BY LACEY WOMACK
DEC 01, 2019
Even
though there are great movies coming out all the time, a lot of these
contemporary films have been heavily inspired by movies that were released
decades ago. Movies, TV shows, and generally the way that we live our lives and
the things that get huge in the world of pop culture have been inspired by what
was released in the past. Many people still love to watch movies that came out
decades ago, sometimes even before they were born, and we definitely see why.
Movies are a form of media that have a huge
impact on pop culture. The 1960s was a decade that saw a huge turn in the way
people lived their lives and what was popular in media consumption. This decade
was a turning point in a lot of ways, and the movies of the times definitely
reflected that. These are the most culturally influential movies of the 1960s.
10 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
If you
watch TV shows like The Walking Dead or basically any movie that features
zombies, you can thank this 1968 film for popularizing the monster. Zombies
have been a subject of myths and legends in different cultures for a long time,
but they didn't see much attention in the cinematic world until George A.
Romero released this cult classic, Night of the Living Dead.
This movie follows a group of people who find
themselves trapped in a Pennsylvania farmhouse when a group of terrifying
"living dead" creatures rise from the grave and descend upon their
home. On top of inspiring movies and TV shows for years to come, this movie was
groundbreaking at the time of its release because of the fact that the
protagonist was played by Duane Jones, a black actor, which was seen as a
controversial choice at the time.
9 DR. NO (1962)
James
Bond has become an iconic character in the world of movies. When many people
think about spy films, they immediately think of 007 himself. James Bond has
appeared in 27 movies and references to this spy have appeared in tons of other
movies and TV shows over the years.
All those references started with a single
movie. Dr. No was released in 1962 and stars Sean Connery as the iconic James
Bond, a British spy who was originally created in the novel of the same name by
Ian Fleming. This movie had a relatively low budget, considering what a success
it was.
8 PSYCHO (1960)
It's hard to think about movies from this part
of the 20th century without immediately thinking about Alfred Hitchcock. Films
like Rebecca, Rear Window, and Vertigo are classics from the 1940s and 1950s.
But when it comes to the 1960s, Psycho is among the most famous horror movies
ever made.
This movie was released in 1960 and follows a
secretary named Marion who finds herself at a hotel run by a man named Norman
Bates. Her stay goes horribly wrong and introduces us to one of the most
infamous characters in horror movie history.
7 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
In the
Heat of the Night is a movie that was released in 1967 and is based on a novel
of the same name by John Ball. This film is set in a fictional southern town
and follows a black police detective who is tasked with investigating a heinous
crime.
This movie's plot, cast, and the time period in
which it was released all lead to it becoming critically acclaimed and the
winner of five Academy Awards. In 2002, In the Heat of the Night was selected
for its cultural significance to be put in the National Film Registry.
6 DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP
WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)
Released
in 1964, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
is a political satire and black comedy film that was directed by Stanley
Kubrick. This movie is a satirical take on the Cold War and follows a US Air
Force General who orders a strike on the Soviet Union and the aftermath of this
order.
After it was released, this movie was nominated
for and won several awards, including multiple nominations for Academy Awards.
It's Stanley Kubrick's highest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes and has gone on
to serve as an inspiration for satirical comedies for decades.
5 THE APARTMENT (1960)
The Apartment was released in 1960, the same
decade in which Fred and Wilma Flintstone became the first couple to be in bed
together on primetime TV. Because of the fact that this was a time period in
which personal relationships like that were still pretty taboo in media, The
Apartment is a movie that really broke some boundaries.
This movie follows an insurance clerk who
allows his co-workers to use his New York City apartment to host their
extramarital affairs in the hopes of getting ahead in his own career. This
movie touched on taboo subjects and has since become a classic, even securing a
spot in the National Film Registry.
4 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
2001: A
Space Odyssey is a science-fiction movie that was directed by Stanley Kubrick
and released in 1968. This movie is regarded as a classic and has even been put
into the National Film Registry.
The movie deals with themes of human evolution
throughout time and into the future. Considering the fact that it was released
in the late 1960s, this movie had some pretty incredible and ambitious special
effects that, paired with the unique narrative methods, made this movie
incredibly influential.
3 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
The
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a Spaghetti Western that was released in 1996
and stars Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef. It was marketed as
the third and final installment in the trilogy of movies that include A Fistful
of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.
The movie follows three gunslingers who are all
competing to try to find a buried cache of gold during the American Civil War.
This movie is a classic example of the Spaghetti Western genre and is among the
first movies to launch Clint Eastwood into stardom.
2 BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961)
Breakfast
at Tiffany's was released in 1961 and stars Aubrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly,
a naive and eccentric New York City socialite. The movie is based on a Truman
Capote novella by the same name and, along with winning multiple awards when it
was released, was put into the National Film Registry.
The movie became a classic, with the images of
Hepburn in the film among the most iconic images from mid-20th century cinema.
The movie has also received some negative attention and has become a common
example of racial insensitivity in cinema for Mickey Rooney's portrayal of I.
Y. Yunioshi.
1 EASY RIDER (1969)
Easy
Rider was released in 1969, closing out the 1960s. It was an incredibly
influential film that went on to inspire a new movement in Hollywood known as
New Hollywood. This movie stars Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper and was written,
produced, and directed by them as well.
The movie may have come out at the tail end of
the 1960s, but the plot of these two bikers traveling across the US in order to
do a nefarious deal really touched on a huge part of the culture of the decade,
as people began to change their lifestyles from the way that people lived in
the '40s and '50s.