The Films of 1969

The greatest western ever made. See William Holden, Ernest Borgnine,and Robert Ryan among with Warren Oates in the role of their careers. Directed with such finesse by the great Sam Peckinpah.

Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight...John Barry's Oscar nominated score and the first ever "X" rated feature to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 1969.

Let's leave aside the small problem of one of Karkatoa which is actually being west of Java,instead of East. Another problem not being fictional here about one of the greatest disasters ever witnessed by man. The epic 1969 adventure saga was basically the last wave of films to be produced in Cinerama 70(that were released during the late 1960's)and also very entertaining of the big budgeted "Panavision" films that exploded during that era. The movie is about treasure hunters who encounter the volcanic island just as it blows apart and who then get bounced around in the ensuing tidal wave that is so technically impressive if narratively lame. The tidalwave sequence alone is worth the price of admission. Here various characters faced certain dangers above on the island and below the depths of the ocean including one horrifying sequence with one of the characters facing a monster squid. An interesting cast of famililar actors(which includes Maximilian Schell,Diane Baker,Brian Keith,Rossano Brazzi and Sal Mineo)portray the mixed group of adventurers,but the script and dialogue are so pathetically weak one just wants to get past the high drama on the high seas and the watch the geological fireworks,since fortunately they make quite a show. Not to mention some bathing beauties too in some great underwater sequences. Basically this movie came out in the summer of 1969 and was released thru Cinerama Pictures and ABC Pictures(yes,the American Broadcasting Companies motion picture division)and distributed by MGM.

A Grand Classic of Black Cimema brilliantly directed by Gordon Parks!!! Being the first feature to be directed by black man for a major film studio,this film shows 1920's Kansas as a brutal,hostile racist place. Brilliant performance throughout.

The first ever Peanuts theatrical feature that was Oscar nominated for Best Original Score in 1969. This was the original and the first ever theatrical feature(this was the first of four sequels) featuring Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang with an impressive script written by Charles Schultz. This set the standard for some of the most breathtaking animation that you will ever see.

The 1969 version which was directed by Richard Fleischer. This version starred Omar Sharif(of "Lawrence of Arabia",and "Doctor Zhivago" fame) in the biography of Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara who helped Fidel Castro in his struggle against the corrupt Batisia regime,eventually resulting in the overthrow of that government and Castro's rise to his reign of power of the control of Cuba.
The film itself is a spectacle of sorts from Guevara's life when he first landed in Cuba in 1956 to his violent death in 1967. The cast is top-notch including Jack Palance, Cesare Danova, Robert Loggia, Woody Strode,and Barbara Luna.....with a great musical score from composer Lalo Schifrin.