The best foreign films of the 60s: "Spartacus", "Cleopatra" and "The Magnificent Seven"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Any experienced film critic with amazing ease can talk about the pillars of the modern film industry - they will give examples of directors who have radically changed their views on cinema, they will mention classic films that have become milestones in the progress of this art form, they will prioritize the main plot constructions and templates. At the same time, we can safely guarantee that the best foreign films of the 60s will appear in each such historical digression, namely: Spartacus, Cleopatra and The Magnificent Seven.

Historical drama

In 1960, following Paths of Glory, producer Kirk Douglas and director Stanley Kubrick created an even grander and more powerful film - a biopic about the uprising of Roman slaves led by the gladiator Spartacus. The picture often occupies a leading position among the best foreign films of the 60s. The script came from the pen of D alton Trumbo, reflecting his idea of ancient history. The four-Oscar-winning historical drama has little in common with the classic novel. Giovanioli.

In the film "Spartacus" (1960), the director tried not only to stun the audience with the scale of the battles between detachments of rebellious slaves and Roman troops, but to create vivid memorable images of key characters: Spartacus (C. Douglas) and Crassus (L. Russian salad). Unlike other peplums of the 60s, the actors played not only within the framework of the traditions of psychological realism - the director's vision involved touching on difficult philosophical topics. Now Kubrick's work is positioned as the best Hollywood film about antiquity and one of the greatest achievements of world cinema of the 60s.

The vicissitudes of production

The filming process of the tape was very difficult. The 32-year-old director quarreled with everyone - from screenwriter D alton Trumbo to Peter Ustinov, who bothered the director with advice. Producer and part-time performer of the main role Kirk Douglas could not relieve his annoyance after the role of Ben-Hur went not to him, but to Charlton Heston. Conflicts also broke out between the actors every now and then. The film crew grew to 10,000 people. 5,000 military sets of armor were made, several thousand sculptures were brought from Italian museums. In the extras, the creators used the soldiers of the Spanish army - 8 thousand people portrayed Roman legionnaires, up to 50,000 participants were simultaneously involved in large-scale battle scenes. According to experts, today the cost of creating such a project would exceed $200 million.

One of the pinnacles of the genre

However, the most expensive andthe large-scale peplum of that time period is by no means the brainchild of Kubrick, but the film Cleopatra (1963). At the time the filming of the Joseph Mankiewicz project began, it was the most expensive production in Hollywood, and after that it began to be considered the most famous work of the acting duet of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Both performers received a record fee for those times. Although there is currently one director in the credits, there were three during the four years of filming. Ruben Mamulyan began work on the tape, and the producer Daryl Zanuk completed it. He considered it necessary to independently control the process of editing the many hours of Cleopatra material. Interest around the film at the production stage was fueled by the media for any reason. However, there were plenty of them: regular scandals between E. Taylor and R. Barton could at any moment end in a divorce, which, in the end, did happen.

"Cleopatra" is always included in the list of the best foreign films of the 60s, because she triumphantly went around all the movie screens of the world, however, sometimes with many years of delay. Although, according to film experts, the film in terms of directing is noticeably inferior to the works of W. Wyler and S. Kubrick.

American hit

The classic western by John Sturges is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's philosophical drama Seven Samurai. At the same time, enjoying wild success with viewers around the world, The Magnificent Seven, in turn, caused a lot of imitations and even a reboot. In the American version, the underlying history of the defenderspeasants from bandits primarily relied on the popularity of Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner. Residents of a provincial Mexican town, tired of the devastating raids of the Culvera gang, decide to hire a team of shooters to ensure their safety. Soon, seven brave men arrive in the city, repelling the outnumbered bandits.

The world will always need heroes

Despite the fact that the work of Sturges frankly loses in artistic significance to Kurosawa's masterpiece, it is an invariable component among the best foreign films of the 60s. We should pay tribute to the skill of the director, who presented the adventure story about the seven defenders of justice in a fascinating and expressive way. The exciting musical accompaniment of Elmer Bernstein greatly enhances the dramatic tension, prompting the viewer to worry about the fate of the brave heroes. The film looks interesting, although it immediately becomes clear that this time the good, armed with Colts, will surely triumph.

A delightful cast, a brilliant story, generously flavored with great musical accompaniment, cannot leave the viewer indifferent - the picture was an incredible success at the time of the premiere and still remains one of the most popular classic films. And the appearance of the 2016 remake speaks for itself - the world needs heroes again!