The Best Films of the 1960s

1. 2001: A Space OdysseyStanley Kubrick1968
2. 8 1/2Federico Fellini1963
3. PersonaIngmar Bergman1966
4. Lawrence of ArabiaDavid Lean1962
5. La Dolce VitaFederico Fellini1960
6. Last Year at MarienbadAlain Resnais1961
7. High and LowAkira Kurosawa1963
8. I Am CubaMikhail Kalatozov1964
9. BreathlessJean-Luc Godard1960
10. Once Upon a Time in the WestSergio Leone1968
11. Jules and JimFrançois Truffaut1962
12. The End of SummerYasujirō Ozu1961
13. The Good, The Bad, and the UglySergio Leone1966
14. Andrei RublevAndrei Tarkovsky1966
15. PlaytimeJacques Tati1967
16. Pierrot Le FouJean-Luc Godard1965
17. PsychoAlfred Hitchcock1960
18. Red DesertMichelangelo Antonioni1964
19. The LeopardLuchino Visconti1963
20. L’AvventuraMichelangelo Antonioni1960
21. The TrialOrson Welles1962
22. The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s PrayerMasaki Kobayashi1961
23. The Bad Sleep WellAkira Kurosawa1960
24. Juliet of the SpiritsFederico Fellini1965
25. Rocco and His BrothersLuchino Visconti1960
26. The Wild BunchSam Peckinpah1969
27. GertrudCarl Theodor Dreyer1964
28. The Umbrellas of CherbourgJacques Demy1964
29. ContemptJean-Luc Godard1963
30. L’EclisseMichelangelo Antonioni1962
31. Shoot the Piano PlayerFrançois Truffaut1960
32. Chimes at MidnightOrson Welles1965
33. Winter LightIngmar Bergman1963
34. RepulsionRoman Polanski1965
35. HarakiriMasaki Kobayashi1962
36. The Virgin SpringIngmar Bergman1960
37. Rosemary’s BabyRoman Polanski1968
38. Point BlankJohn Boorman1967
39. The SilenceIngmar Bergman1963
40. Army of ShadowsJean-Pierre Melville1969
41. The GraduateMike Nichols1967
42. ViridianaLuis Buñuel1961
43. Le SamouraïJean-Pierre Melville1967
44. The Man Who Shot Liberty ValanceJohn Ford1962
45. YojimboAkira Kurosawa1961
46. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombStanley Kubrick1964
47. La NotteMichelangelo Antonioni1961
48. CharulataSatyajit Ray1964
49. Knife in the WaterRoman Polanski1962
50. Midnight CowboyJohn Schlesinger1969
51. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidGeorge Roy Hill1969
52. Bonnie and ClydeArthur Penn1967
53. WeekendJean-Luc Godard1967
54. Letter Never SentMikhail Kalatozov1960
55. Fellini SatyriconFederico Fellini1969
56. Doctor ZhivagoDavid Lean1965
57. The ServantJoseph Losey1963
58. Peeping TomMichael Powell1960
59. West Side StoryRobert Wise1961
60. The InnocentsJack Clayton1961
61. Blow-UpMichelangelo Antonioni1966
62. The ApartmentBilly Wilder1960
63. Cléo from 5 to 7Agnès Varda1962
64. TeoremaPier Paolo Pasolini1968
65. AlphavilleJean-Luc Godard1965
66. Easy RiderDennis Hopper1969
67. A Woman is a WomanJean-Luc Godard1961
68. An Autumn AfternoonYasujirō Ozu1962
69. Hour of the WolfIngmar Bergman1968
70. A Fistful of DollarsSergio Leone1964
71. Tokyo DrifterSeijun Suzuki1966
72. The Manchurian CandidateJohn Frankenheimer1962
73. For a Few Dollars MoreSergio Leone1965
74. The Exterminating AngelLuis Buñuel1962
75. The HauntingRobert Wise1963
76. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Mike Nichols1966
77. ShameIngmar Bergman1968
78. The BirdsAlfred Hitchcock1963
79. Ivan’s ChildhoodAndrei Tarkovsky1962
80. Vivre sa VieJean-Luc Godard1962
81. DeviSatyajit Ray1960
82. Branded to KillSeijun Suzuki1967
83. The Young Girls of RochefortJacques Demy1967
84. My Fair LadyGeorge Cukor1964
85. The Children’s HourWilliam Wyler1961
86. Belle de JourLuis Buñuel1967
87. Shadows of Forgotten AncestorsSergei Parajanov1964
88. The Battle of AlgiersGillo Pontecorvo1966
89. Cool Hand LukeStuart Rosenberg1967
90. KesKen Loach1969
91. LolaJacques Demy1961
92. Tom JonesTony Richardson1963
93. My Night at Maud’sÉric Rohmer1969
94. Purple NoonRené Clément1960
95. Bande à PartJean-Luc Godard1964
96. In Cold BloodRichard Brooks1967
97. The DamnedLuchino Visconti1969
98. Mamma RomaPier Paolo Pasolini1962
99. MarnieAlfred Hitchcock1964
100. Black SundayMario Bava1960
High and Low (Akira Kurosawa, 1963)

4 thoughts on “The Best Films of the 1960s”

  1. David's avatar
    David

    This is a very compelling list, for sure, although I have to admit I’m a little surprised to find so few Japanese movies in it when the 60s were such a fruitful decade for Japanese cinema. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
      1. David's avatar
        David

        From those three? Well, Ozu only made three films during the 60s and all of them are very good, but I don’t think they’re among his best. Kurosawa’s Red Beard and The bad sleep well are both at or above the MS level for me. As for Kobayashi, virtually everything he directed during the 60s was pure gold.

        But apart from these three, the 60s were the time when the Japanese New Wave took off, so there are a bunch of great films from a new generation of very talented directors. Shohei Imamura is probably the most important of them all (he made five excellent films during this decade and most of them could claim a spot in the top 100), but you also have Hiroshi Teshigahara (Woman in the dunes is a massive MP and in my top 10 of the entire decade, but The face of another is not far behind), Masahiro Shinoda (Pale flower is one of the greatest noirs of all time in my opinion), Seijun Suzuki (a massive influence on Tarantino and an extremely prolific filmmaker during this era), Nagisa Oshima (his most famous work came during the 70s, but I actually prefer the stuff he did during this period) and Kaneto Shindo (his best film is probably Onibaba). Toshio Matsumoto made the very bold and controversial Funeral parade of roses during the 60s as well. And then you have Yoshishige Yoshida, who was absolutely bonkers but made some of the boldest, most cutting-edge works of the entire decade. Kinuyo Tanaka (who, apart from a great actress, was also a very gifted director) also made three great films during the 60s (although I think her best films came in the previous decade).

        There are a few more that are worth discussing, but I have to stop somewhere hahaha. Anyway, I think you would really enjoy most of them, so if you have the time I would strongly recommend giving some of these a shot.

      2. SceneByGreen's avatar
        SceneByGreen

        Thanks for all those suggestions, Imamura is one that I’ve especially heard great things about and look forward to getting into. There were a few Suzuki films added to the Criterion Channel recently as well so I look forward to watching some of his quite soon.

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