The 1960s

Best Movies of the 1960s: Top Films Year by Year

9,897 films on the site were released from 1960 to 1969, and 269 are ranked. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) leads the decade, ahead of Ride the High Country (1962). 9 Best Picture winners were released in the decade.

films released 1960–1969: 9,897
ranked by rating: 269

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) movie poster

#1 of 269

Best-rated film of the 1960s

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

1964 Thriller Comedy 1h 35m English

97 Metascore

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

About Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Ranked

What Are the Best Movies of the 1960s?

Ride the High Country and The Producers follow Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Drama is the most common genre in the top 20 (15 films). Akira Kurosawa and Sam Peckinpah each have 2 films on the list. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 97 Metascore (Metascore 97 out of 100 (32 critic reviews))

1964 · Thriller, Comedy · 1h 35m

Dir. Stanley Kubrick No Echo Score: ranked 94/100 on critics & audiences
2. Ride the High Country 92 Metascore (Metascore 92 out of 100)

1962 · Drama, Western · 1h 34m

Dir. Sam Peckinpah No Echo Score: ranked 92/100 on critics & audiences
3. The Producers 96 Metascore (Metascore 96 out of 100)

1968 · Comedy, Music · 1h 28m

No Echo Score: ranked 92/100 on critics & audiences
4. La Dolce Vita 95 Metascore (Metascore 95 out of 100 (13 critic reviews))

1961 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 54m

Dir. Federico Fellini No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
5. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 90 Metascore (Metascore 90 out of 100)

1967 · Adventure, Western · 2h 41m

Dir. Sergio Leone No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
5. The Wild Bunch 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100)

1969 · Action, Adventure · 2h 15m

Dir. Sam Peckinpah No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
5. Chimes at Midnight 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100 (23 critic reviews))

1967 · Drama, History · 1h 59m

No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
8. Psycho 97 Metascore (Metascore 97 out of 100)

1960 · Mystery, Thriller · 1h 49m

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock No Echo Score: ranked 91/100 on critics & audiences
9. The Apartment 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100)

1960 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 5m

Dir. Billy Wilder No Echo Score: ranked 90/100 on critics & audiences
10. The Manchurian Candidate 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100)

1962 · Drama, Mystery · 2h 6m

Dir. John Frankenheimer No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
10. The Servant 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100)

1964 · Drama · 1h 56m

Dir. Joseph Losey No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
10. Cool Hand Luke 92 Metascore (Metascore 92 out of 100 (16 critic reviews))

1967 · Drama, Crime · 2h 6m

Dir. Stuart Rosenberg No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
10. Au hasard Balthazar 98 Metascore (Metascore 98 out of 100 (20 critic reviews))

1966 · Drama, Crime · 1h 35m

Dir. Robert Bresson No Echo Score: ranked 89/100 on critics & audiences
14. High and Low 90 Metascore (Metascore 90 out of 100 (16 critic reviews))

1963 · Drama, Mystery · 2h 23m

Dir. Akira Kurosawa No Echo Score: ranked 88/100 on critics & audiences
15. The Hustler 90 Metascore (Metascore 90 out of 100)

1961 · Drama, Sport · 2h 14m

Dir. Robert Rossen No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences
16. To Kill a Mockingbird 88 Metascore (Metascore 88 out of 100)

1962 · Drama, Crime · 2h 9m

Dir. Robert Mulligan No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences
16. Medium Cool 87 Metascore (Metascore 87 out of 100 (10 critic reviews))

1969 · Drama · 1h 51m

Dir. Haskell Wexler No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences
16. Red Beard 90 Metascore (Metascore 90 out of 100)

1968 · Drama · 3h 5m

Dir. Akira Kurosawa No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences
16. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 94 Metascore (Metascore 94 out of 100)

1962 · Drama, Western · 2h 3m

Dir. John Ford No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences
16. The Incredible Journey 87 Metascore (Metascore 87 out of 100)

1963 · Adventure, Drama · 1h 20m

Dir. Fletcher Markle No Echo Score: ranked 87/100 on critics & audiences

Year by year

The 1960s Year by Year: Releases and Best Picture

1969 has the most releases on the site (1,282). 9 Best Picture winners of the 1960s are recorded, starting with The Apartment (1960). Box office records of this era are mostly later re-releases, so no grosses are quoted. Each year links to its own ranking.

Every year of the 1960s: releases on the site and the Oscar Best Picture winner released that year
Year	Releases	Best Picture winner
1960	Releases: 744	Best Picture winner The Apartment Oscars 1961
1961	Releases: 780	Best Picture winner West Side Story Oscars 1962
1962	Releases: 873	None recorded
1963	Releases: 796	Best Picture winner Tom Jones Oscars 1964
1964	Releases: 952	Best Picture winner My Fair Lady Oscars 1965
1965	Releases: 995	Best Picture winner The Sound of Music Oscars 1966
1966	Releases: 1,065	Best Picture winner A Man for All Seasons Oscars 1967
1967	Releases: 1,161	Best Picture winner In the Heat of the Night Oscars 1968
1968	Releases: 1,249	Best Picture winner Oliver! Oscars 1969
1969	Releases: 1,282	Best Picture winner Midnight Cowboy Oscars 1970

#1 of each year

The Best-Rated Movie of Every Year, 1960–1969

Psycho (1960), La Dolce Vita (1961), Ride the High Country (1962) and 7 more years: the best-rated film of each year of the 1960s. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

Awards

The Most-Awarded Movies of the 1960s

A Man for All Seasons (1966) leads the 1960s with 18 wins from 21 nominations, ahead of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (15 wins). Films of the decade won 286 awards in all.

A Man for All Seasons 18 / 21
1966 · Biography, Drama · 18 wins from 21 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 15 / 23
1969 · Adventure, Drama · 15 wins from 23 nominations Won at BAFTA, Golden Globes, Oscars
My Fair Lady 13 / 20
1964 · Drama, Romance · 13 wins from 20 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
The Graduate 11 / 21
1967 · Drama, Comedy · 11 wins from 21 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
The Apartment 11 / 17
1960 · Drama, Comedy · 11 wins from 17 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars
In the Heat of the Night 10 / 19
1967 · Drama, Mystery · 10 wins from 19 nominations Won at BAFTA, Golden Globes, Oscars
Doctor Zhivago 10 / 18
1965 · Drama, Romance · 10 wins from 18 nominations Won at Golden Globes, Oscars
Midnight Cowboy 9 / 21
1969 · Drama · 9 wins from 21 nominations Won at BAFTA, DGA Awards, Oscars

Genres

What Genres Defined the 1960s?

Drama is the biggest genre of the 1960s with 4,200 films (42% of the decade's films), then Comedy (27%) and Romance (11%). A film can have several genres, so the shares add up to more than 100%.

Directors

Who Directed the Most Films of the 1960s?

Robert Stevenson made 11 notable films in the 1960s, the best-rated being Mary Poppins; Basil Dearden also has 11. Counted over feature films with ratings, box office or awards.

Robert Stevenson 11 films
Best: Mary Poppins (1964)
Basil Dearden 11 films
Best: Victim (1962)
Ishirô Honda 11 films
Best: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
John Frankenheimer 10 films
Best: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
J. Lee Thompson 10 films
Best: Cape Fear (1962)
Joseph Losey 9 films
Best: The Servant (1964)
Richard Lester 9 films
Best: Help! (1965)
Ingmar Bergman 8 films
Best: Persona (1967)

Every decade

Best Movies by Decade

10 decades ranked, from the 1930s to the 2020s. Each has its year-by-year table and its own top films.

FAQ

Best Movies of the 1960s: Questions & Answers

Quick answers about the 1960s' best-rated films and Best Picture winners, from the lists above.

What is the best movie of the 1960s?

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) is the best-rated film of the 1960s on What's After the Movie, with a rank value of 94/100 from critics and audiences. Ride the High Country (1962) is second and The Producers (1968) third. Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases).

About Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Which 1960s movies won Best Picture?

The Apartment (1960), West Side Story (1961), Tom Jones (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), The Sound of Music (1965), A Man for All Seasons (1966), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Oliver! (1968) and Midnight Cowboy (1969); the site has no Best Picture winner recorded for 1962.

Which 1960s film won the most awards?

A Man for All Seasons (1966), with 18 wins from 21 nominations recorded on the site.

How many movies from the 1960s are on the site?

9,897 films released from 1960 to 1969, the most in 1969 (1,282). 269 of them are ranked.

How are the best movies of the 1960s ranked?

Ranked by a blend of Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings (Echo Scores start with 2017 releases). Only feature films count (60 minutes or longer, no concert recordings), and a film needs enough ratings, box office or award attention to be ranked.