1962 is a tough year to talk about because two of the greatest and most beloved films of all-time came out that year: Lawrence of Arabia and To Kill A Mockingbird; both were nominated for Best Picture. I feel the need to mention a few other amazing films from that year that weren’t up for the top prize: Birdman Alcatraz, Days of Wine and Roses, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Manchurian Candidate and Lolita. Also four films that I haven’t yet seen, but have been meaning to: Divorce Italian Style, Last Year At Marienbad, Through a Glass Darkly and The Miracle Worker. The other three films nominated for Best Picture that year were: The Longest Day, The Music Man and Mutiny on the Bounty. I love The Longest Day and have yet to see The Music Man, but I must say the 62 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty has not aged well at all and is waaaay longer than it has any right to be. I guess my point is that 1962 was one heck of year for film and you owe it to yourself to get to know some (if not all) of these great films. This is not a “the Academy got it wrong” post; this is a “how were they even able to choose?!” post. To Kill A Mockingbird was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three: Best Score, Best B&W Cinematography, Best B&W Art Direction (won), Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Supporting Actress Mary Badham, Best Director, Best Actor Gregory Peck (won), Best Director and Best Picture.

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