1964 Line-ups.

This was a muuuuuch better year than the past couple. Might be my favorite so far of the decade. It helps that a top-ten all-time film tops my list, but there's still a ton of love beyond that. It's great to see Dr. Strangelove live up after having not seen it in many years. It long existed as my favorite Kubrick at the time, but wasn't sure if it'd hold up the same - it most certainly does though. I was surprised, however, to find I preferred Hayden's performance to Scott's despite feeling Scott was long an all-time favorite for me. Still fantastic, but knocked down a peg when getting a better look into Hayden's chilling work. The ensemble as a whole, as well, remains maybe one of the best ever - especially with Sellers' towering triple-work.

Amazing how Fail-Safe fails to receive even half the acclaim that its counterpart does is beyond me. Perhaps some of the best work of Lumet's incredible career, and that's saying something when I consider him my second favorite director beyond Hitch. The ensemble, too, is nearly as incredible as Strangelove's. I feel like this film must have been a huge influence on shows like 24 in how it makes every situation so intense. Even a simple phone call.

In addition to these great works, Japan continues to fire on all cylinders. Onibaba certainly didn't disappoint, though I did hope for more horror than I got but that's just due to different expectations. Woman in the Dunes though is a masterpiece in visuals. Incredibly avant-garde story-telling typically puts me off, but in rare cases like this film it works marvelously.

And then to top it off, you get two of the best performances in British cinema with Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Stanley rightly deserves all the accolades, but Attenborough gave maybe my favorite performance of his yet. Just marvelous watching the two of them off each other. The film itself is incredible as well, if a bit overlong, and features a haunting John Barry score (amazing considering his output that year that this tops them all).

Really happy with this year, and still feel I had to sideline a lot of films I was interested in checking out. Nearly skipped A Fistful of Dollars too (like I likely will with For a Few Dollars More next year) only because they're showing all three films in the Dollars trilogy on the big screen in a month. I just didn't want to wait that long on the first one. What a hell of a start to a fantastic career for Leone, Eastwood, and Morricone.

Best Picture:
01. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
02. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
03. Woman in the Dunes.
04. Fail-Safe.
05. A Fistful of Dollars.
06. I Am Cuba.
07. Onibaba.
08. Séance on a Wet Afternoon.
09. A Jester's Tale.
10. Topkapi.
-----------------
11. Goldfinger.
12. Lord of the Flies.
13. The Servant.
14. Mary Poppins.
15. A Shot in the Dark.
16. A Hard Day's Night.
17. My Fair Lady.
18. Zulu.
19. Becket.
20. Blood and Black Lace.
21. Marnie.
22. The Pink Panther.
23. The Gospel According to St. Matthew.
24. Pale Flower.
25. Red Desert.
26. Band of Outsiders.

Best Director:
01. Jacques Demy - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
02. Hiroshi Teshigahara - Woman in the Dunes.
03. Sidney Lumet - Fail-Safe.
04. Mikhail Kalatozov - I Am Cuba.
05. Stanley Kubrick - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Best Actor:
01. Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
02. Richard Attenborough - Séance on a Wet Afternoon.
03. Dirk Bogarde - The Servant.
04. Peter O'Toole - Becket.
05. Rex Harrison - My Fair Lady.

Best Actress:
01. Kim Stanley - Séance on a Wet Afternoon.
02. Audrey Hepburn - My Fair Lady.
03. Nobuko Otowa - Onibaba.
04. Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins.
05. Catherine Deneuve - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Best Supporting Actor:
01. Sterling Hayden - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
02. George C. Scott - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
03. Henry Fonda - Fail-Safe.
04. Nigel Green - Zulu.
05. Frank Overton - Fail-Safe.

Best Supporting Actress:
01. Sarah Miles - The Servant.
02. Claudia Cardinale - The Pink Panther.
03. Wendy Craig - The Servant.
04. Mariko Kaga - Pale Flower.
05. Louise Latham - Marnie.

Best Original Screenplay:
01. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
02. Onibaba.
03. I Am Cuba.
04. A Jester's Tale.
05. The Pink Panther.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
02. Séance on a Wet Afternoon.
03. Fail-Safe.
04. The Servant.
05. Woman in the Dunes.

Best Ensemble:
01. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
02. Fail-Safe.
03. Zulu.
04. The Servant.
05. A Hard Day's Night.

Best Editing:
Fail-Safe.

Best Cinematography:
I Am Cuba.

Best Art Direction:
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Best Costume Design:
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Best Makeup:
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Best Visual Effects:
Mary Poppins.

Best Sound Design:
Mary Poppins.

Best Original Score:
Michel Legrand - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Best Original Song:
"Goldfinger" - Goldfinger.

Best Choreography:
Mary Poppins.

Special mention to the fact I have a damn solid top five in my own personal "Credits Sequence" category. The Pink Panther, Goldfinger, A Shot in the Dark, A Fistful of Dollars, and A Hard Day's Night all have incredible opening title sequences - and amazingly none of them created by Saul Bass.

As for '65, it's actually the year I had seen the least from prior to starting all of this. Only Repulsion and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold in my line-ups. Kwaidan, Dr. Zhivago, Chimes at Midnight, The Sound of Music, and Red Beard are my must-sees, but just about everything else is up for grabs. Feel free to send me your recs!