At The Movies----1968

It was back to a musical for the Best Picture Oscar in 1968 as OLIVER! was the choice. The film, based on the stage musical of the same name and the Charles Dickens' novel,OLIVER TWIST,was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won 6, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Sound and a special Academy Award for Choreorgraphy.

All of that is on display in this movie trailer about the film from 1968....



It was a good year for movie musicals in 1968 as FUNNY GIRL with Barbara Streisand was also up for Best Picture.

Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, it won only one, with Barbra Streisand in her first motion picture, taking Best Actress honors(along with Katherine Hepburn). It was the same role Streisand played on Broadway and, as you both see and hear from this trailer, the movie contained many wonderful songs...and one line of the script...that lives on today...

As we mentioned, the Best Actress Academy Award was shared by Barbra Streisand with Katherine Hepburn for her role as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine in the film, THE LION IN WINTER (the only such tie in Oscar history). The historical costume drama was a fictional account of King Henry II of England(played by Peter O'Tootle) and his very dsyfunctional family as Richard seeks to decide who will succeed him on the throne.

The movie was nominated for 7 Academy Awards and won 3, including Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Music Score.

Here's a taste of the film from this 1968 trailer....


The final 1968 Best Picture nominee film I want to talk about also comes from English history. In this case, it's William Shakespeare's immortal classic of star-crossed lovers, ROMEO & JULIET.The film was nominated for 4 Oscars and won 2 (Best Cinematography & Best Costume Design). The song from the movie, "A Time For Us" also became a major hit on the pop charts as an instrumental.

It made a major star (and teen-age boy heartrob) of Olivia Hussey and also featured a very young Michael York among the cast.The movie was also somewhat unique in casting the major roles to an actor and actress who were the young ages that Shakespeare envisioned in writing the play. It is often difficult to achieve critical acclaim in trying to put on film a timeless classic, but as you will see in this trailer, Director Franco Zefirelli made it happen...

As we continue to prepare for our Sing-Out South 45th Reunion March 25-26 at the Maxwell House Hotel, join us next time for At The Movies--1969, to look back as such diverse films as MIDNIGHT COWBOY, ANNE OF A THOUSAND DAYS, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID & HELLO DOLLY!