Ep #83 - Bands Playing Themselves in the 60s

Kick start your engines! Throw on that cutoff jean jacket vest with the pro-fascist pins ‘n’ patches! Respect nobody and nothing - society’s rules least of all! That’s right, it’s time to hit the highway and live that dream of total freedom and cause some violent mayhem and wanton destruction! It’s biker movies of 1969!In this season finale, as part of their once Bootleg Bond series, now expanded Genre series, Bart and Jenna explore all that hogs and leather have to offer. Don’t miss out on their in depth discussion on 1960s cinema classic Easy Rider and a film Jenna describes as truly evil, Satan’s Sadists. The following films are discussed:• Run, Angel, Run! (1969) Directed by Jack Starrett Starring William Smith, Valerie Starrett, Dan Kemp• Hell's Belles (1969) Directed by Maury Dexter Starring Jeremy Slate, Jocelyn Lane, Adam Roarke• Naked Angels (1969) Directed by Bruce D. Clark Starring Michael Greene, Jennifer Gan, Richard Rust• The Cycle Savages (1969) Directed by Bill Brame Starring Bruce Dern, Melody Patterson, Chris Robinson• Hell's Angels '69 (1969) Directed by Lee Madden Starring Tom Stern, Jeremy Slate, Conny Van Dyke• Satan's Sadists (1969) Directed by Al Adamson Starring Russ Tamblyn, Scott Brady, Regina Carrol• Easy Rider (1969) Directed by Dennis Hopper Starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson

One a basic level, ‘60s cinema is the story of the complete breakdown of censorship rules about what could and could not be shown on American theater screens. Hollywood’s Production Code was already falling apart in the ‘50s when competition with television forced movies to offer kinds of entertainment that were not available on the small screen. Films from countries with fewer restrictions on content were being shown more frequently and naturist documentaries were getting around rules about nudity – though you had to go to “art” cinemas or less reputable theaters to see these things. While the studios still had strict guidelines on what was acceptable for release in mainstream theaters, smaller theaters were pushing boundaries on what they were willing to show audiences. As a result, Hollywood, in order to keep up, threw all their old self-censorship rules by the end of the ‘60s.One of the major figures on the grindhouse circuit who continued to push the amount of sex and nudity that could be shown in films throughout the decade – and made enough money doing it for the studios to really take notice – was Russ Meyer. His goofy, satirical, surprisingly well-made exploitation films were cutting-edge smut that gained popularity over the course of the ‘60s because they delivered the sleaze they promised and dis it with skill and style. Eventually he gained a cult reputation among cineastes and reputable film critics that continues to this day, even though many of his films are more shocking by modern standards than they were when they first hit screens. In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss all things boobs, sexual desperation and boobs. Bart takes on the brunt of the burden, getting through the entire decade and finding there’s more to Meyer than pure titillation. Jenna, however, is less than enthused with Meyer’s ‘comedic’ sensibilities, finding Bart’s cherry-picked selections mostly intolerable. But even both agree that at least a little bit of Meyer is essential viewing for anybody who want to understand the what the decade in cinema was all about.The following films are discussed:• Lorna (1964) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Lorna Maitland, Mark Bradley, James Rucker• Mudhoney (1965) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Hal Hopper, Antoinette Cristiani, John Furlong• Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Tura Satana, Haji, Lori Williams• Good Morning and... Goodbye! (1967) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Alaina Capri, Stuart Lancaster, Haji• Vixen! (1968) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Erica Gavin, Garth Pillsbury, Harrison Page• Harry, Cherry and Raquel (1969) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Linda Ashton, Charles Napier, Larissa ElyAlso mentioned:• The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Bill Teas, Ann Peters, Enrico Banducci• Eve and the Handyman (1961) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Eve Meyer, Anthony-James Ryan, Frank Bolger• Erotica (1961) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Denise Daniels, Kathy Lee, Candis McKay• Wild Gals of the Naked West (1962) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Sammy Gilbert, Anthony-James Ryan, Jackie Moran• Europe in the Raw (1963) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Veronique Gabriel, Gigi La Touche, Abundavita• Fanny Hill (1964) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Miriam Hopkins, Letícia Román, Ulli Lommel• Motorpsycho (1965) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Haji, Alex Rocco, Steve Oliver• Mondo Topless (1966) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Babette Bardot, Darlene Grey, Pat Barringtonn• Common Law Cabin (1967) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Jackie Moran, Babette Bardot, Adele Rein• Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Anne Chapman, Paul Lockwood, Gordon Wescourt• Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom• Supervixens (1975) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Charles Pitt, Shari Eubank, Charles Napier• Up! (1976) Directed by Russ Meyer Starring Edward Schaaf, Robert McLane, Elaine Collins

The impact of The Dirty Dozen on the decade cannot be overstated – here was a big-budget, Hollywood star-powered blockbuster, about a popular topic, that simply didn’t hold back. Toss on the fact that there was no rating system at the time, it’s very likely Little Timmy didn’t know what he was getting into when he decided to go see that new World War II movie. With a few well placed curse words and a few dozen dead Nazis, director Robert Aldrich ushered a whole new era of screen violence into the American consciousness. In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss the legacy of The Dirty Dozen by going straight to the immediate rip-offs that followed in its wake. There’s at least two surprisingly underseen gems in the bunch, as well as one other massive hit, all of which bring up the body count even as some question their own morality. Finally, some war movies even Bart can enjoy! The following films are discussed:• The Dirty Dozen (1967) Directed by Robert Aldrich Starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson• Dark of the Sun (1968) Directed by Jack Cardiff Starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown• The Devil's Brigade (1968) Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen Starring William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards• Play Dirty (1969) Directed by André De Toth Starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green• The Wild Bunch (1969) Directed by Sam Peckinpah Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan• Battle of the Commandos (1969) La legione dei dannati Directed by Umberto Lenzi Starring Jack Palance, Thomas Hunter, Curd Jurgens

Cinema60 is back with a ghost guest in order to highlight some notable opinions on film. Dwight Macdonald, a celebrity film critic of the ‘50s and ‘60s who is now more remembered as a cultural critic and political pundit, had a lot to say about the dumbing down of high art to appeal to middlebrow tastes. Championing films that challenged audiences, he famously took on Alain Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad as one of the most difficult films to ever be embraced by American audiences. While he does not consider the film one of his favorites, he admires its techniques and ambitions. He would use it as a touchstone through his career to describe the type of film that pushes boundaries of what cinema can do and engages on a higher level. In this episode, Bart and Jenna respond to Macdonald, muse on the actual difficulty of such a film and use his word to illustrate their own mission statement.The following film is discussed:•Last Year at Marienbad (1961) L'année dernière à Marienbad Directed by Alain Resnais Starring Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha PitoëffText discussed:• On Movies (1969) by Dwight McdonaldOther films mentioned:• Citizen Kane (1941) Directed by Orson Welles Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore• Children of Paradise (1945) Les enfants du paradis Directed by Marcel Carné Starring Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur• Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) Directed by Alain Resnais Starring Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas• Breathless (1960) À bout de souffle Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Jean-Pierre Melville• La Dolce Vita (1960) Directed by Federico Fellini Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée• Jules & Jim (1962) Directed by François Truffaut Starring Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre

For the first half of the 1960s, Akira Kurosawa was arguably at the peak of his career, making masterpiece after masterpiece at a rate that was sure to surpass the heights of his ‘50s glories. But then, after making the most beloved film of his career, he hit a wall. There would be several more great films to come, but for a while there it seemed like the career of one of cinema’s most widely celebrated masters had come to an end. In this episode, Bart and Jenna discuss what happened to Kurosawa’s second half of the decade, but mostly they relish the opportunity to finally cross off some ‘60s cinema heavy-hitters from their list. From the banging drums of Yojimbo, to the harrowing screams of Red Beard, with some striking and atypical gendai-geki thrillers along the way, the episode is packed with must-see films. Listen as Jenna admires Kurosawa’s artistry but occasionally struggles with his pacing, while Bart rapturously discovers that some old favorites are even better than he remembered.The following films are discussed:• The Bad Sleep Well (1960) 悪い奴ほどよく眠る / Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru    Directed by Akira Kurosawa    Starring Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyoko Kagawa • Yojimbo (1961) 用心棒 / Yôjinbô    Directed by Akira Kurosawa    Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa • Sanjuro (1962) 椿三十郎 / Tsubaki Sanjûrô    Directed by Akira Kurosawa    Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi • High and Low (1963) 天国と地獄 / Tengoku to jigoku    Directed by Akira Kurosawa    Starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa • Red Beard (1965) 赤ひげ / Akahige    Directed by Akira Kurosawa    Starring Toshiro Mifune, Yūzō Kayama, Reiko Dan • Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) トラ・トラ・トラ！    Directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda & Kinji Fukasaku    Starring So Yamamura, Martin Balsam, Tatsuya Mihashi

Bart and Jenna want to tell you what their favorites films from 1962 are, but the catch is that the films can only be selected from films covered on Cinema60 so far! But first, they’re going to talk about six films from 1961 that they’ve chosen to watch in hopes that they can snazz up their Top Tens with some bonus bangers. (Aka, basically it’s just Kiss Marry Kill by a different name.)Jenna’s picks for the episode are a diverse range of societal critiques, but all three are favorite genres of hers: the anti-authoritarian fable, the dark, horror-adjacent satire, and the Commedia all'italiana. Bart’s pick are bit more uniform and specific - small-scale slice-of-life films about young women who’ve struck out on their own to make lives for themselves and end up involved in atypical relationship triangles. Six different nations are represented in their choices, providing a nice cross-section of what was going in in cinema in 1962. The following films are discussed:• Harakiri (1962)    切腹/Seppuku    Directed by Masaki Kobayashi    Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita • Adieu Philippine (1962)    Directed by Jacques Rozier    Starring Jean-Claude Aimini, Stefania Sabatini, Yveline Céry • What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)    Directed by Robert Aldrich    Starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono • The L-Shaped Room (1962)    Directed by Bryan Forbes    Starring Leslie Caron, Cicely Courtneidge, Brock Peters • Smog (1962)    Directed by Franco Rossi    Starring Enrico Maria Salerno, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori • Strange Girl (1962)    Čudna devojka    Directed by Jovan Zivanovic    Starring Spela Rozin, Vojislav Miric, Zoran Radmilovic

Following in the tradition of our episodes on Ukraine and Egypt, where we tried to find our way into national cinemas that are virtually inaccessible in the West (not to mention our other single-nation episodes on Poland, Brazil, Hong Kong, West Germany, Japan, Czechoslovakia and Mexico that focus more narrowly on a single movement or genre), we gathered up as many movies as we could find, read some academic articles, and then watched the six most promising Bulgarian movies from the ‘60s. Our intention, of course, is to give a taste of what the country has to offer, rather than a full overview. Plus, I mean gosh, appease all of those fans who have been lighting up our switchboard asking for Bulgarian ‘60s cinema…In this episode, the starting point was Binka Zhelyazkova, who was the first Bulgarian female director. She was also one of the very few women from behind the Iron Curtain, pre-Glasnost era, to have her films shown in the West. From there we spread out to other filmmakers whose works seemed to get written about most often and, crucially, can be seen today with decent prints and English subtitles. Though Bart & Jenna generally agree on the most noteworthy film and least noteworthy film of the episode, there’s quite a bit of discussion in the merits of each. Dive in – none of these films require the kind of fortitude you might expect would be required to sit through little-known 60s art cinema from Bulgaria.The following films are discussed:• We Were Young (1961) А бяхме млади/A byahme mladi Directed by Binka Zhelyazkova Starring Dimitar Buynozov, Rumyana Karabelova, Lyudmila Cheshmedzhieva• The Inspector and the Night (1963) Инспекторът и нощта/Inspektorat i noshtta Directed by Rangel Vulchanov Starring Stars Georgi Kaloyanchev, Nevena Kokanova, Dimitar Panov• The Peach Thief (1964) Крадецът на праскови/Kradetzat na praskovi Directed by Vulo Radev Starring Nevena Kokanova, Rade Markovic, Mikhail Mikhaylov• Armourless Knight (1966) Рицар без броня/Ritzar bez bronya Directed by Borislav Sharaliev Starring Oleg Kovachev, Mariya Rusalieva, Apostol Karamitev• The Tied-Up Balloon (1967) Привързаният балон/Privarzaniyat balon Directed by Binka Zhelyazkova Starring Georgi Kaloyanchev, Grigor Vachkov, Ivan Bratanov• The White Room (1968) Бялата стая/Byalata staya Directed by Metodi Andonov Starring Apostol Karamitev, Elena Rainova, Dorotea Toncheva

What-ho, Cinema60 fans! Six seasons we hath returned, recorded, and bearing our newfangled episodes. In this, our triumphant premiere we speaketh, perchance to wax lyrical, about the works of The Bard – on this April 23, his day of birth! Well enow, we'll cease our foolishness. But there were quite a few direct Shakespeare adaptations in the decade, let alone movies inspired by Shakespeare (West Side Story, anyone?). Whether you've read or seen these plays a thousand times, or are a first timer, the ‘60s offer a nice evolution from stage-bound adaptations to fully fledged cinematic delights.In this episode, Bart and Jenna dive deep into a multitudinous flote of Shakespearean films in one fell swoop. Bart, a once English major, finds these films bedazzling. Jenna, green-eyed monster that she is, complains heartily about the lackluster source material – but the lady doth protest too much, methinks. They has’t a lively debate over how to approach these films, and about what it takes to adapt something as stylized as Shakespeare to a medium that leans so heavily towards realism. Though they each have their personal favorites amongst the episode’s selections, there’s one that they can agree is one of the decade’s greatest successes by any standard.The following films are discussed:• Hamlet (1964) Гамлет Directed by Grigoriy Kozintsev Starring Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Mikhail Nazvanov, Anastasiya Vertinskaya• Chimes at Midnight (1965) Campanadas a medianoche Directed by Orson Welles Starring Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud• Othello (1965) Directed by Stuart Burge Starring Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Maggie Smith• The Taming of The Shrew (1967) Directed by Franco Zeffirelli Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Michael York• Romeo and Juliet (1968) Directed by Franco Zeffirelli Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968) Directed by Peter Hall Starring Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm

When A Hard Days Night exploded onto the scene in 1964, its charm and success was simply ripe for some good ol’ fashioned bootlegging. What followed was half a decade of wannabe music movies – specifically, movies in which pop bands play themselves while still following a strictly scripted plot. Mainly these were vehicles for British boy bands, but eventually they started to extend over to the Americas – where they warped from wholesome to hippie.In this season finale, Bart and Jenna tackle several of these band movies head on – and with Head on. It’s an episode full of high highs (marijuana and LSD) and low lows (Herman’s Hermits and Freddie and the Dreamers), but quite frankly they’re all a treat as its such a decade-specific genre. Get ready for a whole lot of restless youths, square plots, stoner humor, and screaming, adoring fans.The following films are discussed:• Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964) Directed by Jeremy Summers Starring Gerry & The Pacemakers, Mona Washbourne, Cilla Black• Having a Wild Weekend (1965) Catch Us If You Can Directed by John Boorman Starring The Dave Clark Five, Barbara Ferris, Yootha Joyce• Help! (1965) Directed by Richard Lester Starring The Beatles, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron• Hold On! (1966) Directed by Arthur Lubin Starring Herman’s Hermits, Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Langdon• The Cuckoo Patrol (1967) Directed by Duncan Wood Starring Freddie & The Dreamers, Kenneth Connor, Victor Maddern• Good Times (1967) Directed by William Friedkin Starring Sonny & Cher, George Sanders, Norman Alden• Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) Directed by Saul Swimmer Starring Herman’s Hermits, Sheila White, Sarah Caldwell• Head (1968) Directed by Bob Rafelson Starring The Monkees, Victor Mature, Annette FunicelloAlso mentioned:• The Ghost Goes Gear (1966) Directed by Hugh Gladwish Starring The Spencer Davis Group, Nicholas Parsons, Sheila White• Los chicos con las chicas (1967) Directed by Javier Aguirre Starring Los Bravos, Enriqueta Carballeira, Manolo Gómez Bur• Dame un poco de amooor...! (1968) Directed by José María Forqué Starring Los Bravos, Rosenda Monteros, Luis Peña

In a follow up to the Ukrainian National Cinema episode, Cinema60 finally addresses the beautiful, surreal and unfairly banned films of Sergei Parajanov and Yuri Ilyenko – two figures that are essential to the story of what was getting made in that region while it was under Soviet control. In the case of Parajanov, his films of the ‘60s are amongst the most striking and influential ever made. In the case of Ilyenko, a lesser known but equally astonishing filmmaker, his unique visual sense of rhythm and movement are a sight to behold. Together, they made Shadows of the Forgotten Ancestors, a film that launched both of their careers towards a path of subversive, politically charged cinema that got them in trouble with Soviet authorities for decades to come.In this episode, Bart & Jenna start with Parjanov’s straightforward Soviet Realist films from the early 60s, and then jump into the more radical work of Parajanov and Ilyenko in the later ‘60s. Hopefully our hosts’ struggles to make sense out of these challenging films will encourage listeners to be less fearful of the unknown – an entirely rewarding journey for those to attempt it.The following films are discussed:• Ukrainian Rhapsody (1961) Українська рапсодія (Ukrainskaya rapsodiya) Directed by Sergei Parajanov Starring Olga Reus-Petrenko, Eduard Koshman, Yuriy Gulyayev• Flower on the Stone (1962) Цветок на камне (Tsvetok na kamne) Directed by Sergei Parajanov & Anatoly Slesarenko Starring Inna Burduchenko, Lyudmila Cherepanova, Boris Dmokhovsky• Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) Тіні забутих предків (Tini zabutykh predkiv) Directed by Sergei Parajanov Cinematography by Yuri Ilyenko Starring Ivan Mikolaychuk, Larisa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva• A Spring for the Thirsty (1965) Криниця для спраглих (Krynytsya dlya sprahlykh) Directed by Yuri Ilyenko Starring Dmitri Milyutenko, Larisa Kadochnikova, Feodosiya Litvinenko• Kyiv Frescoes (1966) Киевские фрески (Kiyevskiye freski) Directed by Sergei Parajanov Starring Tengiz Archvadze, Vladimir Artman, Alexandr Kotchekov• Hakob Hovnatanyan (1967) Հակոբ Հովնաթանյան Directed by Sergei Parajanov• The Eve of Ivan Kupalo (1968) Вечір на Івана Купала (Vechir na Ivana Kupala) Directed by Yuri Ilyenko Starring Boris Khmelnitskiy, Larisa Kadochnikova, Yefim Fridman• The Color of Pomegranates (1969) Նռան գույնը (Sayat Nova) Directed by Sergei Parajanov Starring Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan