The 1960s were a turbulent time in America. Vietnam, Civil Rights, the Cold War and the hippy movements were changing American culture. These changes weren’t only limited to the politics of the day, but also applied to changes occurring in movie theaters.

Big studios looked for a way to bring audiences back to the theater and they struggled to make films relevant to the turmoil found across the nation. Epic films such as David Lean’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and the 70mm musical WEST SIDES STORY brought spectacle back to cinema. Beloved by critics and audiences alike, these innovative films showed the awesome power of the film medium versus its competitors on television.

It was also in the 1960s that some of cinema’s most influential and important filmmakers, from inside and outside the U.S., emerged and offered movie goers films that challenged the status quo and brought people, places and ideas never before seen in theaters.

The work of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks became an integral part of the influential civil rights movement, calling for an end to racial inequality and segregation. Stanley Kramer’s 1967 film GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER reflected the nation’s developing thoughts on race during this era, telling the story of an interracial couple and society’s fluctuating social norms.

Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone’s Westerns reexamined ides of America’s cowboy past with his DOLLARS TRILOGY and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. With unprecedented levels of violence in the genre, Leone’s films revealed the brutality of the often-romanticized American “frontier.”

In 1968 Roman Polanski made a name for himself in with the seminal horror film ROSEMARY’S BABY. Look beyond the surface of this bone-chilling story of Satanism and viewers will find a startling critique of patriarchy expressed through the gender-based compromises Rosemary makes to uphold her role as a wife and mother. Polanksi’s first big hit connected with feminists dissatisfied with the treatment of women in the U.S. and showcased the need to reevaluate gender roles in the traditional American family.

The 60s also saw the release of three influential and groundbreaking films from director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick kicked off the decade with his studio biopic SPARTACUS and followed that film up with the sharp political satire DOCTOR STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB. DOCTOR STRANGELOVE criticized politicians and their absurd handling of serious issues such as nuclear weapons, the Red Scare and the Cold War. The results are as equally hilarious as they are frightening.

Kubrick also managed to completely reshape and revolutionize the science fiction genre with 2001: A SPACE ODYESSY.  The film displayed unprecedented scientific realism and a surreal approach to subjects such as evolution, artificial intelligence and humanity’s relationship with technology. Complemented with breathtaking special effects, Kubrick’s film set the bar for intellectually stimulating sci-fi films.

But it was actually the work of French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard who altered the state of American films forever with BREATHLESS.  Part of the French New-Wave movement, Godard’s film drew attention to the filmmaking process and defied the rules of traditional Hollywood. Utilizing jump cutting, non-linear editing and frequent improvisation, BREATHLESS turned the limitations of classical Hollywood filmmaking on its head, influencing a new generation of American filmmakers to take risks and explore taboo themes that dealt with drugs, violence and sexuality.

The first of the American films to directly call upon the influence of the French New-Wave were BONNIE AND CLYDE and EASY RIDER. These two films, dealing with outlaws, rebellion, sex, violence and drugs, reflected the mutated American cultural landscape. These films spoke to American youth like no other films at the time could.

Their success ushered in the era of the New Hollywood, a place where unknown and experimental directors had the freedom to push the limits of the film medium. Many consider this era to be known as the Hollywood Renaissance, a time where American filmmakers created their finest work. These innovations in American film started in the 1960s and stretched into the 70s.