Went on a 1960s roll this week, I had forgotten how great a decade this was for american cinema
Bullitt
The essence of a good thriller: a man fights unknown enemies. Also starring the finest Mustang GT Fastback ever seen on screen.
In the Heat of the Night
Again a proper thriller, with a strong statement on race in 1960s Chicago and a powerful performance from Sidney Poitiers. Special mention for Rod Steiger
Doctor Zhivago
David Lean... I don't know how he does it. The camera work and sceneries in this are gorgeous (not Lawrence of Arabia levels of gorgeous, but still beautiful). Add to that a doomed love during the bolshevik revolution with Omar Shariff and Julie Christie and you've got a masterpiece.
And last but not least...
Judgment at Nuremberg
I should point out that I usually despise any big budget movie that remotely has to do with the sizan. Most of them (the ones I've seen anyway) seem like a competition of who can portray the biggest manichaeism on-screen. Imagine my surprise when I saw a thought-provoking, conflicted and ultimately difficult approach to the subject in Judgment at Nuremberg, in 1961. Schell is stellar as the defence attorney that raises a lot of valid points and Tracy as the judge torn between his ideals and geopolitical considerations is great.
