As technology evolved, so did the storytelling of the 1960s. From black and white to color features and the epically long runtimes, the ’60s were an era of social commentary on social issues all around the world. IMDb’s voters ranked the best of the all-time best in its Top 250 list, with these features making the top ten for their respective decade. These celebrated films are Oscar winners, nominees, and non-critical award contenders that are just great examples of movie-making.
The ten best movies of the ’60s span over multiple genres, but all set a precedent for modern-day filmmakers of what works and what hits audiences in the sweet spot. As many of these films turn 60, older, or close to it, they are highly respected for the jaw-dropping, emotion-invoking techniques that still hold up today.
10 ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (1962)
IMDb Rank & Score: #111 — 8.3/10
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the best page-to-screen adaptations of the 20th century. When respected, kind-hearted lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) agrees to defend a young Black man against undeserved rape accusations from a white woman, the Finch children witness first-hand the prejudice of their Depression-era Alabama town.
Based on Harper Lee‘s acclaimed novel, the film adaptation is one every cinephile should watch to witness that time in history through the eyes of children. Of its eight Oscar nominations, To Kill a Mockingbird would take home three, including Best Actor for Peck as one of the best movie parents. This old Hollywood classic also features a young Robert Duvall as the mysterious Boo Radley.
9 ‘The Apartment’ (1960)
IMDb Rank & Score: #100 — 8.2/10
The inspiration for many modern-day comedies, The Apartment is an all-around great comedy. Jack Lemmon stars as C.C. Baxter, an insurance clerk looking to rise within the company ranks by letting the executives use his apartment for extramarital affairs. Baxter’s plan soon becomes complicated as he embarks on a romance of his own.
With ten Oscar nominations, The Apartment took home five, including the coveted Best Picture. A masterclass for comedy students, the quick wit and one-liners helped to elevate an already steady premise. With Hollywood icons like Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, it’s hard to go wrong with this top-rated tale.
8 ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962)
IMDb Rank & Score: #95 — 8.2/10
Narrowly making it into the top 100 of IMDb’s 250, Lawrence of Arabiais an Oscar-winning epic that’s close to four hours in runtime. The filmmaking masterpiece follows British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) and his journey across the desert as he united the Arab tribes during the World War I conflict against the Turks.
Director David Lean took home the Oscar for Best Director alongside the film’s seven — including Best Picture — Oscar wins (sweeping the technical awards). The production value of this film was difficult to match for the decade, and the century, hailing Lawrence of Arabia as a one-of-a-kind classic.
7 ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)
IMDb Rank & Score: #90 — 8.3/10
One of Roger Ebert’s picks for the greatest movie of all time (before his death), 2001: A Space Odyssey, is a foundational film in the sci-fi genre that still holds merit today. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, audiences are taken through space and time as a spaceship, operated by two men and an AI computer named H.A.L 9000, is sent to Jupiter to understand a mysterious artifact.
The two-and-a-half-hour epic is an experience that only a few filmmakers today have been able to successfully recreate or attempt. As it transported With its Best Visual Effects Oscar win, this movie set the bar for where technology was headed in cinematic storytelling.
6 ‘High and Low’ (1963)
IMDb Rank & Score: #86 — 8.3/10
A Japanese feature, this crime drama features the son of a chauffeur who is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom in an attempt to extort the executive he works for. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, High and Low is based on the detective novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain.
Hailed for his work, Kurosawa creates the perfect race-against-the-clock thriller while also generating social commentary surrounding Japanese society. While this piece sneaks holds a steady place among the top 100 of IMDb’s 250, it remains one of the top films of the 1960s.
5 ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ (1964)
IMDb Rank & Score: #68 — 8.3/10
From its widely strange title to its plot Cold War satire plot (yes, that’s correct), Dr. Strangelove is a chaotic masterpiece that rightfully earned its top-rated spot. After crazed American Air Force General Jack Ripper (Sterling Hayden) sends a bomber squad to the Soviet Union, world leaders, including American President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) and General Turgidson (George C. Scott), convene to try and stop a nuclear holocaust.
This is a movie that audiences need to see to believe and from the mind of Stanley Kubrick. With four Oscar nominations and, sadly, no wins, Dr. Strangeloveis truly a great comedic entry into the war genre. It’s calculated ridiculous from Seller’s multiple roles to the character names themselves, but Kubrick’s satire is worth its weight in Hollywood gold.
4 ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1968)
IMDb Rank & Score: #48 — 8.4/10
One of the greatest directors of the decade, Sergio Leone provided audiences with a close to three-hour Western epic. The paths of a widow, a gunslinger, a harmonica player, and a rail baron henchman all collide following the murder over a piece of railroad land. An immersive viewing experience, Once Upon a Time in the West is a film where a lot is going on all at once.
Considered the magnum opus for Leone and far more elaborate than his previous spaghetti westerns, the movie featured the leading talents of Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, and Claudia Cardinale. Once Upon a Time in the West remains true to the Western genre (and standards set by Leone’s prior films) with the eerie music, gritty and dirty faces, and the looming quick-draw violence.
3 ‘Harakiri’ (1962)
IMDb Rank & Score: #45 — 8.5/10
Harakiri is an action drama centered around honor with commentary on the flawed codes of the samurai and establishments. Set in 1630 Japan, Hanshiro Tsugumo’s (Tatsuya Nakadai)—an aging samurai—request to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide, is questioned by Kageyu Saito (Rentarô Mikuni) as an attempt at pity and a job, sparking a conflict after Saito reveals Tsugumo’s son-in-law was held to his suicidal request.
This top-rated movie, directed by Masaki Kobayashi, features excellent cinematography, especially in the opening and closing moments. Passing audiences back and forth in time, Harakiri’s narrative structure makes it one of the best and more underrated movies compared to other IMDb Top 250 titles.
2 ‘Psycho’ (1960)
IMDb Rank & Score: #33 — 8.5/10
The definition of an iconic horror movie, Psycho, changed the way filmmakers attempted features in the genre. On the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer to escape her boyfriend, Marion (Janet Leigh) checks into the reclusive Bates Motel run by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a polite but high-strung young man entangled in a dark relationship with his mother.
From the music to the camera work, all the elements that made that shower scene so brilliant came together under the talented eye of director Alfred Hitchcock. The genre has come a long way since the 1960s, but Psycho walked to modern-day horror, and its filmmakers could run.
1 ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966)
IMDb Rank & Score: #10 — 8.8/10
Earning the number one spot in its decade of release, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of the best Spaghetti Westerns of all time. From Sergio Leone comes a tale of a tumultuous partnership between a mysterious stranger named Joe (Clint Eastwood) and a Mexican outlaw named (Eli Wallach). Throughout various moments the pair are working together, against each other, and then together again to find $20,000 buried in the desert.
With its acclaimed status from critics and movie lovers alike, the popularity failed to yield any Oscar nominations, not even for that iconic score. Some movies are so good, viewers only need to watch them once; however, that is not the case here. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly gets better with every watch, elevating the appreciation for how this movie impacted cinema today.
