1965 in film

The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.

Events
February 15 - George Stevens' production of The Greatest Story Ever Told, a retelling of the account of Jesus Christ, premieres in New York City, New York. It was such a flop with critics and audiences that its failure discouraged production of religious epics for many years. It is considered notable in the 21st century for its impressive landscapes, powerful and provocative cinematography, actor Max von Sydow's debut performance in an American film, and the final film performance of Claude Rains. March 2 - The Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptation of The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premieres. It quickly became a worldwide phenomenon and an instant classic. It successfully displaced Gone with the Wind to become, at the time, the highest-grossing film of all-time. The Sound of Music is credited as the film that saved and restored Twentieth Century-Fox from bankruptcy after it suffered from extremely high production costs and low revenue of Cleopatra, two years prior. July 1 - Blake Edwards's epic comedy The Great Race, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, and Keenan Wynn, premieres. Initially a flop with critics and audiences, some do admire Edwards' direction, the acting by its ensemble cast, Henry Mancini's music and its climactic pie fight. December 22 - David Lean's film adaptation of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, and Alec Guinness, premieres and, like The Sound of Music, quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Its moral story and message of a love and human spirit that defied the communist Soviet Union have made the film a true classic with critics and audiences. It was included among top films by the American Film Institute. In a decade of very difficult times for its studio, Zhivago became the most successful and acclaimed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film since How the West Was Won; it was the greatest MGM film since Ben-Hur.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)
(*) After theatrical re-issue(s)