1962's Best Movies: 60 Years Later

Advice & Consent, L'Eclisse, and The Manchurian Candidate might earn my vote, but I'm feeling The Trial this morning, which I recorded off TCM a few nights ago for a third viewing.

1. Advise and Consent
2. Vivre Sa Vivre
3. Manchurian Candidate
4. L'eclisse
5. La Jetee
6. Winter Light

Only saw the last once, ages ago.

My vote is clearly going to La Jetee here, but the rest of my top 10 is as good as pretty much any other year I can think of...

La Jetée (Chris Marker, France)
Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, France)
L’eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, Italy)
An Autumn Afternoon (Yasujirō Ozu, Japan)
The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
Confessions of an Opium Eater (Albert Zugsmith, USA)
Advise and Consent (Otto Preminger, USA)
The Trial (Orson Welles, France/West Germany/Italy)
Thanatopsis (Ed Emshwiller, USA)
Cosmic Ray (Bruce Conner, USA)

Need to rewatch Hatari! because it's clearly some kind of four-alarm auteurist masterpiece.

1. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
2. Jules et Jim
3. The Trial
4. Lolita
5. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane
6. Cléo from 5 to 7
7. The Exterminating Angel
8. The Manchurian Candidate
9. Winter Light
10. To Kill a Mockingbird

Don't feel right assessing Lawrence of Arabia because I've still never seen the whole thing in one sitting. I should probably give Knife in the Water another shot; it did nothing for me when I watched it for an undergrad film class way back when. And I promise I will get to Advise and Consent some day soon.

This is the year that the type of filmmaking I most enjoy really flowered. I've seen 22 from the top list and three from the lower. Ozu's final, Polanski and Tarkovsky's debuts, and Godard's first "mature" film (and arguably Bergman's).

Worst film: Carnival of Souls
Underrated: Cronaca Familiare, AKA Girl With a Suitcase
Most egregious blackface musical number: The Eclipse
Best film not on either list: Bertolucci's debut The Grim Reaper
Film I'd most like to see: Salvatore Giuliano
Voted for: The Eclipse (if only for the moment in the credits where the music segues from "Eclipse Twist" to Giovanni Fusco's strings)
Best SCTV sketch based on one of these films:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d761xyZ_aA

Most egregious blackface musical number: The Eclipse

It seems inprobable to me that Mondo Cane wouldn't have had one of those.

There's a blueface number in that if I recall correctly.

Lawrence of Arabia's is the sine qua non of the epic style of cinema. Fabulous script, excellent acting, score and cinematography. The only sour note in the entire film is Anthony Quinn's arab chieftain which descends to shameful caricature. Too bad most people can't see it in CinemaScope any more. It would be overwhelming on the big screen in ways that Marvel can't begin to touch.

Cléo From 5 to 7
Jules et Jim
Mamma Roma
Salvatore Giuliano
Winter Light
L’Eclisse
An Autumn Afternoon
The Exterminating Angel
La Jetée
Ivan’s Childhood

1961 and 1962 featured three of my favorite films ever, Last Year at Marienbad, Vridiana, and Cléo From 5 to 7

Knife In the Water was pretty great for a first film

Lots of solid choices.... unfortunately I went with Baby Jane instead.

I think the first half of Lawrence of Arabia is fun and I rewatch it from time to time

The second half is a slog and I don't think I ever need to see it again

thxbye

also there will never be a good movie of Lolita; the book is not filmable for at least two reasons

Strongly disagree. The Kubrick adaptation has laugh-out-loud stuff, though it's about 15 minutes too long.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

watched David and Lisa (1962), Frank Perry’s first film, with Keir Dullea and Janet Margolin. It missed this list at 5683. It’s surprising to see that it was nominated for Oscars for best director and adapted screenplay, it’s pretty weird

It was a year when there was only 2/5 overlap between the director/picture Oscar nominations (Lawrence of Arabia won both of course)

like a lot of these, but voted for Cléo from 5 to 7

Strongly disagree. The Kubrick adaptation has laugh-out-loud stuff, though it's about 15 minutes too long.

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, April 8, 2022 3:23 PM (four weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

And Kubrick let Peter Sellers run amok with the film.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Baby Jane is a camp classic, but not the best film of 1962

I really dislike 2+ hour movies these days but i still love LoA

I think I basically hate LoA.

Buñuel gets screwed again!

more champagne!

I voted for A&C, dear. Herr Otto kept me in line.

I guess I forgot to actually vote then, as I often do--Advise and Consent should have gotten two votes.