Oliver! (1968) - 2 stars

One sentence plot summary: Runaway orphan finds a home amongst singing pickpockets.

Starring: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Jack Wild, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed

Best of: Ron Moody is a lot of fun as Fagin, king of the pickpockets.

Worst of: An oddly undeveloped title character.

Notable: The fourth musical to win Best Picture in the 60s, and the last (hallelujah!) until 2002's Chicago.

In the Heat of the Night (1967) - 4 stars

One sentence plot summary: A black police officer from Philadelphia is called upon to help solve a murder in a racist, Southern town.

Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger

Best of: Great dialogue. Tension between Poitier and Steiger. Quincy Jones' music.

Worst of: The summer heat is supposed to be an oppresive element in the story, yet you can see both autumn leaves and fog on the breath of the actors.

Notable: Not only is this the first Best Picture winner to feature an African American lead, it is the first to feature a black role of any substance whatsoever.

Also nominated: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate.

A Man for All Seasons (1966) - 3 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A biopic about the life of Saint Thomas More.

Starring: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern, John Hurt, Robert Shaw, Susannah York, Orson Welles

Best of: Paul Scofield is quite fantastic as a stubborn man of priciple and faith.

Worst of: That it's based on true history. Henry VIII was a crazy man.

Notable: One of only four productions to win Best Play Tony and Best Picture Oscar (My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Amadeus are the others).

The Sound of Music (1965) - 3 stars

One sentence plot summary: "The hills are alive with the sound of music" and nazis.

Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Peggy Wood

Best of: "Edelweiss, edelweiss Bless my homeland forever..."

Worst of: "I am sixteen, going on seventeen..."

Notable: Audrey Hepburn was originally thought of for the lead in The Sound of Music. Julie Andrews was originally thought of for the lead in My Fair Lady.

Also nominated: Dr. Zhivago

My Fair Lady (1964) - 4 stars

One sentence plot summary: What truly seperates the rich from the poor is cockney accents.

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Stanley Holloway, Gladys Cooper

Best of: Rex Harrison gives a magnetic performance. Audrey Hepburn is the most beautiful woman ever to live. Great songs. Fun plot.

Worst of: I didn't really need the love story for the movie to work for me...and it still doesn't seem like the healthiest of relationships at the end.

Notable: About 90% of Hepburn's singing is dubbed. This is thought to be the main reason she was not nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.

Also nominated: Mary Poppins, Dr. Strangelove.

Tom Jones (1963) - 1 star

One Sentence Plot Summary: Lots of Britishly clever (but never funny), unlikely events in the life of a womanizing orphan.

Starring: Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Diane Cilento, Joyce Redman

Best of: There is one funny scene where two lovers seductively eat chicken. Okay, maybe it's not that funny.

Worst of: The British comedy-of-errors genre really should have died with Shakespeare.

I would have liked it better if: it had a different script, cast, score and director.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - 5 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: The story follows British eccentric T.E. Lawrence as he leads an Arabian army against the Turks in WWI.

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle, José Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, Claude Rains.

Best of: Well-acted, genius screenplay, beautiful cinemantography, and creative and meticulous directing.

Worst of: Peter O'Toole's eyeliner...more drag queen than soldier/adventurer.

Notable: The film doesn't have a single female speaking role.

Also Nominated: To Kill A Mockingbird.

West Side Story (1961) - 3 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: Romeo and Juliet, but with ballet-dancing gangs (no, really).

Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris

Best of: A tremendous score by Leonard Bernstein.

Worst of: Surprisingly weak vocals from the male cast. Apparently, it takes about one second to fall completely in love.

Notable: Many of the vocals are not sung by the actors, but dubbed by professional singers.

The Apartment (1960) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: A mild mannered, ambitious business man's apartmemt becomes THE place for office bigshots to bring their mistresses.

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen.

Best of: Great story, great script...engaging throughout. Shirley MacLaine was hot? Why did no one ever inform me of this odd fact before?

Worst of: The best scenes are all at the start of the film.

Notable: This was the last black and white movie to win Best Picture until Schindler's List.

Ben Hur (1959) - 4 stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: John 3:16.

Starring: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Jack Hawkins, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe, Hugh Griffith

Best of: The absolute definition of "epic." The chariot scene is, of course, fantastic. Epic plot, epic themes, epic personalities...a whole lot of fun.

Worst of: I actually liked all the Jesus stuff, but I'd listen to an argument about it being corny.

Notable: No one died during the chariot scene...that's just a hard to kill urban legend.