del doctor Fausto
Directed by Gonzalo Suárez
Starring Gonzalo Suárez, Alberto Puig, Olga Vidali

Ep #19 - Brazilian Cinema Novo in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

In the 1960s, while European cinema was riding out multiple waves, Brazil was inventing Cinema Novo. Emerging out of Brazil’s populist movement of the 1950s and influenced by Italian neorealism and French New Wave, Cinema Novo was a political film movement that served to both warn against and highlight problems plaguing the rural Brazilian everyman. But the dream of social betterment through intellectualist filmmaking sadly stalled when, midway through the 1960s, Brazil experienced a military coup. Echoing the political climate, Cinema Novo quickly turned cynical and violent in its chosen topics, sharply criticizing what they had once hoped would bring about true social equality. By the end of the 1960s all bets were off, as the movement took a turn for the surreal and Tropicalist–rejecting all forms of nationalism and embracing avant-garde mysticism.

Bart and Jenna, simple Americans they are, were initially a bit confounded and mystified by Cinema Novo’s indulgence in political allegory, magical realism and dry satirical humor. But in the end they were, of course, won over by all of those very same things–not to mention its deeply empathetic sense of humanity. In this episode, they lay all of the groundwork for you to have an easier time comprehending these fascinating films than they did.

The following films are discussed:

• The Given Word (1962)
O Pagador de Promessas
Directed by Anselmo Duarte
Starring Leonardo Villar, Glória Menezes, Dionísio Azevedo

• Barren Lives (1963)
Vidas Secas
Directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos
Starring Átila Iório, Maria Ribeiro, Orlando Macedo

• Black God, White Devil (1964)
Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol
Directed by Glauber Rocha
Starring Geraldo Del Rey, Yoná Magalhães, Othon Bastos

• The Guns (1964)
Os Fuzis
Directed by Ruy Guerra
Starring Átila Iório, Nelson Xavier, Maria Gladys

• Entranced Earth (1967)
Terra em Transe
Directed by Glauber Rocha
Starring Jardel Filho, Paulo Autran, José Lewgoy

• The Red Light Bandit (1968)
O Bandido da Luz Vermelha
Directed by Rogério Sganzerla
Starring Paulo Villaça, Helena Ignez, Pagano Sobrinho

• Macunaíma (1969)
Directed by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade
Starring Grande Otelo, Paulo José, Jardel Filho

Ep #18 - Aviva Briefel's 60s Pick: Rosemary's Baby

Cinema60 — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Guest Aviva Briefel joins Bart & Jenna in an episode that focuses on Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. Aviva tells them why this is her favorite film ever and discusses its many themes–including body horror, misogyny, Satanism and bigotry.

Ep #17 - The Shaw Brothers in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Cinema60 gets out of its comfort zone and kicks into high gear with some Shaw Brothers action. While the studio was originally founded back in the 1920s, they became the Shaw Brothers studio that we know and love beginning in the 1960s. From Huangmei operas to wuxia action films, in the 1960s Hong Kong was quickly and violently moving away from traditional mainland influence and coming into its own. It’s no surprise that its cinema reflected these changes to great fanfare.

While neither Bart nor Jenna started out as huge fans of the genre, they found themselves pleasantly surprised by these early Shaw Brothers offerings. Listen as they discuss a range of films from the iconic classics to the bizarre–all of which surprisingly feel like blueprints for a multitude of modern big budget action flicks.

The following films are discussed:

• The Enchanting Shadow (1960)
倩女幽魂 (Ching nu yu hun)
Directed by Li Han-hsiang
Starring Betty Loh Ti, Zhao Lei, Yang Chih-ching

• The Mermaid (1965)
魚美人 (Yu mei ren)
Directed by Kao Li
Starring Ivy Ling Po, Li Ching, Yang Chih-ching

• Come Drink With Me (1966)
大醉俠 (Da zui xia)
Directed by King Hu
Starring Cheng Pei-pei, Yueh Hua, Yang Chih-ching

• The One-Armed Swordsman (1967)
獨臂刀 (Du bei dao)
Directed by Chang Cheh
Starring Jimmy Wang, Angela Pan, Yang Chih-ching

• The Fastest Sword (1968)
天下第一劍 (Tian xia di yi jian)
Directed by Pan Lei
Starring Lu Ping, Chu Ching, Kao Ming

• Temptress of a Thousand Faces (1969)
千面魔女 (Qian mian mo nu)
Directed by Jeong Chang-hwa
Starring Tina Chin-Fei, Pat Ting Hung, Yang Chih-ching

Ep #16 - Michelangelo Antonioni in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Bart and Jenna try their best to not fall back on being overly reverential about films they love but when it comes to Michelangelo Antonioni, it’s hard to be anything but. As a director, Antonioni was made in the 1960s, starting with his rule-breaking masterpiece L’Avventura and ending with his critically panned Zabriskie Point.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna really get into the nitty-gritty of these complex, heartbreaking and sometimes mystifying films. They also try to dispel some widely repeated narratives about how to watch and read Antonioni’s cinematic language. Basically, they desperately want you to love these movies as much as they do. So andiamo, give it a listen.

The following films are discussed:

• L’Avventura (1960)
The Adventure
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Monica Vitti, Gabriele Ferzetti, Lea Massari

• La Notte (1961)
The Night
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, Monica Vitti

• L’Eclisse (1962)
Eclipse
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Monica Vitti, Alain Delon

• Red Desert (1964)
Il deserto rosso
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti

• Blow-Up (1966)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles

• Zabriskie Point (1969*)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Rod Taylor

Ep #15 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1962

Cinema60 — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Bart & Jenna play Kiss Marry Kill with the year 1962.
The following films are discussed:

• David & Lisa (1962)
Directed by Frank Perry
Starring Keir Dullea, Janet Margolin, Howard Da Silva

• The Inheritance (1962)
からみ合い (Karami-ai)
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Starring Keiko Kishi, Tatsuya Nakadai, Sô Yamamura

• Ivan’s Childhood (1962)
Иваново детство (Ivanovo detstvo)
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Valentina Malyavina

• The Trial (1962)
Le procès
Directed by Orson Welles
Starring Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles

• Hatari! (1962)
Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring John Wayne, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons

• The Chapman Report (1962)
Directed by George Cukor
Starring Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom

Ep #14 - Bootleg Bond in the 60s - Derek Flint and Matt Helm

Cinema60 — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 09:00:00 +0000

While 007 may have been the original catalyst, what truly turned the 1960s into an era of Bond was the vast amount of rip-offs and spoofs that tired to cash in on the craze. Welcome to a new segment on Cinema60 where, every seven episodes, we will guide you through the magical world of Bootleg Bond!

We start with Derek Flint and Matt Helm, two big contenders who in 1966, right when Bond Mania was heating up, dipped their toes in the spy-craze waters. Derek Flint was the hyper-intelligent, infallibly brilliant secret agent. Matt Helm was the womanizing drunk who stumbled into solutions as often as any random woman’s loving arms. Flint and Helm both represented blatant marketing strategies that were eager to peer into the psyches of the movie-going public; according to Hollywood, you were either watching for the gadgets or for the girls.

Join Bart and Jenna as they discuss every Helm and Flint movie in one go and manage to make it out with their eyes not perma-rolled to the backs of their heads. Warning: expect a whole lot of problematic junk in these silly stinkers.

The following films are discussed:

• Our Man Flint (1966)
Directed by Daniel Mann
Starring James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Gila Golan

• The Silencers (1966)
Directed by Phil Karlson
Starring Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi

• Murderers’ Row (1966)
Directed by Henry Levin
Starring Dean Martin, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden

• In Like Flint (1967)
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Starring James Coburn, Jean Hale, Andrew Duggan

• The Ambushers (1967)
Directed by Henry Levin
Starring Dean Martin, Janice Rule, Senta Berger

• The Wrecking Crew (1968)
Directed by Phil Karlson
Starring Dean Martin, Nancy Kwan, Sharon Tate

Ep # 13 - LSD Movies in 1967

Cinema60 — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 09:00:00 +0000

It’s a sunny day and you and your girlfriend Mimsy decide to take a drive to the park. You’re humming along the highway, not a care in the world, when suddenly the sun turns black. Screeching to a halt, you almost collide with the car in front of you. But wait–it’s not a car… it’s a gigantic mushroom made of glitter! You turn to Mimsy for answers, but Mimsy isn’t there–in her place, just a smiling skeleton that slowly dissolves in front of your eyes. Now you’re weeping on the grass, and you realize you’ve been in the park this whole time. The name of that park? Golden Gate Park. The year? 1967. The vehicle? Lysergic acid diethylamide.

1967 seems to have been the year the public was ready to talk about the effects of LSD. Of course, depending on who you were talking to, the decription of its effects might vary wildly. While the cops were slinging “facts” about how LSD can alter your chromosomes, the hippies were preaching about its marvelous consciousness expanding benefits. Where does the truth lie?

In this episode, Jenna and Bart peruse a wide range of LSD-centric films from 1967 in order to get to the truth of the infamous drug. The following films are discussed, in order from square to hip:

• LSD, Trip or Trap [short] (1967)
Directed by Sid Davis

• Riot on Sunset Strip (1967)
Directed by Arthur Dreifuss
Starring Aldo Ray, Mimsy Farmer, Laurie Mock

• The Love-Ins (1967)
Directed by Arthur Dreifuss
Starring Richard Todd, James MacArthur, Susan Oliver

• Human Be-In - 1/14/1967 - Polo Fields, Golden Gate Park [documentary footage] (1967)

• The Weird World of LSD (1967)
Directed by Robert Ground
Starring Terry Tessem, Yolanda Morino, Ann Lindsay

• Exploding Plastic Inevitable [short] (1967)
Directed by Ronald Nameth
Starring The Velvet Underground and Nico

• Be-In [short] (1967)
Directed by Jerry Abrams
Starring Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary

• The Trip (1967)
Directed by Roger Corman
Starring Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern

• Psychedelic Sex Kicks (1967)
Starring Glen McKay, Janie Boyde, Julie Boone

Ep #12 - Black Masculinity in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 09:00:00 +0000

The 1960s were ruled by a specific brand of hyper-masculinity, the likes of which had only heightened since the conservative 1950s. Not only did men hold all of the power both legally and socially, but goddamnit they did it because they "deserved it." It was in this climate, with its rigidly defined societal gender standards, that the fight for civil rights was brought to a boiling point in the 1960s. As the decade progressed, black men were increasingly openly and aggressively demanding their due–not only as human beings, but as Men.

Yet, black voices and narratives in cinema were still fairly scarce. While there were several interesting offerings from the fringes, anything that was allowed to be released by the mainstream had to have been pre-approved for white consumption. In this episode, two honkies named Bart and Jenna discuss representations of black masculinity in a range of films, from the rightfully celebrated to the criminally under-seen.

The following films are discussed:

• A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Directed by Daniel Petrie
Starring Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee

• Gone Are The Days! (1963)
Purlie Victorious
Directed by Nicholas Webster
Starring Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Godfrey Cambridge

• The Cool World (1963)
Directed by Shirley Clarke
Starring Rony Clanton, Clarence Williams III, Gloria Foster

• Nothing But a Man (1964)
Directed by Michael Roemer
Starring Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Gloria Foster

• A Man Called Adam (1966)
Directed by Leo Penn
Starring Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Cicely Tyson

• Uptight (1968)
Directed by Jules Dassin
Starring Julian Mayfield, Raymond St. Jacques, Ruby Dee

• The Learning Tree (1969)
Directed by Gordon Parks
Starring Kyle Johnson, Alex Clarke, Estelle Evans

Ep #11 - Agnes Varda in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Agnès Varda was known as the “Grandmother of the French New Wave,” but really she should be known as The Queen. Not only was she the first female filmmaker to pioneer the style, but she went on to have a long and storied career, full of interesting and unique offerings. She made films right up until her death in early 2019.

During the 1960s, Varda was not only breaking down barriers of film and gender, but she was coming into her own style as one of the true auteurs. She focused primarily on telling the stories of those without the loudest voices: women, people of color and artists on the fringes of society. Join Bart and Jenna as they navigate through all of her films–shorts and features–of the decade.

The following films are discussed:

• The Fiancés of the Bridge Mac Donald [short] (1961)
Les fiancés du pont Mac Donald ou (Méfiez-vous des lunettes noires)
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Jean-Luc Godard, Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Brialy

• Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962)
Cléo de 5 à 7
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray

• Salut les Cubains [short] (1963)
Directed by Agnès Varda
Narrated by Michel Piccoli & Agnès Varda

• Happiness (1965)
Le Bonheur
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Jean-Claude Drouot, Claire Drouot, Marie-France Boyer

• Elsa La Rose [short] (1965)
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Louis Aragon, Elsa Triolet, Michel Piccoli

• The Creatures (1966)
Les Créatures
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, Eva Dahlbeck

• Uncle Yanco [short] (1967)
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Jean Varda, Tom Luddy, Agnès Varda

• Black Panthers [short] (1968)
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Huey P. Newton, Kathleen Cleaver, Stokely Carmichael

• Lion’s Love (…And Lies) (1969)
Directed by Agnès Varda
Starring Viva, Gerome Ragni, James Rado

Note: Far from Vietnam (1967) is mentioned briefly but not discussed for reasons stated in the podcast.

Ep #10 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1961

Cinema60 — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Bart and Jenna play Kiss Marry Kill with the year 1961.

The following films are discussed:

• Wise Guys (1961)
Les godelureaux
Directed by Claude Chabrol
Starring Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont, Jean Tissier

• Girl with a Suitcase (1961)
La ragazza con la valigia
Directed by Valerio Zurlini
Starring Claudia Cardinale, Jacques Perrin, Luciana Angiolillo

• The Innocents (1961)
Directed by Jack Clayton
Starring Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins

• Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Directed by Elia Kazan
Starring Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle

• Accatone (1961)
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring Franco Citti, Franca Pasut, Silvana Corsini

• Something Wild (1961)
Directed by Jack Garfein
Starring Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock

Ep #9 - Polish Arthouse Cinema in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Poland has produced countless under-seen masterpieces since the rise of the Łódź Film School in the ‘50s. If you don’t believe us, just ask Martin Scorsese, who lent his name and energy to a 21-film restoration project because he loves Polish movies so much.

Part of the reason Polish cinema remains relatively unknown is that during the ‘60s, the government kept careful watch on the content and distribution of films; it squashed any portrayals of youthful discontent and personal expression that could be construed as critical of the state. As a result, Poland didn’t have a “New Wave” per se, but behind that Iron Curtain they were still making some mighty fine films.

In this episode, Bart & Jenna catch you up on some of Poland’s greatest cinematic treasures from the ‘60s–including early films from writers and directors who went on to have international success.

The following films are discussed:

• Innocent Sorcerers (1960)
Niewinni czarodzieje
Directed by Andrzej Wajda
Starring Tadeusz Lomnicki, Krystyna Stypulkowska, Wanda Koczeska

• Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)
Matka Joanna od Aniołów
Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Starring Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska

• Knife in the Water (1962)
Nóz w wodzie
Directed by Roman Polanski
Starring Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz

• Passenger (1963)
Pasażerka
Directed by Andrzej Munk. Finished by Witold Lesiewicz
Starring Aleksandra Slaska, Anna Ciepielewska, Jan Kreczmar

• The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)
Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie
Directed by Wojciech Has
Starring Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska, Elzbieta Czyzewska

• Barrier (1966)
Bariera
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Starring Joanna Szczerbic, Jan Nowicki, Tadeusz Lomnicki

• The Structure of Crystals (1969)
Struktura kryształu
Directed by Krzysztof Zanussi
Starring Barbara Wrzesinska, Jan Myslowicz, Andrzej Zarnecki

Ep #8 - Musicals in 1964

Cinema60 — Tue, 21 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

1964 was the year that Rock’n’Roll decided it was here to stay, at least in America’s cinemas. It was a year that represented a real turning point for movie musicals, with enduring classics of both the old style and the new style making their premieres, as well as a great number of notable others from a variety of cinematic and musical approaches. Join Jenna and Bart as they traverse the entire spectrum of ‘60s musicals in a single year–including some of their all-time favorites, a few guilty pleasures, and a couple real pieces of junk too.

The following films are discussed:

• My Fair Lady (1964)
Directed by George Cukor
Starring Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway

• Mary Poppins (1964)
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson

• Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.

• Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Directed by Jacques Demy
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon

• Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Directed by George Sidney
Starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova

• Muscle Beach Party (1964)
Directed by William Asher
Starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Luciana Paluzzi

• A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Directed by Richard Lester
Starring The Beatles, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington

OTHER 1964 MUSICALS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), Roustabout (1964), Kissin' Cousins (1964), The Pleasure Seekers (1964), The Horror of Party Beach (1964), The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Pajama Party (1964), Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964), The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

Ep #007 - James Bond in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Bart and Jenna get drunk in order to talk about the cultural impact that James Bond had in the 1960s, their love/hate relationship with the series, and of course their opinions on every Bond movie from the decade.

Ep #6 - Albert Finney in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 10:45:00 +0000

All Albert Finney ever wanted was to be a great character actor. As one of youngest actors to gain his success through Britain’s “angry young men” movement, his stage and film career quickly helped to define it. He actively rebelled against his boyish good looks; the idea of selling of an image of celebrity to the public, positive or not, made him deeply uncomfortable. To Albert Finney, acting was always “work," and he constantly worked against being typecast. Within the ‘60s alone he landed a variety of roles: a working class hooligan, a period drama ladies’ man, a cold blooded serial killer, an emotionally volatile architect, a jaded writer suffering from a degree of imposter syndrome, and a Picasso-obsessed stalker.

In honor of Albert Finney, who passed away earlier this year, Bart and Jenna take a look at all of the films he starred in during the 1960s. These films established what was to come for the rest of his career and offer some real unsung gems of British cinema.

Not discussed in this episode are The Entertainer (1960) and The Victors (1963), in which Finney only has brief cameos.

The following films are discussed, however:

• Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (1960)
Directed by Karel Reisz
Starring Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts

• Tom Jones (1963)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Starring Albert Finney, Susannah York, George Devine

• Night Must Fall (1964)
Directed by Karel Reisz
Starring Albert Finney, Susan Hampshire, Mona Washbourne

• Two for the Road (1967)
Directed by Stanley Donen
Starring Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney

• Charlie Bubbles (1967)
Directed by Albert Finney
Starring Albert Finney, Colin Blakely, Billie Whitelaw, Liza Minelli

• The Picasso Summer (1969)
Directed by Robert Sallin (& Serge Bourguignon, uncredited)
Starring Albert Finney, Yvette Mimieux, Luis Miguel Dominguín

Ep #5 - Kiss, Marry, Kill in the 60s: 1960

Cinema60 — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Bart and Jenna challenge each other to choose one film from the year 1960 that they love (“Marry”), one film they want to see (“Kiss”), and one film they hate (“Kill”).

The following films are discussed:

• Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Starring Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot

• Strangers When We Meet (1960)
Directed by Richard Quine
Starring Kirk Douglas, Kim Novak, Ernie Kovacs, Barbara Rush

• The Sundowners (1960)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Starring Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Peter Ustinov

• Letter Never Sent (1960)
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
Starring Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Tatyana Samoylova, Vasiliy Livanov

• Cinderfella (1960)
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Starring Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn, Judith Anderson

• The Virgin Spring (1960)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom

Ep #4 - Cold War Comedies in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 12:00:00 +0000

By the 1960s, the Cold War really started to heat up. Berlin became a divided city, the space race was in full swing, the war in Vietnam was escalating, children across America were made numb to “duck and cover” drills, and the Cuban Missile Crisis practically gave the world a heart attack. You’d think with the ever-looming threat of nuclear annihilation, the subject of two headstrong superpowers bent on world supremacy would be addressed in movies of the era with only the utmost seriousness, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Instead, many filmmakers found the uneasy relations between the US and the USSR to be a veritable playground for savage satire and slapstick silliness.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna navigate the anxiety, arrogance, doubts, patriotism, and humanist longings expressed through comedy during this time of heightening global tension.

The following films are discussed:

• One, Two, Three (1961)
Directed by Billy Wilder
Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin

•The Mouse on the Moon (1963)
Directed by Richard Lester
Starring Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins

• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden

• John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1965)
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Peter Ustinov, Richard Crenna

• The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)
Directed by Norman Jewison
Starring Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin

• The President's Analyst (1967)
Directed by Theodore J. Flicker
Starring James Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden

• The Diamond Arm (1969)
Directed by Leonid Gaidai
Starring Yuriy Nikulin, Nina Grebeshkova, Andrey Mironov

Ep #3 - Anna Karina With Godard in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 13:39:00 +0000

Any discussion of modernism in ‘60s films has to begin with Jean-Luc Godard, the era’s single-most important innovator in the language of popular cinema. But because the mere mention of his name can cause certain movie lovers to bristle and run as far away as possible, we decided to tackle his occasionally difficult output in the most approachable way possible. So in this episode, we focus on the films Godard made with his greatest star and muse: Anna Karina.

No matter how discursive and inscrutable the lightly plotted cinema of Godard can get, Karina always brings the charm, intelligence and humor, effectively turning his potentially alienating distancing techniques and cinematic experiments into pure subversive pleasure. Cinema60 celebrates Anna Karina, who stands out as the perfect ‘60s woman in a decade of few notable roles worthy of actresses with significant charisma or talent.

The following films are discussed:

• Le Petit Soldat (The Little Soldier) (1963)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Michel Subor, Henri-Jacques Huet

• A Woman is a Woman (Une femme est une femme) (1961)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Brialy, Jean-Paul Belmondo

• Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live) (1962)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot, André S. Labarthe

• Band of Outsiders (Bande à part) (1964)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur

• Pierrot le Fou (1965)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Samuel Fuller

• Alphaville (1965)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Eddie Constantine, Akim Tamiroff

• Made in U.S.A. (1966)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Léaud

• The Oldest Profession (Le plus vieux métier du monde) (1967)
Episode: “Anticipation, ou l'amour en l'an 2000”
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina, Marilù Tolo, Jacques Charrier

Ep #2 - Clint Eastwood in the 60s

Cinema60 — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 14:00:00 +0000

For our second episode, we’re focusing on one actor’s career through the decade: Clint Eastwood. Despite the fact that he got his start in 1950s television serials, the Clint Eastwood we all know and love was ‘born’ in 1964. His persona as a grimacing badass gunslinger was a carefully constructed character written by Sergio Leone for his distinctive Man With No Name series.

Bart and Jenna watch every film Clint Eastwood made in the 1960s, investigating the triumphs and stumbles he took trying to break away from his white-hat television roles in order to build his black-hat film career.

The following films are discussed:

• A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Directed by Sergio Leone
Starring Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch

• For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Directed by Sergio Leone
Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè

• The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)
Directed by Sergio Leone
Starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef

• The Witches (1967)
Episode: “Una Sera Come le Altre”
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Starring Clint Eastwood, Silvana Mangano

• Hang ‘Em High (1968)
Directed by Ted Post
Starring Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Pat Hingle

• Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
Directed by Don Siegel
Starring Clint Eastwood, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling

• Where Eagles Dare (1968)
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton, Mary Ure

• Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Directed by Joshua Logan
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Jean Seberg

Ep #1 - Everybody's Talkin' in the 60s

Cinema60 — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Cinema60, a podcast about the wild and wonderful world of 1960s cinema brought to you by two people who were born over a decade after the fact. Our first episode is a bit of a getting to know you episode, as Bart and Jenna speak for the first time about why they’re taking the plunge into making this podcast in the first place. They discuss everything from their own personal backgrounds with cinema, what it is they want from a movie, and how to approach older cinema while not betraying your modern values.

Since this first episode is an introduction, it’s a bit of a scattershot of 1960s cinema choices which were chosen at random. The following films are discussed:

• How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Directed by David Swift
Starring Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee

•The Pleasure Girls (1965)
Directed by Gerry O’Hara
Starring Francesca Annis, Ian McShane, Klaus Kinski

•The Warped Ones (1960)
Directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara
Starring Tamio Kawaji, Yuko Chiyo, Eiji Gô

•Wild in the Streets (1968)
Directed by Barry Shear
Starring Christopher Jones, Shelley Winters, Diane Varsi

•Vedo Nudo (1969)
Directed by Dino Risi
Starring Nino Manfredi