Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Directed by Brian G. Hutton

This is the 2nd of a total of three Alistair MacLean penned WWII films.  The others being Guns of Navarone, and it's sequel Force 10 from Navarone.  It's notable as a very early example of the sort of frenetic breakneck pace action movie we are familiar with today. They definitely don't make WWII movies like this anymore, that's for sure. Don't examine the details too closely, it's no docu-drama, this is an exciting popcorn action flick.  One of the best.

Spartacus (1960)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

A huge blockbuster success at the time of it's release and when it was re-released in 1967, you could say it has something of a slightly diminished status today.  It's shelved under that dust covered category known as "classic film" and not much thought of anymore.  This is unfortunate because this is one of the original action filled epics that many others are modeled on.  Watching it today it really doesn't seem dated, everything in the movie looks fantastic, the scenes have all the appropriate impact.  It compares quite favorably to modern films in the epic genre.

Stanley Kubrick had a particularly difficult time working with Kirk Douglas on this film (who was also the producer).  He felt his work was being compromised, and as a result had a sour feeling about the project forever after.  Because of this it is often left out of retrospectives and collections of the director's work.  This is really too bad, it may not be a work of pure vision by Kubrick but it is still an excellent film.  Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Laurence Olivier all turn in fantastic performances (Ustinov won a best supporting actor Oscar).

So yes, the movie is missing some of the Kubrick style, particularly the script which is what Kubrick had most contention with, but his stamp is definitely evident.  Kubrick's eye for period detail is what really comes through.  The final battle scene is literally awesome. The long shot of thousands of soldiers marching over the hill is very very impressive (especially when seen in a theater with a really big screen). A very good job was done to give the impression of the Romans as the evil empire with a lot of help from Olivier's General Crassus. You can see the influence of this movie on a lot of later big blockbusters like Braveheart, Gladiator, and Conan The Barbarian.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Directed by Arthur Penn

The famous outlaws are given a revisionist treatment that attempts to give them some moral justification and emotional depth that seems to sit more comfortably in the 60s than the 30s.  Watching it today, when we are used to seeing multi-dimensional difficult characters, it's all a little too much to be very believable.  And god, Faye Dunaway is just awful.  She can never just play the part in a way that serves the overall film.  Every scene she's in she tries to steal it with a bunch of pretentious over-acting.

At the time it was seen as shockingly violent.  As much as I hate to build the impression that older things can't measure up to that of today, these days it would merely be par for the course.  No child of the 80s or later would even flinch at anything shown here.

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Very sort of broad european quality to the humor but nonetheless a fairly great horror/comedy about an absent minded vampire hunter, Professor Abronsius, and his young assistant.  Directed and co-starring Roman Polanski and featuring his future wife Sharon Tate.  Beautifully shot film.  They really created a fantastic character with Professor Abronsius, you will wish there were more vampire movies with him.  How great would it be if Polanski made a sequel to this movie today.

Planet of the Vampires (1965)

Directed by Mario Bava

Has the distinction of having some plot elements that seemed to influence Dan O'Bannon when working on Alien.  Even though some like to claim Ridley Scott "ripped off" this movie, in reality it's in no way as similar as that and it's not clear that he was aware of this obscure film (he was not really a sci-fi fan).  Alien must be considered a highly original work any way you look at it.

Other than that, this is a somewhat plodding, dull sci-fi suspense thriller.  Very low budget, and looks it.  Although it does have some half-way interesting production design.  If you want to see an older sci-fi film that still stands up today, I would recommend Forbidden Planet.  It's almost 10 years older than this movie and looks far better.

Marooned (1969)

Directed by John Sturges

Massively underrated and largely forgotten movie.  Directed by the dependable John Sturges shortly after the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Nowadays, the reputation of this film seems largely formed by science fiction fans watching it and their subsequent massive disappointment that it's not Star Wars.  There's no swash-buckling space operatics to be found here, this is a tense ship wreck drama set in space.  It is a realistic sort of science fiction with effects done to the standards of the time.

It was later recut and re-released by some purveyor of ultra-budget home video movies.  This version was later on MST3K.  This probably didn't help the movie's reputation.

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

Directed by Terence Fisher

One of the better Hammer films with some very cool horror type scenes.  This Dr. Frankenstein is truly irredeemably evil and doesn't shy away from all sort of heinous acts.  Veronica Carlson plays only a very peripheral character compared to her part in Dracula Has Risen from The Grave.  Her only service to the story seems to be as a victim of Frankenstein's brutality.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Directed by David Lean

Although perhaps the weakest of David Lean's famous epic's such as Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on The River Kwai (technically not an epic but clearly a precursor to his later style), it is nevertheless a film that must be seen for it's stunning cinematography and stirring recounting of history. Get your popcorn, you're going to be sitting there for a while, but it is ultimately an entertaining and worthwhile piece of cinema.

Doctor Zhivago is a love story that takes place against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. As a historical epic it is a grand and majestic depiction of events full of beautiful imagery and roiling drama. Unfortunately, as romance it's less successful. The problem is that we are never shown just WHY these two are in love. After spending some time together, all of a sudden they profess their love for each other and without any evidence to the contrary we just have to take their word for it. The romantic leads don't display much in the way of tender moments or anything that might be called chemistry. This being the heart of the film, it makes the proceedings overall fall a bit flat.

It is well known that Doctor Zhivago is a very long movie. While everything in the movie seems to be fairly worthwhile viewing, the time is not used to imbue the film with an emotional resonance appropriate to the time we are asked to invest. So fair warning, don't hold out for some "big payoff", it's not coming. Just sit back and enjoy the view.

Make no mistake there's nothing mediocre about this movie, it's just that in it's breadth and scope it clearly aspires to be one of the greatest movies but is only merely good. It's strength is clearly in the smaller historical vignettes that serve to provide the setting in which the movie takes place: the violent suppression of a political demonstration, a mob of deserters leaving the eastern front to join the revolution, a train of exiles being sent to the Urals. This is the real reason I would recommend this movie. It's billing as a great romance doesn't ever truly pay off.

Shinobi No Mono (1962)

Directed By Satsuo Yamamoto

Here it is, Ninja Ground Zero.  This is the movie (later becoming a series of films) that is largely responsible for popularizing ninjas.  You may recognize one of the assassination techniques as it was later re-used in one of the James Bond movies.  Recommended for ninja fans everywhere.  It may not have the furious action of modern day action movies but you have to admire this early example of the genre.