Year by year: 1961
My 50 favorite films of 1961
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50 titles
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnita EkbergAnouk AiméeA series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsSilvia PinalFrancisco RabalFernando ReyViridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
- DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsPaul NewmanJackie GleasonPiper LaurieAn up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaTamao NakamuraHis ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsVittorio De SicaHannes MessemerSandra MiloBardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsJeanne MoreauMarcello MastroianniMonica VittiA day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsAudrey HepburnGeorge PeppardPatricia NealA young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsNatalie WoodWarren BeattyPat HingleThe love of high school sweethearts Deanie and Bud is weighed down by the oppressive expectations of their parents and society in smalltown Kansas in 1928, threatening the future of their relationship.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonGunnar BjörnstrandMax von SydowRecently released from a mental hospital, Karin rejoins her emotionally disconnected family in their island home, only to slip from reality as she begins to believe she is being visited by God.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkIn 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
- DirectorLuis García BerlangaStarsCassenJosé Luis López VázquezElvira QuintilláIn a small Spanish town, a group of old ladies decides to celebrate Christmas Eve with a "seat a poor man at your table" dinner: each wealthy household of the town will have a homeless person dining with them that night. The celebrations also include a parade, and in its midst is Plácido, the humble owner of a three-wheeler, whose family is forced to live in a public lavatory because they lack the money to pay rent, and who must pay the second bill on his vehicle before midnight or else he will lose it.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsAnna KarinaJean-Claude BrialyJean-Paul BelmondoAn exotic dancer is desperate to become a mother and accepts her reluctant boyfriend's suggestion that she be impregnated by his best friend.
- DirectorIsmael RodríguezStarsToshirô MifuneColumba DomínguezFlor SilvestreAnimas Trujano is a colorful but irresponsible Indian in a small Mexican village. He hopes above all things someday to be chosen mayordomio of his village, a place of great honor usually conferred upon the wealthiest and most respected citizens. Animas has a loyal wife, but cheats on her and gambles away every cent they raise. Chances arise for Animas to turn over a new leaf and even hope realistically for the honor of mayordomio. But will Animas behave responsibly enough to take advantage of these opportunities?
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsVladimir IvashovZhanna ProkhorenkoAntonina MaksimovaYoung Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsRita TushinghamDora BryanRobert StephensA pregnant teenage girl must fend for herself when her mother remarries, leaving the girl with only a new male friend for support.
- DirectorJacques DemyStarsAnouk AiméeMarc MichelJacques HardenA bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsSidney PoitierClaudia McNeilRuby DeeA substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsHideko TakamineKeiji SadaTatsuya NakadaiA young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsClark GableMarilyn MonroeMontgomery CliftA divorcée falls for an over-the-hill cowboy who is struggling to maintain his romantically independent lifestyle.
- DirectorPeter GlenvilleStarsLaurence HarveyGeraldine PageRita MorenoA plain, repressed spinster falls for a dashing young medical student who prefers the wilder life, until it's too late.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsAudrey HepburnShirley MacLaineJames GarnerA rebellious student at a girls' school accuses two teachers of lesbianism.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.