Oscar Year 1969 Will Return on Friday

Thank you for those who have followed the series so far.  I felt a need to take a break today to address some immediate issues that were of interest to me, and I hope, to many of you.  Those are the two "Intermissions" that follow.

Going back to revisit these films that I have studied for so long has been a freeing, fun and encouraging experience. I have found less to keep me truly enthused at the movies this year. Yes, there are always great films relative to what else is out there, and if you have read a few reviews on these pages, you already know what I favored this year, what I resisted, and why.  Every year offers its gems.

But in 1969, almost every major film had at least one compelling, ground-breaking reason to see it, and the Oscar films are, for the most part, excellent signposts of their time, with some gaining unusual relevance today.  There are those viewers who find no relevance in these 40-year-old works, but to them I would ask to look more closely; some viewers just lack the context that renders many of these movies truly exciting. I hope I have given some incentive to new visitors to the movie year of 1969, to lean more about that unusual and defining era, and see how the movies reflected and influenced those times.

It's a little late so I won't start in on the next installment (Best Actress) until tomorrow.  In the next few days we'll have a look at some different films, as well as some amazing performances that are now regarded as classics.