Critics Club III: Film of the Year 1969

[Neon Ignition]

The launch of the first vertical flight harrier jump jet and Adam West unleashes himself upon a waiting Batman audience in...


1969





What are your favourite's of '66 and how does it fare compared to the previous years?

[Atticus]

Some good films on that list (and some classics I still haven't seen). Kes is my absolute fave on there. We read a few Barry Hines books at school and I thought Kes was the perfect film for the book.

[QualityChimp]

Carry on Camping is legendary, mainly for Barbara Windsor's chest.

True Grit is good, but The Wild Bunch tops it. The tones are so different, with the latter shifting from the notion that the Wild West was a noble time. The Wild Bunch are all bastards, especially heartless Borgnine in his funeral speech about a fallen comrade.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is easily one of the worst Bond films from the fourth wall-breaking opening, to the ridiculously anachronistic section with a load of sexy schoolgirls throwing themselves at Bond. However, it has one of the most amazing endings to any Bond. I recently heard that "We Have All The Time In The World" was Louis Armstrong's last recording session. John Barry asked if he minded singing the song, given Armstrong's ill health (he was too ill to play his trumpet), but understood the irony.
It was one of Barry's favourite songs to record because he got to work with Armstrong.

The Italian Job is an all-time classic.

[MartyG]

Finally, a Carry On film I can vote for - probably the best of the entire series actually.

And contray to QC, I find OHMSS is one of the better Bond films and that Lazenby is massively underated - I can recommend watching Becoming Bond as it highlights why Lazenby's portrail of Bond sparkles.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, Carry On Camping is probably one of the best ones. Simplest set up but they get the most mileage from it.

I'm another in favour of OHMSS. There are cheesy, awkward bits and I'm in the camp that doesn't think Lazenby suited the role but a lot of the film helps it build up to that ending which frankly deserves a lot more praise as a Bond moment than it recieves. The film effectively and concisely defines Bond for the remainder of the franchise that follows as despite all the change that comes you rationalise it because 'well, it's because this happened to him'. Only Casino Royale comes close with the Vesper storyline but OHMSS never suffered being undermined by a subsequent series of convoluted and increasingly unbearable storylines aimed to milk its teats dry. Modern Bond's overall arc is an embarrassment to the franchise at this point. Hopefully, one day all Bond fans will come to hold at least the overall film and that moment as the defining moment it is. I'm sure they will, after all, we have all the time in the world...