USCCB - (Film and Broadcasting) - Ten Best List for the Year 1967

Ten Best List for the Year 1967

The Battle of Algiers -- The 1954-58 Algerian struggle for independence from French rule is re-created in this French production directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. Sympathetic to the rebels, yet compromising neither the facts nor the personalities involved, the film's documentary-like authenticity is achieved without resort to actual newsreel footage. It is a remarkable look at the process of revolutionary terror and counter-terror that victimizes ordinary citizens on both sides. A-II-adults and adolescents (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1967
Bonnie and Clyde -- Warren Beatty's production stars himself and Faye Dunaway, with supporting cast of Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons and Michael J. Pollard, in a vivid and strikingly real re-creation of the treadmill existence of the Barrow Gang, ill-fated bank robbers of the Depression. Director Arthur Penn brings a human perspective to the gang's wildly distorted legend and their senselessly violent deaths which leaves viewers to ponder the brutal frontier ethic of American justice. Scenes of strong violence. A-IV-adults with reservations (PG) 1967
Cool Hand Luke -- Nonconformist loner (Paul Newman), sentenced to a brutal Southern prison farm, gains the respect of his fellow inmates for standing up to the guards's degrading treatment and cruel punishments. Director Stuart Rosenberg relieves the grim situation with some well-paced humor and Newman's memorable performance in the title role transforms Luke from a pathetic victim of an unjust system into a symbol of the rebellious spirit that refuses to accept the legitimacy of power. A few scenes of brutality that some might consider excessive. A-IV-adults with reservations (PG) 1967
Elvira -- Madigan Romantic 19th-century tale of a cavalry officer (Thommy Berggren) and a young circus performer (Pia Degermark) who run away to the Danish countryside for a summer's idyll but, as the chill of fall sets in, realize their future is doomed. Director Bo Widerberg's sensitive, straight-forward version of a popular Swedish legend is lushly beautiful with a darkly somber ending. Subtitles. Mature theme. A-III-adults (PG) 1967
In Cold Blood -- Meaningful screen version of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel about the senseless 1959 slaying of a Kansas family and the apprehension and hanging of their killers (Robert Blake and Scott Wilson). Director Robert Brooks takes a semi-documentary approach in re-creating these events with shattering realism but with compassion and a notable lack of sensationalism. It also explores the backgrounds and the motivations of the two criminals as well as scrutinizes the practice of capital punishment. Strong stuff but the experience is thought-provoking. A-III-adults (R) 1967
In the Heat of the Night -- One steamy night, an industrialist is murdered in Sparta, Mississippi, and the local police chief (Rod Steiger) has to rely on the scientific experience of a black homicide expert (Sidney Poitier) who is passing through town. Though the movie begins with a very suggestive sex scene, the superior acting of the two principals and the sure hand of director Norman Jewison turn a rather muddled detective plot into a balanced and significant expression of the complex racial, legal and intellectual prejudice permeating many areas of American life. A-III-adults (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1967
A Time for Burning -- Extraordinary documentary of what happened when a pastor tried to get his all-white congregation to meet with nearby blacks. Produced by the Lutheran Film Associates and directed by William Jersey, it is a moving document of troubled times and the need for human understanding. A-I-general patronage (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1967
Up the Down Staircase -- Screen version of Bel Kaufman's novel about a dedicated young teacher (Sandy Dennis) overwhelmed by school regulations, supply shortages, overcrowding, disciplinary problems and some misguided colleagues, but who manages to do some real teaching in spite of it all. Director Robert Mulligan's realistic drama about the problems of a big city high school is helped by some humor and a fine supporting cast. A-II-adults and adolescents (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1967
The War Game -- British docudrama about the effects of nuclear warfare on a civilian population features non-professionals in realistically simulated scenes. Produced, written and directed by Peter Watkins, the movie gets considerable shock value from its hypothetical events but in making the unthinkable appear possible, it raises important questions of public concern. A-III-adults (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1967
The Whisperers -- Dame Edith Evans gives a brilliant performance as an impoverished old woman, beset by loneliness and physical infirmity, victimized and abandoned by an unfeeling husband and son, and finding her only comfort in the world of her imagination. Directed by Bryan Forbes, it is a compassionate examination of the struggles of old age and achieved without false sentimentality. A-II-adults and adolescents (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1967