Ten of the Best Films from the 1960s

by Merick Humbert
June 19, 2025

From the Civil Rights Movement, to the Feminist Movement, to the Sexual Revolution, to the political assassinations (JFK, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, etc…), to the Vietnam War, to the draft, to protests that were taking place around the world—the 1960s was a decade of monumental political and cultural change.

In Hollywood, as filmmaking technology was continuing to progress, the studio system was beginning to decline due to the growth of independent producers and production companies. More and more films were being shot on location, and in the United States, there was a growing awareness of foreign cinema. There was more freedom and experimentation in the artform and here are some of the best films of the decade:

1. 8 ½ (1963)
Directed and co-written by: Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini’s magnum opus follows Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), a film director struggling to create his next picture and to find purpose in it. Simply put, he’s a man searching for meaning in his life and in his art. “I thought my ideas were so clear,” he says. “I wanted to make an honest film. No lies whatsoever. I thought I had something so simple to say. Something useful to everybody.” Yet, Guido is paralyzed by indecision. He describes himself as having the inability to dedicate himself to one thing alone. He “wants to grab everything and devour it. He can’t give up a single thing. He changes direction every day for fear of missing the path.” And throughout the film, we can see this in his personal life and in his work.

            The film beautifully transitions between Guido’s present struggle for inspiration, his memories, and his desires. His art is inexorably connected to his personal life and the women who have meant something to him—in both, we see an aimless emptiness/a desire for meaning—in a way that is simultaneously solemn and disheartening, yet captivating and hopeful. It is real, and once he pushes through, something incredible is revealed. Something authentic. There are dream-like sequences, and the symbolism is powerful and compelling. The film excels at escorting the viewer through all of this without creating confusion. It is Fellini’s masterpiece and its influence on writers and directors for generations to come is apparent. It is one of the greatest films ever made.

2. Harakiri (1962)
Directed by: Masaki Kobayashi – Written by: Yasuhiko Takiguchi and Shinobu Hashimoto

In feudal Japan, if a samurai warrior lost his lord or master, they became what is known as a rōnin, often living in poverty and desperate for employment. In Edo, in the 1600s, there were hundreds of thousands of rōnin struggling to get by. Harakiri is a story about a rōnin named Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai), and at its base, it is a story of revenge.

            During that period in Japan, some rōnin would go to a lord and request to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide, on their estate. Killing oneself in a palace, with another samurai as their second (someone to behead them after they have stabbed themselves in the stomach), would be seen as an honorable death. However, many of these lords did not want to deal with a rōnin killing himself on their estate, so they would offer him some charity to go away. But soon, they began to believe that some rōnin had become aware of this, and were claiming a desire to commit seppuku under false pretenses, really just desperately looking for a handout. So, with a rōnin named Motome Chijiiwa (Akira Ishihama), they chose to set an example, and when he tried to back out after they accepted his request, they forced him to go through with it, and in a brutal manner. Harakiri tells the story of the characters involved in this tragedy. It explores honor and ritual and the morality of the samurai culture/code. It is a brilliant film and one of my all-time favorites.

3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick – Written by: Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke

Stanley Kubrick is regarded as one of the greatest directors to ever live, and 2001: A Space Odyssey is widely considered his masterpiece. As opposed to being a traditional narrative, it is more of an experience, with a brilliant use of sound—from periods of silence to capture the vacuum of space, to compelling classical music—both of which accentuate the stunning visuals as the film takes you on a captivating journey.

            The story itself is unconventional and abstract, but the experience is striking. I thought that Quentin Tarantino described it perfectly when he said: “(Kubrick) seems to ignore everything about drama except just enough—a rope with knots in it, that connect you to the next knot, to the next knot, to the next knot. A case can be made that when the movie loses it, when it gets more metaphysical at the end, is when he stops supplying knots that are narrative. And the knots don’t need to connect to each other, they just need to get you forward. And they do.” That is exactly what the film does. The most cohesive aspect of the story comes in the middle, when the narrative explores some of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence in a way that seems particularly relevant today. It even feels prophetic and Orwellian.

            2001: A Space Odyssey is a beautiful picture. The special effects are incredible, especially considering it was released in 1968. It is an absorbing, must-see film for anyone who appreciates art and the history of cinema.

4. High and Low (1963)
Directed and co-written by: Akira Kurosawa – Based on a novel by: Evan Hunter

A wealthy business man, Kingo Gondo (Toshirô Mifune), is faced with a dilemma after his son is the target of a kidnapping for ransom. In a twist of fate, it turns out that the kidnapper has mistaken the chauffer’s son for Gondo’s and has taken the wrong boy. As Aoki, the chauffer (Yutaka Sada), could clearly never afford to pay the ransom himself, Gondo has a moral decision to make. To complicate matters further, he is in the midst a business deal that would require all of his wealth to secure. And if this deal falls through, he would be financially ruined—he would be left with nothing and have to start all over from the bottom. Those are the stakes, and we see Gondo questioning his responsibility and obligations in the matter.

            From there, the film becomes a gripping detective thriller as we follow the police investigation of this kidnapping. We are given a meticulously detailed procedural and everything comes together brilliantly. It is an extraordinary movie from the master filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa.

5. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Directed by: John Schlesinger – Based on a novel by: James Leo Herlihy

In 1969, upon its original release, Midnight Cowboy was rated-X and became the first and only X-rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. John Schlesinger also won the Oscar for best Director, and Waldo Salt won for his Screenplay, having adapted Herlihy’s novel.

At the heart of the story is the friendship that we see develop between two lost souls, Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a naïve and dimwitted aspiring gigolo, having just arrived in New York City from Texas with practically nothing to his name, and “Ratso” Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a destitute conman living in a condemned building and scraping to get by. At first, Ratso sees Joe as an easy mark but he soon takes pity on the man and a friendship develops. Hoffman and Voight are both exceptional in their roles and were nominated for Oscars.

The film is beautifully shot and the narrative is interjected with a few avant-garde/surreal sequences, including some that explore the character’s past. Things are not spelled out for the viewer and the film makes you feel for these characters—two men that have gotten lost in a city that is indifferent to the individual. The film is grimy and raw, and it is impactful.

“I’m walkin’ here!”

6. The Hustler (1961)
Directed by: Robert Rossen – Based on a novel by: Walter Tevis

The film explores the idea that being a winner or a loser goes much deeper than winning and losing. Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) calls Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) a born loser, and insists that it was character that beat him when he lost to Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). When Eddie tries to blame it on getting drunk, Bert tells him, “Sure you got drunk. You have the best excuse in the world for losing; no trouble losing when you got a good excuse. Winning... that can be heavy on your back, too, like a monkey. You'll drop that load too when you got an excuse. All you got to do is learn to feel sorry for yourself. One of the best indoor sports, feeling sorry for yourself. A sport enjoyed by all, especially the born losers.”

The Hustler is a gripping drama and it is compounded by a tragic love story. For me, the relationship that we see develop between Eddie and Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie) is the most compelling aspect of the film. Sarah, who Eddie takes up with after his initial loss to Minnesota Fats, is an alcoholic with a crippled leg. On her typewriter, describing her relationship with Eddie, she writes: “We have a contract of depravity. All we have to do is pull the blinds down,” and despite the self-destructive nature that these characters exude in their lives and in their relationship, there is a real (and therefore beautiful) connection, that we see between them.

The acting in this film is magnificent all around—led by Paul Newman as the pool hustler, Fast Eddie Felson. It is a picture with literary qualities; it examines the human condition in a way that had me thinking about it long after the credits had rolled.

“Perverted, twisted, and crippled”

7. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Directed and co-written by: Sergio Leone

Although many might be more drawn to the The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), I would argue that Once Upon a Time in the West is Sergio Leone’s greatest Western. In my opinion, it is visually superior, it has a more dynamic plot, and the characters are more interesting and complex. As with much of Leone’s work, there are some drawn out scenes that require patience, but the cinematography and the tension-building is extraordinary. It is accompanied by a brilliant score from the great Ennio Morricone.

The narrative focuses on four characters—Frank (Henry Fonda), a murderous gang leader trying to usurp the land needed to expand the railroad. Harmonica (Charles Bronson), a stranger who comes to town with a mysterious past and revenge on the mind. Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale), the newly married, and then widowed, ex-prostitute who has now inherited the coveted piece of real estate. And an outlaw called Cheyenne (Jason Robards) who gets caught up in the mix. It is a great story with strong characters and exciting gunfights—everything that you want in a Western. Undoubtably one of Sergio Leone’s best films.

8. Psycho (1960)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock – Based on a novel by Robert Bloch

After being asked by her boss to deposit $40,000 in cash at the bank, trusted real estate secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), decides to run off with the money. The gripping tension immediately begins to build, and it never lets up. After a long drive, she pulls off the main road, and stumbles upon the Bates Motel for a rest. There, she encounters motel proprietor, the infamous Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). One never knows what kind of person one might just stumble upon.

Psycho leaves its viewers with no doubts about the suitability of the moniker Master of Suspense, as Hitchcock’s brilliance is on full display in this engrossing thriller, and the impact of the score cannot be understated; it has become as iconic as, and indispensable to, the famous “shower scene” itself.

It is an absorbing picture that keeps the viewers on edge and glued to their seats from beginning to end. Anthony Perkins is fantastic, and delivers a chilling performance as Norman Bates. My only complaint is the way that they sum things up in the end, but ultimately, it is a great movie and a must-see for all lovers of classic cinema.

9. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Directed by: Norman Jewison – Based on a novel by: John Ball

When a wealthy industrialist is found murdered in a small town, Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) arrests Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) and accuses him of robbery and murder, simply because he is an unknown black man with a decent bit of cash on hand. Gillespie soon discovers that Tibbs is one of the most accomplished homicide detectives from Philadelphia and had just been passing through town. Despite this misunderstanding (bigotry), and with some coercion from his own chief back in Philadelphia, Tibbs agrees to stay and help Gillespie with this murder investigation. Tibbs takes the lead and his skills as a detective quickly prove to be vital to the case, seeing as though Gillespie lacks the experience that such an investigation requires.

In the Heat of the Night is a compelling detective story that also explores themes of racism in 1960s Mississippi. Released during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the relevance of these themes was momentous. The film was shot in the north—in Illinois—as opposed to Mississippi itself, at the insistence of Sidney Poitier, due to the fact that, in a previous incident, he was almost killed by Ku Klux Klansmen during a visit to Mississippi. He continued to receive racist threats during filming.

In the Heat of the Night won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger were terrific in the lead roles. It is a thrilling murder-mystery and a wonderful piece of cinema.

10. Hud (1963)
Directed by: Martin Ritt – Based on a novel by: Larry McMurtry

Hud (Paul Newman) is a self-centered, hard-drinking, womanizing, cynic who believes that everyone in this world is out for themselves and that he might as well get his while he can, and by whatever means. Homer (Melvyn Douglas), his father, on the other hand, is a man of principle, a man who believes in duty and responsibility to his fellow man. The two are at odds and when one of the cows on their family ranch dies of suspected foot-to-mouth disease, their livelihoods are at stake. To avoid spread and the threat of epidemic, a positive test would require the immediate slaughter of the entire herd, which could cost the family everything.

This primary conflict is compounded by family drama and past trauma. Hud continues to struggle with the guilt of killing his brother, Norman, in a car accident after a night a heavy drinking. Norman’s son, Lonnie, now a teenager on the brink of adulthood, looks up to Hud, admiring his bravado and charm. But he also admires his grandfather, Homer, and the values that he personifies in his words and actions. Hud “doesn’t give a damn,” and one can see how that attitude has a certain allure. But Homer does care, and Lonnie has to decide how he wants to live his life—which man he will find worthy of emulation.

“Lonnie, little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire.” That line stood out to me more than any other and I couldn’t help but to consider its truth, and question its relevance to the current state of society, in our culture.

Patricia Neal won an Academy Award for her performance as Alma Brown, the Bannon’s housekeeper, and she was fantastic in the role. Paul Newman delivers another riveting performance in the titular role as well. James Wong Howe also won an Academy Award for his cinematography, and it was well earned—the film is beautifully shot. It is a powerful drama and one of my favorite films of the decade.

More Great 60s Films:

Charade (1963) – Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant are wonderful in this murder-mystery that clearly seems to have drawn inspiration from Hitchcock. It has a fun plot with some excellent twists that keep the audience guessing all the way through. It is an enjoyable experience that can appeal to the whole family.

Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) – An important film that explores the themes of accountability and collective responsibility after one of, if not the, worst genocides in human history. Superbly acted by its ensemble cast, Judgment at Nuremberg is a three-hour film without a moment that drags. It is an absorbing and powerful courtroom drama and everyone should understand this history and see it.

Cactus Flower (1969) – I just love this movie. It is a predicable romantic comedy but it is full of laughs and charm. It is a pleasure to watch Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, and Goldie Hawn navigate the conflicts that arise in their entwined relationships. It’s simply delightful.