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Here we are with my top 10 films in 1969. The end of the 1960s. What an exciting time before the start of a new decade. The last year of the decade introduced two robbers where raindrops fall on their head, a wannabe cowboy, a group wanting to steal some funds, an aging marshal who is a bald, one-eyed fat man and teacher who gave her all for her students. Say goodbye to the last year of the 1960s.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The film that has a meme along with the song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a fun Western film. The film stars Paul Newman as Robert LeRoy Parker aka Butch Cassidy and Robert Redford as Harry Longabaugh aka Sundance Kid. The film revolves around the pair on the run from a US posse after robbing a couple of trains. The movie is a definite watch as it usually ranks in the top 100 greatest movies of all-time.
Midnight Cowboy
“I’m walkin’ here! I’m walkin’ here!” A film that is set in NYC and tells of the strange and unique friendship between an unlikely pair. On one side, there is Joe Buck played by Jon Voight who is a sex worker and wannabe cowboy. On the other side is Rico Rizzo played by Dustin Hoffman who is a con man. The film is interesting to watch with a classic movie line but also a rough and brutal realization of the low life in the mean streets of NYC.
True Grit
True Grit is the film that is mostly known for bringing John Wayne his Academy Award. Wayne’s presence in the film is larger than life and he makes this film go. In the film, a daughter named Mattie recruits Marshall Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, an eyepatch-sporting, hard drinking fellow who has the grit to bring back the hardest criminals around to bring justice to the man who killed her daddy. The film is really entertaining and a great western to watch. It is one of the best films of the year. It has one of the best insults and responses in film history. Pepper response with the classic burn, “I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.” Rooster responded with the classic line, “Fill your hand, you son-of-a-bitch!”
The Italian Job
Before there were two remakes of this film, one in 2003 starring Mark Wahlberg and set in L.A. and another in 2012 from Bollywood, there was the original Italian Job. Starring the legendary Michael Caine as Charlie Croker, this British comedy caper centers on Charlie who forms a gang to steal a cache of gold bullion being transported through Turin, Italy. The film is funny, entertaining and who doesn’t love a great caper with a mini-cooper chase. The Italian Job as has Caine’s famous line of blowing the doors off. Watch this film and have fun because you will be in for a wild ride.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was a surprise film for me as I wasn’t expecting the subject matter and the drama around Miss Brodie. Miss Brodie gave her prime to teaching and the girls, but she had some views that were quite off. Dame Maggie Smith is excellent in this film as she portrays Miss Brodie in an excellent and influential way. Once again, the drama around Miss Brodie is insane and some of her girls have a wild side. I’m looking at you Sandy. The ending scene is intense and one to watch.
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is one of those films that you have to watch if you don’t know anything about it. I watched the movie after I came back from Mardi Gras and did a cemetery tour where that one particular scene was filmed. Starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper along with the legendary Jack Nicholson having role, the film is about two bikers traveling through the Southwest and South after selling their cocaine. The film explores many themes but also, real drugs were used. People were high as a kite.
Support Your Local Sheriff!
One of the best films to come out of 1969 was a parody of Western trope. What more do you want than a film that has a selfless cowboy who rolls into a town and brings law to it. Support Your Local Sheriff! Is a funny, entertaining and great film that bombed at the box office. James Garner is funny as the friendly gunfighter who wants to find gold in Australia only to become a sheriff and bring law to it. You will have many laughs while watching this film.
Hello, Dolly!
You probably heard the song sung by the great Louie Armstrong. A musical film based on the Broadway musical, the film stars Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau and many others. It is a story about Dolly Levi, a matchmaker who travels to Yonkers, New York with the goal of matching the miserable but rich Horace Vandergelder. The film was okay, and you will enjoy it but it was all about the song. Louie got a number one hit from it.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
I have heard these four names in films for a while. In a film that pushes the idea of being truthful in our personal relationships, you can find that with Bob and Carol Sanders and Ted and Alice Henderson. Going on a self-discovery is one thing but things get wild when Bob admits he’s had an affair. The crazy part is when Carol thinks it’s wonderful that he was honest enough to tell her. Dude still cheated. This attitude affects Ted and Alice, their best friends and soon the idea of trading partners soon comes up.
If…
Back in the day, Malcolm McDowell loved playing the troubled teen role. This was his first role. Dude was a straight up menace. In this film, he plays Mick Travis who is in the last year of public school. Dude sets up a rebellion against everyone and takes over with violence. You get picked on, start a revolt and use live weapons. This film is wild to watch.
