Summer in the Sixties
Snapshot of the era
- Films
The Sixties were an era of memorable events, fads and fashions. To
jog your memory, we have highlights for art,
social/political moments,
sport, music,
TV, films,
style and toys
along with information about related programming in the 91Èȱ¬ FOUR season.
Films
being screened as part of the 91Èȱ¬ FOUR season:
Alfie, A Hard Day's Night, Performance, Billion
Dollar Brain and many more
Polanski in the Sixties - each Thursday from 10 June to 1 July 91Èȱ¬ FOUR
will screen a Polanski classic: Rosemary's Baby, Cul De Sac, Knife in
the Water and Repulsion
The DVD Collection - special Sixties edition
From Sci-Fi films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and
Barbarella to depictions of the vibrant Sixties lifestyle in Blow Up,
Alfie and A Hard Day's Night, it was a busy decade for cinema-goers…
• Arguably one of Hitchcock's finest films and certainly
one of cinema's scariest shower moments, Psycho opened
in 1960.
• Breakfast at Tiffany's starred Audrey
Hepburn as Holly Golightly in 1961. The sunglasses with black dress
and cigarette holder look went down in history.
• A Taste of Honey, the revolutionary
kitchen sink drama depicting the life of a northern lass, was a turning
point for British cinema in 1961.
• The first ever James Bond film, Dr No,
hit screens in 1962 starring a little known Scottish actor called Sean
Connery. In it Bond pursued the villainous Dr No to his secret installation
on a Caribbean island.
• Lawrence of Arabia - One of the
great desert dramas, this epic tale of World War I hero TE Lawrence
was a smash hit, critically and financially, in 1962.
• Mary Poppins - the children's musical
fantasy about a magical London nanny was Julie Andrews' cinema debut
in 1964 and landed her the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mary
Poppins.
• Dr Strangelove - this story of a
mad general who sends his bombers to destroy the USSR was particularly
poignant in 1964 because of the cold war and the assassination of JFK
during the era.
• A Hard Day's Night was a dream come
true for Beatles fans worldwide in 1964: a feature length film capturing
a day in the life of the Fab Four.
• The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
starred Clint Eastwood in 1966. It is still probably the ultimate spaghetti
Western.
• In 1966 Michael Caine played Alfie,
the quintessential lady-killer who eventually grew a soul by the end
of the film.
• A wonderful depiction of swinging London, Blow
Up from 1966 told the intriguing tale of a hip but vain fashion
photographer who by chance manages to take a snap that becomes evidence
for a murder.
• The Graduate from 1967 was the classic
coming-of-age comedy in which Dustin Hoffman falls for a girl - and
the seduction techniques of her mother.
• Bonnie and Clyde, the highly influential
film telling the story of the depression era bank robbers Bonnie Parker
and Clyde Barrow, came out in 1967.
• Barbarella - Set in the 40th Century
and released in 1968, Jane Fonda played the futuristic heroine who sets
out to save the world from the evil clutches of scientist Durand Durand.
• Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece, 2001:
A Space Odyssey, came out in 1968.
• The Oscar-winning drama Midnight Cowboy,
about a naive, young country boy who travels to New York to make his
fortune as a gigolo and the friendship he makes along the way, hit screens
in 1969.
• Easy Rider was released in 1969
and became the ultimate road movie. It featured Peter Fonda and Dennis
Hopper as the two 'anti heroes' who hit the road and travelled across
the South West US.
• Performance was made in 1967 but
not released until 1970. This cult film, encapsulating drug-crazed Swinging
Sixties London, stars Mick Jagger as a reclusive rock star who meets
gangster James Fox.
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