1968 in film

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The year 1968 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.
• November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Oliver! - Romulus, Columbia

Best Director: Carol Reed - Oliver!

Best Actor: Cliff Robertson - Charly

Best Actress (tie): Katharine Hepburn - The Lion in Winter

Best Actress (tie): Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl

Best Supporting Actor: Jack Albertson - The Subject Was Roses

Best Supporting Actress: Ruth Gordon - Rosemary's Baby

Best Foreign Language Film: War and Peace (Война и мир), directed by Sergei Bondarchuk (USSR)

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: The Lion in Winter

Best Actor: Peter O'Toole - The Lion in Winter

Best Actress: Joanne Woodward - Rachel, Rachel

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: Oliver!

Best Actor: Ron Moody - Oliver!

Best Actress: Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl

Other

Best Director: Paul Newman - Rachel, Rachel

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): canceled due to events of May 1968

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos (Artists under the Big Top: Perplexed), directed by Alexander Kluge, West Germany

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Ole dole doff (Who Saw Him Die? ), directed by Jan Troell, Sweden

Films released in 1968

U.S.A. unless stated

#

• 5 Card Stud, starring Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum
• 17th Parallel: Vietnam in War (17e Parallele Le Vietnam En Guerre), a documentary directed by Joris Ivens - (France/Vietnam)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood - (U.S./U.K.)

A

• Aadmi, starring Dilip Kumar - (India)
• All My Compatriots (Všichni dobří rodáci) - (Czechoslovakia)
• The Anniversary, starring Bette Davis - (U.K.)
• Arizona Bushwhackers
• Artists Under the Big Top (Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos), Golden Lion winner - (West Germany)
• Asterix and Cleopatra - (France/Belgium)
• The Astro-Zombies

B

• Bandolero!, starring James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch
• Barbarella, directed by Roger Vadim, starring Jane Fonda - (France/Italy)
• Berserk!, starring Joan Crawford and Diana Dors - (U.K.)
• Les Biches, directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stephane Audran and Jean-Louis Trintignant - (France)
• The Birthday Party, directed by William Friedkin - (U.K.)
• Blackbeard's Ghost, starring Dean Jones, Peter Ustinov, Suzanne Pleshette
• The Boston Strangler, starring Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda
• The Bride Wore Black (La Mariée était en noir), directed by François Truffaut, starring Jeanne Moreau and Michel Bouquet - (France)
• Brilliantovaya ruka (Diamond Arm) - a hugely popular Russian comedy - (U.S.S.R.)
• Bullitt, directed by Peter Yates, starring Steve McQueen
• Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, starring Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters, Phil Silvers, Peter Lawford, Telly Savalas

C

• Candy, starring Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, James Coburn and Ringo Starr - (France/Italy/U.S.)
• Capricious Summer, directed by Jiri Menzel - (Czechoslovakia)
• Carry On... Up the Khyber - (U.K.)
• The Charge of the Light Brigade, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Trevor Howard, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave - U.K.)
• Charly, starring Cliff Robertson
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, starring Dick Van Dyke - (U.K.)
• The Colour of Pomegranates, (Nran guyne) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Colonel Wolodyjowski, directed by Jerzy Hoffman - (Poland)
• Coogan's Bluff, starring Clint Eastwood, Susan Clark, Lee J. Cobb
• Curse of the Crimson Altar (aka The Crimson Cult) - (U.K.)

D

• Danger: Diabolik - (Italy/U.S.)
• Dark of the Sun (aka The Mercenaries) - (U.K./U.S.)
• Day of the Evil Gun, starring Glenn Ford
• Dead Season - (U.S.S.R.)
• Deadfall, starring Michael Caine - (U.K.)
• Death by Hanging (Kōshikei), directed by Nagisa Oshima - (Japan)
• Destroy All Monsters, directed by Ishirō Honda - (Japan)
• The Detective, starring Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset
• The Devil Rides Out - (U.K.)
• The Devil's Brigade, starring William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards
• The Doll (Lalka), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has - (Poland)
• Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River, starring Jerry Lewis
• Duniya, starring Dev Anand and Vyjayanthimala - (India)

F

• Faces, directed by John Cassavetes
• Finian's Rainbow, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele
• Firecreek, starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda
• The Fixer, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Alan Bates and Dirk Bogarde - (U.K.)
• For Love of Ivy
• Funny Girl, directed by William Wyler, starring Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif

G

• Gamera vs. Viras (also known as "Destroy All Planets") - (Japan)
• The Girl on a Motorcycle, starring Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull - (U.K./France)
• The Girl with the Pistol (La ragazza con la pistola), starring Monica Vitti and Stanley Baker - (Italy)
• The Great Silence (Il grande silenzio), starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski - (Italy)
• The Green Berets, directed by and starring John Wayne

H

• Hang 'Em High, starring Clint Eastwood, Pat Hingle, Inger Stevens
• Hatsukoi Jigokuhen (The Inferno of First Love) - (Japan)
• Head, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring The Monkees
• The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, starring Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke
• Hell in the Pacific, directed by John Boorman, starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune
• Hellfighters, starring John Wayne, Katharine Ross, Jim Hutton
• The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
• Hour of the Wolf, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman - (Sweden)

I

• I Love You, Alice B. Toklas, starring Peter Sellers
• Ice Station Zebra, starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Jim Brown, Ernest Borgnine
• If...., directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Malcolm McDowell - Palme d'Or winner - (U.K.)
• Il marchio di Kriminal - (Italy)/Spain)
• The Immortal Story, directed by and starring Orson Welles - (France)
• Inspector Clouseau - (U.K.)
• Isadora aka The Loves of Isadora, a biopic of Isadora Duncan, directed by Karel Reisz, starring Vanessa Redgrave - (U.K.)

J

• Je t'aime, je t'aime, directed by Alain Resnais - (France)

K

• Kill! (Kiru) - (Japan)
• The Killing of Sister George, directed by Robert Aldrich
• Kuroneko (aka Yabu no Naka no Kuroneko) - (Japan)

L

• Lady In Cement, starring Frank Sinatra, Dan Blocker, Raquel Welch
• The Lion in Winter, starring Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn - (U.K.)
• The Little Golden Calf - (U.S.S.R.)
• Live a Little, Love a Little, starring Elvis Presley
• La Marca del Hombre Lobo - (Spain)

M

• Madigan, starring Richard Widmark, Inger Stevens, Henry Fonda, James Whitmore, Susan Clark
• The Magus, starring Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn and Candice Bergen - (U.K.)
• The Man Who Lies, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant - (France/Czechoslovakia)
• Matthew's Days (Żywot Mateusza) - (Poland)
• Mayerling, starring Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve - (U.K./France)
• Memories of Underdevelopment (Memorias del Subdesarrollo) - (Cuba)
• The Mercenary, also known as A Professional Gun - (Italy)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Peter Hall, starring Derek Godfrey, Ian Holm, Judi Dench and Helen Mirren - (U.K.)
• Monterey Pop, a concert film by D. A. Pennebaker, featuring Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & the Papas, Jimi Hendrix and others
• More Dead Than Alive

N

• Neel Kamal - (India)
• Never a Dull Moment, starring Dick Van Dyke
• The Night of the Following Day, starring Marlon Brando, Richard Boone, Rita Moreno
• Night of the Living Dead, the 1st in the zombie trilogy by George A. Romero
• Nobody's Perfect, starring Doug McClure
• No Way to Treat a Lady, starring Rod Steiger, George Segal, Lee Remick
• Las Noches del Hombre Lobo (Nights of the Werewolf) - (Spain/France)

O

• The Odd Couple, directed by Gene Saks, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
• Ole dole doff, directed by Jan Troell - Golden Bear winner - (Sweden)
• Oliver!, directed by Carol Reed, starring Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Shani Wallis, Jack Wild, Mark Lester - winner of 6 Academy Awards - (U.K.)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era una volta il West), directed by Sergio Leone, starring Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards - (Italy)
• The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, starring Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen, Kurt Russell, Wally Cox, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson

P

• Padosan, starring Sunil Dutt - (India)
• The Party, starring Peter Sellers and Claudine Longet
• Performance, directed by Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell, starring Mick Jagger and James Fox - (U.K.)
• Petulia, starring Julie Christie and George C. Scott - (U.K./U.S.)
• Planet of the Apes, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter
• The Power, starring George Hamilton
• Pretty Poison, starring Tuesday Weld
• The Producers, written and directed by Mel Brooks, starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars
• The Profound Desire of the Gods, directed by Shohei Imamura - (Japan)
• Prudence and the Pill, starring Deborah Kerr and David Niven - (U.K.)

R

• Rachel, Rachel, directed by Paul Newman and starring Joanne Woodward
• Rogue's Gallery
• Romeo and Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey - (U.K./Italy)
• Rosemary's Baby, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes

S

• Saathi, starring Vyjayanthimala, Rajendra Kumar and Simi Garewal - (India)
• Salt and Pepper, directed by Richard Donner, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford - (U.K.)
• Satanik - (Italy/Spain)
• The Scalphunters, starring Burt Lancaster, Ossie Davis and Telly Savalas
• The Sea Gull, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Simone Signoret - (U.S./U.K./Greece)
• Sebastian - (U.K.)
• The Secret Life of an American Wife, starring Walter Matthau
• The Secret War of Harry Frigg, starring Paul Newman
• The Sergeant, starring Rod Steiger and John Phillip Law
• The Shakiest Gun in the West, starring Don Knotts
• Shalako, starring Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot - (U.K.)
• Shame (Skammen), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow - (Sweden)
• Signs of Life (Lebenszeichen), directed by Werner Herzog - (West Germany)
• The Shoes of the Fisherman, starring Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Leo McKern, David Janssen
• Single Room Furnished, starring Jayne Mansfield in her final film
• Skidoo, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Jackie Gleason and, in his final film, Groucho Marx
• Speedway, starring Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra
• Spirits of the Dead, directed by Federico Fellini, Louis Malle and Roger Vadim, starring Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda - (France/Italy)
• The Stalking Moon, starring Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint
• Star!, starring Julie Andrews
• Stay Away, Joe, starring Elvis Presley
• Stolen Kisses (Baisers volés), directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Leaud and Delphine Seyrig - (France)
• The Strange Affair, starring Susan George - (U.K.)
• The Subject was Roses, starring Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson, Martin Sheen
• Sunghursh, starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala - (India)
• The Swedish Kings (Shvedskite krale), directed by Lyudmil Kirkov, starring Kiril Gospodinov - (Bulgaria)
• The Sweet Ride, starring Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset
• The Swimmer, starring Burt Lancaster

T

• Targets, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Boris Karloff
• Teorema, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini - (Italy)
• The Thomas Crown Affair, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway
• Three in the Attic, starring Christopher Jones
• Twisted Nerve - (U.K.)

U

• The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme Infidele), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stephane Audran - (France)
• Up the Junction - (U.K.)

V

• Vixen!, directed by Russ Meyer

W

• What's So Bad About Feeling Good?, starring George Peppard and Mary Tyler Moore
• Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows, starring Rosalind Russell
• Where Eagles Dare, starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood - (U.K./U.S.)
• Wild In The Streets, starring Christopher Jones
• Will Penny, starring Charlton Heston
• Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (animation short)
• Witchfinder General, directed by Michael Reeves, starring Vincent Price - (U.K.)

Y

• Yellow Submarine, an animated film with music by The Beatles - (U.K.)
• Yours, Mine and Ours, starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda

Short film series

• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)
• Daffy Duck (1937-1968)

Births

• January 2 – Cuba Gooding Jr., actor
• January 6 – John Singleton, director and writer
• January 14 – LL Cool J, rapper, actor
• February 1 – Pauly Shore, actor
• February 12 - Josh Brolin, American actor
• February 18 – Molly Ringwald, actress
• March 2 – Daniel Craig, actor
• March 4 – Patsy Kensit, actress
• March 30 – Celine Dion, singer
• April 8 – Patricia Arquette, actress
• April 14 – Anthony Michael Hall, actor
• April 24 – Stacy Haiduk, actress
• April 19 – Ashley Judd, actress
• May 20 – Timothy Olyphant, actor
• July 22 – Rhys Ifans, actor and singer
• July 26 – Olivia Williams, actress
• September 10 – Guy Ritchie, director, writer, previously married to Madonna
• September 25 – Will Smith, actor
• September 28 – Naomi Watts, actress
• December 2 – Lucy Liu, actress
• December 3 – Brendan Fraser, actor

Deaths

• February 7 – Nick Adams, 36, American actor
• February 13 – Mae Marsh, 73, American actress
• March 16 – June Collyer, 61, American actress
• March 30 – Bobby Driscoll, 31, American actor
• April 16 – Fay Bainter, 74, American actress
• April 24 – Tommy Noonan, 45, American actor
• May 5 – Albert Dekker, 62, American actor
• May 9 – Marion Lorne, 84, American actress
• May 10 – Scotty Beckett, 38, American actor
• May 21 – Doris Lloyd, 71, British actress
• June 4 – Dorothy Gish, 70, American actress
• June 7 – Dan Duryea, 61, American actor
• June 24 – Tony Hancock, 44, British comedian
• July 1 – Alice Guy-Blaché, 94, pioneer French/American filmmaker
• July 1 – Virginia Weidler, 42, American actress
• July 27 – Lilian Harvey, 62, British actress and singer
• July 30 – Alexander Hall, 74, American director
• August 23 – Hunt Stromberg, 74, American producer
• August 26 – Kay Francis, 69, American actress
• September 3 – Isabel Withers, 72, American actress
• September 18 – Franchot Tone, 63, American actor
• October 18 – Lee Tracy, 70, American actor
• October 30 – Ramón Novarro, 69, Mexican actor
• October 30 – Pert Kelton, 61, American actress
• November 8 – Wendell Corey, 54, American actor
• November 18 – Walter Wanger, 74, American producer
• November 25 – Upton Sinclair, 90, American writer and producer
• December 12 – Tallulah Bankhead, 66, American actress
• December 15 – Dorothy Abbott, 47, American actress

Film Debuts

• John Cleese
• Timothy Dalton
• Robert De Niro
• Goldie Hawn
• Ian Holm
• Anthony Hopkins
• Malcolm McDowell
• George A. Romero(director)
• Martin Scorsese(director)
• Barbra Streisand

References

External links

• "Filmmaking in West Germany, 1968" (Goethe-Institut)