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Overview of the events of the 1960s in film
The decade of the 1960s in film involved many significant films.
Trends
Historical drama films continued to include
epic films , in the style of
Ben-Hur from 1959, with
Spartacus (1960) and
Cleopatra (1963), but also evolving with 20th-century settings, such as
The Guns of Navarone (1961),
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and
Doctor Zhivago (1965).
Psychological horror films extended, beyond the stereotypical
monster films of
Dracula /
Frankenstein or
Wolfman , to include more twisted films, such as
Psycho (1960) and
Roger Corman 's
Poe adaptations for
American International Pictures as well as British companies
Hammer Horror and
Amicus Productions . Other European filmmakers like
Mario Bava directed many notable horror films.
[1]
Comedy films became more elaborate, such as
The Pink Panther (1963),
The President's Analyst (1967), or
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966).
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) elevated the concept of a comedy-drama, where the subtle comedy conceals the harsher elements of the drama beneath, and
Stanley Kubrick 's
Dr. Strangelove (1964) set a new standard for
satire by turning a story about
nuclear holocaust into a sophisticated
black comedy .
Beyond the
trenchcoat [
clarification needed ] and
film noir ,
spy films expanded with worldly settings and hi-tech gadgets, such as the
James Bond films
Dr. No (1962) or
Goldfinger (1964) and
Thunderball (1965). This Spy mania extended throughout the world with many countries notably Italy and Spain producing many of their own fantastical spy films.
[2]
Similar to
spy films , the
heist or caper film included worldly settings and hi-tech gadgets, as in the original
Ocean's Eleven (1960),
Topkapi (1964) or
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968).
The
spaghetti westerns (made in Italy and Spain), were typified by
Clint Eastwood films, such as
For a Few Dollars More (1965) or
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Several other American and Italian actors were also prominent in such westerns including
Lee Van Cleef and
Franco Nero .
Science-fiction or
fantasy films employed a wider range of special effects, as in the original of
The Time Machine (1960) and
Mysterious Island (1961), or with animated aliens or mythical creatures, as in the
Harryhausen animation for
Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and
One Million Years B.C. (1966). Some extensive sets were built to simulate alien worlds or zero-gravity chambers, as in space-station and spaceship sets for the epic
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the psychedelic, space settings for the erotic
Barbarella (1968), and with ape-city in the original
Planet of the Apes (1968). Russian
fairy-tale fantasy was also prominent with the likes of
Aleksandr Rou directing many such films.
The highly-influential science-fiction films
Alphaville (1965) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) explored the concept of a malign
artificial intelligence , a theme which later science fiction culture would develop.
[3]
Beginning in the middle of the decade due to the start of the cultural revolution and the abolition of the
Hays Code (which had largely been abandoned at the start of the decade), films became increasingly experimental and daring and were taking shape of what was to define the latter half of the decade as well as the
1970s .
Lists of films
See also
References
External links