I have to say Beckett. I started reading the list and when I got to Beckett I had to stop and pick it. I LOVE this movie. I don’t remember when I first saw it on TV, it’s the first “grown-up” movie I ever saw. Peter O’Toole plays King Henry II (this is before The Lion in Winter)and Richard Burton plays Beckett, the archbishop of Cantebury; they’re brilliant. (I like all things medieval anyway.)
Some of my favorites for that year are already taken (Becket, Goldfinger, Mary Poppins, Dr. Strangelove), so I’ll feel free to choose one not already picked:
First Men in the Moon
One of Ray Harryhausen’s more interesting visually. And the script was by Nigel Kneale, who had given us the Quatermass series. This is definitely not one of Wells’ best books, and I really do think the film an improvement. The “Moon Calf” of the book had been interpreted by illustrators as a literal cow, a brontosaurus-like thing, and some general monster, but Harryhausen extended the Selenite-as-ant motif to make it a giant caterpillar, which is interesting (especially later, after one has been harvested by the selenites, and we see its bones. If caterpillars actually had bones instead of exoskeletons, that’s what they’d look like. I wonder if Lucas saw this and took the “sandworm” skeleton in Star wars from it.)
but the giant crystals, the Selenites themselves, the Grand Lunar, and the other features were very neatly done. As was the “contemporary” moon landing that starts it all.
Another vote for Beckett though it’s been more than a decade since I watched it. A fine film about the clash between king and church. A nice companion to Man for All Seasons which has the same theme and was filmed two years later.
I Am Cuba, because it’s a very interesting example of Cold War Communist propaganda.
A Hard Day’s Night
Some solid films on the first page there.
I’ll pick #12 Father Goose just because it’s got a lower profile than a lot of the other films. For a romantic action/comedy from 1964 it’s damn solid. A lot of the action is just much more intelligent and logical than you’d expect.
And I’ll also vote for my 16 y.o. daughter: My Fair Lady. It’s one of her favorite films. I greatly respect the writing and Rex Harrison’s portrayal of Henry Higgins. He’s a smart, insensitive guy who loves his life. He could hang out on SDMB and do just fine.
The correct answer is “Zorba the Greek”. Then “a Shot in the Dark”.
or" Failsafe’.
’ The Pawnbroker."
It was a very good year.
All my favorites have been chosen or mentioned already, such as Dr. Strangelove and Failsafe, among others, so I’ll pick one that maybe a lot of people haven’t heard of, let alone seen:
Kim Stanley plays a lunatic “psychic” who needs to drum up business, so she enlists her mousey husband (played by Richard Attenborough before he became a Director and a Sir) to kidnap a little girl with rich parents to collect the reward, as a psychic who helps find the girl. It’s been decades since I’ve seen it so I don’t remember if they also plan to get the ransom money. I do remember that it was moody, creepy, and frightening. It’s got a pretty high ranking on IMDB, 8.3/10, so others must think it’s pretty good too. I had forgotten all about it until I saw it listed.
Honorable mention to what probably is a terrible movie, but which scared the hell out of me when I was a kid, Lady In A Cage, with Olivia de Havilland stuck in a private home elevator and being terrorized by a bunch of thugs, led by a very very young James Caan, in his 2nd film role.
Three Elvis movies? Good grief.
Though I’m tempted to go with The Incredible Mr. Limpet, (is that the “Atta boy, Luther!” one?), I saw it recently, and it didn’t hold up all that well.
If I’m being honest, I’d have to say Goldfinger.
I’m a big James Bond fan, and Goldfinger features airplanes, watches, Odd Job, and Pussy Galore.
But I’m going to have to go with Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Brilliant movie. (Or ‘fillum’ as my Canadian neighbours say.)
.
Gotta go with Topkapi, which I saw with my whole family – and which might be the only movie my entire family (parents and two siblings and I) saw with all of us.
Plus it’s a cool film.
I think twickster might be my evil twin (or vice versa). Several times now she’s beaten me to exactly what I would have said, but this time I’ll post anyway…
I started reading the IMDB list, and Topkapi caught my eye right away. I don’t have the family connection, but it has to be one of my favourites - a caper movie with a great cast, a pretty good script, and an exotic location. Not to mention Melina Mercouri!
Never saw it before tonight. By your description, it sounded intriguing and, boy, was it! That movie was ahead of its time. The end was shocking and not expected at all for a 1964 thriller. Superb performance by James Caan. The poetry and crazed acting by de Havilland was hokey, but didn’t detract from the movie. Thanks for the recommendation!
Since all my choices were already chosen, I’m going to vote for Pajama Party, because it’s so bad, it’s fun! And Annette Funicello, of course.
WoW
1964 was a great year for films
Wow, where did you find it on such short notice? Glad you liked it! I never saw it in the theater, only on late night TV whenever it came on in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and the end freaked me out. Now, all these decades later, it occurs to me to wonder if the theatrical version is even more shocking than the quite shocking televised version. I’m going to have to watch it again myself.
Yeah, just with my remembrances, James Caan is one of the forgotten great villains of film history. I’ll have to remember to bring him up more often when such threads are started. Or you, now that you’ve seen it. Cool.
Nope. “Atta boy, Luther!” was from The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.
At the time, I remember really liking Topkapi. Now I would have to say Zulu.
Not mentioned so far is The Americanization of Emily, starring James Garner, James Coburn, and Julie Andrews. Great screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, with Garner as a decidedly anti-heroic character who ends up being “the first dead sailor on Omaha Beach”.
Robin and the 7 Hoods please.
Because who doesn’t want to see Bing Crosby show Frank Sinatra how cool is REALLY done?
Have to go with Ghidra, the Three-Headed Monster