The Summer of '66

Today, the term “summer movie” is synonymous with big budgets, explosions, superhero franchises, family-friendly animated films, and sequels. Yet this wasn't always the case. In the summers of the 1960s, years before 1975’s Jaws began to redefine the blockbuster, successful new releases were held over in certain cities for months, and risqué international films were shown alongside schlocky American B movies. For this week’s episode, we flash back to the summer of 1966 to see what was playing in Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York City (all five boroughs), featuring J. Hoberman, critic for The New York Times; Nick Pinkerton, regular FILM COMMENT contributor; and Ina Archer, co-chair of the Women’s Film Preservation Fund for New York Film and Television, in conversation with FC Digital Editor Violet Lucca.