by Allan Fish
Here we go…
Best Picture Ben Hur, US (6 votes)
Best Director François Truffaut, Les Quatre Cents Coups & William Wyler, Ben Hur (4 votes each, TIE)
Best Short Pull My Daisy, US, Robert Frank (3 votes)
Best Actor Jean-Pierre Léaud, Les Quatre Cents Coups (8 votes)
Best Actress Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story (7 votes)
Best Supporting Actor James Mason, North by Northwest (9 votes)
Best Supporting Actress Angie Dickinson, Rio Bravo (4 votes)
Best Cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa, Floating Weeds (7 votes)
Best Score Miklós Rózsa, Ben Hur (12 votes)
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definitely the worst ever poll winner for Best Picture, though Mason’s win is even more mystifying, one of his least impressive turns; my own choices…
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Best Picture PICKPOCKET, France
Best Short PULL MY DAISY, US, Robert Frank
Best Director Robert Bresson, Pickpocket
Best Actor Ganjiro Nakamura, Floating Weeds
Best Actress Machiko Kyo, The Key
Best Supporting Actor Dean Martin, Rio Bravo
Best Supporting Actress Sharma Prokhorenko, Ballad of a Soldier
Best Cinematography (B&W) Sergei Urusevky, Letter Never Sent
Best Musical Score Miklós Rózsa, Ben Hur
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and on to a new decade…note that short I will no longer be listing as a category from here on in. If you would still like to vote for short, the votes will be write-ins. Regarding documentary features, I will still be listing them among the best picture nominations, but I will be giving a separate award to these on the topbar if not in my weekly results. If people want to make separate votes for that as write-ins, they are again free to do so.
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1960
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Á Bout de Souffle (France…Jean-Luc Godard)
Adua e le Compagne (Italy/France…Antonio Pietrangeli)
An Age of Kings (UK…Peter Dews, Michael Hayes)
The Alamo: director’s cut (US (1991)…John Wayne, John Ford)
Un Amore di Roma (Italy…Dino Risi)
The Angry Silence (UK…Guy Green)
The Apartment (US…Billy Wilder)
L’Avventura (Italy…Michelangelo Antonioni)
Bad Boys (Japan…Susumu Hani)
Bad Luck (Poland…Andrzej Munk)
The Bad Sleep Well (Japan…Akira Kurosawa)
Behind Closed Doors (Italy…Dino Risi)
Il Bell’ Antonio (Italy…Mauro Bolognini)
Black Sunday (Italy…Mario Bava)
Blood and Roses (France…Roger Vadim)
Blood Feast (Argentina…Leopoldo Torre-Nilsson)
Blood is Dry (Japan…Yoshishige Yoshida)
Les Bonnes Femmes (France…Claude Chabrol)
The Brides of Dracula (UK…Terence Fisher)
City of the Dead (UK…John Moxey)
Classe Tous Risques (France…Claude Sautet)
The Cloud-Capped Star (India…Ritwik Ghatak)
El Cochecito (Spain…Marco Ferreri)
A Cold Wind in August (US…Alexander Singer)
Comanche Station (US…Budd Boetticher)
The Criminal (UK…Joseph Losey)
The Cruel Story of Youth (Japan…Nagisa Oshima)
Daughters, Wives and a Mother (Japan…Mikio Naruse)
Devi (India…Satyajit Ray)
La Dolce Vita (Italy…Federico Fellini)
L’Eau à la Bouche (France…Jacques Doniol-Valcroze)
Elmer Gantry (US…Richard Brooks)
Era Notte a Roma (Italy…Roberto Rossellini)
Exodus (US…Otto Preminger)
Eyes Without a Face (France…Georges Franju)
A False Student (Japan…Yasuzo Masumura)
Flaming Star (US…Don Siegel)
Flesh and the Fiends (UK…John Gilling)
Good for Nothing (Japan…Yoshishige Yoshida)
Goodbye, See You Tomorrow (Poland…Janusz Morgenstern)
Hell is a City (UK…Val Guest)
Her Brother (Japan…Kon Ichikawa)
Hero of the Red Light District (Japan…Tomu Uchida)
Home from the Hill (US…Vincente Minnelli)
The House of Usher (US…Roger Corman)
The Housemaid (South Korea…Kim Ki-young)
Inherit the Wind (US…Stanley Kramer)
Intimidation (Japan…Koreyoshi Kurahara)
Jigoku (Japan…Nobuko Nakagawa)
Jokyo (Japan…Kon Ichikawa, Yasuzo Masumura, Kozaburo Yoshimura)
Joyful Laughter (Italy…Mario Monicelli)
Knights of the Teutonic Order (Poland…Alexsandr Ford)
The Lank Flower Has Already Flown (Belgium…Paul Meyer)
Late Autumn (Japan…Yasujiro Ozu)
The League of Gentlemen (UK…Basil Dearden)
The Little Shop of Horrors (US…Roger Corman)
The Magnificent Seven (US…John Sturges)
Mughal-E-Azam (India…Karim Asif)
My Hobo (Japan…Zenzo Matsuyama)
Naked Island (Japan…Kaneto Shindo)
Never on Sunday (Greece…Jules Dassin)
The Ninth Circle (Yugoslavia…France Stiglic)
La Novice (Italy…Alberto Lattuada)
Peeping Tom (UK…Michael Powell)
Le Petit Soldat (France…Jean-Luc Godard)
Pilgrimage to the Virgin Mary (Czechoslovakia…Vojtech Jasny)
Plein Soleil (France/Italy…René Clément)
Primary (US…Robert Drew, Richard Leacock)
Psycho (US…Alfred Hitchcock)
The Red Detachment of Women (China…Xie Jin)
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (US…Budd Boetticher)
The River Fuefuki (Japan…Keisuke Kinoshita)
Rocco and His Brothers (Italy…Luchino Visconti)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (US…Karel Reisz)
Shoot the Pianist (France…François Truffaut)
Sons and Lovers (UK…Jack Cardiff)
Spartacus: Restored Version (US (1990)…Stanley Kubrick)
Spring Dreams (Japan…Keisuke Kinoshita)
The Story of the Flaming Years (USSR…Julia Solntseva)
Strangers When we Meet (US…Richard Quine)
The Sundowners (US…Fred Zinnemann)
The Sun’s Burial (Japan…Nagisa Oshima)
Le Testament d’Orphée (France…Jean Cocteau)
The 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse (Germany…Fritz Lang)
Toss Me a Dime (Argentina…Fernando Birri)
Le Trou (France…Jacques Becker)
Tunes of Glory (UK…Ronald Neame)
The Twilight Story (Japan…Shiro Toyoda)
Two Women (Italy…Vittorio de Sica)
La Vérité (France…Henri-Georges Clouzot)
Village of the Damned (UK…Wolf Rilla)
The Virgin Spring (Sweden…Ingmar Bergman)
Viva l’Italia (Italy…Roberto Rossellini)
The Warped Ones (Japan…Koreyoshi Kurahara)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Japan…Mikio Naruse)
The White Dove (Czechoslovakia…Frantisek Vlacil)
Wild River (US…Elia Kazan)
The Wild Wild Rose (Hong Kong…Wang Tian-lin)
The Young One (Mexico…Luis Buñuel)
Youth in Fury (Japan…Masahiro Shinoda)
Zazie dans le Métro (France…Louis Malle)
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Best Short
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This has now moved to below Score at the bottom to allow links to be posted and not detract from the other categories.
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Best Actor
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Richard Attenborough The Angry Silence
Charles Aznavour Shoot the Pianist
Stanley Baker The Criminal
Jean-Paul Belmondo À Bout de Souffle
Carl Boehm Peeping Tom
Montgomery Clift Wild River
Peter Cushing Brides of Dracula
Alain Delon Plein Soleil
Peter Finch The Trials of Oscar Wilde
Albert Finney Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Jerry Fujio A False Student
John Gregson Faces in the Dark
Alec Guinness Tunes of Glory
Jack Hawkins The League of Gentlemen
José Isbert El Cochecito
Chiezo Kataoka Hero of the Red Light District
Burt Lancaster Elmer Gantry
Jack Lemmon The Apartment
Fredric March Inherit the Wind
Marcello Mastroianni La Dolce Vita
John Mills Tunes of Glory
Edmond O’Brien The Third Voice
Laurence Olivier The Entertainer
Anthony Perkins Psycho
Vincent Price House of Usher
Dean Stockwell Sons and Lovers
Spencer Tracy Inherit the Wind
Lino Ventura Classe tous Risques
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Best Actress
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Lola Albright A Cold Wind in August
Brigitte Bardot La Vérité
Grace Chang The Wild Wild Rose
Supriya Choudhury The Cloud-Capped Star
Lee Eun-Shim The Housemaid
Greer Garson Sunrise at Campobello
Setsuko Hara Daughters, Wives & a Mother
Setsuko Hara Late Autumn
Deborah Kerr The Sundowners
Sophia Loren Two Women
Dorothy McGuire The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Shirley MacLaine The Apartment
Madhubala Mughal-e-Azam
Anna Magnani Joyful Laughter
Melina Mercouri Never on Sunday
Nobuko Otowa Naked Island
Lee Remick Wild River
Debbie Reynolds The Rat Race
Jean Simmons Elmer Gantry
Barbara Steele Black Sunday
Sharmila Tagore Devi
Hideko Takamine Daughters, Wives & a Mother
Hideko Takamine When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Elizabeth Taylor Butterfield 8
Monica Vitti L’Avventura
Ayako Wakao A False Student
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Best Supp Actor
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Martin Balsam Psycho
Chabi Biswas Devi
Sean Connery An Age of Kings TV
John Fraser The Trials of Oscar Wilde
Leo Genn Era Notte a Roma
Robert Hardy An Age of Kings TV
Trevor Howard Sons and Lovers
Prithviraj Kapoor Mughal-e-Azam
Gene Kelly Inherit the Wind
Arthur Kennedy Elmer Gantry
Charles Laughton Spartacus
Ta Lei The Wild Wild Rose
Roger Livesey The Entertainer
Fred MacMurray The Apartment
Patrick Magee The Criminal
Sal Mineo Exodus
Harry Morgan Inherit the Wind
Nigel Patrick The League of Gentlemen
Frank Pettingell An Age of Kings TV
Donald Pleasence The Flesh and the Fiends
Maurice Ronet Plein Soleil
Renato Salvatori Rocco and His Brothers
Alastair Sim School for Scoundrels
Peter Ustinov Spartacus
Charles Vanel La Vérité
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Best Supp Actress
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Edie Adams The Apartment
Eve Arden The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Stéphane Audran Les Bonnes Femmes
Brenda de Banzie The Entertainer
Lee Eun-shim The Housemaid
Annie Girardot Rocco and His Brothers
Wendy Hiller Sons and Lovers
Martita Hunt Brides of Dracula
Patricia Jessel City of the Dead
Ju Jeung-nyeo The Housemaid
Glynis Johns The Sundowners
Shirley Jones Elmer Gantry
Shirley Knight The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Bernadette Lafont Les Bonnes Femmes
Angela Lansbury The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Janet Leigh Psycho
Mary Morris An Age of Kings TV
Rachel Roberts Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Mary Ure Sons and Lovers
Alida Valli Eyes Without a Face
Jo Van Fleet Wild River
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Best Cinematography
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John Alton Elmer Gantry
Mario Bava, Ubaldo Terzano Black Sunday
Ghislain Cloquet Le Trou
William H.Clothier The Alamo
Raoul Coutard A Bout de Souffle
Raoul Coutard Shoot the Pianist
Floyd Crosby The House of Usher
Henri Decaë Plein Soleil
Kim Deok-jin The Housemaid
Desmond Dickinson City of the Dead
Gabriel Figueroa The Young One
Freddie Francis Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Freddie Francis Sons and Lovers
Ellsworth Fredericks Wild River
Robert Krasker The Criminal
Otto Heller Peeping Tom
Hiroyuki Kosada The River Fuefuki
Milton R.Krasner Home from the Hill
Kiyoshi Kuroda Naked Island
Sam Leavitt Exodus
Otello Martelli La Dolce Vita
Russell Metty Spartacus
Subrata Mitra Devi
Sven Nykvist The Virgin Spring
Pier Ludovico Pavoni The Mill of the Stone Women
Franz Planer The Unforgiven
Claude Renoir Blood and Roses
Giuseppe Rotunno Rocco and His Brothers
John L.Russell Psycho
Aldo Scavarda L’Avventura
Eugene Schufftan Eyes Without a Face
Masao Tamai When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Armand Thirard La Vérité
Sadaji Yoshida Hero of the Red Light District
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Best Score
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Georges Auric La Testament d’Orphée
Elmer Bernstein The Magnificent Seven
Georges Delerue Shoot the Pianist
Adolph Deutsch The Apartment
Ernest Gold Exodus
Hikaru Hayashi Naked Island
Bernard Herrmann Psycho
Maurice Jarre Eyes Without a Face
Ali Akbar Khan Devi
Mario Nascimbene Sons and Lovers
Naushad Mughal-E-Azam
Alex North Spartacus
Nino Rota La Dolce Vita
Nino Rota Plein Soleil
Nino Rota Rocco and His Brothers
Dimitri Tiomkin The Alamo
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Best Short
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A La Mode (US…Stan Vanderbeek)
Arnulf Rainer (Austria…Peter Kubelka)
Baum im Herbst (Trees in Autumn) (Austria…Kurt Kren)
Beyond Silence (US…Edmond Levy)
A City Called Copenhagen (Denmark…Jorgen Roos)
The Creation of Women (India…Charles F. Schwep)
Day of the Painter (US…Ezra R. Baker)
The Dead (US…Stan Brakhage)
Giuseppina (UK…James Hill)
Goliath II (US…Wolfgang Reitherman)
High Note (US…Chuck Jones)
Hyde and Go Tweet (US…Friz Freleng)
Islands of the Sea (US…Walt Disney)
Mouse and Garden (US…Friz Freleng)
Munro (US…Gene Deitch)
Person to Bunny (US… Friz Freleng)
A Place in the Sun (Czechoslovakia…Frantisek Vystrecil)
The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film (UK…Richard Lester)
A Sport is Born (US…Lew Sanborn)
Universe (Canada…Roman Kroiter, Colin Low)
(For further choices, see the 1960 Looney Tunes filmography)
Must say that I am absolutely delighted with the Best Picture winner for 1959!
As far as 1960, it is another year that has you completely left s ratching your head. Too many great and near-great films.
In addition to the film I ultimately went with for Best Picture, I must say these came very close: THE CLOUD-CAPPED STAR (Ghatek), CITY OF THE DEAD a.k.a. HORROR HOTEL (Moxey), BLACK SUNDAY (Bava), DEVI (Ray) WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS (Naruse), THE NAKED ISLAND (Shindo), THE VIRGIN SPRING (Bergman), L’AVENTURA (Antonioni), THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (Corman), BREATHLESS (Godard), EYES WITHOUT A ACE (Franju), SPARTACUS (Kubrick), THE APARTMENT (Wilder), THE CRIMINAL (Losey), LES BONNES FEMME (Chabrol), LA DOLCE VITA (Fellini), BRIDES OF DRACULA (Fischer)
Best Picture: Psycho
Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho)
Best Actor: Tony Perkins (Psycho)
Best Actress: Sharmila Tagore (Devi)
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Ustinov (Spartacus)
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Jessel (City of the Dead)
Best Cinematography: Sven Nykvist (The Virgin Spring)
Best Score: Elmer Bernstein (The Rat Race)
Yay for James Mason winning best supporting actor in 1959. Yay for “Floating Weeds” winning best cinematography in 1959. Yay for “Ben Hur” winning best score in 1959.
I vote “Psycho” for best film in 1960.
I vote Jean-Luc Godard for best director (“Breathless”) in 1960.
I vote “3/60: Bäume im Herbst” for best short in 1960.
I vote Anthony Perkins for best actor in “Psycho” in 1960.
I vote Lee-Eun Shim for best actress in “The Housemaid” in 1960.
I vote Martin Balsam for best supporting actor in “Psycho” in 1960.
I vote Ju-jeong Nyeo for best supporting actress in “The Housemaid” in 1960.
I vote “Black Sunday” for best cinematography in 1960.
I vote “Psycho” for best score in 1960.
Great work with the shorts!
I’ll change my vote to “Hyde and Go Tweet”
Ha, and after I modified to include your first pick.
I’m gonna check it out now regardless, so thanks for choosing it…
Hahaha, well I actually didn’t like it that much, it just happened to be in 1960 and seen in the last 4 years, hence it was listed in my master list, the Tweetie one was a better one as I remember it as a kid.
With so many amazing things starting in 59 it is truly disappointing that Ben Hur gets the top position.
Psycho could be the choice any other day, but…
Best Picture: La dolce Vita
Best Director: Federico Fellini (La dolce Vita)
Best Actor: Anthony Perkins (Psycho)
Best Actress: Monica Vitti (L’Avventura)
Best Supporting Actor: Fred MacMurray (The Apartment)
Best Supporting Actress: Janet Leigh (Psycho)
Best Cinematography: John L.Russell (Psycho)
Best Score: Bernard Herrmann (Psycho)
Tell me about it, Camolas. It’s like a victory for looking back instead of looking forward, Luddites of the world unite.
Camolas, I am so sorry that you feel that way. I think the WitD voters made the correct decision, as did the New York Film Critics Circle in 1959.
With all respect to the poll, and a bit less for the NY Critics Circle (since Resnais, Truffaut or Bresson were europeans), the windows to the future (like Godard, Antonioni or Felllini in 1960) were oppened by a very different kind of films than Ben Hur. Wyler made a great movie, but didn’t change nothing in cinema nor in my soul.
Camolas, sorry that your “soul” wasn’t impacted, because that is precisely what happend in my case. This was as soulful a film experience as I’ve ever had in my life. And since when is the New York Film Critics Circle adverse to European cinema? Their results over the years indicate otherwise. We have been voting European and Asian ART HOUSE cinema over and over my friend, year in and year out, and I am one of the promoters.
I propose that there is room for BEN-HUR in that mix. You don’t like it? Fine. But several other well-respected voters here do.
And this is a very mild disagreement. I consider you a good friend, and valued writer and contributor.
I consider you a good friend, and valued writer and contributor. – Sam speak for “may you fucking die horribly!”
No, that may be your way of translating it, but Camolas is a great frind. He wrote for us from the wilds of Africa, something I’ll never forget.
Ben-Hur is more than a worthy choice in my book. I had it at #2 for 1959, and I like Truffaut, Bresson and Wilder as much as the next person.
I’m back to Europe now!
I don’t wan’t to disconsider Ben Hur or NYCC but.. they just relegate european movies to the Best Foreign Film category, even if Bergman or Truffaut received awards for best director. So…
(Hiroshima, by example, received the award in 1960, not 59)
Don’t go by me (Sam sent me an e mail telling me he’s on his way to seeing the new Wuthering Heights movie by A. Arnold at the Film Forum) but I would still venture to assert that Ben-Hur’s NYFF win was significant. Shall we put aside ‘American cinema’ as chopped liver? I think it rates with the others. The same voters at Wonders who previously voted Pather Panchali, Country Priest, Bicycle Thieves and Wild Strawberries are now saying Ben-Hur is tops. Nothing to quibble about.
My words were “truly disappointing”. To me, naturally!
It makes no sense to exult the empathy with the Sam, Allan and the others, if we don’t assume to be disappointed when that doesn’t happen.
Yes, critics awards are worthless as they are US centric, especially back then. But it’s nothing to do with American cinema. Rio Bravo would have been a better choice than Ben Hur, or Anatomy of a Murder, or North by Northwest, or Day of the Outlaw, or Some Like it Hot, or Ride Lonesome…I could go on.
I actually think the 60s WILL reflect a big downtick in American awards and rightly so; until ’67 it was one of Hollywood’s weakest eras, maybe the weakest (well, until now anyway).
(And, of course, it was one of European cinema’s strongest…)
Yes, critics awards are worthless as they are US centric, especially back then. But it’s nothing to do with American cinema. Rio Bravo would have been a better choice than Ben Hur, or Anatomy of a Murder, or North by Northwest, or Day of the Outlaw, or Some Like it Hot, or Ride Lonesome…I could go on.
Fine. That’s your opinion. My opinion has BEN-HUR ahead of every one of those.
Pic: Psycho (US…Alfred Hitchcock)
Director: La Dolce Vita (Italy…Federico Fellini)
Actor: Jack Lemmon The Apartment
Actress: Sophia Loren Two Women
Sup Actor: Peter Ustinov Spartacus
Sup Actress: Janet Leigh Psycho
Cinematography: Russell Metty Spartacus
Score: Bernard Herrmann Psycho
A milestone year for arthouse cinema but even more so for horror cinema worldwide. Definitely time to spread the wealth.
Best Picture: L’Avventura (runner-up: Psycho)
Best Director: Hitchcock, Psycho (runner-up: Antonioni)
Best Actor: Lino Ventura, Classe Tous Risques (runner-up: Mastroianni)
Best Actress: Barbara Steele, Black Sunday (runner-up: Vitti)
Supporting Actor: (write-in) Claude Akins, Comanche Station
Supporting Actress: Leigh, Psycho
Cinematography: Pavoni, Mill of the Stone Women
Score: I voted for Herrmann last year but I usually find myself standing forlornly against a Herrmann landslide (see 1952, 1958) and here I go again. Herrmann is probably the greatest of film composers but despite consistent excellence in almost any given year someone tops him. Psycho is perhaps no better than fifth best in this field behind 1) North, Spartacus; 2) Tiomkin, The Alamo; 3) Bernstein, The Magnificent Seven; 4) Rota, La Dolce Vita. I just call ‘em as I hear ‘em.
Ben-Hur beating films like Shadows and Pickpocket is hilarious. A head-scratcher worthy of the Academy Awards.
Best Picture: Le Trou
Top Five: 1. Le Trou 2. Eyes Without A Face 3. Psycho 4. Plein Soliel (Purple Noon) 5. The Virgin Spring
Not really, it just means that the voters here love movies and not cinema. But it is an absolute joke.
Movies = cinema (and not just in the obvious, literal sense). IMO.
Any serious film buff would laugh at these results. I’m havign to hide in a hole. Ben Hur’s a guilty pleasure, nothing more. Bresso, Ray, eyc were making great art.
Live with it. Voting LE TROU (a film I like) over some of the great films of 1960 is the real joke here.
Not worthy of the Academy Awards, worthy of the New York Film Critics Circle. as it turns out. SHADOWS my friend is a major bore. I think the membership here knows well the appeal and significance of foreign-language cinema, if you look at the weekly results. And also seems six voters cast ballots for Wyler’s epic this year. Like others here I have taken loads of cinema classes and have promoted Bresson, Bergman, Ray, Ozu, Ophuls, Fellini, Tarkovsky, Kieslowski and others endlessly, casting votes for many. I don’t need to be lectured, thanks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_New_York_Film_Critics_Circle_Awards
Sniff. Sniff.
Joel I agree with you there.
Bush league sega stuff, laughable man HAHAHAHA
And yes your right it would be a joke voting Le Trou over films in 1959 since it actually came out in 1960.
Oh no I didn’t specify year at all, I simply made an off the cuff comment on your 1960 vote here to apply it in the sphere of absurdity. In a general sense I actually find it ‘bush league’ to belittle a weekly choice, when it was voted on by a reputable group that weekly has performed magnificently. Iwas actually delighted that the group resited art house intimidation this year.
Square can be beautiful too.
And as far as this being a head-scratcher, while I applaud the result, I think we can seehow it happened. The “anti” BEN-HUR votes if you will, split up in many directions, clearing the path here for the epic’s win.
Ben Hur winning anything is the height of absurdity. Trying to set up a false equivalent with Le Trou just doesn’t work. Regardless I only made a comment and nothing more… I’m not sniffling in a corner over the results. 1959 is probably the weakest year of the 50′s anyway. And bringing up the NYC film critics circle is not impressing me either. I would assume a hack like Bosley Crowther probably presided in that group… and if so reaches an even higher level of absurdity than any tawdry film/novel.
Too bad Billy The Kid didn’t see through that Wallace blowhard when he had the chance. We would of been spared so much lol.
“The “anti” BEN-HUR votes if you will, split up in many directions, clearing the path here for the epic’s win.”
Yeah I wonder if any other film has won with less votes since this poll started. Your comment above is surly accurate.
I bet if Robert Mitchum played Juda Ben-Hur, and Jane Geer portrayed Terza, you’d be singing a different tune. Or maybe if Robert Siodmak were the director instead of William Wyler? Or at the very least if Dasshiell Hammett were the screen writer? LOL!!!!! You can speculate about Crowther, but the point is it DID win that vote.
You really need to leave the box once in a while.
I think there was a winner with five, Maurizio, but six is very low for the win, yes. I knew this result would polarize the group! Ha! Truthfully when the voting started I thought it has no chance, but when the votes began to split Ithen saw a real chance.
Picking Ben Hur is not leaving the box… it’s leaving behind sanity. And no none of those people can save Ben-Hur even if we included Elisha Cook Jr and B/W in the mix lol. Maybe some advanced cellulose triacetate degredation can do the trick.
“Picking Ben Hur is not leaving the box… it’s leaving behind sanity. And no none of those people can save Ben-Hur. Maybe some advanced cellulose triacetate degredation can do the trick.”
Translation:
Biblical epics aren’t my cup of tea.
Well Gibson’s The Beating Of The Christ was more pleasurable. At least the torture is all front and center.
I am no fan of Gibson’s film, but I’m thinking maybe EL CID or SPARTACUS may work to a degree for you, but not THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
The Gospel According To St. Matthew was excellent though it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. And I consider Spartacus Kubrick’s weakest film post Killer’s Kiss.
Yes,picking Ben hur isn’t leaving the box, Sam. It’s nailing yourself inside with a sign on lid saying “sanity, progress and quality keep out”
IN US election terms, it’s like a landslide for Romney. Or saying, to hell with the Renaissance, let’s go back to the Lescaux cave paintings.
What happened is the Fairview numpty brigade voted for it in support of you. Politics, you can’t get away from it.
Geez, at least Maurizio was a worthy opponent.
Your laughable game is name-calling. I didn’t know Kevin Deaney, Peter M. and Frederick were from Fairview?
Poitics??? How’ that? The vast majority of the people I am supposedly influential with voted for other films.
Because a film your don’t favor wins, you make this absurd claim. Right. I voted and let it go at that. I neither campaigned or said a word further. The fact that most of my so-called “affiliates” cast their vote elsewhere is proof parcel.
BEN-HUR won because the anti votes went all over the place. Any fool could se that. If there were politicking, it would have gotten more than a scant six votes.
I am assuming I am part of the “Fairview numpty brigade” that is being targeted as the cause for Ben-Hur’s Best Picture win.
Only a small problem: I voted Anatomy For A Murder as the year’s best film!
I think it’s clear what happened with the voting. Still I like Ben-Hur quite a bit.
It makes is no less embarrassing. Though I suppose we shoul.d be graetful it’s the first truly atrocious choice. We coul dhave had Oz beatiung La Regle du Jeu and Chrysanthemums. That would have been a golden shower in the face of art.
“Ben Hur” is one of those movies that is vastly reduced in scale and scope when viewing it on television, even in widescreen, which is how most critics and viewers have watched it for decades. Having seen it in proper theatrical venues, I can definitely say that the experience is vastly different, more to the point vastly improved, on the big screen, and in ways that at times eithe rmake up for or establish reason for the various weaknesses of dramatics that are present when looking at it in a small-screen iteration. One can say the same thing of any movie, granted, especially the big-spectacle type that “Ben Hur” represents, and perhaps one of the true tests of a movie’s worth is whether or not it can survive the transition from the theater to the television screen and remain impressive (“2001″ gets to call itself a great film, Michael Todd’s “Around the World in 80 Days” gets to call itself a great curiosity). But the one thing that’s certain is that if you haven’t seen a movie like “Ben Hur” on the big screen, you haven’t really seen it, only an approximation of sorts, and therefore it’s harder to really judge it fairly.
I’m fond of Ben-Hur and a recent big-screen viewing convinced me its strengths aren’t simply sentimental (for years, I essentially relegated it to “guilty pleasure” territory since I grew up with it but recognized its stiffness which, incidentally, plays far better seen in its proper conditions). That said, as Camolas notes in a revolutionary year it is a pretty throwback film so it definitely sticks out like a sore thumb. That’s not a question of quality so much – as you note North by Northwest and Rio Bravo weren’t revolutionary either, and few would object to those – but is something that makes the pick, well, noticeable.
As far as quality goes, even seeing its strengths a little more clearly projected wide in a crisp digital print, I still don’t really see at as a great film. 400 Blows, Hiroshima, Pickpocket, and others are all far more inventive and imaginative in their use of the cinematic arsenal.
But I think with his erudition and enthusiasm, Sam has earned the right to be considered “a serious film buff!”
I expect my check to be in the mail by postmark tomorrow, Mr. Juliano.
I wouldn’t have voted for BH either, but it has virtues that you can only really get a hold of when seen theatrically, at 70mm or the best digital approximation thereof. The film’s stagey dramatic sequences work much, much better, especially. On TV, even letterboxed, the movie has only one watchable scene, the chariot race. If it were more of an action movie and there were three or four more scenes like that, it’d be a stronger film, maybe strong enough to survive a televised version intact.
I have been attending this site since it started up in 2009, and I have one question. Aside from films directed by George Lucas, are there any other films ever released that Bob Clark does not hate? I think he hates the movies period.
Uh.. you do realize I’m saying that “Ben Hur” is a good movie, right? Not “better than Truffaut” good, but better than people usually expect.
He likes Lucas, Heaven’s Gate, Japanese anime, Fritz Lang and yup, that’s about it.
If you liked it more than I perceived, well them I am wrong. But this was extremely guarded.
Yeah that’s what Ben-Hur needs… more mindless action sequences and chariot races.
What by way of the human mind needs to be infused into action sequences, or am I missing something here? What BEN-HUR has is intimacy, the reason I have supported it with such vigor.
I’m sure the intimacy factor is a giant plus for you Sam. Whatever Ben-Hur is or isn’t, at least it’s not three hours of action set pieces in widescreen that Bob seems to wish for. Though I would probably agree with him (if he made the argument) that a saucer eyed animated Japanese girl riding a robot across ancient Rome during key sequences would be an improvement.
Maurizio, I’ll come right out and say that the scenes with Judah, his mother and Terza (in the leper colony) have enthralled me for decades, and far eclipse the amazing technical prowess of the film, and have always allowed the spectacular to meld with the intimate. I do really feel that Rosza’s score had so much to do with the film’s ability to move, but obviously even with that masterful symphonic accomplishment it would need more.
Hey now, I quite like the Lascaux Cave Paintings! They are not the Mitt Romneys of art. More like the Barry Goldwater – crude but with a certain integrity.
Fish, add to that Godard, sci-fi in general and anything 80′s, and I’m good. Well, that and action movies where the camera isn’t handled by a seizure patient, and anything where die-hard capitalists are bad guys. But then a lot of that tends to get swallowed up in the above.
As for intimacy and action, etc– the intimacy factor is definitely improved by seeing it on the big screen. It’s easy for a lot of the old 70mm movies to lose some of that when reduced to 2.40:1 for televisions, and that includes stuff I enjoy like “The Great Escape”. They tend to be a little more stagey and theatrical in their coverage, and that lends itself to the performances some. “Ben Hur” is a good example of that, and a good example of how seeing a set of performances larger than life helps them feel a lot more human and genuine than on TV, where they can sometimes feel hollow and ring false.
@Maurizio: I’m not really on the same page with your opinion that 1959 was the weakest year of the 50s – this was the same year that gave us such splendid masterpieces as Apur Sansar (The World of Apu), Zurlini’s Estate Violenta (Violent Summer), The 400 Blows, Hiroshima Mon Amour & Anatomy of a Murder, and a few other good ones like Les Cousins, Some Like It Hot, among others.
I don’t consider any of those films masterpieces. Will admit that I haven’t seen Violent Summer yet and should probably view Apu again soon (very long time since I viewed any of that Ray trilogy) but the rest fall short in my opinion especially Anatomy.
Yeah, I’ve never gotten the whole Anatomy cult. The film is too long, and all the coy cutesy winky-winky rape jokes are embarrassing.
I wasn’t going to get into the Ben-Hur melee, but I found this comment of Sam’s interesting:
“…I’m thinking maybe EL CID or SPARTACUS may work to a degree for you, but not THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.”
Sam, are you perhaps suggesting that people’s attitude toward religion will color their attitude toward films like Ben-Hur and Commandments that are basically affirmative of religion, as compared to the pagan Spartacus and tolerant El Cid? If not, I’m curious to know the basis for putting those two in one category (even if it’s just the category of “movies Maurizio is more likely to like”) and Commandments and Ben-Hur in another.
For what it’s worth, it’s not the fault of Ben-Hur or its fans that its detractors couldn’t agree on an alternative. Should it surprise us that with so many better films, no one of them would prove more popular?
Well as a Malick fan who loves films like The Thin Red Line and The Tree Of Life I have no problems with religious themes. My only criteria is that the movies be good.
For what it’s worth, it’s not the fault of Ben-Hur or its fans that its detractors couldn’t agree on an alternative. Should it surprise us that with so many better films, no one of them would prove more popular?
Amen to that Samuel.
Picture: La Dolce Vita
Director: Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita
Actor: Marcello Mastroianni, La Dolce Vita
Actress: Sophia Loren, Two Women
Sup. Actor: Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers
Sup. Actress: Janet Leigh, Psycho
Cinematography: Henri, Decae, Plein Soleil
Shit, I was hoping this was going to be the last year you listed shorts instead of the first year you didn’t. I put together a quickie list based on Amos Vogel’s Films as Subversive Art. Obviously some worthy titles will be left out but it was spur of the moment.
At any rate, I’ll have to get to compiling the general list of shorts pronto and make sure I send them to you in time. The notion of a ’62 ballot without La Jetee or a ’63 ballot without House is Black is rather chilling! Btw, well I understand your own exhaustion and lack of desire to compile shorts for the ballot I do hope you’ll still be voting, at the very least on occasion.
Ok, moving on….
Whoopee for Angie in ’59!!!
For 1960, the fun really begins. Boy we are delving into the thick of the period I most adore in cinema history. I’m gonna have a blast allocating votes from here on, and it will definitely get “political” as try to both represent certain films I don’t want to see go unmentioned (both on my ballot and in the larger poll) and award what I genuinely think is the best in that category though that’s such a subjective, flexible category it shouldn’t be hard to bend the rules.
Without further ado…
1960
Feature: The Virgin Spring
Short: …I’m going to watch all the links I put up and then vote.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni (L’Avventura)
Actor: Albert Finney (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning)
Actress: Hideko Takamine (When a Woman Ascends the Staircase)
Supp. Actor: Renato Salvatori (Rocco and His Brothers)
Supp. Actress: Stephene Audran (Les Bonnes Femmes)
Cinematography: Shoot the Piano Player
Screenplay: La Dolce Vita
Editing: Breathless
Score: Psycho
honorable mention:
The Apartment
Eyes Without a Face
Peeping Tom
*Le Petit Soldat (favorite of runners-up)
Spartacus
very close calls: Anthony Perkins for Psycho (only wanted 1 award per film this year, and I’d rather give it to Hermann’s score; plus Finney & the British New Wave in general deserve a shout-out); Anna Karina (Le Petit Soldat) or Monica Vitti (L’Avventure); editing for Psycho; cinematography for L’Avventura or Saturday Night and Sunday Morning or The Virgin Spring; Hitchcock for Psycho or Bergman for Virgin Spring as director; Peter Ustinov for Spartacus (thisclose, but the underrated Salvatori performance and Visconti film was something I wanted to nudge); Rachel Roberts for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
A few names all-too-noticeably absent from the nominees: Jean Seberg in Breathless, Anna Karina in Le Petit Soldat, Max Von Sydow, Gunnel Lindblom, or Birgitta Pettersson for Virgin Spring…
OK, a notice to the general Wonders readership. Short nominees have been added to the ballot (with Allan’s generous permission) along with links to online videos for all the shorts available. This week we have everything from a Canadian film exploring outer space (an inspiration to Kubrick) to a Disney short about an elephant to Richard Lester’s Goon slapstick anticipating his Beatles film to Chuck Jones’ classic, clever High Note.
Enjoy.
Oh and some sort of Jules Feiffer war satire which I’m particularly looking forward to watching. Tomorrow anyway (it’s almost 3!).
GREAT YEAR and too many to choose from. It pains me to leave out some of the obvious masterpieces and a few favorites as well…
But, if I must, well then…
PICTURE: PSYCHO
Top 5: 1. Psycho 2. The Virgin Spring 3. La Dolce Vita 4. The Apartment 5. The Bad Sleep Well
If a definition of “pure” cinema was ever put in a dictionary I fully expect to see frames from the shower murder in PSYCHO next to the text. Though he did it on a bet, Hitchcock proved that arresting visuals and the right sounds can induce emotions so shaking that just a talented hand and eye could thwart millions of dollars to create waves in our senses. It might not be Hitch’s best film, but it’s damn close.
DIRECTOR: Alfred HITCHCOCK (PSYCHO)
Really a no-brainer when you think of PSYCHO as the purest of directors achievements. Yes, the script and the performances, cinematography and music are all aces but, it’s the master behind the camera calling the shots that brought it all, already worked out in his head, to fruition. There is more directorial talent in the shower sequence alone than the whole of most of the films in competition this year. A tour de force for the “master of suspense”.
LEAD ACTOR: Anthony PERKINS (PSYCHO)
Again, almost goes without saying. This one goes beyond just being the best of the year to becoming iconic to the point of imitation and parody. Perkins lamented that he was being type-cast after he made PSYCHO but stated many times that he’s rather be type-cast forever than never having the chance to play the greatest part of his life. The balance of aloof innocence and cunning deception sees him create a character torn in half by his psychosis. A great, great performance. Legendary.
LEAD ACTRESS: Shirley MACLAINE (THE APARTMENT)
I fell in love with Shirley and THE APARTMENT because of MacLaines performance. The only “real” character in the entire piece, she’s a perfectly sweet, adorably sexy kitten whose got more heart than those who think she’s nothing more than a bubble-headed slut. That she’s able to work one of Wilder and Diamond’s trickiest scripts while holding her own with crackerjacks like Jack Lemmon, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Edie Adams and Jack Krustchen is a testament to her skill and versatility. At once funny and bubbly, dramatic and near tragic the moment she ponders her predicament. Fran Kubelick is MacLaines finest character portrayal.
SUPP. ACTRESS: Shirley JONES (ELMER GANTRY)
Alot more than just a song and dance gal from films like THE MUSIC MAN, Jones is nervy and sexually devastating in one of her few dramatic turns. One of the RARE cases where Oscar got it right. Too bad younger generations will only remember her for THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY.
SUPP. ACTOR: Fred MACMURRAY (THE APARTMENT)
Probably the toughest category this year as I juggled so many for this position. However, in the end it’s MacMurray’s cool conservatism masking a self-centered and hysterically self-preserving ego as Jack Lemmon’s sneaky boss, Jeff Shelldrake, that couldn’t be ignored. For years MacMurray had made a name for playing either goofy dopes or non-threatening connivers and here he proves both by calculative scheming first and aloof stupidity to finally, and justly, finish him off. His turn in THE PARTMENT is a far cry from the sweet and wise father he made famous for years on the TV classic MY THREE SONS.
PHOTO: Sven NYKVIST (THE VIRGIN SPRING)
I juggled Metty for SPARTACUS and Russell for PSYCHO for so long I wasn’t seeing the bigger, more obvious picture. Yes, Russell is tantamount in creating the mood for PSYCHO but it just misses the realism that would have turned the film into harrowing instead of merely being unsettling. Metty’s grandness balanced with grit made SPARTACUS both shine like a new coin but had the temerity to blemish the coating in the grittier battle scenes and the moments in the Gladiatorial chambers. So, combine both of the talents of these men and apply what made there work great for the films they worked on in 1960 and you come up with Nykcist as the result. Gritty yet sheen as the films ping pongs between the almost fairy tale nature of the first half and the horror of the second. One of the great pieces of photography ever done in movies and one of the two or three best ever afforded Bergman.
MUSIC: Bernard HERRMAN (PSYCHO)
Yeah, there will be those that buck at this one for being almost “too” obvious, but the proof is in the pudding. As Sam will attest, there are cases in cinema where the score can make up for half, if not more, of a films success (John Williams with JAWS, Jerry Goldsmith with STAR TREK, Elmer Bernstein with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and MAX STEINER with KING KONG immediately come to mind) and here, probably more than any other in film history, the score is essential. That Herrman finds the power of PSYCHO in the simplest of stocatto strings is a testament to his great ear and his genius at the compostion pad. Probably the most influential score in all of cinema, this one really demands every accolade that can be given.
It still sends shivers down the spine to this day.
Best Picture: Psycho
Best Director: Hitchcock
Best Actor: Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita)
Best Actress: Sophia Loren (Two Women)
Best Supporting Actor: Martin Balsam (Psycho)
Best Supporting Actress: Shirley Jones (Elmer Gantry)
Best Cinematography: Russell Metty (Spartacus)
Score: Bernard Herrmann (Psycho)
Another year where the good films just keep going…. though the top choice is fairly obvious.
PICTURE: Breathless
DIRECTOR: Godard
LEAD ACTOR: Belmondo
LEAD ACTRESS: Takamine, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Fred MacMurray, The Apartment
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Janet Leigh, Psycho
SHORT: not really ready to vote here, but High Note makes a fine choice…
SCORE: Psycho
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Coutard, Breathless
Plus bonus picks:
Script: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Also – some kind of award needs to go to Oshima, for putting out three films during the year, color, widescreen, packed full of politics and more than a little experimentation, and engaging in something close to real time with developments in film half the world away.
Lots of good stuff this year but, in my opinion, only one clear masterpiece (I’ve never been over the moon for the Fellini or the Antonioni, or even the Wilder—his most overrated movie—or the Godard). Had to point out the omission of Haley Mills in the title role of POLLYANNA, a terrific Disney movie and one of the highlights of her career.
PICTURE: PSYCHO (followed by Primary, Jigoku, Peeping Tom, The Virgin Spring, Spartacus, Pollyanna, The Bellboy, Eyes Without A Face, Purple Noon, La Dolce Vita, Late Autumn, The Bad Sleep Well, Breathless, Inherit The Wind, Le Trou, Shoot the Piano Player, Midnight Lace, Elmer Gantry, The Magnificent Seven, Bells are Ringing, Sons and Lovers, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Apartment, Village of the Damned)
DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock, PSYCHO (2nd: Nobuko Nakagawa, Jigoku)
ACTOR: Anthony Perkins, PSYCHO (2nd: Spencer Tracy, Inherit The Wind, followed by Fredric March, Inherit The Wind; Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry; Charles Aznavour, Shoot the Piano Player; Lawrence Olivier, The Entertainer)
ACTRESS: Hayley Mills, POLLYANNA (2nd: Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment; followed by Jean Simmons, Elmer Gantry; Doris Day, Midnight Lace; Melina Mercouri, Never on Sunday)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Harry Morgan, INHERIT THE WIND (2nd: Peter Ustinov, Spartacus, followed by Fred MacMurray, The Apartment; Trevor Howard, Sons and Lovers; Martin Balsam, Psycho)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Janet Leigh, PSYCHO (2nd: Shirley Jones, Elmer Gantry, followed by Wendy Hiller, Sons and Lovers; Alida Valli, Eyes Without a Face; Agnes Moorehead, Pollyanna)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: John L. Russell, PSYCHO (2nd (B&W): Sven Nykvist, The Virgin Spring)
ORIGINAL SCORE: Bernard Herrmann, PSYCHO (2nd: Elmer Bernstein, The Magnificent Seven)
SHORT: UNIVERSE (Roman Kroiter and Colin Low) (2nd: The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film, Richard Lester)
FURTHER:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Ulla Isaksson, THE VIRGIN SPRING (2nd: Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard, Breathless)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Joseph Stefano, PSYCHO (2nd: Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith, Inherit The Wind)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Robert Drew, PRIMARY
COLOR CINEMATOGRAPHY: Russell Metty, SPARTACUS (2nd: Mamoro Morita, Jigoku)
B&W ART DIRECTION: PSYCHO
COLOR ART DIRECTION: SPARTACUS
B&W COSTUME DESIGN: THE VIRGIN SPRING
COLOR COSTUME DESIGN: SPARTACUS
FILM EDITING: PSYCHO
SOUND: SPARTACUS
SCORING FOR A MUSICAL: Andre Previn, BELLS ARE RINGING
ORIGINAL SONG: “Where The Boys Are” from WHERE THE BOYS ARE, music by Neil Sedaka, lyrics by Howard Greenfield (2nd: “Never on Sunday” from Never on Sunday, music and lyrics by Manos Hadjidakis)
SPECIAL EFFECTS: THE TIME MACHINE
MAKEUP: JIGOKU
Another tremendous presentation Dean, if I may say so.
Thanks, Sam. At this late date, however, I would like to change my Best Actress vote to Shirley MacLaine for THE APARTMENT. She IS fantastic in the movie, and I think Haley Mills. while I adore her in POLLYANNA, is really a close second. Plus MacLaine’s chances of winning one for anything but this are probably nil, unless the fluff brigade can rally themselves round TERMS OF ENDEARMENT in ’83, which might be difficult.
Pic – Psycho
Dir- Hitchcock
Actor- Lino Ventura – Classe tous risques
Actress- Shirley MacLaine- The Apartment
Supp. Actor- Fred MacMurray- The Apartment
Supp. Actress- Janet Leigh – Psycho
Score- Herrmann – Psycho
Cinematography- Coutard- A bout de souffle
Woozy from watching movies on TCM into the wee hours: ‘The Wild Bunch’, Peckinpah’s massacre still looks superb. Violence, the exultation in killing and gore, is the film’s whole raison d’etre, and when it’s done this well the moralist in me is squelched by the aesthete. Lucien Ballard’s magnifcent photography doesn’t hurt, either.
I fear Hitch’s slasher-in-drag shocker (doesn’t look as shocking these days, and when it comes to great work familiarity shouldn’t breed contempt) will win out for 1960, so here are my choices:
Film: ‘L’Avventura’ RU: ‘Breathless’
Director: Antonioni RU: Godard (‘Breathless’, ‘Le Petit Soldat’)
Actor: Laurence Olivier (‘The Entertainer’) RU: Kirk Douglas (‘Spartacus’)
Actress: Sophia Loren (‘Two Women’) RU: Setsuko Hara (‘Late Autumn’). Monica Vitti has a couple more chances to win, esp. in 1962.
S. Actor: Maurice Ronet (‘Purple Noon’)
S. Actress: Lea Massari (‘L’Avventura’)
Photography: Raoul Coutard (‘Breathless’, ‘Shoot the Pianist’)
And yet Mark, none-other than the very hard to please David Thomson, originally disliked PSYCHO, now he loves it and wrote quite a volume on it. Go figure.
Personally, when it comes to abnormal psychology, I find Polanski’s ‘Repulsion’ infinitely more disturbing than ‘Psycho’, and Deneuve infinitely prettier than Perkins done up in ma’s old housedress.
As for 1961, ‘West Side Story’ is surely the best musical between ‘Funny Face’ and ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ / ‘The Young Girls of Rochefort’ (and that’s a lot of song-and-dance territory), but I see a ‘Marienbad’ sun rising on my ballot. Or maybe ‘La Notte’, ‘Viridiana’……
Before I get into my picks, I have to say I’m shocked Ben-hur got more votes than Pickpocket! Just mind boggling! (Also, Shadows was in my opinion the best American film among the listed).
Now lets get to 1959. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE YEAR FOR CINEMA!!!!!! So many masterpieces! (though I thought many of these were released in 1960)
Best Picture: Á Bout de Souffle
Best Director: Michelangelo Antonino (L’Avventura)
Count on seeing Antonino winning the “best director” award a few more times from me during the 60s.
Best Actor: Karlheinz Böhm (Peeping Tom)
Personally, THIS is my favorite portrayal of an psychologically disturbed killer with parental issues of the year.
Best Actress: Supriya Choudhury (The Cloud-Capped Star)
Not even close for me.
Best Supporting Actor: Anil Chatterjee (The Cloud-Capped Star)
A personal favorite.
Best Supporting Actress: Alida Valli Eyes Without a Face
In a year with such great “killer” performances, Valli’s sympathetic portrayal stands out. One of the great actress’s best performances.
Best Short: The Dead
Not my favorite of Stan Brakhage’s films, but still mesmerizing.
Best Cinematography: Raoul Coutard (A Bout de Souffle)
Count on seeing Coutard winning the “best cinematography” award a few more times from me during the 60s.
Best Score: Bernard Herrmann (Psycho)
One of his best scores. Easy pick for me
An opinion that tries to deny another opinion is really not an opinion at all. It’s known in the trade as “bullying.” I am very happy with Ben-Hur winning the top spot. It was my own Number 2 pick.
I apologize if I came off as “bullying”. I was personally just shocked to see it number one (as were a number of others participating in the polls). I didn’t trash the movie nor anyone who liked it. I was just shocked it won over the film that I thought was the clear favorite. Also I wanted to praise MY PERSONAL FAVORITE of the American films listed (a picture I personally love and one that doesn’t get as much mention on this site). Ben-Hur is just not my cup of tea. I prefer William Wyler’s other Best Picture Winner but that’s just my opinion. Again, I apologize if my original comment came off more insulting.
I didn’t think you came off as “bullying” at all Anu. You were completely fair.
Anu—
Antonioni came very close to my director prize with Ghatek and Bava, and the moving Ms. Choudhury came within a whisker of my top choice, Devi’s Sharmila Tagore. In fact I originally had Choudhury down as top choice. As far as THE CLOUD-CAPPED STAR, it has long been one of my favorites, and I’d say it’s one of the top five films ever made in India. I am no fan of SHADOWS to be honest, and I fully support the choice of BEN-HUR, which works on a number of levels. As a passionate supporter of European and Asian art house cinema, I feel there are other options in some years, and Wyler’s film is the ultimate intimate epic. As far as Bresson, I promote him sonstantly, and voted DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST and will vote AU HASARD BALTHAZAR top of their years with MOUCHETTE, L’ARGENT and A MAN ESCAPED coming within a hair. I love PICKPOCKET of course.
Ghatek is one of my favorite filmmakers and its a crime his works isn’t available on home video in the states. The Cloud-Capped Star was probably my second or third choice too.
Also while Ben-Hur may be an epic among epics, it doesn’t come close to the emotional reaction I get from William Wyler’s greatest film, The Best Years of Our Lives.
Anu, CLOUD-CAPPED STAR is at least available stateside to the ever-growing number of people who have all-Region players, myself included. I’ve owned the BFI DVD for years now, and discovered the film this way:
The Cloud Capped Star [1960] [DVD]
I do love Ghatek too, and appreciate several others, owning the BFI of A RIVER CALLED TITAS as well.
In hindsight I should have voted for Pickpocket Anu. Between that and Shadows it’s really close as to which is better. Not sure if my vote would of made a difference, but who knew something as shitty as Ben-Hur would actually triumph and embarrass Fish and the site lol. Oz beating Rules Of The Game is a much more acceptable turn of events than Wyler’s biblical abomination winning IMO.
Shitty? Are you talking about the beloved BEN-HUR, or the Coens’ laughable TRUE GRIT, a movie you shamelessly gave five stars to? IMO.
A vote was conducted. The ballots were cast fairly. The people who cast them are respectable film lovers who in the past have supported Bergman, Bresson, DeSica and Fellini among others.
Complain fine, but insult? What’s the point? Everyone say how the vote was going and chose to gone their separate ways. Fair enough I say.
Well my opinion on True Grit has been tempered to ****1/2 these days, but that’s still better than you proclaiming stuff like Driving Miss Daisy, The Artist, and Dreamgirls (over There Will Be Blood to boot) as masterpieces.
And wasn’t I accused of only loving noirs in this very thread Sam? Lambasting me with True Grit and Shadows would seem to be at odds with your accusation.
Actually, only DREAMGIRLS of the ones you mentioned can really be contested in a critical sense, with your issues with THE ARTIST the epitome of contrarian thinking. The whole world is wrong and you and a few others are right. As to THERE WILL BE BLOOD, I like it, but let’s say we are even here, as you have some serious issues with MAGNOLIA, which I am most others love.
Well, you are a noir lover (I have no issue with that as I also love noir, but I was making a tit-for-tat point there) but that does not mean you don’t like other genres, as your votes have well attested. All that was in the heat of contentiousness. I have long praised you as a supreme intellectual at this place and will continue to do so. But there will be some rows that will soon get over. Ha!
In the interest of full disclosure let me admit that I have a bad cold today and am feeling rather cantankerous. I’ve decided to make Ben-Hur my snot rag lol…
I’ll admit that I’m mostly in the minority with The Artist, but don’t be putting Daisy in such rarified company. If there are more than 11 people that still think that’s a great movie I would be completely shocked (Lifetime middle aged women notwithstanding).
Well, Kael is with you on DAISY and admittedly others. I understand the situation with the head cold, and hope you feel better soon my friend. That more than explains it, but we can battle from time to time. It goes with the turf here.
In 1961, I will be voting for WEST SIDE STORY, my favorite of all musicals. Do you think I may have to face the “music” again, or am I safe there???
Lame fluffy pick IMO. Viridiana, The Innocents, Marienbad, Yojimbo, The Hustler, and Accetone etc…
I like all those films, but THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, LA NOTTE and THE HUMAN CONDITION as well of course as VIRIDIANA and MARIENBAD are the closest to the seminal musical.
Seminal? On the stage, yes. But we can only hope the Numpties don’;t appear to embarrass us again in 1961. At least in 1989 they’ll be pu tin their place. Notice how Warners released Mrs Miniver and Driving Miss Daisy on the same day on BR. As if to say “these are the worst two Oscar winners of all time, take a double dose of shit!”
‘West Side Story’ not seminal. Did I hear that right? Are we talking about the same film? Didn’t this site just last year conduct a musical countdown in which the film finished somewhere in the top three or four? And isn’t this the same film that many critics and audiences have regularly called one of the greatest musical films of all time? What’s to embarass?
The only embarrassment is this negative regard for the film. I hope the ‘numpties’ rise to the occasion, and maintain sanity.
Let’s see…………..Roger Ebert has used the terms ‘seminal’ and ‘landmark’ to describe WEST SIDE STORY, and none other than the great Stanley Kauffmann (my favorite of all critics) feels WEST SIDE STORY is the greatest of all FILM musicals, a point he made in triumphant terms in his own seminal A WORLD ON FILM. Yes, Peter, WSS did indeed finish at Numer 4 last year and dozens of people rallied behind the film on Marilyn Ferdinand’s excellent and exceedingly favorable appraisal. Despite the fact that this is probably among the most “cinematic” of all film musicals (that mid-film montage is magnificent) Allan continues to make claims that it is a stage play on film. It’s preposterous. Few would contend that a 1961 win for the film, should it happen, is unworthy, but he will continue with teh same arguments over and over.
Here’s how WEST SIDE STORY made the Top 4 musical list:
How West Side Story made the ‘Elite 70′:
Sam Juliano’s No. 1 choice
Judy Geater’s No. 2 choice
Dennis Polifroni’s No. 3 choice
Pat Perry’s No. 5 choice
Marilyn Ferdinand’s No. 12 choice
Greg Ferrara’s No. 27 choice
Allan Fish’s No. 57 choice
I’ll let that speak for itself.
Allan & Maurizio, conserve your energy. We will need to pool our resources in 1965 to defeat Sound of Music
hahahahahahahahahahaha Joel. Well my friend, while I will enthusiastically declare some serious love for THE SOUND OF MUSIC for all sorts of reasons it does not compete for my top film of that year (though it would place in the Top 10)
My top films would be THE ROUND-UP, CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT, SIMON OF THE DESERT and BLACK GIRL, but I must seriously ponder a #1.
Just saw Black Girl for the first time. Will Charlie Brown Christmas be eligible, I wonder, for Best Score? It would get – and deserve – that prize in a heartbeat, methinks.
’65 will undoubtedly belong to Fists in the Pocket in my book. Which unfortunately might mean a Sound win of it gets close, since the only coalition I can see defeating Sound is Alphaville (on which we’d probably gain Bob but lose Maurizio).
FISTS is terrific! And that Charlie Brown score will certainly be eligible. I could be wrong but I really do not see much support for THE SOUND OF MUSIC as BEST FILM OF 1965. I love it, sure, but I won’t be naming it in poll position, and even Jon and Dennis who love it will probably pass on that high a placement. Frank likes it, but never for #1, and I am assuming my friend Peter will name something else. The rest of the fraternity here will surely go for other films.
I’m probably voting for Repulsion in 1965 (off the top of my head at least). The only chance Godard has is for 1963′s Contempt (his only film I really love)… which will probably lose to Franju’s Judex anyway. But yeah Joel I’m sure The Sound Of Music will win. After 1959 nothing will surprise me anymore from the fluff brigade.
Maurizio, I would wager that THE SOUND OF MUSIC does not gain a single #1 vote. I say this with complete comprehensive knowledge of the entire membership who partcipate. If the ‘fluff brigade’ as you call it were unable to bring THE WIZARD OF OZ to the winner’s circle, THE SOUND OF MUSIC provides an impossible proposition. But really, BEN-HUR received only 6 votes, and won because the “anti” people could get behind a single film (or 3 films for that matter) not because there was any sizable ‘fluff’ brigade at work. We need to look back at the past 35 weeks we have been doing this polling and realize that maybe 32 or 33 of those 35 ended in the wins for films that could hardly be seriously contested as one of the top films of those years. Heck the fluffers couldn’t even get CITY LIGHTS the Best Picture prize of 1931, which went to the equally great M by Fritz Lang. Bob had brazenly predicted a Chaplin win that year as I recall.
Not a huge Contempt fan. I mean I love Bardot, Coutard, and Delerue, and it’s got some cool images and nice scenes but overall, like Bob, I feel he’s a bit locked-in but the scope and scale of production. Godard imo is best when he’s nimble.
Even I, who claims The Sound of Music to be my favorite musical of all time, will not venture to vote it the greatest film of 1965. All ya’ll can be rest assured of that.
In all seriousness though I am beginning to wonder if so many great Ruropean classics to choose from will split the non-American vote and we’ll actually see relatively few Eurowinners this decade. That to me at least would be a shame… I predict 8 1/2 in ’63, and probably something European (maybe Persona or Balthazar) in ’66 but otherwise it may be up in the air.
Joel: I am thinking that these films will play a strong role in the decision-making:
Battle of Algiers
Persona
8 1/2
Au Hasard Balthazar
Mouchette
Loves of a Blonde
The Gospel According to St.Matthew
Charulata
Le Samourai
Army of Shadows
Women of the Dunes
The Round-Up
The Umbrellas of Cherborg
Hunger
Jules and Jim
Winter Light
Kes
Viridiana
Andrei Rublev
Maketa Lazarova
Le Mephris
Here are my predictions for the rest of the 60s.
1961: West Side Story
1962: Lawrence of Arabia
1963: 8 1/2
1964: Dr. Strangelove
1965: Alphaville, maybe, even without me?
1966: Au Hasard Balthazar
1967: Belle de Jour
1968: 2001 – Space Odyssey
1969: The Wild Bunch (though this ine’s up in the air)
Wow, those are tremendous predictions! You really did your homework there, and seem to know the ongoing pulse of this group. I do hope WEST SIDE STORY wins, and of the rest I can really only seriously contest ALPHAVILLE as a projected winner, thinking CHIMES or THE ROUND-UP will prevail. And BALTHAZAR may triumph but only in a horse race with PERSONA. All the others are sound predictions!
It would be kind of amazing if Chimes or Round-Up won as neither are available on U.S. DVD (last time I checked).
Yeah I almost put Persona but something tells me it will just barely get edged out. I won’t be surprised if Im wrong though.
In 1967 I actually think that PLAYTIME and/or LE SAMURAI may be stronger than the Bunuel with the group.
My first hunch was the Melville. But Belle seems to be the go-to Bunuel for many lately. Playtime will make a strong showing. And while I don’t think it will win, Weekend will gather at least a few votes. Funny that in therm year of the New Hollywood comeback, I don’t see The Gradyate or Bonnie and Clyde mustering substantial support on these pages. But maybe I’m wrong.
La Chinoise will probably get my vote, and probably only my vote haha.
Choosing between Play Time and Le Samurai is going to be impossible. You can safely wager I will be picking one of those for 67.
Playtime, Le Samourai, Belle de Jour, all are solid choices if one hasn’t seen Marketa Lazarova. Bressonians will throw in Mouchette. But it’s behind these for me.
I would any day choose Playtime & Mouchette over Le Samourai for 1967. But, it would be heartbreaking to not select the 2 former films (both of which rank among my aboslutely favourites, and landmarks in world cinema), as I reckon I’ll go with what might be one of the 2 greatest films to have come out of the Czech New Wave movement.
Yeah, I love “Alphaville”, but I don’t expect it to finish first. I mean this week we’re probably going to see “Breathless” bested by Hitchcock, Fellini or Wilder. If Godard’s debut doesn’t top them, I can’t imagine a relative obscurity will place high. But then I don’t bother with these polls really… little wonder why.
You’ll be showing up for Alphaville though, right?
Bob, to be honest I think if you look at the weekly polls here since this project started, you will find that in the vast majority of weeks the results have been not only been accurate in engaging the good taste of this group but in reflecting a dead-on view shared by the critical establishment. I know you love Godard, but for my money PSYCHO is a greater film. I happen to know that Allan Fish has PSYCHO as his top film as well. But going back week after week you will find uniformly excellent weekly choices, and some serious enthusiasm, a fact just now shown by Joel’s sustained enthusiasm. The amazing sustained participation here week after week speaks for itself I think.
Few have seen Ghatek’s shattering THE CLOUD-CAPPED STAR nor Ray’s DEVI, two other films that in my book top BREATHLESS.
Breathless should lose to Psycho and about 8 other films in 1960. That film certainly doesn’t seem to work as well as it might have way back when (at least for me).
It’s not my favorite Godard either, but I’d take the least of his over the best of Hitchcock without any regret. If Fellini wins, I won’t mind it terribly. It’d be especially nice if Godard could lose to Godard in the form of “Le Petit Soldat”.
Your last answer shows why we don’t care you don’t bother with these polls. Because you are the anathema of cinematic apreciation. Screw that Hitchcock, he was just keeping the seat warm for THX 1138.
That’d work if you said Dreyer if you were aiming for anything about one thing influencing the other, but Hitch is miles away. Suffice to say, “Psycho” is my “Ben Hur”.
Good predictions, but while I love Lawrence and know it will win, there were several superior films made that year.
We’ll agree to disagree on Lawrence.
Although truthfully, L’Eclisse comes really really close in my book and will probably nab Antonioni his second directing award in 3 years (hmmm, should maybe have anticipated that and given it to someone else this year, since I’ve already decided to play politics among favorites with my nominations – choosing among favorites, why not? The ranking is arbitrary anyway…)
I’m with Bob though on Le Petit Soldat – yes, Breathless was the breakthrough but I prefer the second film in many ways. And it’s a breakthrough too in a way, the first Godard which combined a morally serious subject with an at-times playful tone, and of course the first to feature the divine AK.
(Although the fact that no one could see it at the time it was completed – at least not in France, and I’m not sure if it was released anywhere else right away – sort of rains on its seminal status a bit, at least in terms of immediate impact. Plus, sophomores often get the shaft – the second ones have to try harder, no?)
Picture / When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Director / Mikio Naruse / When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Actor / Robert Mitchum / Home from the Hill
Actress / Hideko Takamine / When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Supporting Actor / …nothing really coming to mind
Supporting Actress / Jo Van Fleet / Wild River
Big shout out for George Cukor’s Heller in Pink Tights, which isn’t listed here but is one of the director’s most personal and overlooked works.
All right…MacMurray
Oh boy, I’m in big trouble now. I’ve been labeled as a member of the infamous ‘numpty brigade’. I might have to operate in the mask of secrecy from here on in. I even voted for ‘Ben-Hur’ that loathsome abomination, and the object of name-calling by all sorts of pseudo-intellectuals. I may survive all this, but I better watch my back Sam, even as I covered yours……
Best Picture: Psycho
Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho)
Best Actor: Jack Lemmon (The Apartment)
Best Actress: Hideko Takamine (When a Woman Ascends the Stairs)
Best Supporting Actor: Martin Balsam (Psycho)
Best Supporting Actress: Alida Valli (Eyes Without A Face)
Best Cinematography: Russell Metty (Spatacus)
Best Score: Bernard Herrmann (Psycho)
This is great – looks like Takamine’s gonna win! And both Audrey AND Angie won last year. I’m on a roll!
Very happy that “Ben-Hur” won. I find “Ben-Hur” a tremendously moving film. Art is just as much about emotion as it is intellect and I think “Ben-Hur” is a splendid work of art in every sense, a moving tale of humanity and redemption set amidst a grand canvas. But we’re off to a new year and a new decade.
Best Picture: Psycho
Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho)
Best Actor: Anthony Perkins (Psycho)
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine (The Apartment)
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Ustinov, not for “Spartacus” but for “The Sundowners.” If It wasn’t for “Psycho”, I would have voted Robert Mitchum Best Actor for “The Sundowners.”
Best Supporting Actress: Janet Leigh (Psycho)
Best Cinematography: Mario Bava, Ubaldo Terzano for “Black Sunday”, one of the most beautifully atmospheric shot black and white films ever.
Best Score: Bernard Herrmann (Psycho). A tough one for me, as 1960 gave us a handful of landmark scores – Tiomkin’s “The Alamo”, Bernstein’s “The Magnificent Seven” and North’s “Spartacus”, which is one of the great symphonic achievements of the 20th century. Anyone of those I would be happy with. But in the end, I could only vote for one and it has to be Herrmann’s classic.
Your statement about BEN-HUR is so beautifully presented here Kevin! I can’t agree with you more.
What a year, what an absolutely staggering year. 1960 would be a really strong candidate for one of the best years in cinema.
And what can one say about the 60s – arguably the greatest decade in the history of the medium (no two ways about that), well ahead of 70s, 50s & 40s. More masterpieces were made in this incredible decade than during any other era or time. So I expect a really difficult time voting here for the next 9 submissions as well.
Anyway, here are my choice (a really difficult job, I concede):
Best Picture: Breathless [Choosing Breathless over Cloud Capped Star, my favourite Ghatak, & Bad Luck, my favourite Munk, was an excruciatingly difficult decision - not to forget, Shoot the Pianist, my favourite Truffaut, Psycho, one of my favourite Hitchcock, and La Dolce Vita, my favourite Fellini]
Best Director: Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless)
Best Actor: Bogumił Kobiela (Bad Luck)
Best Actress: Supriya Choudhury (Cloud Capped Star)
Best Supporting Actor: Anil Chatterjee (The Cloud-Capped Star)
Best Supporting Actress: Janet Leigh (Psycho)
Best Cinematography: John L. Russell (Psycho) & Raoul Coutard (Shoot the Pianist)
Best Score: Bernard Herrmann (Psycho)
Top 10:
1. Breathless ( A Bout de Souffle)
2. Meghe Dhaka Tara (Cloud Capped Star)
3. Bad Luck
4. Shoot the Piano Player/Shoot the Pianist
5. Psycho
6. La Dolce Vita
7. Devi (The Goddess)
8. Le Trou
9. La Verite
10. The Apartment
Just Missed: L’Avventura, The Magnificent Seven, Moderato Cantabile
Also Rans: Spartacus, Baishey Shrabon
Picture: Eyes Without a Face (Runners Up: Shoot the Piano Player, Psycho)
Director: Francois Truffaut
Actor: Tony Perkins
Actress: Shirley MacLaine
Supp Actress: Alida Valli Eyes Without a Face
Supp Actor: Fred McMurray
Cinematography: Psycho
My top five for 1960: La Dolce Vita, A Bout de Souffle, L’Avventura, The Apartment, and Psycho. The top three are a virtual tie with only miniscule separation.
Best Picture: La Dolce Vita
Best Director: Michelangelo Antonioni (L’Avventura)
Best Actor: Marcello Mastroiani (La Dolce Vita)
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine (The Apartment)
Best Sup. Actor: Alain Cuny (La Dolce Vita)
Best Sup. Actress: Janet Leigh (Psycho)
Best Cinematography: Raoul Coutard (A Bout de Souffle)
Best Score: Adolph Deutsch: (The Apartment) – a sentimental choice I suppose.
And my vote for best short…
High Note