1969 in film

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The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.

Events

• Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980. From 1969 to 1979, the festival is non-competitive.

Al Pacino's Film Debut

Top grossing films (U.S.)

Rank	Title	Studio	Actors	Gross
1.	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	20th Century Fox	Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross	$45,953,000
2.	They Shoot Horses, Don't They?	Cinerama	Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Gig Young, Susannah York	$23,150,000
3.	On Her Majesty's Secret Service	United Artists	George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas	$22,800,000
4.	Midnight Cowboy	United Artists	Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman	$20,499,000
5.	Easy Rider	Columbia	Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson	$19,100,000
6.	Hello, Dolly!	20th Century Fox	Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau	$15,200,000
7.	Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice	Columbia	Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Dyan Cannon, Elliott Gould	$14,600,000
8.	Cactus Flower	Columbia	Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn	$14,500,000
9.	True Grit	Paramount	John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby	$14,250,000
10.	The Wild Bunch	Warner Bros.	William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan	$11,850,000

(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Midnight Cowboy - Hellman-Schlesinger, United Artists

Best Director: John Schlesinger, Midnight Cowboy

Best Actor: John Wayne - True Grit

Best Actress: Maggie Smith - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Best Supporting Actor : Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Best Supporting Actress : Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower

Best Foreign Language Film: Z, directed by Costa-Gavras, Algeria

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: Anne of the Thousand Days

Best Actor: John Wayne - True Grit

Best Actress: Geneviève Bujold - Anne of the Thousand Days

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: The Secret of Santa Vittoria

Best Actor: Peter O'Toole - Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Best Actress: Patty Duke - Me, Natalie

Other

Best Director: Charles Jarrott - Anne of the Thousand Days

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

If...., directed by Lindsay Anderson, United Kingdom

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival): Not awarded

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Rani Radovi (Early Works), directed by Zelimir Zilnik, Yugoslavia

Films released in 1969

U.S.A. unless stated

A

• Ådalen 31, directed by Bo Widerberg - (Sweden)
• Adelheid - (Czechoslovakia)
• The Adjutant of His Excellency - (U.S.S.R.)
• Age of Consent, starring James Mason and Helen Mirren - (Australia)
• Alfred the Great, starring David Hemmings - (U.K.)
• Alice's Restaurant, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Arlo Guthrie
• All Monsters Attack - (Japan)
• All My Compatriots (Všichni dobří rodáci) - (Czechoslovakia)
• Andrei Rublev - by Andrei Tarkovsky - (screening in Moscow and at the Cannes Film Festival 1969 / Official USSR release, 20 min. shorter, in 1971) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Angel in My Pocket, starring Andy Griffith
• Anne of the Thousand Days, starring Richard Burton and Geneviève Bujold - winner of 4 Golden Globes - (U.K.)
• The April Fools, starring Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve
• Aradhana (Worship) - (India)
• Army of Shadows (L'armée des ombres), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura and Simone Signoret - (France)
• The Arrangement, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Kirk Douglas
• The Assassination Bureau, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas - (U.K.)

'B

• Bambi Meets Godzilla (very short cult film)
• Battle of Britain, starring Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer - (U.K.)
• Battle of Neretva (Bitka na Neretvi), starring Sergei Bondarchuk and Yul Brynner - (Yugoslavia)
• The Bed-Sitting Room, directed by Richard Lester - (U.K.)
• Before Winter Comes, starring David Niven - (U.K.)
• The Big Bounce, starring Ryan O'Neal and Leigh Taylor-Young
• Blood of Dracula's Castle
• Blue Movie by Andy Warhol
• Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon
• Boy (Shonen), directed by Nagisa Oshima - (Japan)
• A Boy Named Charlie Brown
• The Bridge at Remagen
• The Brothers Karamazov (Bratya Karamazovy) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Burn!, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, starring Marlon Brando - (Italy)
• The Bushbaby, directed by John Trent and starring Margaret Brooks and Lou Gossett
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford

C

• Cactus Flower, starring Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn
• Carry On Camping - (U.K.)
• The Chairman, starring Gregory Peck
• Che!, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Omar Sharif
• The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
• The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol) - (Czechoslovakia)

D

• The Damned (La caduta degli dei), directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Dirk Bogarde and Ingrid Thulin - (Italy/West Germany)
• De Sade - (U.S./West Germany)
• Death Rides a Horse (U.S. release)
• Double Suicide (Shinjū: Ten no amijima) - (Japan)
• Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman
• The Dragon of Evil Against the Warrior Saint (O Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro) - (Brazil)

E

• Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper, starring Peter Fonda, Hopper and Jack Nicholson
• Eros Plus Massacre (Erosu purasu gyakusatsu) - (Japan)

F

• Fellini Satyricon, directed by Federico Fellini - (Italy)
• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Directed by Terence Fisher, starring Peter Cushing - (U.K.)
• Funeral Parade of Roses (Bara no Sōretsu), by Toshio Matsumoto - (Japan)

G

• Gamera vs. Guiron - (Japan)
• A Gentle Woman (Une femme douce), directed by Robert Bresson, starring Dominique Sanda - (France)
• Goodbye, Columbus, starring Richard Benjamin and Ali MacGraw
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips, starring Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark
• Goyokin, directed by Hideo Gosha - (Japan)
• The Grasshopper, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Jim Brown

H

• Hamlet, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Nicol Williamson, Marianne Faithfull, Anthony Hopkins - (U.K.)
• Handcuffs (Lisice) - (Yugoslavia)
• Hello, Dolly!, directed by Gene Kelly, starring Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford
• Hello Down There, starring Tony Randall, Janet Leigh, Jim Backus, Charlotte Rae, Ken Berry
• Honeycomb, directed by Carlos Saura - (Spain)
• Hook, Line & Sinker, starring Jerry Lewis and Peter Lawford
• How to Commit Marriage, starring Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Jane Wyman, Tina Louise

I

• If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, starring Suzanne Pleshette and Ian McShane
• I'm an Elephant, Madame (Ich bin ein Elefant, Madame) - (West Germany)
• The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward - (U.K.)
• It's Tough Being a Man - (Japan)

J

• John and Mary, starring Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow

K

• Katzelmacher, directed by and starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder with Hanna Schygulla - (West Germany)
• Kes, directed by Ken Loach - (U.K.)
• Khamoshi (Silence) - (India)

L

• The Land (Al-ard), directed by Youssef Chahine - (Egypt)
• Larks on a String (Skřivánci na niti), directed by Jiří Menzel - (Czechoslovakia) - banned until 1990
• Last Summer, starring Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, Catherine Burns
• The Learning Tree, directed by Gordon Parks
• Love Is Colder Than Death (Liebe — kälter als der Tod), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder - (West Germany)

M

• The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr, Raquel Welch - (U.K.)
• Marlowe, starring James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Rita Moreno, Bruce Lee
• Marooned, starring Gregory Peck, David Janssen, Richard Crenna, James Franciscus, Gene Hackman
• Medea, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, starring Maria Callas - (Italy/France/West Germany)
• Medium Cool, directed by Haskell Wexler
• Midnight Cowboy, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman
• The Milky Way (La Voie Lactée), directed by Luis Buñuel - (France/Italy/West Germany)
• Mississippi Mermaid (La sirène du Mississipi), directed by François Truffaut, starring Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo - (France)
• Monte Carlo or Bust - starring Tony Curtis, Peter Sellers and Dudley Moore - (U.K./France/Italy)
• Mosquito Squadron - (U.K.)
• My Night at Maud's (Ma nuit chez Maud), directed by Éric Rohmer - (France)

N

• Number One, starring Charlton Heston

O

• Oh! What a Lovely War, directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, John Mills - (U.K.)
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service, starring George Lazenby as James Bond with Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas - (U.K.)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (U.S. release), directed by Sergio Leone, starring Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Henry Fonda

P

• Paint Your Wagon, directed by Joshua Logan, starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg with songs by Lerner and Loewe
• The Passion of Anna, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullman, Bibi Andersson - (Sweden)
• Play Dirty, starring Michael Caine - (U.K.)
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Maggie Smith (Academy Award winner) - (U.K.)
• The Promise - (U.K.)
• Putney Swope, directed by Robert Downey Sr.

Q

• A Quiet Place in the Country (Un tranquillo posto di campagna), starring Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave - (Italy/France)

R

• The Rain People, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring James Caan, Robert Duvall, Shirley Knight
• Rani Radovi (Early Years) - Golden Bear winner - (Yugoslavia)
• Rascal
• The Reivers, starring Steve McQueen
• La residencia (The Boarding School), starring Lilli Palmer - (Spain)
• Rider on the Rain, directed by René Clément - (France)
• Ring of Bright Water - (U.K.)
• The Royal Hunt of the Sun, starring Robert Shaw and Christopher Plummer - (U.K./U.S.)

'S

• The Secret of Santa Vittoria - directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani - Golden Globe for best film
• The Sicilian Clan (Le Clan des Siciliens), starring Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Lino Ventura - (France)
• The Sterile Cuckoo, starring Liza Minnelli
• Support Your Local Sheriff!, starring James Garner
• Sweet Charity - directed by Bob Fosse, starring Shirley MacLaine

T

• Take the Money and Run, directed by and starring Woody Allen
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Jane Fonda, Gig Young, Michael Sarrazin
• This Man Must Die (Que la bête meure), directed by Claude Chabrol - (France/Italy)
• Till Death Us Do Part, starring Warren Mitchell and Dandy Nichols - (U.K.)
• Topaz, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
• The Trouble with Girls - directed By Peter Tewksbury, starring Elvis Presley and Vincent Price
• True Grit - directed by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell

U

• Ultraman, Ultraseven: Great Violent Monster Fight - (Japan)
• The Undefeated, starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson
• The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme infidèle), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stephane Audran - (France)

V

• The Valley of Gwangi
• Viva Max!, starring Peter Ustinov, Pamela Tiffin, John Astin, Jonathan Winters

W

• Where Eagles Dare (U.S. release)
• White Sun of the Desert (Beloye solntse pustyni) - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Wild Bunch - directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan
• Winning, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
• The Witness (A tanu) - (Hungary)
• Women in Love - directed by Ken Russell, starring Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
• The Wrecking Crew, starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate

Z

• Z - directed by Costa Gavras, starring Yves Montand and Irene Pappas - (France/Algeria)

Short Film Series

• Looney Tunes (1930-1969)
• Merrie Melodies (1931-1969)
• The Pink Panther (1964-1969, 1971–1977, 1978–1980)
• The Inspector (1965-1969)
• The Ant and the Aardvark (1969-71)
• Roland and Rattfink (1968–71)
• Tijuana Toads (1969-72)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–49, 1951–72)
• Chilly Willy (1955–72)
• The Beary Family (1962–72)

Births

• February 8 - Brian Krause, American actor
  • Mary McCormack, American actress
• February 11 - Jennifer Aniston, American actress
• March 1 - Javier Bardem, Spanish actor
• April 23 - Byron Thames, American actor
• April 25 - Renée Zellweger, American actress
• May 14 - Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
• May 25 - Anne Heche, American actress
• July 21 - Godfrey, American actor, comedian
• July 24 - Jennifer Lopez, American actress, singer
• August 18 - Edward Norton, American actor
  • Christian Slater, American actor
• August 28 - Jack Black, American actor, comedian, musician
• September 25 - Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress
• September 29 - Erika Eleniak, American actress
• October 19 - Trey Parker, American actor, creator of South Park
• November 30 - Amy Ryan, American actress
• December 21 - Julie Delpy, French actress

Deaths

• January 4 - Violet and Daisy Hilton, conjoined twins, actresses, appeared in film Freaks
• January 8 - Leslie Goodwins, director
• February 2 - Boris Karloff, actor
• February 4 - Thelma Ritter, actress
• February 11 - James Lanphier, actor
• February 27 - John Boles, actor
• May 24 - Mitzi Green, actress
• May 27 - Jeffrey Hunter, actor
• June 8 - Robert Taylor, actor
• June 10 - Frank Lawton, actor
• June 13 - Martita Hunt, actress
• June 19 - Natalie Talmadge, silent screen actress
• June 22 - Judy Garland, actress
• July 5 - Leo McCarey, director
• July 8 - Gladys Swarthout, actress
• August 1 - Donald Keith, film actor
• August 9 - Sharon Tate, actress, murdered by Charles Manson Family, wife of director Roman Polanski
• August 14 - Sigrid Gurie, actress
• August 15 - William Goetz, producer, studio executive
• October 12 - Sonja Henie, actress, former Olympic ice skater
• October 15 - Rod La Rocque, silent screen actor

Film debuts

• Jeff Bridges
• Mel Brooks
• Farrah Fawcett
• Anjelica Huston
• Ian McKellen
• Al Pacino
• Hanna Schygulla
• M. Emmet Walsh

Further reading

• 1969: The Year Everything Changed by Rob Kirkpatrick. Skyhorse Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-1-60239-366-0.