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The '60s.

National issues and events profoundly affect two families, one white and one black, in 1960s America.

Jordana Brewster

Alternative Title

Politics and human rights Racism and the powerful fight for justice Riveting political and presidential drama Military combat and heroic soldiers Political drama, patriotism, and war Teen friendship and coming-of-age Show All…

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Popular reviews

Review by Vann ★★★★

I watched this in my history class over the course of a week and I gotta say I was really captivated while watching this. Everyday after 4th period I was like yay! I get to go watch more! The soundtrack was pretty good too. I probably wouldn’t have watched this if we didn’t watch it in my 11th grade history class though.

Review by Rue ★★★

i mean.... it’s better than a week of shitty exam review at least

Review by nvinnie ★★★

More interesting than the second half of APUSH

Review by Ethan Masten ★★★½

that ending was so forced and cheesy

Review by George Bell ★★½

The ‘60s represents the format of the made-for-TV movie and network miniseries on its last legs. By the late 1990s, that format (which had served the broadcast networks so well during the 1980s) was being abandoned by them to HBO and the other cable systems, which by then had taken virtual custody of the Emmys. The networks were realizing that cheaply produced reality shows like Survivor and  American Idol were more profitable than the one-broadcast-with-rerun movies and miniseries of the ‘80s. The introduction of procedurals with Law & Order in 1991 put the final nail in the coffin to any type of special dramatic programming on the broadcast networks.

Unfortunately, The ‘60s doesn’t represent the form at its best. The greatest of…

Review by ali

da pra VER quando o diretor é branco

Review by magazinesyrup ★★★

The music is cool but dawg the fuck did i watch

Review by sslssg ★★★½

I think I would describe this as a very pleasant dip into the kiddie pool in the ocean of the 60s. I love the cast. I love the music. I even like the afterschool special type family drama. It's pretty superficial, but I also find it highly enjoyable. I'm glad I got a chance to catch this again.

Review by stuntgirl

i don't remember exactly when i watched this but it was in my AP US history class so like some time when i was about 17. it was very badly acted and it should have focused on the black family more than it did the white family considering they were both vastly more intriguing as characters and somewhat better actors

Review by Inedzto ★★

sarah was such a bop

Review by katie ★★★½

i honestly was expecting this to be boring but it was pretty good. some parts i feel could of been better, i personally would've wished to see more about emmet taylor honestly, feel like they didn't touch on him as much as they should've. i also feel as though some parts could've been a bit better but outside of that it was entertaining. also the choices of music were good too, love me some dylan

Review by julia ★★★½

No lowkey i really liked this movie!!!!!!!!! it made learning the 60s so interesting and i really enjoyed it. the characters were so interesting and it was awesome to see their development. some parts were a little ummmmmmm alright.......... but the soundtrack was good!!!!

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The ’60s

With every civil rights and antiwar demonstration and Vietnam war and social upheaval story already pretty much told, all that's left for the talented producer Lynda Obst is this ungainly four-hour ode to peace, love and Baby Boomer demos, an MTV-styled blast of grainy imagery and classic rock that disconnects from any real sense of profundity or purpose.

By Ray Richmond

Ray Richmond

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With every civil rights and antiwar demonstration and Vietnam war and social upheaval story already pretty much told, all that’s left for the talented producer Lynda Obst is this ungainly four-hour ode to peace, love and Baby Boomer demos, an MTV-styled blast of grainy imagery and classic rock that disconnects from any real sense of profundity or purpose.

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In truth, the two-night film (or miniseries, if you prefer) does pick up some emotional steam during its second and concluding night, thanks to a surprisingly affecting cast. But by then it’s pretty much too late to rescue a project whose very existence is difficult to peg, except as a baldfaced sweeps demo grab. Despite the presence behind the scenes of some bright creative minds (including executive producer Obst (“Risky Business,” “Hope Floats”) and co-writer Bill Couturie, who was behind the brilliant 1988 doc “Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam”), “The ’60s” feels too often like an awkward, quick-cut attempt to force-feed history to 20-year-olds who just don’t care.

Popular on Variety

The creative team makes an admirable stab at the impossible tack of putting the whole of the 1960s into a definitive context. Director Mark Piznarski’s scattered, if sometimes artful, work dispenses fictional elements with fact in ways that blur and unwittingly cheapen the memories so many hold dear. The mistake was in attempting to boil 10 very tumultuous years into three hours (minus commercials), and opting not to leave anything out, dooming well-known events such as the Kennedy assassination to the same travelogue-like treatment afforded the socioeconomic implications of a love-in.

Filmmakers peer at the ’60s through the prism of two fictional historical family composites — one white and middle class, the other Southern and black and ravaged by discrimination. The white family includes the boy who goes off to Vietnam an innocent and returns a disillusioned head case (Jerry O’Connell in a sharp performance), a rebellious teenage daughter who winds up pregnant and on the streets of Haight-Ashbury (Julia Stiles), the good son who becomes an antiwar activist (Josh Hamilton), the straitlaced father blindsided by the times (Bill Smitrovich) and the strong-willed mother struggling to get her wayward family back together (powerful work from Annie Corley).

The black family (far less defined here) is represented by a black minister in Mississippi (Charles S. Dutton) and his teenage son (Leonard Roberts) whose lives are forever changed in the crossfire of the deadly 1965 Watts Riots.

Some edgy, agonizing moments prop up the second installment (particularly involving Stiles and her life on the streets as a single mother) after an aimless, warp-speed opening two-hours that sprints through Vietnam, lunch counter sit-ins in the South, the JFK assassination, the roots of the antiwar movement, the free love-drug culture in San Francisco and Berkeley, the Beatles and the British Invasion, the rise of Martin Luther King Jr., the death of Malcolm X and the Watts Riots (a contrived bit of business set to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”). “The ’60s” covers it all from a Land Rover with a flash bulb.

Naturally, classic ’60s rock hits roll throughout the soundtrack, with tunes like “My Boyfriend’s Back,” Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” backing the mounds of newsreel footage and newly shot material designed to resemble the historical material, a conceit that more often than not confuses the issue.

While technically impressive and superficially entertaining, “The ’60s” is a collection of disparate images spliced together to look like something impressive. Though it contains a handful of scenes that embody true, raw power, it most often depicts this revolutionary decade as a series of Kodak moments — with nary a wide angle shot in the bunch.

NBC; Sun. Feb. 7, Mon. Feb. 8, 9 p.m.

• Production: Filmed in and around Los Angeles by Lynda Obst Prods. in association with NBC Studios. Executive producer, Lynda Obst; producer, Jim Chory; director, Mark Piznarski; writers, Bill Couturie, Robert Greenfield, Jeffrey Fiskin.
• Crew: Camera, Michael O'Shea; production designer, Vincent Jefferds; art director, Dawn Snyder; editor, Robert Frazen; music, Jed Feuer, Brian Adler; sound, Kenn Fuller; casting, Molly Lopata. Running time, 4 HOURS
• Cast: Brian Herlihy - Jerry O'Connell Michael Herlihy - Josh Hamilton Katie Herlihy - Julia Stiles Bill Herlihy - Bill Smitrovich Mary Herlihy - Annie Corley Emmet Taylor - Leonard Roberts Rev. Willie Taylor - Charles S. Dutton Sarah - Jordana Brewster Fred Hampton - David Alan Grier Kenny - Jeremy Sisto Father Daniel Berrigan - Cliff Gorman Neal Reynolds - Donovan Leitch Mama Earth - Carnie Wilson Hippie Mother - Rosanna Arquette With: Raynor Scheine, David Denman, Elisabeth Rohm, Mary Leahy, Heath Lourwood, Nushond Lee, Dana Smith, Hannah Whelan, Wavy Gravy.

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The '60s Reviews

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The turbulence of the '60s hits home for one peripatetic family: the Herlihys of Chicago. Brian (Jerry O'Connell) ships out to Vietnam, sister Kate (Julia Stiles) runs off to San Francisco and brother Michael joins a freedom ride to Mississippi. Michael: Josh Hamilton. Mary Herlihy: Annie Corley. Bill Herlihy: Bill Smitrovich. Sarah Weinstock: Jordana Brewster. Emmet Taylor: Leonard Roberts. Kenny Klein: Jeremy Sisto.

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The '60s

• The events of the 1960s affect the lives of two families, one white and one black.
• The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam, Michael becomes involved in the civil rights movement and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy becomes involved in radical politics, and Katie gets pregnant, moves to San Francisco and joins a hippie commune. Meanwhile, the Taylors are an African-American family living in the deep South. When Willie Taylor, a minister and civil rights organizer, is shot to death, his son Emmet moves to the city and eventually joins the Black Panthers, serving as a bodyguard for Fred Hampton. — Anonymous

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The 60s (1999)

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50 best movies of the '60s

Top 50 movies of the '60s.

As one of America's most transformative decades, the 1960s represented a cultural shift on multiple fronts, cinema being no exception. Between the emerging youth market, the collapse of the studio system , the influence of foreign films, increased competition from television, and a variety of other factors, the decade ushered in new paradigms of big-screen entertainment. Old Hollywood became New Hollywood, and along with this changing of the guard there arose an endless sense of possibility and innovation.

It's almost impossible to overstate the influence of seminal 1960s movies or their respective departures from previous norms. As if spitting in the face of the Hays Code—which officially ended in 1968 —films such as "Bonnie & Clyde'' and "The Wild Bunch" offered stark depictions of violence. And whereas Old Hollywood movies would often coyly infer their sexual themes, comedies like "The Graduate" put those very same themes front and center. Over in Europe, meanwhile, movements like the French New Wave were likewise exploring new terrain and influencing a legion of aspiring filmmakers in the process.

Even with so much change in the air, however, there was still plenty of room left for a good old-fashioned John Wayne Western or blockbuster musical. In the same sense that Frank Sinatra was a contemporary of The Rolling Stones, movies such as "Funny Girl" and "Oliver!" were released the same year as "2001: A Space Odyssey." Of course, it was the latter—along with works like "Easy Rider"—that challenged the medium's very own conventions.

In the immediate wake of this historic transition, there came a slew of talented young visionaries. Having absorbed the technical innovations and narrative devices of 1960s cinema, directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg carried the torch into the next decade and beyond. To this day, they remain synonymous with the modern era of filmmaking. But the true modern era started with their influences both in America and abroad.

To honor the decade in which everything changed, Stacker compiled data on all '60s movies to come up with a Stacker score—a weighted index split evenly between  IMDb and  Metacritic scores. To qualify, the film had to have a release date between 1960 and 1969, a Metascore, and at least 5,000 votes. Ties were broken by Metascore and further ties were broken by IMDb user rating. Counting down from #50 to #1, here are the greatest movies of the 1960s.

#50. The Graduate (1967)

- Director: Mike Nichols - Stacker score: 89.1 - Metascore: 83 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 106 minutes

Not only did this seminal comedy capture the spirit of its era, it also ushered in a new mode of American storytelling . It centers on disaffected grad student Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) who gets romantically entangled with both a young woman and her lascivious mother (Anne Bancroft). In addition to its modern themes, the film features unforgettable dialogue and a classic soundtrack from Simon & Garfunkel.

#49. The Miracle Worker (1962)

- Director: Arthur Penn - Stacker score: 89.6 - Metascore: 83 - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Runtime: 106 minutes

This Academy Award-winning biopic tells the true story of Anne Sullivan (played by Anne Bancroft) and Helen Keller (played by Patty Duke). As Keller's tutor, Sullivan is tasked with teaching her blind and deaf pupil how to communicate. Arthur Penn directed both the original play version and then this big screen adaptation .

#48. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

- Director: Jacques Demy - Stacker score: 89.6 - Metascore: 86 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 91 minutes

French multi-hyphenate Jacques Demy directs Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo in this musical drama. In the spirit of certain operas or stage musicals, all the film's dialogue is sung. The story unfolds in three parts and spins a tale of romance against the backdrop of the Algerian War.

#47. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

- Director: Arthur Penn - Stacker score: 89.6 - Metascore: 86 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 111 minutes

If there's a single film that divides Old Hollywood from new, it could very well be this seminal crime saga. Loosely based on actual events , it follows a small-town waitress (Faye Dunaway) and her ex-con boyfriend (Warren Beatty) on a Depression-era robbery spree. The two anti-heroes at its center took the world by storm, as did the movie's uncompromising portrayal of gun violence.

#46. Goldfinger (1964)

- Director: Guy Hamilton - Stacker score: 89.6 - Metascore: 87 - IMDb user rating: 7.7 - Runtime: 110 minutes

The third official Bond entry is also the best , according to the Tomatometer and numerous fans alike. Sean Connery reprises the role and takes on his most formidable adversary yet, a thieving bullion dealer by the name of Auric Goldfinger. Everything that made the early franchise iconic was either introduced or perfected here.

#45. Faces (1968)

- Director: John Cassavetes - Stacker score: 89.6 - Metascore: 88 - IMDb user rating: 7.6 - Runtime: 130 minutes

Helmer John Cassavetes employs his signature cinéma vérité style in this acclaimed drama about a crumbling upper class marriage. It's the last of the director's works to be shot in black and white and the first to star wife Gena Rowlands. Nominated for three Oscars, it set an early and influential benchmark for DIY filmmaking .

#44. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

- Director: Sergio Leone - Stacker score: 90.2 - Metascore: 80 - IMDb user rating: 8.5 - Runtime: 165 minutes

Gritty in tone and sweeping in scope, Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western chronicles a violent dispute over a profitable piece of land. Henry Fonda plays against type as a ruthless mercenary, who kills at the behest of a greedy railroad tycoon. Quentin Tarantino is such a fan that he recently dubbed it "the movie that made [him] consider filmmaking."

#43. Band of Outsiders (1964)

- Director: Jean-Luc Godard - Stacker score: 90.2 - Metascore: 88 - IMDb user rating: 7.7 - Runtime: 95 minutes

From the director of "Breathless" comes this French New Wave crime dramedy with offbeat overtones. Follow two Hollywood-obsessed crooks as they convince a young woman (Anna Karina) to help them rob her own home. Featured in the film is an improvisation-style dance sequence that took on a life of its own in pop culture .

#42. Spartacus (1960)

- Director: Stanley Kubrick - Stacker score: 90.7 - Metascore: 87 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 197 minutes

Kirk Douglas plays the slave Spartacus and leads a revolt against the Roman Republic in this Oscar-winning epic. Douglas was so passionate about the project that he bought the rights to the source material using his own money . Stanley Kubrick wasn't originally attached to helm , only boarding the project after Douglas fell out with original director Anthony Mann.

#41. Mary Poppins (1964)

- Director: Robert Stevenson - Stacker score: 90.7 - Metascore: 88 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 139 minutes

Entertaining young children to this day, "Mary Poppins" tells the story of its eponymous British nanny (Julie Andrews). Upon descending from the sky by way of a magic umbrella, Poppins whips a family into shape. The blockbuster film won five Academy Awards , including Best Original Music Score.

#40. The Innocents (1961)

- Director: Jack Clayton - Stacker score: 90.7 - Metascore: 88 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 100 minutes

Adapted from a Henry James novella, this British horror classic explores the fine line between the psychological and supernatural. After arriving at a new estate, a young governess (Deborah Kerr) grows increasingly convinced that the grounds are haunted. Martin Scorsese considers it one of the scariest films of all time .

#39. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

- Director: Stanley Kubrick - Stacker score: 91.3 - Metascore: 84 - IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Runtime: 149 minutes

Something of a head-scratcher upon its 1968 debut , Kubruck's sci-fi classic has achieved true masterpiece status over time. Depicting human evolution as the result of advanced alien forces, it influenced an endless swath of subsequent space epics. Kubrick was involved in virtually every aspect of production , even choosing the fabrics for some of the actor's costumes.

#38. Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

- Director: Luchino Visconti - Stacker score: 91.3 - Metascore: 84 - IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Runtime: 179 minutes

Luchino Visconti's sweeping Italian drama follows five brothers as they move from a small village to the big city. It breaks down into chapters and dedicates each chapter to the respective story of each brother. An original three-hour version was shortened for foreign distribution and has since been restored .

#37. Persona (1966)

- Director: Ingmar Bergman - Stacker score: 91.3 - Metascore: 86 - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Runtime: 83 minutes

A series of intense visuals sets the stage for Bergman's surrealist nightmare. What appears to be a story about a mute actress (Liv Ullmann) and her nurse (Bibi Andersson) doubles as a meditation on various themes, including the nature of cinema itself. Critics and cinephiles are still trying to figure this one out .

#36. A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

- Director: Daniel Petrie - Stacker score: 91.3 - Metascore: 87 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 128 minutes

Playwright Lorraine Hansberry adapted her own Broadway play when writing the script for this acclaimed social drama. It tells the story of a struggling African American family, who become the unexpected recipients of a hefty insurance payout. As they hash out their plans, an alternative glimpse of American life unfolds.

#35. The Birds (1963)

- Director: Alfred Hitchcock - Stacker score: 91.3 - Metascore: 90 - IMDb user rating: 7.7 - Runtime: 119 minutes

Alfred Hitchcock was at a creative peak when he unleashed this classic horror flick, in which vicious birds descend upon a small town. Both real birds and mechanical ones were used during production, as were a number of "yellow screen" effects . To attract the real birds during the shoot, many of the film's actors smeared ground meat and anchovies on their hands.

#34. Eyes Without a Face (1960)

- Director: Georges Franju - Stacker score: 91.3 - Metascore: 90 - IMDb user rating: 7.7 - Runtime: 90 minutes

A trailblazing work, this eerie French-language film set early precedents for the body horror subgenre. In the hopes of giving his daughter a new face, a guilt-ridden surgeon goes to maniacal extremes. Not just a major cinematic influence for decades to come , the movie also inspired a top-selling Billy Idol song .

#33. The Great Escape (1963)

- Director: John Sturges - Stacker score: 91.8 - Metascore: 86 - IMDb user rating: 8.2 - Runtime: 172 minutes

Allied prisoners plot a massive escape from a German POW camp in this WWII actioner. While based on actual events, the story does take its liberties. For instance, the real-life escape didn't involve any motorbike chases .

#32. In Cold Blood (1967)

- Director: Richard Brooks - Stacker score: 91.8 - Metascore: 89 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 134 minutes

Truman Capote's game-changing novel inspired this noirish docudrama. In the wake of a botched robbery turned quadruple homicide, two drifters must come to terms with their heinous act. Naturalistic performances from lead actors Robert Blake and Scott Wilson lend the work a chilling degree of verisimilitude.

#31. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

- Director: George A. Romero - Stacker score: 91.8 - Metascore: 89 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 96 minutes

Armed with a great idea and an estimated budget of just over $100,000, filmmaker George Romero churned out this landmark horror classic. Not only did it spawn a number of sequels, but it more or less single-handedly launched the entire zombie subgenre. Funnily enough, the word "zombie" is never once uttered in the film .

#30. Repulsion (1965)

- Director: Roman Polanski - Stacker score: 91.8 - Metascore: 91 - IMDb user rating: 7.7 - Runtime: 105 minutes

The first English-language film from Roman Polanski kicked off the director's informal "Apartment Trilogy." Layering psychosexual themes beneath a veneer of claustrophobic anxiety, it chronicles the breakdown of a repressed woman (Catherine Deneuve). Writing for The A.V. Club, critic Greg Cwik claimed that the film "pioneered a new genre of gendered horror."

#29. Z (1969)

- Director: Costa-Gavras - Stacker score: 92.3 - Metascore: 86 - IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Runtime: 127 minutes

This taut political drama centers on the assassination of a Greek pacifist leader and subsequent cover-up. Inspired by the real-life killing of political figure Grigoris Lambrakis , it follows two men on their search for truth and justice. Roger Ebert called it "a political cry of rage and a brilliant suspense thriller" in his four-star review.

#28. Masculin Féminin (1966)

- Director: Jean-Luc Godard - Stacker score: 92.3 - Metascore: 93 - IMDb user rating: 7.6 - Runtime: 103 minutes

Director Jean-Luc Godard turns his attention toward "the children of Marx and Coca-Cola" in this romantic dramedy. At its heart is the Parisian love affair between a wayward idealist (Jean-Pierre Léaud) and rising pop star (Chantal Goya). In addition to its unique sense of self-awareness, the film provides a candid snapshot of 1960s youth culture .

#27. Le Petit Soldat (1963)

- Director: Jean-Luc Godard - Stacker score: 92.3 - Metascore: 97 - IMDb user rating: 7.2 - Runtime: 88 minutes

As one of history's most influential directors, it's no surprise that Jean-Luc Godard crafted many of the decade's best films. This one takes place during the Algerian War and follows the affair between two lovers with opposing political views. It was shot in 1960 but initially banned due to stark depictions of torture and a subversive outlook.

#26. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

- Director: Robert Mulligan - Stacker score: 92.9 - Metascore: 88 - IMDb user rating: 8.2 - Runtime: 129 minutes

Harper Lee's timeless novel made for an equally timeless film with "To Kill a Mockingbird." Set in a small Southern town during the Depression, it puts lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) up against hostile locals in the midst of a racially charged case. The film features a classic six-and-a-half minute speech from Finch, which was reportedly nailed by Peck in one take .

#25. The Hustler (1961)

- Director: Robert Rossen - Stacker score: 92.9 - Metascore: 90 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 134 minutes

Paul Newman stars as pool shark "Fast" Eddie Felson in this acclaimed 1961 drama. Down on his luck and out of money, Felson hustles his way back to the top, grappling with his own soul along the way. Newman would later reprise the role in the 1986 follow-up "The Color of Money."

#24. Hara-Kiri (1962)

- Director: Masaki Kobayashi - Stacker score: 93.4 - Metascore: 85 - IMDb user rating: 8.6 - Runtime: 133 minutes

Peace has spread across 17th-century Japan and that's bad news for thousands of samurai, who are left without a cause or a master. Prepared to commit the honorable act of hara-kiri—a form of ritual suicide—an elder warrior first learns of the tragic fate that befell his son-in-law. So begins a brutal showdown between the lone samurai and a feudal lord.

#23. 8½ (1963)

- Director: Federico Fellini - Stacker score: 93.4 - Metascore: 91 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 138 minutes

Federico Fellini's autobiographical masterpiece follows the misadventures of his thinly veiled counterpart, an overstressed director named Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni). Against a whirling backdrop of fantasy and memory, Anselmi prepares for his next film. Roger Ebert once called it "the best film ever made about filmmaking."

#22. The Servant (1963)

- Director: Joseph Losey - Stacker score: 94 - Metascore: 93 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 116 minutes

This British drama explores the shifting dynamic between a wealthy aristocrat (James Fox) and his scheming servant (Sir Dirk Bogarde). When adapting the source novella, screenwriter Harold Pinter was tasked with tempering its overtly gay themes . The film is also often viewed as a commentary on Britain's postwar decline .

#21. Chimes at Midnight (1965)

- Director: Orson Welles - Stacker score: 94 - Metascore: 94 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 115 minutes

Adapting multiple Shakespeare plays , this once-overlooked drama follows the adventures of Sir John Falstaff (Orson Welles) and Prince Hal (Keith Baxter). It debuted at Cannes to hostile reception and then all but vanished for decades . Resurrected and reappraised, it's now considered one of Welles' greatest achievements.

#20. The Producers (1967)

- Director: Mel Brooks - Stacker score: 94 - Metascore: 96 - IMDb user rating: 7.6 - Runtime: 88 minutes

Comedy legend Mel Brooks presents the story of producers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, who put together a play called "Springtime for Hitler." If the play sounds like a guaranteed disaster in the making, that's the plan, as both men realize they can make more money by producing a flop. The film pulls off an impressive feat in that it both celebrates and skewers Broadway musicals at the very same time. For somewhat obvious reasons, it was banned in Germany for many years.

#19. A Hard Day's Night (1964)

- Director: Richard Lester - Stacker score: 94 - Metascore: 96 - IMDb user rating: 7.6 - Runtime: 87 minutes

Released at the height of Beatlemania, this whimsical romp spends nearly two days in the life of the Fab Four. Zany antics and killer songs move the story forward at a brisk pace, lending the film a certain timeless allure. The opening scene of the band running from hordes of fans has been more or less ingrained into the collective cultural consciousness.

#18. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

- Director: Stuart Rosenberg - Stacker score: 94.5 - Metascore: 92 - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Runtime: 127 minutes

A laid-back southerner arrives in prison, where—to the chagrin of a cruel warden—his infectious behavior has a discernible effect on his fellow inmates. So goes 1967's "Cool Hand Luke," starring Paul Newman in the iconic title role. An ex-convict named Don Pearce wrote the source novel and also co-wrote the script, basing the character on a real-life legend .

#17. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

- Director: John Frankenheimer - Stacker score: 94.5 - Metascore: 94 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 126 minutes

This taut political thriller stars Frank Sinatra as former POW Major Bennett Marco, who gets brainwashed into becoming a Cold War assassin. To get the film greenlit by reluctant studio executives, Sinatra had his friend, President John F. Kennedy, give them a call . It didn't perform too well at the box office, but has since endured as a favorite among cinema buffs and conspiracy theorists alike.

#16. My Fair Lady (1964)

- Director: George Cukor - Stacker score: 94.5 - Metascore: 95 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 170 minutes

In this adaptation of a Broadway musical, a phonetics professor (Rex Harrison) wagers he can transform a lowly flower girl into a member of high society. Screen legend Audrey Hepburn plays the female lead, a role portrayed by Julie Andrews in the Broadway version. Both Andrews and Hepburn received Best Actress nominations at the 1965 Golden Globes . It was Andrews who ended up walking away with the award, for her performance in "Mary Poppins."

#15. Samurai Rebellion (1967)

- Director: Masaki Kobayashi - Stacker score: 95.1 - Metascore: 90 - IMDb user rating: 8.4 - Runtime: 128 minutes

A samurai is torn between two codes in this acclaimed Japanese drama. On one side is the demands of a feudal lord and on the other is the love between his son and daughter-in-law. When the daughter-in-law gets kidnapped, all bets are off.

#14. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

- Director: John Ford - Stacker score: 95.6 - Metascore: 94 - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Runtime: 123 minutes

One among a number of collaborations between director John Ford and actor John Wayne, this black and white drama centers on a supposedly heroic senator (James Stewart). Heralded as the man who once shot and killed a notorious criminal, he returns to the town in which the deed took place. It's only then that the true story is revealed.

#13. La Dolce Vita (1960)

- Director: Federico Fellini - Stacker score: 95.6 - Metascore: 95 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 174 minutes

Striking a balance between satire and sentimentality, Fellini dives into the world of Rome's elite class. His avatar for the journey is lustful journalist Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni), who indulges in a variety of hedonistic whims. If not for this film and a character named Paparazzo (Walter Santesso), the word "paparazzi" wouldn't exist .

#12. Jules and Jim (1962)

- Director: François Truffaut - Stacker score: 95.6 - Metascore: 97 - IMDb user rating: 7.8 - Runtime: 105 minutes

From French New Wave icon François Truffaut comes the story of a love triangle between two men and one woman. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel, it kicks off just before WWI and unfolds over the course of many years. On Empire's list of "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema," this one lands at #46 .

#11. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

- Director: Roman Polanski - Stacker score: 96.2 - Metascore: 96 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 137 minutes

This horror classic tells the story of Catholic housewife, Rosemary (Mia Farrow), who believes that something's terribly wrong with her unborn child. As it turns out, she's carrying the spawn of the devil himself. It's the second installment in Polanski's unofficial "Apartment Trilogy."

#10. The Wild Bunch (1969)

- Director: Sam Peckinpah - Stacker score: 96.2 - Metascore: 97 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 135 minutes

Gritty director Sam Peckinpah offers this violent Western, in which a group of aging gunslingers get together for one last job. Set in 1913, the story finds its rugged protagonists struggling to keep pace with a rapidly changing society. The action culminates with a deadly standoff in a Mexican village.

#9. The Apartment (1960)

- Director: Billy Wilder - Stacker score: 96.7 - Metascore: 94 - IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Runtime: 125 minutes

Billy Wilder's 1960 comedy centers on aspiring corporate type C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon), who lends his pad to company executives for their extramarital trysts. Things get complicated when it turns out the personnel director is having an affair with the girl of Baxter's dreams. The film won five Academy Awards , including Best Picture.

#8. The Battle of Algiers (1966)

- Director: Gillo Pontecorvo - Stacker score: 96.7 - Metascore: 96 - IMDb user rating: 8.1 - Runtime: 121 minutes

One of the most influential political films ever made , this gripping war drama presents the Algerian Revolution from alternating perspectives. Fact-based storytelling and realistic violence generate a documentary-like aesthetic and so too does the black-and-white palette. Viewers may occasionally forget that they're watching a fictionalized version of events.

#7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

- Director: Sergio Leone - Stacker score: 97.3 - Metascore: 90 - IMDb user rating: 8.8 - Runtime: 178 minutes

Sergio Leone's brutal "Dollars Trilogy" redefined the Western genre and made Clint Eastwood one of Hollywood's hottest stars. In this series apex, three rugged gunslingers square off over a buried fortune. The film's ruthless characters and unforgettable score continue to bolster its enduring legacy among critics and fans.

#6. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)

- Director: Robert Bresson - Stacker score: 97.8 - Metascore: 100 - IMDb user rating: 7.9 - Runtime: 95 minutes

Robert Bresson's minimalist masterpiece follows the tragic life of a mistreated donkey and the girl who once owned him. A spiritual companion piece to 1967's "Mouchette," it likewise tackles themes of powerlessness and abuse in a hostile world. This one is not for the faint of heart.

#5. The Leopard (1963)

- Director: Luchino Visconti - Stacker score: 98.4 - Metascore: 100 - IMDb user rating: 8.0 - Runtime: 186 minutes

Italian director Luchino Visconti chronicles the waning days of the Sicilian aristocracy in this historical epic. As the world rapidly changes around him, a prince (Burt Lancaster) proves himself inert against the rising tide. The story builds to a 45-minute ballroom sequence of considerable regard .

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

- Director: Stanley Kubrick - Stacker score: 98.9 - Metascore: 97 - IMDb user rating: 8.4 - Runtime: 95 minutes

Based on a decidedly non-comic novel, this pitch black comedy escalates a series of military mishaps to the point of global destruction. Actor Slim Pickens—who plays an overzealous cowboy pilot— thought they were making a serious war drama the whole time . While that wasn't the case, director Stanley Kubrick has indeed depicted war from a more sobering perspective in other films.

#3. Army of Shadows (1969)

- Director: Jean-Pierre Melville - Stacker score: 98.9 - Metascore: 99 - IMDb user rating: 8.2 - Runtime: 145 minutes

This acclaimed thriller adapts a novel of the same name and goes deep into the French underground during WWII. Pulling no punches, it tracks the efforts of resistance fighters as they attempt to take down the Nazi regime. Once a member of the French Resistance himself , director Jean-Pierre Melville drew upon personal experience when crafting the work.

#2. Psycho (1960)

- Director: Alfred Hitchcock - Stacker score: 99.5 - Metascore: 97 - IMDb user rating: 8.5 - Runtime: 109 minutes

Hitchcock went to great lengths to ensure this groundbreaking slasher film delivered maximum thrills and surprises. That included prohibiting late admittance to the theater , and reportedly having his assistant buy up copies of the source novel so as to prevent spoilers. Bear witness to serial killer Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and the legendary shower scene that's still dissected in film schools to this day.

#1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

- Director: David Lean - Stacker score: 100 - Metascore: 100 - IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Runtime: 228 minutes

Winner of seven Academy Awards , director David Lean's WWI epic tells the story of British officer T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole). On assignment in Arabia, Lawrence helps lead native tribes in a guerrilla war against the Turks. The film's wide-reaching influence touched down on a number of subsequent blockbusters, including "Star Wars."

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The 32 best '60s movies

As American society dramatically changed, foreign filmmakers produced work that eclipsed big Hollywood studio features.

Whatever you think the 1960s to have been like or looked like, think again. The tumultuous decade is multi-faceted in all manner of ways, including movies. But which films of the 1960s are actually the best?

In a decade characterized by changing societal norms, not to mention the civil rights movement and the political quagmire that was Vietnam, movies of the 1960s similarly reflected a global community in flux. Avant-garde foreign imports from Japan, Italy, France, and elsewhere took attention away from tried-and-true American styles. All the while, filmmakers saw their craft defied by a new, cheaper alternative of entertainment: television. Rather than offer a higher level of spectacle than TV’s miniscule budgets could match, however, films of the decade sought to challenge audiences with more subversive stories that redrew the boundaries of acceptability. 

Like the 1950s before it, the 1960s foresaw the moral ambiguities of the near future. As the parochial Hays Code lost its vise grip, the sudden explosion of New Hollywood – already precluded by the French New Wave – gave filmmakers more creative authorship, allowing them to reflect in their films a hip counterculture that permeated in cities, communes, and university campuses everywhere. 

With so many classic movies to name, here are just 32 of the best movies of the 1960s.

32. Batman (1966)

Holy cinema, Batman! Originally engineered by producer William Dozier simply to promote the TV series, the 1966 film Batman (directed by Leslie H. Martinson) now represents camp art in all its extravagant glory. Starring Adam West in the role that made him famous, the Caped Crusader does battle against Gotham City’s most nefarious evildoers who’ve teamed up as the United Underworld. While it is by no means the best superhero movie ever made, its summation of the famous television series – all blown up for the big screen – makes Batman one of the most colorful, most outrageous, and indeed, most fun commercial films in a challenging decade. Truly there are some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.

31. Barbarella (1968)

A cult film of the highest order, Jane Fonda stars in a B-grade sci-fi gem whose appeal is the fact that, well, it has Jane Fonda being a total hottie in space. (And Barbarella is so genuinely watchable because of Fonda’s game-for-anything zeal.) Based on the French comic book series, the movie follows Barbarella (Fonda), a space traveler sent to find a scientist with a weapon capable of wiping out humanity. After stars like Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren turned down the part, Fonda hesitated over its sexualized nature; at the time, Fonda was at the center of two nudity scandals involving the films Circle of Love and The Game Is Over. But Fonda was sold when she was told by director Roger Vadim that sci-fi will soon be a prestigious genre. With Star Wars still nine years away, Vadim was pretty much right, even if Barbarella isn’t as big of a franchise today.

30. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

In Jacques Demy’s unforgettable romantic sung-through musical, a young French couple are eager to start forever after until they are torn apart by the Algerian War. When they inevitably reunite, the frigid temperatures reveal a once-heated passion gone cold. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo co-star as an enchanting onscreen pair who represent the universal thrill of being young and in love, the tragedy of finding love too early, and the bitter acceptance that life will not always work out the way you plan. Of the movies that make up Demy’s romantic trilogy – including Lola (1961) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) – The Umbrellas of Cherbourg stands tallest as a movie truest to the bittersweet ephemera of young love. 

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29. Onibaba (1964)

It’s a movie so frightening that it scared even William Friedkin, the director of The Exorcist. A retelling of a Buddhist parable involving a cursed mask that punishes those who wear it, Onibaba follows two women who lure wandering samurai to kill them and sell their armaments for money. When a man gets between them, ancient feelings like envy and rage swirl like the winds of a dark unholy storm. A macabre picture with supreme eldritch energy, this elaborate metaphor for Japan’s residual traumas from the atomic bombs takes on extra meaning when you know that writer/director Kaneto Shindō was from Hiroshima. Onibaba was one of Shindō’s many pictures grappling with the horrors of nuclear annihilation and his own personal reality of seeing his home leveled and its survivors left with irremovable wounds. 

28. Easy Rider (1969)

The American New Wave began full throttle with Easy Rider, a modern Western if there ever was one. Directed by Dennis Hopper and written by Hopper with Peter Fonda and Terry Southern, Easy Rider follows two motorcyclists (played by Hopper and Fonda) who ride from the American South and venture westward with money earned from a lucrative cocaine deal. A landmark counterculture epic, Easy Rider single-handedly shaped our collective vocabulary for the open road as the last frontier for adventure, and the only place left on Earth to find a sense of identity and freedom. 

27. The Apartment (1960)

If only walls could talk. In Billy Wilder’s 1960 rom-com The Apartment, Jack Lemmon plays an ambitious insurance employee who, in the hope of rising up in his workplace, allows his senior coworkers to use his Upper West Side apartment for their extramarital affairs. Things get complicated when Lemmon’s Bud falls in love with Fran (Shirley MacLaine), who is having an affair with Bud’s own boss. Loosely inspired by the 1945 British film Brief Encounter and a real-life Hollywood scandal involving a producer’s affair that happened out of their employee’s apartment, The Apartment is a delightful comedy about never being too close to the action.

26. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Harper Lee’s seminal novel from 1960, about a principled lawyer who defends an innocent Black man accused of sexual assault, was masterfully adapted for the screen two years later by director Robert Mulligan. Starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Mary Badham as his young daughter Scout – whose perspective provides the story’s primary point of view – Mulligan’s film version has earned acclaim as an American classic in its own right, being a tender and stirring study of growing up in an environment of prejudice. Through Finch’s unforgettable defense monologue (with Mulligan’s camera wisely taking the perspective of the jury) To Kill a Mockingbird has given untold generations an instruction in standing up for what’s right, even when justice is in short supply.

25. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Before The Walking Dead, there was George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, which not only introduced zombies to the American pop culture lexicon but arguably did the genre best. Set in rural Pennsylvania, seven survivors hole up in a farmhouse as hordes of flesh-eating corpses have suddenly come to life everywhere. Not only did Night of the Living Dead write the playbook for all zombie horror stories, but its casting of Black actor Duane Jones (as leading man Ben) was both revolutionary and pointedly political, forever turning zombies into a dynamic and fluid metaphor for what man deems monstrous in its heartbreaking twist ending. 

24. Planet of the Apes (1968)

Loosely based on Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel, Franklin J. Schaffner’s film version Planet of the Apes stars Charlton Heston as an astronaut who lands on a strange planet where mankind is primitive, and talking apes have assumed dominance as the most intelligent species. While Planet of the Apes spawned a franchise, the original by Schaffner is a towering piece of science fiction that is both technically spectacular and spiritually foreboding. All these years later, Planet of the Apes still hits hard as a powerful warning against mankind’s arrogant regard to its place on the food chain.

23. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Based on Richard Condon’s novel, this dark psychological thriller by John Frankenheimer is one of the defining pictures of the Cold War that capitalized on the era’s prevalent paranoia over enemies lurking from within. Released just a year before JFK’s assassination, the movie follows a Korean War veteran, Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), who is unknowingly brainwashed by Communists and is sent back to the United States to kill a presidential candidate. Also starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury, this formative spy thriller’s abundant politicking and conspiring permanently set the bar for all spy thrillers after it. Its innovations in the genre are still seen in modern likeminded movies, spanning The Bourne Identity to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. An equally formidable modern remake released in 2004, with Denzel Washington, Liev Schrieber, and Meryl Streep as its stars.

22. Barefoot in the Park (1967)

Jane Fonda and Robert Redford have never been funnier or hotter than as a newlywed couple who come down from their honeymoon bliss to deal with reality’s sense of humor. After moving into a five-flight Manhattan walk-up apartment, free-spirited Corie (a delirious Fonda) and somewhat more uptight Paul (Redford, boasting sharp comic timing) learn what it actually means to have and to hold when their first few months together aren’t what either of them imagined. Though the plot is light as a feather, the film – based on Neil Simon’s play and directed by Gene Saks – endures thanks to the radiant charisma of its handsome cast. 

21. Mary Poppins (1964)

One of Disney ’s biggest hits emerged in the 1960s, with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke dancing and singing about the virtues of living a more engaged family life. In Edwardian London, a magical woman flies from the skies to answer the Banks childrens’ call for “The Perfect Nanny.” She is Mary Poppins (Andrews), a most mysterious entity who is both gentle and firm, and exactly the spoonful of sugar the Banks family needs to be whole again. Technically dazzling and wholesome at heart, Mary Poppins stands as one of Disney’s most iconic and successful live action movies ever, and for good reason. What else is there to say but, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”

20. Tokyo Drifter (1966)

Seijun Suzuki’s homage to gunslinger Westerns comes in the form of his unbelievably stylish gangster film Tokyo Drifter, about a reformed hitman named Tetsu (Tesuya Watari) caught in the middle of rival gangs trying to consolidate power. Suzuki, known for his eccentric visual style, was first forced by the studio to tone down his onscreen sensibilities; the studio gave him a small budget to make sure Suzuki color within their lines. In retaliation, Suzuki sourced inspiration from 1950s musical films, absurdist comedy, and the emerging pop art scene to create his most surreal picture up to that point. This philosophy of rebellion-as-declaration seeps through Tokyo Drifter’s pores, its restrained maximalism contained in its frames create an experience where you can’t forget how it feels even if you can’t figure out what’s going on.

19. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Georgy Roy Hill’s Western classic, written by William Goldman, co-stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as cinema’s coolest, most untouchable outlaws in their desperate escape to Bolivia. Do they survive? The answer to that is less interesting than the rich, riveting journey that Butch Cassidy (Newman) and Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. “Sundance Kid” (Redford) embark on throughout the film, being partners in crime whose tight bond make them the patron saints of brotherhood and bromance. Though unpopular in its release, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has won reverence as a film that testifies that the greatest reward aren’t the riches you abscond with, but the experiences you can collect with those who matter most. 

18. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

All music videos, rock star documentaries, concert films, and TikTok reels owe a debt to A Hard Day’s Night. A kaleidoscope of comedy and music, Richard Lester’s film, full of quick cuts and hand-held hysteria, captures The Beatles at the apex of Beatlemania. But rather than being an indulgent, self-important documentary about fame-induced drama and fatigue, A Hard Day’s Night sees the Liverpool rockers causing a ruckus everywhere they go – with nary a real story in sight. From trolling interviewers with Marx Brothers-like routines to escaping screaming fans who move like hornet swarms, A Hard Day’s Night is less Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and more French New Wave in its freewheeling mischief and ingenuity.

17. The Birds (1963)

After Alfred Hitchcock, we never saw flocks of birds the same way again. In this iconic 1963 horror film, based on a 1952 short story by Daphne du Maurier and loosely inspired by a freak mass bird attack in the town of Capitola, California two years earlier, aggressive birds terrorize the residents of a sleepy town. While killer crows and pigeons may sound corny on paper, a filmmaking sovereign like Hitchcock delivers a stone cold horror classic in which nature still maintains its dominance no matter mankind’s scientific progress. Between its masterful use of silence and early special effects craftsmanship, The Birds will never stop taking flight – and making us run for cover.

16. The Graduate (1967)

Mike Nichols’ romantic dramedy, an early independent film hit, expertly captured the restless spirit of ‘60s youth in its story about a college graduate (Dustin Hoffman) who starts an affair with an older woman (Anne Bancroft) while falling for her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross). To pull off its unforgettable ending, in which the two lovebirds slowly realize the crushing magnitude of their actions, was a stroke of genius on Nichols’ part. By simply not telling his actors what to do next after they get on the bus, their physical fatigue mirrors spiritual ambivalence. As both Hoffman and Ross cease smiling over a bafflingly long take, their tiresome expressions reveal their characters’ uncertainty if love is strong enough to last.

15. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

One of many iconic American films to stand for counterculture defiance during the Vietnam War, director Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke stars Paul Newman as a Florida prisoner who refuses to let his chains hold him down. The film was written by Donn Pearce, whose own criminal background and two years in the chain gangs of the Florida Department of Corrections inspired both his novel and the film. Inspiring and stirring, Cool Hand Luke is practically an instructional video on how to keep composure and outsmart everyone else in a hostile place that wants to see you drop dead.

14. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Sergio Leone spent the 1960s defining Italian-made Westerns with his Dollars Trilogy, which follows the nomadic exploits of the Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood). In the final film after A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), Leone’s picture follows three gunslingers – played by Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef – who race to find buried Confederate gold during the American Civil War. While personal opinions vary on which of the trilogy are the best of the three, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is simply too epic to ignore and remains arguably the most emblematic of all spaghetti Westerns. Between its memorable cinematography and operatic violence, action filmmakers have spent decades taking inspiration from Leone’s enduring masterpiece.

13. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

It is a cold comfort that you never see the baby’s face. In Roman Polanski’s psychological horror movie, Mia Farrow plays a young wife in Manhattan who suspects she may be targeted by her neighbors to give birth to something unholy. Polanski’s film – which also stars John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Mauriece Evans, and Charles Grodin in his film debut – is a searing and ultra-dark thriller about a woman’s loss of agency (woefully ironic coming from Polanski) and how the 20th century society’s march towards secularism may be humankind’s undoing. Rosemary’s Baby was just ahead of the curve as hysteria over Satanic cults would quickly take a predominant place in newspaper headlines throughout the 1970s and 1980s. 

12. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Can someone’s life be so epic, it becomes one of the greatest adventure movies ever made? 20th century British archaeologist, army officer, and writer T. E. Lawrence apparently lived such a life that became David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. Starring Peter O’Toole, who at the time was an unknown actor but was liked by Lean (from his 1960 film The Day They Robbed the Bank of England), the movie follows Lawrence across the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The movie itself explores Lawrence’s difficulty in reconciling with violence and his divided allegiance between Britain and his newfound allies within Arabian forces. A spectacular blockbuster in an era that didn’t make many of them, Lawrence of Arabia gallops with ferocity and a sense of adventure that won’t be seen until Raiders of the Lost Ark almost 20 years later.

11. High and Low (1963)

Akira Kurosawa is, for good reason, renowned as a director of everlasting samurai epics. But even when he zags from his own zigs, the famed artist maintains all his best traits, like his theatrical-like formality and strong-willed characters clashing against oppressive forces. Enter: High and Low, Kurosawa’s propulsive, finely-composed crime drama from 1963. Based on the novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain, a wealthy executive (Toshiro Mifune) learns his son is kidnapped and held for ransom, kicking off a sweaty, forward-moving plot where time is of the essence. Exchanging samurai armor for crisp shirts and ties, Kurosawa ruminates on Japan’s postwar resurgence. Around him, the director saw Japanese society rapidly evolve into modernity. But at what cost?

10. From Russia With Love (1963)

A James Bond sequel that blows away even its all-important predecessor Dr. No out of the water, director Terence Young and actor Sean Connery reunite for From Russia With Love, this time to tell a story of Bond assisting a beautiful Soviet defector (Daniela Bianchi) to escape the clutches of SPECTRE. With MI6’s greatest spy immersed in Cold War tensions, From Russia With Love keeps rarified air as one of the finest Bond sequels ever made, being a gritty, sexy, and exciting blockbuster all at once. It also helps that the movie is underscored by one of the all-time greatest Bond songs, sung by crooner Matt Monro.

9. Pierrot le Fou (1965)

Jean-Luc Godard spent the 1960s asserting his place in the French New Wave through pictures like Breathless (1960), Vivre sa vie (1962), and Band of Outsiders (1964). But Godard’s maximum form came in 1965 with Pierrot le Fou, a vivid and colorful experimental road movie about a man (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who runs off with his child’s babysitter and ex-lover (Anna Karina) to leave their bougie world behind them. A pop art monument brimming with sensuality, doomed romance, and the debris of a demolished fourth wall, Pierrot le Fou didn’t just certify Godard’s auteur status, but plated it in gold.

8. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Audrey Hepburn didn’t just cement her stardom with director Blake Edwards’ Breakfast at Tiffany’s, she guaranteed her immortality. In this giant of a romantic comedy, Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, an eccentric socialite who falls in love with a struggling writer (George Peppard). Mickey Rooney’s racist portrayal of a Japanese neighbor aside, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is effervescent and chic, a film that takes the love in your heart and dresses it up in mod fashion. Hepburn’s look as Holly remains ubiquitous as a symbol of timeless beauty, and it’s hard to argue why. One glance from her into Edwards’ camera lens, and all of us are head over high-priced heels.

7. La Dolce Vita (1960)

Frederico Fellini’s name is synonymous with fine Italian cinema, and La Dolce Vita stands as one of his most enduring hits. The film follows a celebrity journalist (played by an ultra-cool Marcello Mastroianni, oozing swagger in every frame) who spends a feverish week romping through Rome – an ancient city overrun by glitz and glamor – in search of something pure. Boasting a unique plot structure and mordant humor, La Dolce Vita relishes in the decadence of a prosperous postwar civilization whilst foretelling society’s poisoning by the toxicities of fame. 

6. The Wild Bunch (1969)

Sam Peckinpah gave Westerns its last hurrah with The Wild Bunch, a movie about aging outlaws who struggle to adapt to the modernizing 20th century and go out in a blaze of glory. While Westerns haven’t gone completely extinct, by the 1960s the genre had fallen way out of favor and have since never reclaimed that popularity. This only makes the bombardment of gunpowder bangs and bullet ricochets that underscore Peckinpah’s explosive finale in Agua Verde feel like a fireworks display commemorating the countless white hat heroes and black hat rogues who graced the silver screen since the beginning of Hollywood. After The Wild Bunch, Western movies rode off into the sunset, and they’ve never looked back.

5. 8 ½ (1963)

Italian filmmaker Frederico Fellini famously turned his camera on himself, somewhat, in his film about the struggles of maintaining authorship and individuality in a field subject to public scrutiny. In Fellini’s eighth movie (hence the title), actor Marcello Mastroianni stars as Guido Anselmi, a director desperately trying to maintain his identity through the rigorous, self-eroding process of helming a big budget science fiction picture. All the while, Guido thinks about the various women in his life. A surrealist meta black comedy that blurs the lines delineating kayfabe, 8 ½ is rightfully considered one of the greatest movies about making movies ever made.

4. West Side Story (1961)

How do you solve a problem like Maria? In this modernized Romeo & Juliet set in New York City’s racialized street gangs, Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer play star-crossed lovers who fall in love while standing on opposite sides of a turf war. A juggernaut of a musical romance, the original 1961 version – directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins – boldly treats the screen like a stage, with complex choreography, vivid color palettes, and dynamic camera movement that influenced the likes of Michael Bay (who praised the movie in a 2001 New York Times interview) and Steven Spielberg, who helmed his own remake in 2021. When you watch West Side Story, you’re a fan for life, all the way from your first cigarette to your last dying day.

3. Eyes Without a Face (1960)

While Georges Franju’s seminal 1960 horror film Eyes Without a Face predates the majority of slasher movies, its harrowing tale and vicious violence set the standards later upheld by genre masters like John Carpenter and Wes Craven. Even still, Eyes Without a Face is unlike any horror movie you’ve seen, being poetic as it is grisly. The movie follows a renowned plastic surgeon (played by Pierre Brasseur) who ensnares beautiful young women to carve their flesh and repair his daughter’s tragic disfigurement. Édith Scob also stars as the doctor’s daughter, who dons a ghostly white mask that feels like an augur to future icons like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. Here, the gorgeous and the gruesome make unlikely cellmates.

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

No movie defines the 1960s yet still feels out of time like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Following up two mega-classics, Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964), Kubrick gazed into the stars with a majestic science fiction epic that adapts Arthur C. Clarke’s short story “The Sentinel.” The scope of 2001 is enormous, being a movie that spans literal eons from mankind’s primate origins to, what Kubrick predicts, our sophistication as a space-faring species. But no matter how far progress takes us, man is still subject to inexplicable violence. And so, on the Discovery One’s journey to Jupiter, the artificial intelligence HAL 9000 has some of its own ideas about survival than its meatbag masters might like. Beautifully composed and ominous in an otherworldly sense, 2001: A Space Odyssey leaped cinema forward with just a touch of a black monolith.

1. Psycho (1960)

With the beautiful Janet Leigh, a bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and a pulsating all-strings piece by Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock forged a cinematic masterpiece that looked deep into our psyches and unearthed what terrified us all. Overstuffed with red herrings, black comic irony, and dense symbolism that could fill a lecture on Freudian psychoanalysis, Hitchcock’s most recognizable movie endures as an imposing giant that redefined commercial cinema’s acceptability for taste and innovated conventions of the modern horror movie. Based on Robert Bloch’s book of the same name, the story is primarily set at the eerie Bates Motel, overseen by its eccentric proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who hides a dark secret. While Psycho has understandably spawned a franchise that includes the popular TV series Bates Motel, Psycho stands powerfully on its own as a movie that changed everything.

Eric Francisco is a freelance entertainment journalist and graduate of Rutgers University. If a movie or TV show has superheroes, spaceships, kung fu, or John Cena, he's your guy to make sense of it. A former senior writer at Inverse, his byline has also appeared at Vulture, The Daily Beast, Observer, and The Mary Sue. You can find him screaming at Devils hockey games or dodging enemy fire in Call of Duty: Warzone.

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15 Best Movies of the 60s: Top Picks for Cinema Lovers

Grace angelique.

• August 23, 2024

Maybe you’ve already binged all the top picks from the 1950s that we recommended last week, and now you’re hungry for more classics.

Well, you’re in luck! We’ve rounded up 15 of the best movies of the 60s that you need to check out.

The 60s was a golden era for cinema, and its films are classic and iconic, with stories and styles that have stood the test of time.

So, grab your popcorn, get comfy, and let’s explore these iconic flicks that defined a decade!

1. Psycho (1960)

Psycho is a game-changer in the horror world, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Undoubtedly, this movie flipped the script on what people thought horror could be. It’s most famous for that shocking shower scene where Janet Leigh’s character, Marion Crane, gets brutally killed.

What’s wild is that Hitchcock made it feel super intense with quick cuts and Bernard Herrmann’s screechy, dramatic music, even though you never actually see the knife hit her.

Anthony Perkins nails it as Norman Bates, who’s both creepy and weirdly sympathetic—something pretty unusual for that time.

And there’s no denying that the movie blew everyone’s minds by killing off the supposed main character early on, keeping viewers on edge the whole way through.

2. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Lawrence of Arabia is one of those epic films that feels massive in every way. Directed by David Lean, it tells the story of T.E. Lawrence, a British officer who played a big role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Peter O’Toole’s performance as Lawrence is legendary as it shows him as a hero and a deeply conflicted guy at the same time. The film wows with its stunning desert scenery and intense battle scenes, all shot in the dramatic landscapes of Jordan and Morocco.

It makes you feel like you’re right there on a grand, historical journey, that’s for sure. Not to mention, the music and cinematography are still considered classic, and it scooped up seven Oscars, including Best Picture.

3. The Graduate (1967)

The Graduate is one of those films that really captured the vibe of the 1960s, especially the confusion and frustration of young adults.

Dustin Hoffman plays Benjamin Braddock, a recent college grad who gets tangled up in an affair with an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft. And the whole situation is messy, awkward, and relatable.

The movie is also known for its killer soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel, with songs like “Mrs. Robinson” becoming instant classics.

The ending, where Ben and Elaine (Mrs. Robinson’s daughter) run away together only to sit silently on a bus, is one of film history’s most famous and talked-about scenes.

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is a visual and philosophical journey like no other.

Known for its groundbreaking special effects, which still impress today, the film explores themes like human evolution, artificial intelligence, and the universe’s mysteries.

Also, the mysterious monoliths that pop up at key moments are unforgettable, which spark big changes in the story.

Alongside this, the film’s minimal dialogue and classical music—especially during the space docking scenes—bring a slow, hypnotic vibe that sticks with you.

In a nutshell, the flick was a total game-changer for the sci-fi genre and influenced many other movies.

5. Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, is Stanley Kubrick’s darkly comedic take on the Cold War.

The movie pokes fun at the absurdity of nuclear war and the paranoia of the time. Peter Sellers steals the show by playing three different characters: the bumbling British officer Mandrake, the timid U.S. President, and the bonkers ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove.

What stands out is the movie’s sharp, witty dialogue and unforgettable scenes, like Major Kong’s wild ride on a nuclear bomb.

You have to give this film its props—it’s hilarious and terrifying all at once, and it still hits home today as a powerful satire of political and military madness.

6. West Side Story (1961) 

West Side Story is a musical that gives Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a fresh twist by setting it in 1950s New York City. Instead of the Montagues and Capulets, you’ve got rival street gangs—the Jets and the Sharks.

Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, the movie features unforgettable songs like “Tonight,” “America,” and “Somewhere,” all thanks to Leonard Bernstein’s music and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics.

The choreography, especially in scenes like the gym dance and the rumble, is full of energy and creativity, blending intense drama with fantastic dance moves.

On top of that, the film was a massive hit, taking home 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and becoming one of the most awarded movies in Oscar history.

And we can’t forget Rita Moreno’s fiery performance as Anita, which won her an Oscar.

7. The Sound of Music (1965) 

The Sound of Music is a classic musical you’ve probably heard of. Julie Andrews stars as Maria, a bubbly nun-turned-governess who brings joy and music to the lives of the seven Von Trapp kids in Austria right before World War II.

The movie features some of the most iconic songs ever, like “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favorite Things,” and “Edelweiss,” all composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Filmed in gorgeous locations across Austria, with the Alps making a stunning backdrop, it’s a real treat for the eyes.

It was a huge success, winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and has become one of the most beloved musicals of all time.

8. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 

Bonnie and Clyde shook Hollywood by breaking away from the usual, polished take on crime and violence.

Directed by Arthur Penn, this film tells the story of the notorious bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, played by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty.

What sets this movie apart is its raw and gritty depiction of violence, particularly evident in the intense, bloody finale. Alongside this, it blurs the lines between heroes and villains, portraying Bonnie and Clyde as charming and ruthless.

This film was a big part of kicking off the “New Hollywood” era, where movies started getting grittier and more in touch with real-life issues.

And, it’s remembered for its stylish cinematography and the cool, rebellious vibe that struck a chord with the 1960s counterculture.

9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 

Directed by Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a spaghetti western that’s become iconic for its style and influence.

Starring Clint Eastwood as “The Good,” Lee Van Cleef as “The Bad,” and Eli Wallach as “The Ugly,” the movie is all about three gunslingers on a wild hunt for buried treasure.

The film is tense because of Leone’s use of extreme close-ups, wide shots, and Ennio Morricone’s unforgettable score, which has become the sound of the Western genre.

With its intense build-up and dramatic music, the showdown stands as one of the most famous scenes in movie history.

10. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is another classic Western, but this one’s got a lighter, more playful vibe.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as the charming outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who are on the run after a string of bank and train robberies.

The movie is debatably famous for its witty dialogue, the great chemistry between Newman and Redford, and the fusion of humor and action.

What’s more, it features the famous song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” which plays during a fun, carefree bicycle scene.

Directed by George Roy Hill, this film was a huge hit and remains loved for its fun and adventure.

11. 8½ (1963)

Federico Fellini’s 8½ is a wild, surreal trip about a film director named Guido (played by Marcello Mastroianni) stuck in a creative funk.

The movie dives into his struggle to get his next big film off the ground while being bombarded by memories, fantasies, and the craziness of his life—like watching someone’s daydreams and nightmares collide on-screen, mixing reality with imagination.

Fellini used this movie to dig into his own fears and insecurities as a filmmaker, which is why it feels so personal and profound.

It’s a movie about making movies, and directors love to reference it because it captures the messy, confusing, and sometimes magical process of being creative.

Having won two Oscars, the film made a big impact and inspired many filmmakers, including Woody Allen.

12. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Midnight Cowboy is one intense, emotional ride. It tells the story of Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a naive Texan who heads to New York City thinking he can make it big as a hustler, but things don’t exactly go as planned.

He ends up forming an unlikely friendship with Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a sickly con man who opens Joe’s eyes to the harsh realities of life on the streets.

Renowned for its raw, gritty portrayal of the dark side of urban life, the film left a lasting impression on audiences with its tough themes.

Despite all the rough stuff, the friendship between Joe and Ratso is super touching.

The movie was groundbreaking at the time, especially since it was the first—and only—X-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar, making it a massive moment in film history.

13. The Apartment (1960)

Billy Wilder’s The Apartment is a romantic comedy with a sharp edge. Jack Lemmon stars as C.C. Baxter, a lonely office worker who lets his bosses use his apartment for their secret affairs, hoping it’ll help him climb the corporate ladder.

Things get tricky when he falls for Fran Kubelik, played by Shirley MacLaine, who just so happens to be the mistress of his boss.

Reflecting the complexities of corporate life, the movie blends humor with a biting critique of the compromises people make for success.

As one of the standout movies from the 1960s, it’s funny, sad, and relatable, which is why it was such a hit, scooping up five Oscars, including Best Picture.

14. Yojimbo (1961)

Yojimbo is Akira Kurosawa’s classic samurai flick that feels like a Western but with swords instead of guns.

It stars Toshiro Mifune as a wandering ronin (a samurai without a master) who strolls into a town torn apart by two rival gangs. Instead of picking a side, he cleverly plays both against each other in a brutal yet smart way.

This movie had a massive influence, shaping Westerns like A Fistful of Dollars and the “lone hero” vibe seen in many 1960s movies and beyond.

Mifune’s performance as the sly, tough, and slightly cynical Ronin is legendary, making Yojimbo a must-see for any film fan.

15. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead pretty much invented the zombie genre as we know it. This horror classic tells the story of a group of people trapped in a farmhouse, trying to survive a night of zombie attacks.

The movie is scary, not just because of the zombies, but because of its dark and relentless vibe. It was groundbreaking in its use of gore and social commentary, touching on issues like race and class.

With its famously bleak ending, the film had a huge impact on the horror genre that followed. As a cultural landmark, it’s been referenced and remade more times than you can count.

Start Watching The Best 1960s Movies Now!

So there you have it—our top 15 picks for the best movies from the 60s!

Whether you’re into drama or thrillers or want to hum along to some classic musicals, these films are guaranteed to keep you entertained.

So, make sure to experience the movies that shaped an entire decade of cinema.

Go ahead, add these gems to your watchlist, and enjoy a little trip back in time—these films are worth seeing at least once.

Let us know which one becomes your favorite!

An accomplished Art News Journalist with a decade of experience, Grace has covered global art events, exhibitions, and emerging trends. Her work has graced major publications, offering readers a fresh perspective on contemporary art and its evolving landscape.

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The best 60s movies: the 24 greatest films of the 1960s

These are the greatest films from the 1960s.

The 1960s: what a decade. It brought us the key years of The Beatles, the Summer of Love, the birth of flower power and the rise of the civil rights movement.

All that cultural change fed into cinema too. Out went the stuffy ways of old Hollywood, and in came a whole raft of experimental, transgressive, and just plain brilliant movies that dabbled with new film making techniques and big ideas.

The 60s also saw the collapse of the old Hollywood studio system, where the studios controlled the entire process of film-making with an iron fist, letting in more influences from Europe and beyond.

From horror to sci-fi, and from westerns to kitchen sink dramas, directors in the 1960s reached for the stars, establishing a cinematic language that is still spoken by today’s best directors.

Here, then, are 24 of the best movies of the 1960s. If you don’t see your number one on the list, don’t worry – we’ll be expanding this list over time.

If your top 60s film is on the list, though, then give it a vote.

The best 60s movies

1 . 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece pretty much wrote the rulebook for any subsequent sci-fi film with aspirations of being taken seriously. From its iconic wordless opening sequence running through the ascent of man from simian tribe to spacefaring tourists, it’s clear that 2001 is shooting way beyond the moon. The outstanding practical effects, the prescient showdown with rogue AI HAL, and the climactic psychedelic space trip were all beamed in from some point in the future.

2 . The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Sergio Leone’s so-called Dollars trilogy would launch the career of Clint Eastwood, as well as setting the terms for tense, gritty Wild West action for generations to come. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the third and final of these films, bringing together Eastwood’s moody gunslinger, Eli Wallach’s swarthy bandit, and Lee Van Cleef’s mercenary for a blood-soaked treasure hunt. Ennio Morricone’s iconic score arguably takes the fourth lead in this seminal spaghetti Western.

3 . Psycho (1960)

It’s startling to think that Alfred Hitchcock’s black and white horror masterpiece was made right at the start of the decade. Its lurid subject material, all about a disturbed motel owner who dresses up as his mother and kills women, was about as far removed from the staid ’50s vibe as can be imagined. So too are the film’s outrageous twists and, of course, THAT shower scene.

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

Stanley Kubrick was the master of any form of film making he set his mind to. With Dr. Strangelove he nailed biting satire, sending up the absurdity of the nuclear brinkmanship that was then being played out between the US and the USSR. The film is also notable for the performance – or rather, performances – of British actor Peter Sellers, who well and truly announced his comic genius for all the world to see.

5 . In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Norman Jewison’s Oscar-winning neo-noir mystery stars the incomparable Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs, an African-American Philadelphia cop whose able assistance is most definitely not welcomed during a murder investigation in small town Mississippi. The themes of racial discrimination and police heavy-handedness were white hot at the time of the film’s release, and have hardly lost any of their relevancy in the years since.

6 . Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

If the ’40s and ’50s were full of westerns that mythologised America’s frontier spirit, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid shot it full of holes and left it to bleed out. Paul Newman and Robert Redford play bickering outlaws on the lam in South America. The film is perhaps most memorable for its iconically downbeat freeze-frame final shot, which would rapidly enter the pop culture lexicon.

7 . Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

David Lean’s 1962 film has become cinematic shorthand for epic cinematography, involving sweeping natural vistas, a swooning score, and a frankly daunting numbers of extras. Peter O’Toole plays historical figure T.E. Lawrence as he attempts to unite feuding Arabian tribes during the First World War. If you needed any further reason to give Lawrence of Arabia due reverence, it’s the film Steven Spielberg has watched more than any other.

8 . The Graduate (1967)

The Graduate is simply jam packed with sights, sounds, and lines, that have seeped into the public consciousness, from Simon and Garfunkel’s bittersweet tones to Ann Bancroft’s proto-MILF Mrs Robinson, right through to that tantalisingly uncertain final shot. At the heart of the whole thing is Dustin Hoffman’s privileged but listless graduate, desperately looking for purpose and connection as he embarks on an affair with an older woman.

9 . The Apartment (1960)

After making perhaps the quintessential American comedy in Some Like it Hot, director Billy Wilder turned in this much loved – and hugely influential – rom com. Ambitious insurance clerk Jack Lemmon makes his New York apartment available to co-workers for their illicit trysts whilst harbouring a crush on his workplace elevator operator, played by Shirley MacLaine. The Apartment is sharply observed and very funny, not to mention surprisingly daring for a film of its vintage.

10 . Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Based on the true story of a couple of depression-era bank robbers, Bonnie and Clyde was notable at the time for its unflinching depiction of gun violence – especially in its brutally bloody finale. Hugely influenced by the French New Wave, and with a script that pops like a tommy gun, it still feels fresh today. Twin leads Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway perfectly convey the media-baiting charisma of our doomed lovers.

11 . The Sound of Music (1965)

Even if you think you don’t like musicals, you have to doff your Tyrolean hat to The Sound of Music. From its stunningly scenic cinematography to its rousingly familiar musical numbers, this is a musical that has made its way into the very fabric of cinematic history. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer star, but it’s those Rodgers and Hammerstein songs that have made the film immortal.

12 . Yojimbo (1961)

The majestic samurai films of Japanese director Akira Kurasawa have proved hugely influential to the American Western genre, and to action cinema in general. Take Yojimbo, with its tale of a laconic drifter (Kurosawa mainstay Toshiro Mifune) playing two rival gangs off one another. This taut thriller would go on to be remade (unofficially) in 1964 as A Fistful of Dollars and (officially) in 1996 as Last Man Standing, a testament to its enduring appeal.

13 . Midnight Cowboy (1969)

As the optimistic ’60s came to an end and the gritty New Hollywood of the ’70s approached, director John Schlesinger evidently thought he might as well skip to the chase. Jon Voight plays the handsome southern boy seeking to become a New York gigolo, while a young Dustin Hoffman plays the sickly conman who befriends him. It’s the only X rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar, which says a lot for its bleak brilliance.

14 . The Jungle Book (1967)

The two top Disney animated movies of the 1960s were The Jungle Book and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Both are classics, but we think The Jungle Book slips past with its pacing and sheer wealth of iconic moments. And that’s before we even think about the songs, like The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You.

15 . 8 1/2 (1963)

Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini’s surrealist comedy-drama won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design, and it frequently makes its way onto ‘best film ever’ lists. Viewed through a modern lens, it’s startlingly meta stuff, depicting an Italian film maker attempting to get over a creative blockage with his latest movie project. One of the most influential films ever made, you’ll find that 8 1/2 forms a building block in the creative make up of most of the famous directors working today.

16 . Night of the Living Dead (1968)

George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead essentially invented the zombie genre that has saturated pop culture for the past few decades. Without this film, there would be no The Walking Dead, The Last of Us, 28 Days Later, or indeed Shaun of the Dead. Romero’s film remains an expertly crafted slice of low budget horror with a strong side of social commentary, as small town America is torn apart by its own reanimated citizens.

17 . The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a late entry to the field of classic black and white Westerns, and one of the best ever made to boot. It takes a world weary look at the tropes of the Western genre whilst simultaneously ticking off all the usual boxes, with a stellar cast of proven Western players that includes John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Lee Marvin.

18 . Le Samourai (1967)

You can see the influence of Jean-Pierre Melville’s French New Wave classic, Le Samourai, in any subsequent film that involves a hitman going about their business in an ineffably cool fashion. Alain Delon plays the ice-cold professional killer who finds himself the target of both unwanted police attention and shady underworld figures. As an exercise in classic film-noir filmmaking shot through with Gallic style, Le Samourai is nigh-on unimpeachable.

19 . Persona (1966)

A candidate for Ingmar Bergman’s best film, Persona is a strikingly original work that packs a lot into just over 80 minutes. An actress has a breakdown and becomes mute. She moves to the coast to recover, but the lines between her and her carer Alma begin to blur. It’s a challenging watch you won’t forget.

20 . Planet of the Apes (1968)

This film has one of the most famous twist endings in all of cinema. But Planet of the Apes is more than just its final shots. This is a science fiction classic with a socio-political bent. Charlton Heston's George Taylor crash lands on a planet after spending more than 2000 years in stasis. He finds a world of intelligent apes, and is captured by them, having to prove his intelligence to avoid death.

21 . Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

When it comes to Rosemary's Baby, you have to try and separate the person from the art created, given the controversies that surround Polish director Roman Polanski. If you can do this, then you are rewarded with a film that's a deeply unsettling psychological horror, as Mia Farrow’s young soon-to-be mother becomes increasingly paranoid that a Satanic cult has evil designs on her baby.

22 . To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch, a lawyer defending a black man accused of rape. We see through the eyes of Finch's children the noxious effects of racism on American society. The film was released just two years after the publication of the book on which it is based, a classic in its own right by Harper Lee.

23 . Easy Rider (1969)

Dennis Hopper’s directorial debut is a landmark of counterculture film making. Hopper and Peter Fonda play a pair of biker hippies using the proceeds of a drug deal to make a two-wheeled journey to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. This free-wheeling movie perfectly captures the freedom, drug experimentation, and societal tensions of the time, heralding a new era of iconic independent cinema into the bargain.

24 . The Wild Bunch (1969)

Sam Peckinpah’s brutal Western concerns a gang of grizzled archetypes, led by William Holden’s aging gunslinger, all struggling to make sense of a rapidly civilising world. In the great director’s hands, the dying days of the Wild West are no place for heroes. The Wild Bunch attracted considerable controversy at the time for its wanton nihilism and explicit violence, but it stands today as an early and shining example of the revisionist Western.

• These are the best movies of the 70s .

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The 25 Greatest Movies of the 1960s, Ranked

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Every decade since cinema's inception has seen the release of numerous classic films, but even so, the 1960s feel particularly special within the medium's history. There was a certain level of freedom technologically, given factors like the adoption of wide-screen formats that had taken off in the 1950s and more freedom to shoot in color or black-and-white. There were also fewer restrictions when it came to content, particularly in the American film industry, with the winding down of the oppressive Hays Code.

Add to that how various film industries outside Hollywood - like those in Italy, France, Sweden, and Japan especially - were starting to get even more international recognition than they'd had in the 1950s, and you've got all the necessary ingredients for a great decade of movies. The 1960s saw the release of so many fantastic films that often hold up surprisingly well all these decades later , with some of that decade's very best being ranked below, starting with the great and ending with the greatest.

25 '8½' (1963)

Director: federico fellini.

Federico Fellini was behind some of the best Italian movies of all time , and the 1960s might well have been the decade when he was at his artistic peak as a filmmaker. This is demonstrated by something like 8½ , which sees the filmmaker at his most introspective , making a movie about the creative process and the hardships of filmmaking.

It's easy to see 8½ as a film that at the very least is semi-autobiographical, with the lead character here - a director played by frequent Fellini collaborator Marcello Mastroianni - being a stand-in for the filmmaker himself. It's a movie that provides personal drama in its story and a level of inventive surrealism with its presentation, making it overall unique and capable of leaving quite the impression.

Not available

24 'The Sound of Music' (1965)

Director: robert wise.

The Sound of Music is undoubtedly among the most popular and critically acclaimed musicals of the 1960s , which was a time when the genre was overall very popular. It was a Best Picture winner and also something of an epic, (additionally, the fact it was based on a true story can make it qualify as a biopic of sorts), running for almost three hours and combining family drama, romance, and even a little by way of war themes into one large-scale movie.

It's about a young woman becoming a carer for the seven children of a widower, and takes place in Austria shortly before the start of World War II. Those who don't like traditional musicals might not be crazy about The Sound of Music , but it's a classic for a reason, and does ultimately remain beloved by many to this day.

The Sound of Music

Watch on Disney+

23 'Peeping Tom' (1960)

Director: michael powell.

For its time, Peeping Tom was certainly shocking and provocative, and it still has something of an impact today. It follows a particularly disturbed young man named Mark Lewis, and depicts his confronting hobbies and obsessions, principally revolving around fear and death, including capturing such things on film.

Anyone fond of what Alfred Hitchcock was capable of making when he was at his most mean-spirited and gutsy will find plenty to like in Peeping Tom . It functions well as an uneasy horror movie with a slow but absorbing pace, and can certainly be admired for the provocative places it was willing to go way back in the early 1960s. And while certain thrillers and horror movies in the years since have gone further, Peeping Tom was bold for its time and can still be appreciated/enjoyed as a result .

Watch on Criterion

22 'The Hustler' (1961)

Director: robert rossen.

Paul Newman might not have won an Oscar until he starred in this movie's sequel ( The Color of Money , directed by Martin Scorsese ), but The Hustler remains his most iconic performance to many. Newman plays the titular hustler, with the film's plot revolving around a high-stakes match of pool he challenges a well-known player to.

It's a film that's very straightforward as a sports drama, but it's a well-oiled machine of a movie that stays compelling and expertly acted throughout its entire duration. It helped further solidify Paul Newman as one of the decade's best actors , as well as one of the coolest, and stands as a movie worth watching for his lead performance alone... though it should also be noted that there are some excellent supporting performances in The Hustler , too, notably from the likes of George C. Scott and Piper Laurie .

The Hustler

Watch on Hulu

21 'Yojimbo' (1961)

Director: akira kurosawa.

An excellent samurai film that's more about building tension than delivering explosive action, Yojimbo is one of the best movies in this genre directed by Akira Kurosawa . It's about a charismatic wanderer wandering into a town that's being torn apart by a gang war, with said lone wolf adopting a novel strategy for improving the way of life for the people living there.

He becomes an ally of both gangs, using knowledge of each to play them against each other in the hope that doing so will wipe everyone out. Watching this plan develop and then play out is immensely satisfying, and it of course helps that two Kurosawa regulars - Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai - are here playing the protagonist and antagonist respectively.

Watch on Max

20 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1962)

Director: robert mulligan.

You can't talk about great courtroom dramas without bringing up the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird , which certainly does the iconic novel of the same name justice. It's about a lawyer defending a Black man in court in Alabama, set at a time when racism was prevalent, meaning few people in town seem willing to entertain the notion that the accused is innocent.

It succeeds for numerous reasons, but Gregory Peck 's commanding and pitch-perfect performance as the lawyer, Atticus Ross, might be the principal one among those. It's a moving and expertly paced film, and one of those particularly great 1960s movies that seems to have lost none of its impact with age. Additionally, it could well go without saying that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the very best courtroom drama movies of all time .

To Kill A Mockingbird

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19 'War and Peace' (1966)

Director: sergei bondarchuk.

Of the numerous War and Peace film and TV adaptations out there, few can claim to be quite as epic as this version released in four parts throughout the mid-1960s . It's a Russian adaptation that uses its seven-hour runtime to get a decent amount of Leo Tolstoy 's iconic novel in one film (though it can't get everything, given the book's 1000+ pages).

Following numerous characters over many years, War and Peace is a sweeping epic that combines larger-than-life romantic drama and even larger war sequences into one epic . The battle scenes in particular are on a scale that's never been matched, at least when it comes to the pre-CGI era (and even then, the number of extras involved in War and Peace rivals the computer-generated armies seen in many big Lord of the Rings battles).

18 'Breathless' (1960)

Director: jean-luc godard.

Jean-Luc Godard was always a rule-breaking and provocative filmmaker, with these qualities making him both loved and disliked by different viewers for differing reasons. Breathless is far from his only noteworthy movie, but for better or worse, stands as his most famous. This is perhaps because Breathless was an early French New Wave film and therefore ended up being undeniably influential , as well as unabashedly boundary-pushing.

It's a suave and stylish film, following a thief who's on the run from the law, and the way he tries to convince a young woman to join him as he flees. It's uninterested in being conventional in just about any way, though its influence on films that followed it now means certain things may not feel as jarring or unusual nowadays. Nevertheless, Breathless is still very easy to appreciate and enjoy.

17 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967)

Director: arthur penn.

Breathless was a crime drama that broke certain rules before Bonnie and Clyde did, which might suggest the American film industry took a little while to catch up to the French one. But that doesn't negate Bonnie and Clyde's impact when it comes to things like its abrasive yet confident editing, its shocking bursts of violence, and its willingness to make the titular bank robbers/criminals rather likable and endearing.

Bonnie and Clyde has an excellently told story and one with the kind of pacing and brazenness that gives it a sort of timeless quality. Also commendable are the performances; not just Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in the titular roles, but also the strong supporting cast that includes Gene Hackman and even a brief cameo (of sorts) from Gene Wilder .

Bonnie and Clyde

16 'in the heat of the night' (1967), director: norman jewison.

In the Heat of the Night came out during a great year for cinema, and ended up taking home the top prize at the Oscars, winning Best Picture. It's a crime/drama/mystery movie that deals with racial issues of the 1960s, given its premise sees a Black police detective (played by Sidney Poitier ) investigating a murder in a Mississippi town.

Some aspects of it have aged a little, compared to some other groundbreaking movies of the late 1960s, but it remains a historically significant movie and an engaging one. It's one of Poitier's most celebrated roles for a reason , with co-stars like Rod Steiger and Lee Grant turning in strong performances, too. In the Heat of the Night is also noteworthy for being a Best Picture Oscar winner that's also a crime movie , given its narrative focus on the solving of a crime.

In the Heat of the Night

15 'the man who shot liberty valance' (1962), director: john ford.

There might be something of a misconception surrounding the sorts of Westerns John Ford directed and John Wayne starred in. Perhaps some of their earlier collaborations are a little simplistic by modern standards, and could have somewhat dated views on morality, law, and justice. But their later films did challenge such direct perspectives, exemplified by films like 1957's The Searchers , to some extent, and then 1962's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , to a greater extent.

It's a film where Ford and Wayne could look back on the Westerns they made, all the while the film itself also has a character looking back at their past with brutal honesty. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance digs deeper than expected, and is a very thoughtful movie , naturally bolstered by strong performances from its lead actors - Wayne and James Stewart - too.

Watch on Amazon Prime

14 'The Great Escape' (1963)

Director: john sturges.

With an impossibly cool cast that includes the likes of Steve McQueen , James Coburn , Richard Attenborough , and, of course, Charles Bronson , The Great Escape lives up to its title by being truly great. It's perhaps the definitive prison escape movie, playing out over the course of almost three hours and detailing said escape being planned and executed, and then further time devoted to its aftermath, with each stage proving engrossing.

Even if you know the outcome, The Great Escape remains tense and exciting , which is a clear indication that a thrill-heavy film is particularly well-made. It's rousing, fun, and packed with great characters and memorable scenes, overall being an undisputed classic of its decade, and one of the very best prisoner-of-war movies ever made , without a doubt.

The Great Escape

13 'the graduate' (1967), director: mike nichols.

A coming-of-age film that inspires discomfort and dread more than any particularly uplifting emotions, The Graduate is darkly funny and brutally honest about the struggles of young adulthood . Dustin Hoffman plays the titular graduate, with the film detailing his confusion and lack of purpose in post-college life. At least it does manage to be funny alongside feeling quite grim and cynical, and is one of the strongest and best films Mike Nichols ever directed .

Much of The Graduate is also about this character's uncomfortable romantic escapades, with him having an affair with the mother of the young woman his parents would like him to settle down with. It's funny, awkward, and, in a way, also quite sad, with certain themes and ideas explored remaining particularly relevant and hard-hitting even to this day.

The Graduate

12 'butch cassidy and the sundance kid' (1969), director: george roy hill.

The legendary Robert Redford and Paul Newman had such great chemistry on screen that it's surprising they only starred in two movies together. While The Sting (the second of their team-ups) found more success at the Oscars, it's arguably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that stands as the stronger film of the two overall.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a buddy movie and a Western wrapped up in one , following two charismatic outlaws as they go on the run from the law, and get in increasing amounts of trouble from scene to scene. It's a movie that's both funny and heartfelt, and it does all this while also having constant forward momentum and plenty of fun action/adventure scenes, overall standing as an example of near-perfect 1960s entertainment.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

11 'la dolce vita' (1960).

While 8½ is more personal and dreamlike, La Dolce Vita is the Federico Fellini film from the 1960s that stands as his best from the decade, and arguably his overall masterpiece. It's an epic movie that blends bleak drama with darkly funny social commentary, and has a runtime of 176 minutes, being split into several parts that are linked by having the same central character - a detached journalist - in each.

Through exploring various different characters and lofty ideas, La Dolce Vita ends up feeling like a film that touches upon human nature in all its complexity , and it's similarly ambitious with the emotions it conveys, being funny, dark, tragic, romantic, and cynical, all at different times. There was nothing else like it in 1960, and now, 60+ years later, it still feels entirely unique and staggeringly bold.

Watch on Plex

10 'Persona' (1966)

Director: ingmar bergman.

Picking a favorite Ingmar Bergman film can be a difficult task, because the great Swedish filmmaker was behind numerous classics that were as groundbreaking as they are timeless. His 1966 film, Persona , will often be a contender, though, because it's the sort of psychological drama/thriller that aims to get under one's skin, and stay there, no matter what.

In attempting to do this, it's ultimately successful, because this story of two women who find their personalities merging in unexpected ways still feels eerie and unnerving. Persona is not an easy film to watch or analyze, but it's continually interesting and feels worth mulling over , which makes it one of the best - and most experimental - psychological dramas of its time.

9 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962)

Director: david lean.

Lawrence of Arabia stuns because not only is it one of the biggest epics of all time, but it's also amazingly effective as a personal, intimate, and thought-provoking biopic. The figure at its center is T.E. Lawrence , a British officer who got wrapped up in a conflict during the First World War, and then saw his life take an incredibly interesting turn in the war's aftermath.

Watching a film that runs for nearly four hours might sound daunting, but Lawrence of Arabia goes down easy, thanks to its monumental and well-paced story, its beautiful visuals , and its great lead performance by Peter O'Toole . David Lean made numerous epics , and most of them were great, but few leave quite the impact that this one does, and it's understandable why the film proved to be so successful at the Oscars, including a win for Best Picture.

Lawrence of Arabia

8 'psycho' (1960), director: alfred hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock was probably at his peak during the 1950s, because that was the decade that saw a particularly high number of classics released by the great director. Yet in no way can the 1960s be discounted when talking about significant Alfred Hitchcock films , as he saved one of his most noteworthy for the first year of the decade: Psycho .

It's the sort of iconic movie where everything that could be said about it has already been said, and its fame (or infamy) is such that it's hard to imagine many people going into Psycho not knowing at least one of its surprises beforehand. But the craft can still be admired regardless, and the brazenness of some of Psycho 's most iconic moments is still rather awe-inspiring , especially considering Psycho's age. Its first sequel is surprisingly decent, but still, it remains hard to top this original.

7 'High and Low' (1963)

Following Yojimbo and its 1962 sequel, Sanjuro , Akira Kurosawa reteamed with the great Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai for a non-samurai movie: High and Low . It's a police procedural/crime movie that shows Kurosawa could do far more than just samurai action/drama films, because High and Low is absolutely riveting . As far as thrillers go, it might well be able to count itself among the very best of all time.

High and Low is about a wealthy and ambitious executive becoming the target of an extortionist, and what happens when this mysterious figure accidentally kidnaps the child of one of the executive's employees, rather than the executive's young son. It's tense, exciting, and extremely well-paced, and is also notable for how well staged and shot many of the scenes are, with impressive long takes aplenty.

High and Low

6 'the apartment' (1960), director: billy wilder.

Standing as one of Billy Wilder 's best-written movies (and that's really saying something), The Apartment is a blast, working as a hilarious comedy and a human romance/drama film all at once. It's about a worker wanting to do all he can to impress the higher-ups at the place of his employment.

This extends to him letting those higher-ups use his apartment as a place to conduct their extramarital affairs, with this choice eventually having unforeseen consequences. It was daring for its time, and even if some of the impact is lessened nowadays, The Apartment 's still incredibly charming and entertaining , overall standing as a deserving Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards and a film that can easily count itself as one of Billy Wilder's very best.

The Apartment (1960)

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‘Incoming’ Review: Not Another Teen Movie

Freshman engage in some fairly predictable debauchery in this routine high school gross-out comedy streaming on Netflix.

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By Calum Marsh

“Incoming,” a bawdy teen comedy from the directors Dave and John Chernin, opens with a familiar gag: an awkward adolescent boy (Mason Thames) delivers a speech to the camera professing his love, only for a cut to reveal that he’s actually rehearsing in the mirror. In a genre rank with cliché, this is not a very promising start — it suggests that the Chernins, who also penned the screenplay, are satisfied with whatever joke is closest to hand.

The rest of the movie does little to dispel that impression. Its story of high school freshmen navigating a libertine house party follows exactly the trajectory you would expect, with few laughs and even fewer surprises. If there’s a cute girl incoming, she’ll be introduced in a slow motion montage. If a couple leans in for a kiss, they’ll be interrupted by a lewd gag. Will the dork score with the hottie? Will the rowdy teacher get out of hand? Cue the record scratch sound effect!

A generous interpretation is that “Incoming” is derivative as an act of loving homage. In practice, it just feels old hat. The movie is heavily indebted to the teen gross-out comedies of the late 1990s and early 2000s, like “American Pie” and “Van Wilder,” which were themselves indebted to the teen sex comedies of the 1980s, like “Porky’s” and “Screwballs,” and it’s so far from an original idea or point of view that it’s hard to see the point.

All it offers is ribald escalation: Instead of beer bongs, there are lines of ketamine; instead of fart jokes, there’s diarrhea in a Tesla. Maybe that’s progress. But I’d say the filmmakers flunked.

Incoming Rated R for strong language, drug use, sexual innuendo, mild violence and “Porky’s”-style shenanigans. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes. Watch on Netflix.

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‘Footage’ movie review: Manju Warrier, Saiju Sreedharan’s found footage film lacks the writing to complement its experimentation

In his debut directorial, film editor saiju sreedharan leans heavily on the experimental element to take forward the narrative, which is not helped much by the sparse screenplay and thin material.

Updated - August 24, 2024 12:56 pm IST

Published - August 23, 2024 05:06 pm IST

A still from ‘Footage’

Barring some glorious exceptions, an utter pointlessness marks a good number of the zillion vlogs that get uploaded online every day. Often documented for the viewing pleasure of the public are the mundane details from the daily lives of the vloggers. But, some of them do spring surprises for those patient enough to sit through the uneventful visuals.

In his debut directorial, film editor Saiju Sreedharan uses the found footage of a vlogger couple (Vishak Nair and Gayathri Ashok) to tell a story which if told in the conventional form might not have much of a novelty. This being the format, the film has its share of inconsequential sequences from their daily lives, but it at the same time gives one the feel of being a part of the risky adventures they embark on.

Right from the beginning, the film gives us a clue about their habit of prying on the lives of others. The couple also compulsively documents their intimate moments, quite a few of which does not have much to do with the narrative. While the first half of the film is made up of visuals from the man’s camera, the latter half takes us through the same scenarios using visuals from the woman’s camera, filling in the many gaps in her partner’s visuals. The duo, with their cameras running, follows a mysterious woman (Manju Warrier) living in their apartment complex, inevitably landing in trouble.

Saiju, who has edited some of the best known films of the past decade including Maheshinte Prathikaaram, Kumbalangi Nights and Virus , leans heavily on the experimental element to take forward the narrative, which is not helped much by the sparse screenplay and thin material. With the central characters never letting go of the camera, even when they are in danger, there are a lot of visuals which convey the immediacy of the danger they are facing.

There are, of course, several visuals with the shaky cameras pointed at running feet, sequences in weirdly tilted angles and immersive experiences inside dark forests in wind and rain. Some of the standout sequences include a close encounter with wild elephants and those inside a rusty old boat in the middle of the forest. The intricate sound design adds to the effect of these scenes; the songs from post-rock band Aswekeepsearching makes some pointless scenes worthwhile.

Manju Warrier, who is introduced as a mysterious woman, remains so even in the end, because her character is quite under-written. She does not have a line of dialogue in the film, but we are not even sure whether she is mute or whether she chooses to communicate with handwritten notes. The revenge drama at the centre is plainly run-of-the mill, and would not have stood on its own.

With some better writing to complement its experimentation, Footage, one of the first feature films in the found footage genre in Malayalam, might have left a lasting impression.

Footage is currently running in theatres

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12 Movies of the 1960s That Are Still a Pleasure to Watch

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Many old movies are classics, sure — but can feel a little like homework. Here are some movies of the 1960s that remain a pure pleasure.

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‘The Becomers’ Review: ‘Body Snatchers’ Marries ‘The Lovebirds’ in Zach Clark’s Alien Rom-Com

Alison foreman.

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First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes…a planetary apocalypse forcing you and your alien soulmate to invade the Earth and possess bodies you don’t understand? Sure, why not.

“The Becomers” writer/director/editor is already known for painting in seriocomic shades thanks to movies like “Little Sister” and “White Reindeer.” He’s exploring themes of complex grief again here, but this time it’s through the lens of a loss so seismic it demands to be processed both alone and as a couple. The scared-but-still-smitten aliens (known heretofore as Lover 1 and Lover 2 for the purposes of this review) spend the first third of the film apart. That proves essential to the sharp flecks of sci-fi melancholia that give this ultimately imperfect horror-comedy enough special sauce to still enjoy.

When a hunter (Conrad Dean) investigates a plume of purple smoke in the woods outside Chicago, he stumbles away acting not at all like himself. Slouched and wearing a pair of upside-down sunglasses, this thing that turns out to be Lover 1 can barely walk — let alone speak — in their first disguise. A pregnant woman named Francesca (Isabel Alamin) is giving birth in the back of a car parked up the road. The stranded mom-to-be’s pleas are answered by the amoral bystander, who swiftly enacts a brutal murder and a second body-snatch. (Don’t ask what happens to the baby.)

Where do you go when you don’t know who you are? Safe inside a Motel 6, Lover 1 doggedly learns the English language by repeating what’s said on TV. You’ll recognize that done-to-death idea from countless other movies and shows, but Clark makes it feel fresh with a broadcast news send-up that tasks his actress with both sides of a partisan debate. Lover 1 is also figuring out feeding and dressing their new body. They’ll need to buy human clothes as well as colored contacts — their eyes are neon-blue and their partner’s glow fuchsia — all while evading the increasingly creepy advances of motel manager Gene (Frank V. Ross).

That pulsing political current pushes the action forward and a chance encounter in a Home Depot parking lot sees Lover 1 slough off Francesca to become Carol (Molly Plunk). The consequences of that choice are unforeseeable to the alien and only begin with the problematic revelation that Carol has a husband waiting for her at home. Stressed out and cryptic about why, Gordon (Mike Lopez) steadfastly steers the plot toward its satirical endgame — but with Lover 2 finally appearing as a city bus driver formerly known as Debbie (Jacquelyn Haas), he might not stay Gordon for much longer. Is Lover 2 ready for that change? What about Lover 1?

That combination mostly works, which is dazzling when you consider what little time many of these actors had to establish iterative versions of one relationship. “You Won’t Be Alone,” written and directed by Goran Stolevski, took a similar idea by way of a witchy Macedonian folktale in 2022 — and while that film is objectively better, the shapeshifting here is more impressive when measured as a team effort with fewer resources. Clark keeps everyone on the same page, even as the two main roles are continuously recast and the surprise addition of a key character (Keith Kelly) shakes things up even more.

“The Becomers” loses its way when Clark starts searching for a political message he can’t pin down. A series of sharp comedic inclines promises a pay-off to the ever-crazier rising action that doesn’t arrive, even as the body-snatching elements get more gruesome. Lover 1 and Lover 2 find themselves stuck in some sensationally high-pressure scenarios and their inability to lie their way through those moments is earnestly funny. In the end though, Clark can’t figure out what he wants to say about the state of the country or the world, and the lessons the lovers’ take away from their experiences suffer for it.

Describing a home planet the audience never gets to see, “The Becomers” feels like a lockdown death rattle for good and bad. It reflects not only how far we’ve come since this singular piece of oddball cinema was shot, but also how far we still have to go in understanding why and how that tragic time changed us as people. Clark maintains his admirable devotion to humanity’s messiest emotional crises in his sixth film and that’s something worth applauding. He knows who he is — and not every artist is secure enough to ask a question so daring as: What will we become?

From Dark Star Pictures, “The Becomers” premieres in theaters August 23 in New York at Cinema Village. It will be in Los Angeles on August 30 at Lumiere Music Hall, and in Chicago on September 13 at Music Box Theatre. The film hits VOD on September 24.

Want to stay up to date on IndieWire’s film  reviews  and critical thoughts?  Subscribe here  to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best reviews, streaming picks, and offers some new musings, all only available to subscribers.

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15 most culturally influential movies of the 1960s.

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Inside Out 2: The Heartwarming Bing Bong Easter Egg Explained (& Where To Spot It)

How to train your dragon remake gets exciting update from live-action hiccup actor, emma stone’s 2024 black comedy movie gets streaming release date after dividing audiences.

Even though there are original movies coming out all the time, a lot of contemporary hits have been heavily inspired by films that were released decades ago, if not being direct continuations of them like in the case of the unkillable James Bond franchise.

Related:  The 10 Most Influential TV Series of All-Time

Movies are a form of media that have a huge impact on pop culture in general, however, and the 1960s was a decade that saw a huge turn in the way people lived their lives and what was considered acceptable in terms of media. This decade was a turning point in a lot of ways, and the most popular '60s movies often reflected that.

Updated on October 10th, 2021 by Mark Birrell: The most popular movies of the 1960s, though not necessarily mentioned in mainstream discourse as much as they used to be, still form the foundation of pop culture as most people know it today. From Westerns and spy movies to horror and science-fiction, the '60s reinvented many of the most famous staples of popular filmmaking and each of the decade's most influential films from around the world must be recognized if all of the references and inspirations in today's world are to be properly understood.

Django (1966)

● Available on Tubi and Vudu

After the heyday that Westerns enjoyed from the '30s through the '50s, the genre began to undergo subversive changes throughout the 1960s and the most well-remembered of these variations was the rise in popularity of the so-called "Spaghetti Western", largely Italian productions set in the American West or Mexico but often shot mostly in Spain.

Of this somewhat niche but still hugely influential subgenre, two directors are remembered as the most famous, the first being Sergio Leone and the second being Sergio Corbucci. Corbucci's most enduring creation was his own mysterious gunslinger, Django, whose name survives today in popular culture thanks in large part to Quentin Tarantino's film  Django Unchained , which features a cameo from original Django actor Franco Nero. The style of the original revenge movie can, however, also be clearly seen in various pulp stories in film, TV, and anime.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

● Available on Pluto TV

For a very long time after  Lawrence of Arabia  was first released, just about every movie that featured a desert in some way referenced David Lean's historical epic. The sweeping shots of the breathtaking landscapes and the stirring music of Maurice Jarre have become an inextricable part of how popular culture views desert landscapes, not to mention the film's impact on what audiences would expect from the overall scope of a cinematic journey.

The film won 7 Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture, and, even though he lost to Gregory Peck for his performance in  To Kill a Mockingbird , Peter O'Toole's turn as the eponymous T.E. Lawrence is often imitated even in the modern-day.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

● Available on HBO Max

Though its final shot may still be the most famous thing about it, and still parodied to this day as one of the most well-known examples of a twist ending,  Planet of the Apes   as an overall movie has proven to be very influential within the sci-fi genre.

Though quaint by modern standards, the ape makeup in the film was a big leap forward for genre filmmaking and its direct approach to social metaphors proved to be as popular with audiences in the 2010s, when the series rebooted, as it was in the '60s.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

● Available on Starz

High-end and prestige horror films released today still emulate the level of quality seen in  Rosemary's Baby , with the relationship drama between Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes' New York couple taking prominence over horrific imagery or startling jumpscares.

RELATED:  10 Chilling Behind The Scenes Facts About Rosemary's Baby

The movie's then-groundbreaking exploration and heightening of emotions surrounding pregnancy and motherhood into impactful horror is something that is still highly regarded by critics in films like  Hereditary ,  The Babadook , and  We Need to Talk About Kevin .

Yojimbo (1961)

Akira Kurosawa's samurai masterpiece  Yojimbo  was hugely influential in global filmmaking not just after the 1960s but during them also. It was unofficially remade by Spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone , borrowing so much from the story that a lawsuit was filed by Japanese distributors, Toho.

Toshiro Mifune's wandering warrior being the basis for Clint Eastwood's stony screen persona is enough proof of the film's ability to inspire but the intelligent plotting of the story became as important a stepping stone in the development of action movies as Kurosawa's grander epic,  Seven Samurai .

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

● Available on Prime Video, HBO Max, Tubi, Vudu, and Pluto TV

Zombies have been a subject of myths and legends in different cultures for a long time, but they didn't see much attention in the cinematic world until George A. Romero released this cult classic,  Night of the Living Dead .

This movie follows a group of people who find themselves trapped in a Pennsylvania farmhouse when a group of terrifying "living dead" creatures rise from the grave and descend upon them. On top of inspiring movies and TV shows for decades to come, this movie was groundbreaking at the time of its release due to the casting of Black actor Duane Jones in the lead role.

Dr. No (1962)

● Available on Hulu, Paramount+, and Pluto TV

James Bond has become an iconic character in the world of movies. When many people think about spy films, they immediately think of 007 himself, who remains a massive box office draw to this day.

His first movie, Dr. No , was released in 1962 and stars Sean Connery as the superspy, a British agent who was originally created in the stories of author Ian Fleming. From the quirky villain and his lair to the beautiful locations and costumes, the film has influenced every spy movie that followed it in some shape or form.

Psycho (1960)

● Available on Showtime

It's hard to think about movies from this part of the 20th century without immediately thinking about Alfred Hitchcock. Films like  Rebecca ,  Rear Window , and  Vertigo are classics from the 1940s and 1950s. But when it comes to the 1960s,  Psycho is among the most famous horror movies ever made.

It was released in 1960 and follows a secretary named Marion who finds herself at a hotel run by a man named Norman Bates. It's then the movie shifts gears and becomes an intense study of the deeply disturbed Bates and the murderous secrets surrounding him. The stabbing motion of the killer in the iconic shower scene and the accompanying soundtrack of shrieking strings instantly became symbolic of horror movies in general, not least the slasher subgenre that would emerge in its wake over the course of the next two decades.

In The Heat Of The Night (1967)

● Available on Cinemax

In the Heat of the Night is a movie that was released in 1967 and is based on a novel of the same name by John Ball. This film is set in a fictional southern town and follows a Black police detective who is tasked with investigating a heinous crime.

The movie's frank handling of racism has aged well and was met with huge praise, helping it win 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, generating two sequels and a TV series of the same name.

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

Released in 1964,  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a political satire and black comedy film that was directed by Stanley Kubrick. This movie is a satirical take on the Cold War and follows a US Air Force General who orders a strike on the Soviet Union.

RELATED:  10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Dr. Strangelove

From Peter Sellers' eccentric title character to the famous shot of Slim Pickens riding the atom bomb, it has remained one of the most frequently referenced movies to come out of the entire decade.

The Apartment (1960)

● Available on The Criterion Channel

The Apartment was released in 1960, the same year in which Fred and Wilma Flintstone became one of the first onscreen couples to sleep in the same bed together on primetime TV. Because of the fact that this was a time period in which the depiction of intimate relationships like that was still pretty taboo in media,  The Apartment is a movie that really broke some boundaries.

This movie follows an insurance clerk who allows his co-workers to use his New York City apartment to host their extramarital affairs in the hopes of getting ahead in his own career. Though the story may have been somewhat risque, audiences responded well, with the film winning 5 Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey   is a science-fiction movie directed by Stanley Kubrick  that redefined the genre in terms of movies, expanding both the visual and philosophical scopes of high-concept Hollywood movies forevermore.

The plot deals with themes of human evolution throughout time and into the future.  2001 had some pretty incredible and ambitious special effects for the time period that, paired with the unique narrative structure, made it immeasurably influential.

Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)

Breakfast at Tiffany's was released in 1961 and stars Aubrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, a naive and eccentric New York City socialite. The movie is based on a Truman Capote novella by the same name and won multiple awards, including multiple Oscars and Grammys for its score and the infamous song "Moon River".

The movie became an instant classic though it has aged very poorly in many respects, particularly in regards to the racial insensitivity of actor Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the Japanese character I. Y. Yunioshi.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)

The Good, the Bad,  and the Ugly  is a Spaghetti Western that was released in Europe in 1966 and stars Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef. Though a standalone story, it is now generally considered to be the third and final installment in director Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy, sometimes called the "Man with No Name" trilogy, in reference to Clint Eastwood's nameless main characters in each film, being preceded by  A Fistful of Dollars  and  For a Few Dollars More .

The movie follows three gunslingers who are all competing to try to find a buried cache of gold during the American Civil War. It's not only an essential example of the Spaghetti Western genre but, following the legal issues surrounding  A Fistful of Dollars  and  Yojimbo , all three movies in the "Dollars" trilogy were released in the same year in the US, so it's often considered to be the film that secured  Clint Eastwood's status as a successful leading man .

Easy Rider (1969)

Easy Rider was released in 1969, closing out the 1960s. It was an incredibly influential film that went on to inspire a new movement known as New Hollywood. Stars Peter Fond and Deniss Hopper both wrote the movie, with Fonda producing and Hopper directing.

The plot of their two bikers traveling across the US in order to do a shady deal really touched on a huge part of the major changes of the decade, as the most pervasive aspects of the various countercultural movements of the '60s began to take root in mainstream society. The image of the pair riding on the open road to "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf became instantly iconic and its legacy as one of the greatest biker movies of all time endures.

Next:  Movies From The 1950s That Every Film Buff Needs To See

Greatest Films of the '60s, According to Leonard Maltin

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The social upheaval of the 1960s eventually found a voice in Hollywood, but it took time to take hold. The movie business was already changing before the decade even began, thanks to a 1948 Supreme Court decision that ended the monopoly of studios owning movie theaters. With the major studios no longer controlling the theaters their films were shown in, the industry had to rely on high attendance numbers from moviegoers to remain profitable. The motion picture industry had a new problem, however: television.

By the mid-1950s, the first golden age of television had caused theater attendance to drop over 50% compared to the previous decade, when theaters set attendance records. By the 1960s, Hollywood realized it needed more variety to remain profitable. The studios began to take more chances with the projects it took on, and brought in new creators to breathe new life into the movies. The resulting films heralded what is now called the "American New Wave" in cinema. These new filmmakers were given greater control in how their films were made, leading to an unprecedented era of innovation in film.

Although the 1960s still saw a number of "traditional" Hollywood films, the evolving tastes of moviegoers changed filmmaking forever. The shift in Hollywood was quick, and drastic. Back in 1968 , the Best Picture Oscar winner was the G-rated musical Oliver! . The very next year, the Best Picture winner was the X-rated Midnight Cowboy .

Movie critic and film historian Leonard Maltin has been writing about film for over half a century, and he has picked 12 films as the very best of the 1960s . They are listed here, in alphabetical order.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Stanley Kubrick made four films in the 1960s, and two of them made Maltin's list. The celebrated director partnered with legendary sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke to adapt his short story The Sentinel into 2001: A Space Odyssey , a landmark film about man's first contact with aliens. Deliberately paced and visually striking, 2001 remains a masterpiece without equal, with an unforgettable ending . It won a single Oscar, for Best Visual Effects, although Kubrick's direction was nominated. It failed to score a Best Picture nod, with Oliver! taking home the award that year.

8 1/2 (1963)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

Viewers unfamiliar with director Federico Fellini will get a good sense of his surreal style within the first five minutes of 8 1/2 , a multi-layered psychological exploration of a disenchanted film director (Marcello Mastroianni) struggling through a midlife crisis. The non-linear narrative plays out in a series of random scenes and dreams, providing the opportunity for some absolutely stunning cinematography. The film won two Oscars, for Best Costume Design (Black and White) and Best Foreign Language Film.

Blow-Up (1966)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

A generation raised on Dateline and murder podcasts will likely take issue with the logic of Blow-Up , a film about a shallow, self-centered London photographer (David Hemmings) who inadvertently photographs a murder. No one reacts the way they should, but director Michelangelo Antonioni instead has his focus on the film's depiction of 1960s mod culture and the carefree attitudes of the period.

Related: The Best Cult Classic Movies From the 1960s

Herbie Hancock provided the trendy score, and the film nabbed Academy Award nominations for Best Director for Antonioni and Best Original Screenplay; it remains one of the most ambiguous and brilliant films ever made.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Director Arthur Penn's take on the legendary crime duo was groundbreaking in its grittiness, violence, and cynicism, which resonated with late-1960s America. Old Hollywood might have romanticized Bonnie and Clyde in earlier years, but in the American New Wave, screenwriters David Newman and Robert Benton portrayed them as dark, lost souls. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway give Oscar-nominated performances, but Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Actress) took home one of the film's two Academy Awards.

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

Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove seemingly becomes more timely with each passing year, a sad commentary on today's geopolitics. The film, involving a nuclear war with Russia, is similar in theme to the film Fail Safe (released later the same year), except Dr. Strangelove is a black satirical comedy rather than a straight political drama. Strangelove is the superior film, however, on the strength of Peter Sellers' Oscar-nominated performance (as three different characters, including Strangelove and the U.S. President) alone. It was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, but didn't win a single one.

The Graduate (1967)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Dustin Hoffman made a splash in The Graduate , his first leading film role, playing a college grad in over his head when he begins an affair with an older married woman (Anne Bancroft). Things get even more complicated when he falls in love with the woman's daughter (Katherine Ross).

The Graduate is so much more than the famous "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me" scene. The movie is both smart and funny on a level that few films since have equaled. Hoffman, Bancroft, and Ross were all nominated for Oscars, but director Mike Nichols won the film's only Oscar, for Best Director.

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

One of two Federico Fellini films on Maltin's list, La Dolce Vita is not only one of the Italian director's best films, it is perhaps the most accessible for moviegoers unfamiliar with the director's work. Marcello Mastroianni plays a tabloid journalist living in Rome having an affair with an actress (Anita Ekberg) he follows around. The fantastic costume design won an Oscar.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

One of Hollywood's last great old-school epics is still one of the finest films ever made. Lawrence of Arabia has its feet in two worlds: it offers the grand excess of Hollywood's golden age, while exhibiting deeper, more complicated character studies that would define the films of the late 1960s and the 1970s. O'Toole was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his fantastic performance, as was Omar Sharif for Best Supporting Actor. Neither won, but the film took home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Mary Poppins (1964)

Disney's classic musical Mary Poppins really is practically perfect in every way. Walt himself cast Julie Andrews in the lead as a nanny who turns around the fortunes of the Banks family with a little magic. The music and the film's inventive use of animation and live-action are unforgettable. Dick van Dyke (despite a suspect British accent) is wonderful. Andrews won the Best Actress Oscar in her first film role, and the film won five Oscars in all, including the groundbreaking visual effects and the classic Disney songs from the Sherman Brothers.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

The explicit content in Midnight Cowboy may be tame by today's standards, but in 1969, it earned a scandalous "X" rating from the MPAA (it now carries an "R" rating). The incredible performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, however, and both were nominated for Best Actor Oscars, although John Wayne ( True Grit ) won the award. The film did win Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Related: The 16 Best Films of the '50s, According to Leonard Maltin

Dustin Hoffman was so committed to the character of Rizzo, he did every scene with rocks in his shoe, to make his "limp" more believable. Voight, playing a Texas hustler who tries to make it big New York City, agreed to be paid at scale, in order to make sure the film was made.

Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece is a perfect specimen of cinematic terror and suspense, and the film is no less entertaining now than it was in 1960. Psycho was Hitchcock's first horror film, and he seems to relish manipulating every scene for maximum effect. The performances by Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh are iconic, as a troubled man with mommy issues and the woman who sends him over the edge, respectively.

The film was a box office hit in 1960, but it didn't get much love from the Academy, despite Psycho being famous today. Janet Leigh was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Hitchcock earned a Best Director nod, but the film didn't win a single Oscar. In a criminal oversight by the Academy, the score by Bernard Herrmann was not even nominated, although it has inspired countless film scores since.

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Wild Bunch , director Sam Peckinpah's bloody masterpiece about a gang of thieves in the dying days of the Old West, shocked moviegoers in 1969 with its excessive violence. Those scenes are no less impactful today, not because of their graphic nature, but because Peckinpah connects the violence on an emotional level. That's due to the outstanding cast, including William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Bo Hopkins, and Ben Johnson as the members of the gang hoping to get one last big score.

Robert Ryan plays a former member of the gang hired to hunt them down by the railroad they stole from. It's excessive and stylized, but it is also a masterwork by Peckinpaugh. The film earned two Oscar nominations, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score (Jerry Fielding), but won neither.

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The Best '60s Comedy Movies, Ranked

Immerse yourself in a trip down memory lane, stepping back into the groovy era of 1960s comedy movies. A period of bold experimentation and boundless creativity, the '60s set the stage for laughter, levity, and comedic brilliance that have left indelible imprints on the cinematic landscape. These classic comedies, products of a vibrant era, gave audiences respite from the weight of the real world, serving up generous doses of humor, witty dialogues, and captivating performances.

Prepare to delve deep into the celluloid world of 60s comedy, where every frame, scene, and dialogue is infused with rib-tickling humor and timeless entertainment. The spotlight shines brightly on the era's standout films, each marked by their unique blend of humor, engaging narratives, and remarkable performances. Each film encapsulates the comedic essence of the 60s, boasting scores of legendary actors who masterfully breathed life into unforgettable characters and plots.

Take, for instance, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World , a treasure trove of comedy belting out hilarious gags and unmatched spontaneity, reflecting the quintessential spirit of 60s comedy. Or The Odd Couple , which won hearts universally with its witty repertoire, proving that sometimes, laughter indeed is the best medicine. Meanwhile, classics like The Pink Panther and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb , are odes to the art of old comedy movies, garnering acclaim for their perfect blend of satire, slapstick, and subtlety. Unforgettably, Mary Poppins , with its whimsical charm and heartwarming humor, also emerges as a shining gem of 1960s comedies. For those eager for immediate viewing, Netflix, Disney+, Max, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Paramount+ are just a click away under every entry.

The compelling world of 1960s comedy movies compiles an extraordinary array of laughter-inducing films guaranteed to stir nostalgia and delight. From silent chuckles to boisterous laughs, these classic comedies have left a lasting legacy, influencing generations of filmmakers and actors. As this cinematic journey unfolds, prepare to embrace the charm, wit, and humor of some of the best 60s movies ever made - timeless classics that truly encapsulate the golden age of comedy.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Featuring an all-star ensemble cast, this comedic masterpiece tells the story of a group of strangers who embark on a wild cross-country race to recover buried treasure after receiving a cryptic clue from a dying man. With its breakneck pace, slapstick humor, and big-budget action sequences, this epic caper served as a massive influence on future comedy films and remains a fondly remembered classic to this day. Director Stanley Kramer's expert blending of physical comedy and witty banter makes this chaotic adventure a timeless romp that continues to resonate with audiences.

• Released : 1963
• Directed by : Stanley Kramer

The Pink Panther

Centered around the clumsy-yet-lovable Inspector Jacques Clouseau, this delightful comedy sends the bumbling detective on a mission to recover the eponymous stolen gemstone while evading rival investigators and various attempts on his life. Peter Sellers' iconic portrayal of Clouseau became the defining role of his career, and his comic timing and effortless slapstick skills are showcased brilliantly throughout the film. This spy spoof and its numerous sequels remain beloved for their perfect blend of wit, visual gags, and memorable characters.

• Directed by : Blake Edwards

The Odd Couple

This hilarious film adaptation of Neil Simon's Broadway play revolves around two friends with clashing personalities — a fastidious neat-freak and a laid-back slob — who decide to live together after their respective marriages fail. The chemistry between Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau onscreen generated endless laughs, establishing the duo as one of the most beloved comedy pairings in cinema history. With its relatable characters and timeless themes, this classic remains a go-to favorite for fans seeking brilliant humor rooted in human dynamics.

• Released : 1968
• Directed by : Gene Saks

Support Your Local Sheriff!

This uproarious western comedy stars James Garner as a quick-witted drifter who takes on the job of sheriff in a chaotic frontier town, using his wits and cunning to maintain order while trying to stay one step ahead of a powerful family of outlaws. Filled with laugh-out-loud dialogue and clever sight gags, this hilarious spoof of the traditional western film established Garner as a leading comedic actor and remains a rollicking ride for fans of high-spirited humor. With its stellar cast, snappy pace, and pitch-perfect comic timing, this gem of a film is a must-see for anyone looking to explore the lighter side of the Wild West.

• Released : 1969
• Directed by : Burt Kennedy

Mary Poppins

This enchanting family film follows the magical nanny Mary Poppins as she arrives to bring order, adventure, and laughter to the lives of the Banks family. A delightful blend of live-action and animation, this cherished classic is filled with memorable songs, whimsical dance numbers, and impeccable comedic performances from Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Its ability to capture the hearts of both children and adults with its timeless charm and warmth has solidified it as a beloved staple of the genre.

• Released : 1964
• Directed by : Robert Stevenson

The Parent Trap

A heartwarming and humorous tale of twin sisters separated at birth, this family comedy follows the siblings as they plan to reunite their divorced parents by trading places and pretending to be each other. With young Hayley Mills starring in both roles, her magnetic screen presence and charming portrayal of the determined sisters made the film an instant classic. The whimsical humor and relatable themes of love, family, and second chances still strike a chord with audiences of all ages.

• Released : 1961
• Directed by : David Swift

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Home » Movie News » The Killer Review

The Killer Review

John Woo updates his classic 1989 masterpiece with Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy but fails to capture the same magic.

Plot : Zee is a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler, Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee’s alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator, and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past.

Review : Before coming to Hollywood and delivering modern action movies Broken Arrow, Hard Target, Face/Off, and Mission: Impossible II, John Woo revolutionized action cinema with the one-two punch of The Killer and Hard Boiled . Both films starred Chow Yun-fat and changed the landscape of action movies forever. In the years since their release, John Woo’s signature style has been copied ad nauseam, resulting in the appearance of slow motion, doves, and any balletic action sequences as cliche. Woo returned to English-language film with last year’s Silent Night. This innovative and relatively dialogue-free film gave me hope that his long-in-development remake of The Killer would be equally as refreshing. While it is nice to see Woo’s brand of beautiful bloodshed back on screen, the new take on The Killer is rote and redundant without offering a single moment that makes it worthwhile.

There is little that the 2024 version of The Killer shares in common with the 1989 original outside of the barest plot structure. Both films follow an assassin protecting a blind singer while being pursued by a police officer. In the original, the reluctant friendship between the killer and the cop creates a unique bromance twist. At the same time, the melodramatic plot existed to deepen the character development when Woo was not filming expertly choreographed gunfights and car chases. In the new film, the cat-and-mouse dynamic still exists between the killer and the cop, as does the blind singer, but beyond that, the story is vastly different. Now, the killer has a different reason for defending the blind singer, and the friendship that develops with the cop pursuer borders on romance. The character development now feels forced into the story and bogs down the action rather than augmenting it. There is significantly less action in this new The Killer than the trailers would lead you to believe.

Nathalie Emmanuel takes on the title role as Zee, the best assassin in France, who works for her handler, Finn (Sam Worthington). Zee has a rule that her targets deserve to die, and she will not kill civilians. When hired to clear a room of criminals, Zee dispatches them with a samurai sword and inadvertently blinds young American singer Jenn (Diana Silvers) but leaves her alive. When Finn sends Zee back to finish the job, Zee runs into Detective Sey ( Omar Sy ), who is pursuing a related theft of heroin that connects to a high-ranking French crimelord as well as a Saudi Prince (Said Taghmaoui). Sey is a righteous cop who does not always play safe, hates politics and has crossed paths with Zee before. Zee and Sey have mutual respect despite being on different sides of the law, and eventually, they find themselves working together to stop the true bad guys. Sy and Emmanuel have good chemistry on screen without turning it into a sexual relationship, but neither actor can overcome the soporific dialogue that bogs down the entire screenplay.

Clocking in at over two hours, I was hoping that The Killer would be jam-packed with action sequences along the lines of Woo’s previous efforts, but most of the movie is focused on characters talking rather than fighting. The Killer takes over ninety minutes to develop any momentum in the action. The 1989 film built up the characters over six months, whereas the new film shifts everything to take place in a matter of days. This diminishes the development of the characters’ shifting allegiances and feels forced and overly familiar. There is also the addition of new assassins to stand in Zee’s way, one of whom is played by John Woo’s daughter, Angeles. But, their introduction early in the film completely botches what is meant to serve as a twist in the plot. By the time the action kicks into gear, it is too late, and the movie has already beaten the familiar plot to death without adding anything new to make the viewer care about this new interpretation.

When John Woo wrote and directed The Killer in 1989, he was in his early forties. At 77, Woo still packs a punch when lensing action sequences but relies on the script work from Brian Helgeland, Josh Campbell, and Matt Stuecken, which fails in every conceivable way. Helgeland, best known for his whipsmart films L.A. Confidential and Payback, offers nothing more than stilted and wooden dialogue that not even the charming Omar Sy and Nathalie Emmanuel can rescue. The exposition is heavy-handed and bland, as is the entire look of the film. Suppose you can get past Mauro Fiore’s vanilla cinematography or the generic score by Marco Beltrami. In that case, you may appreciate the classic style of Woo’s action sequences, but they cannot help but feel cheap and low-budget. Once the movie hits the final act, Woo manages to evoke what has made him a film legend, but it is too late to salvage this forgettable remake.

The Killer was a masterpiece ahead of its time, while the 2024 version is well past its time. Despite Nathalie Emmanuel being perfectly cast in the lead and Omar Sy doing a great job, The Killer cannot help but be an uninteresting and overlong waste of time and talent. As evidenced by Silent Night, John Woo still has something in the tank, but The Killer is a total misfire in every sense. While seeing how a filmmaker can realize a concept in two completely different ways is interesting, The Killer may be the most unnecessary remake since Gus Van Sant’s Psycho. The Killer is the worst thing an action movie can be: boring. Avoid this movie at all costs unless you are a John Woo completist, and even then, you will be disappointed that you waited over thirty years for this.

About the Author

Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.

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-- Michel to Patricia

Modern movies begin here, with Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless" in 1960. No debut film since " Citizen Kane " in 1942 has been as influential. It is dutifully repeated that Godard's technique of "jump cuts" is the great breakthrough, but startling as they were, they were actually an afterthought, and what is most revolutionary about the movie is its headlong pacing, its cool detachment, its dismissal of authority, and the way its narcissistic young heroes are obsessed with themselves and oblivious to the larger society.

There is a direct line through "Breathless" to " Bonnie and Clyde ," " Badlands " and the youth upheaval of the late 1960s. The movie was a crucial influence during Hollywood's 1967-1974 golden age. You cannot even begin to count the characters played by Pacino, Beatty, Nicholson, Penn, who are directly descended from Jean-Paul Belmondo's insouciant killer Michel.

"Breathless" remains a living movie that retains the power to surprise and involve us after all these years. What fascinates above all is the naivete and amorality of these two young characters: Michel, a car thief who idolizes Bogart and pretends to be tougher than he is, and Patricia ( Jean Seberg ), an American who peddles the Paris edition of the New York Herald-Tribune while waiting to enroll at the Sorbonne. Do they know what they're doing? Both of the important killings in the movie occur because Michel accidentally comes into possession of someone else's gun; Patricia's involvement with him seems inspired in equal parts by affection, sex and fascination with his gangster persona.

Michel wants to be as tough as the stars in the movies he loves. He practices facial expressions in the mirror, wears a fedora, and is never, ever seen without a cigarette, removing one from his mouth only to insert another. So omnipresent is this cigarette that Godard is only kidding us a little when Michel's dying breath is smoky. But Belmondo at 26 still had a little of the adolescent in him, and the first time we see him, his hat and even his cigarette seem too big for his face. He was "hypnotically ugly," Bosley Crowther wrote in his agitated New York Times review, but that did not prevent him from becoming the biggest French star between Jean Gabin and Gerard Depardieu .

Seberg was restarting her career after its disastrous launch in America. Otto Preminger staged a famous talent search for the star of his "Saint Joan" (1957), and cast an inexperienced 18-year-old Marshalltown, Iowa, girl; Seberg received terrible reviews, not entirely deserved, and more bad notices for "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958), which Preminger made next to prove himself right. She fled to Europe, where she was only 21 when Godard cast her for "Breathless."

Her Patricia is the great enigma of the movie. Michel we can more or less read at sight: He postures as a gangster, maintains a cool facade, is frightened underneath. His persona is a performance that functions to conceal his desperation. But what about Patricia? Somehow it is never as important as it should be that she thinks she is pregnant, and that Michel is the father. She receives startling items of information about Michel (that he is a killer, that he is married, that he has more than one name) with such apparent detachment that we study that perfectly molded gamin face and wonder what she can possibly be thinking. Even her betrayal of him turns out to be not about Michel, and not about right and wrong, but only a test she sets for herself to determine if she loves him or not. It is remarkable that the reviews of this movie do not describe her as a monster--more evil, because she's less deluded, than Michel.

The filming of "Breathless" has gathered about it a body of legend. It was one of the key films of the French New Wave, which rejected the well-made traditional French cinema and embraced a rougher, more experimental personal style. Many of the New Wave directors began as critics for the anti-establishment magazine Cahiers du Cinema . The credits for "Breathless" are a New Wave roll call, including not only Godard's direction but an original story by Francois Truffaut (Godard famously wrote each day's shooting script in the morning). Claude Chabrol is production designer and technical adviser, the writer Pierre Boulanger plays the police inspector, and there are small roles for Truffaut and Godard himself (as the informer). Everyone was at the party; the assistant director was Pierre Rissient, who wears so many hats he is most simply described as knowing more people in the cinema than any other single person.

Jean-Pierre Melville , whose own crime movies in the 1950s pointed the way to the New Wave, plays the writer interviewed by Patricia at Orly, where he expounds on life and sex ("Two things are important in life. For men, women. For women, money"). Melville's " Bob le Flambeur " (1955) is referenced when we meet the man who informed on Bob, or when Michel tells a friend, "Bob the gambler would have cashed my check."

One inside joke in the film is always mentioned, but is not really there. Michel's alias is " Laszlo Kovacs ," and countless writers inform us this is a reference to the legendary Hungarian cinematographer. In fact, Godard had not met Kovacs at the time, and the reference is to the character Belmondo played in Chabrol's "A Double Tour" (1959). In a film with so many references to the past of the cinema, it is amusing to find a coincidental reference to its future.

Godard's key collaborator on the film was the cinematographer Raoul Coutard , who worked with him many times, notably on " Weekend " (1968). It was only Coutard's fourth film, and his methods became legend: How when they could not afford tracks for a tracking shot, he held the camera and had himself pushed in a wheelchair. How he achieved a grainy look that influenced many other fiction films that wanted to seem realistic. How he scorned fancy lighting. How he used hand-held techniques even before lightweight cameras were available. How he timed one shot of Belmondo so that the streetlights on the Champs Elysses came on behind him. There is a lovely backlit shot of Belmondo in bed and Seberg sitting beside the bed, both smoking, the light from the window enveloping them in a cloud.

That's from a long scene that's alive with freshness and spontaneity. Patricia returns home to find Michel in her bed, and they talk, flirt, smoke, fight, finally make love. She quotes Faulkner: "Between grief and nothing, I will take grief." Michel says he would choose nothing; "grief is a compromise." She poses in front of a Renoir poster of a young girl, and asks who is prettier. Michel sits below a Picasso poster of a man holding a mask. Throughout this long scene, perplexingly, they both throw their discarded cigarettes out the window.

In this scene and throughout the film, Godard uses jump cuts--cuts within continuous movement or dialogue, with no attempt made to make them match. The technique "was a little more accidental than political," writes the Australian critic Jonathan Dawson. The finished film was 30 minutes too long, and "rather than cut out whole scenes or sequences, Godard elected to trim within the scene, creating the jagged cutting style still so beloved of action filmmakers. Godard just went at the film with the scissors, cutting out anything he thought boring."

The technique adds charm to a scene where the two drive through Paris in a stolen convertible, and there is a series of closeup cuts over her shoulder as Michel describes her. When the two lovers, fleeing the police, sneak into a movie, it is a scene directly quoted in "Bonnie and Clyde"--which, we recall, both Godard and Truffaut were once to direct. In each case, the dialogue reflects the action; Bonnie and Clyde hear "we're in the money," and Michel and Patricia hear dialogue about a woman "covering up for a cheap parasite."

The movie had a sensational reception; it is safe to say the cinema was permanently changed. Young directors saw it and had abandoned their notions of the traditional studio film before they left the theater. Crowther of the Times, who was later to notoriously despise its descendant "Bonnie and Clyde," said of "Breathless" that "sordid is really a mild word for its pile-up of gross indecencies." The jump cuts to him were "pictorial cacophony."

Yet Crowther conceded, "It is no cliche," and the film's bold originality in style, characters and tone made a certain kind of genteel Hollywood movie quickly obsolete. Godard went on to become the most famous innovator of the 1960s, although he lost the way later, with increasingly mannered experiments. Here in one quick, sure move, knowing somehow just what he wanted and how to obtain it, he achieved a turning point in the cinema just as surely as Griffith did with " The Birth of a Nation " and Welles with "Citizen Kane."

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The 60 Best 1960s Horror Movies

Rosemary’s Baby celebrates its 55th anniversary!

Unearth the best 1960s movies ever and you’ll see the decade started off screaming. Psycho titillated audiences showing Janet Leigh in a bra before serving up one of the most shocking death scenes ever committed to screen – it still shocks some 60 years later. Both Psycho and Peeping Tom released the same year and both share comment on voyeurism, with the latter going as far as implicating the viewer in its POV murder shots. Introducing such a lurid concept was enough to get Peeping Tom pulled from theaters, and all but killed director Michael Powell’s career.

The introduction of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in the late ’40s created a new palate for international cinema, and while the ’50s were filled with prestige pics like The Seventh Seal and Seven Samurai , genre movies from abroad began to light up theaters. This includes horror classics like Eyes Without a Face , Kwaidan , Black Sunday , Blood and Black Lace , and Hour of the Wolf . And after ramping up in the ’50s, British horror entered a prestige era with The Haunting , House of Usher , The Devil Rides Out , and Village of the Damned .

By 1968, the Hays Code (which delineated what violence, sex, and themes could be depicted on American screens) was all but gone, and that same year The Night of the Living Dead birthed a new age of independent cinema and the zombie genre itself. Speaking of birth: Rosemary’s Baby also came out in ’68, capping a decade of memorable psychological thrillers like The Innocents , What Ever happened to Baby Jane? , Persona , and Seconds .

To compile this list of ’60s horror, we took every critically-approved genre movie of the decade, and then ranked them by Tomatometer score, with Certified Fresh films first! Now, read on for the best 1960s horror movies! — Alex Vo

Psycho (1960) 97%

Rosemary's Baby (1968) 96%

Night of the Living Dead (1968) 95%

Eyes Without a Face (1960) 97%

Peeping Tom (1960) 95%

The Innocents (1961) 95%

The Birds (1963) 94%

Village of the Damned (1960) 93%

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) 91%

Persona (1966) 91%

Kwaidan (1964) 91%

The Haunting (1963) 87%

House of Usher (1960) 84%

Seconds (1966) 79%

The Sorcerers (1967) 100%

Blind Beast (1969) 100%

Edogawa ranpo taizen: kyofu kikei ningen (horrors of malformed men)(horror of a deformed man) (1969) 100%.

The Housemaid (1960) 100%

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) 100%

Kuroneko (1968) 96%

The Devil Rides Out (1968) 96%

Spider Baby (1967) 94%

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) 94%

Hour of the Wolf (1968) 92%

Targets (1968) 89%

The Comedy of Terrors (1964) 89%

Onibaba (1964) 90%

The Masque of the Red Death (1964) 91%

The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963) 88%

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) 89%

Witchfinder General (1968) 89%

Viy (1967) 88%, quatermass and the pit (five million years to earth)(the mind benders) (1967) 88%.

Black Sunday (1960) 86%

Spirits of the Dead (1968) 86%

Psychomania (1971) 86%

Night Tide (1961) 86%

The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) 86%

The Raven (1963) 83%

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965) 82%

The Last Man on Earth (1964) 79%

Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966) 81%

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968) 81%

Blood and Black Lace (1964) 80%

The Brides of Dracula (1960) 78%

The Day of the Triffids (1963) 78%

Homicidal (1961) 73%

Children of the Damned (1963) 73%

Tales of Terror (1962) 73%

Planet of the Vampires (1965) 75%

What! (1963) 78%

The Evil Eye (1963) 71%

Die, Monster, Die! (1965) 78%

The Haunted Palace (1963) 75%

The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, but Your Teeth Are in My Neck (1967) 71%

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) 70%

Dementia 13 (1963) 69%

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) 67%

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964) 67%

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) 60%

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