The swinging 1960s were some of the most formative years in American cinema. Established directors likeStanley KubrickandWilliam Wylerfurther honed their crafts and experimented with great success. The 1960s eventually brought about theNew Hollywood, which would go on to dominate the 1970s—a decade so great in its own right that themovies merely nominated for Best Picturethen were usually masterful.
1960s cinema is integral to film history, given how many of its Best Picture nominees are still important to our cultural zeitgeist six decades later. From movie musicals to controversial satires to adaptations of incredible plays, the following 11 films (ranked byRotten Tomatoes) convey the variety of styles that these works brought to their medium. Though they did not win the Academy’s top prize, their RT scores suggest they’re still worth watching all these years later. (Fun fact:George C. Scottwas such a terrific performer that he starred in three of these.)
11’Funny Girl' (1968)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
The legendaryBarbra Streisandwon an Academy Award for her feature film debut in the movie musicalFunny Girl. She plays Fanny Brice, an aspiring performer who desperately wants to be on stage. She can’t dance, she can’t skate, and she can’t help feeling she’s not as pretty as the other girls; but she can sing like it’s nobody’s business. She’s funny, too (hence the title), which ends up working in her favor when she improvises for a song that’s supposed to portray her as the most beautiful woman among many.
Streisand is key to this comedic musical, though it’s not as fun towards the end. Fanny Brice and poker player Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif) fall in love, leading to a romance that gradually builds and collapses over the course of this 149-minute picture. “Don’t Rain on My Parade” is one of many great songs that fans still love today. Based on the stage musical of the same name,Funny Girlwas a serious critical success that got nominated for eight Oscars.
Funny Girl
Watch on Amazon
10’The Music Man' (1962)
Based on the musical byMeredith Willson(yes, with two l’s), 1962’sThe Music Manis about conman “Professor” Harold Hill. He moves to Iowa and teams up with an old pal from Brooklyn. They scheme to convince the town that the pool hall is corrupting the children, and that the only way to combat this is to create a town marching band. (With the amount of times the community is willing to suddenly break into song and dance, it’s surprising that they don’t have one already.)
Directed byMorton DaCosta,The Music Manboasts musical numbers and choreography that rightfully received critical acclaim. One great scene shows two women arguing to the notes of a piano. Another funny bit is when the school board asks for Harold Hill’s credentials; he avoids the question by teaching them how to sing. In the meantime, Mr. Hill tries to seduce the local librarian to gain her trust. This classic would go on to loosely inspireThe Simpsons' “Marge vs. the Monorail” episode, as well as other parodies.
The Music Man
Watch on TMC
9’The Hustler' (1961)
Based on the novel by Walter Tevis,The Hustleris about a pool player named Eddie Felson (played perfectly byPaul Newman). Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) hasn’t lost a game in 15 years; he’s the best player in the country, and Eddie wants a piece of him. In the incredibly long game that ensues, the audience can see Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason making their own shots. So that’s fun, andsome say Gleason madeallof his shots. Either way, the comedian deserved his Academy Award nomination for this dramatic role.
DirectorRobert Rossenand editorDede Allen(who would go on to editBonnie and Clyde) do an excellent job of showing the mesmerizing beauty of pool. Eddie Felson is way too stubborn and cocky; he doesn’t know when to quit, even when he’s up $18,000 against the best pool player in the country. The film shows how he becomes broke, strikes up a relationship with Sarah (Piper Laurie), and gets advised by Bert (George C. Scott). Laurie and Scott were nominated for their amazing performances, too.
The Hustler
Watch On Apple TV
8’Elmer Gantry' (1960)
Elmer Gantryopens with a warning for impressionable children to not watch this film, due to its controversial nature. It also shows the first page of the actual book by Sinclair Lewis (the first American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature), which is a pretty cool move. Written and directed byRichard Brooks,Elmer Gantryis about a conman in the Roaring 20s who joins a group of traveling Revivalist Christians who try to spread religion throughout small town America.
Burt Lancastergives an exuberant performance as he pretends to be a preacher and former salesman who found God in the Gideon Bible. His Academy Award for Best Actor is no surprise, andJean Simmonsis great as Miss Falconer as well. Elmer Gantry made 450 converts out of 1200 people on his first day. Pretty impressive. Then he brings a chimpanzee to his second sermon, foreshadowing the spectacles to come. (To be clear, this tragic film’s stance is not against religion itself, but religion used as a business.)
Elmer Gantry
Watch on Tubi
7’Romeo and Juliet' (1968)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Romeo and Juliet—ever heard of it? The Montagues and the Capulets are rival Italian families who would never approve of the marriage between the title characters, and so their young love must be kept a secret. It’s a story that’s been told a million times by now, but most would say thatWilliam Shakespeare’s famous play still tells it best. Watch it for the forbidden romance, the violence, the visuals, and lots of witty dialogue that will go over the heads of anyone who isn’t fluent in Early Modern English. (A tip: read the play with footnotes first.)
Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy was well over three and a half centuries old whenFranco Zeffirelliadapted it for the screen. He was not the first to do so, and would not be the last; but the critical acclaim this movie received suggests this is one of the best adaptations.Romeo and Julietwon Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. It’s difficult to imagine that this was up for Best Directing alongside Stanley Kubrick’s2001: A Space Odyssey, and even weirder that they both lost toOliver!
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Watch on Paramount +
6’Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' (1966)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Another classic play, but much more contemporary:Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?The 1962 masterpiece byEdward Albeewould probably be too intimidating for most first-time directors to adapt, butMike Nicholscourageously took it on (withErnest Lehmanas the screenwriter). And he certainly did an astounding job, as the film adaptation would go on to receive a baker’s dozen of Oscar nods. It won Best Actress for the incomparableElizabeth Taylor, Best Supporting Actress forSandy Dennis, Best Art Direction (Black-and-White), Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), and Best Costume Design (Black-and-White).
Richard Burtonplays an associate professor who didn’t become the acclaimed novelist he thought he’d be, and Elizabeth Taylor plays the daughter of the college’s university president. Together they’re a middle-aged, embittered couple who can drink enough liquor to sink a ship. These two constantly play mind games with each other in front of their guests, who kind of just have to roll with it. Overall, the film is a powerful study of a troubled marriage.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
5’Mary Poppins' (1964)
Another legend who won Best Actress in a movie musical feature film debut, but this time it’sJulie AndrewsinMary Poppins.One of thehighest grossing movie musicals of all time, this family-friendly cinematic giant made so much money thatit enabled Walt Disney to purchase 27,000 acres of land in Orlandofor a theme-park he would soon call Disney World.Mary Poppinsis based on a book series byP.L. Travers.
This classic was nominated for a grand total of 13 Academy Awards on an evening when it often contested against another beloved musical,My Fair Lady. (Ironically, Julie Andrews had been in the original stage production ofMy Fair Lady.) The trophies thatMary Poppinstook home were well-deserved: Best Film Editing, Best Music Score, Best Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee” (who knew being a chimney sweep could be so much fun?), Best Special Visual Effects, and Andrews’s aforementioned Best Actress.
Mary Poppins
Watch on Disney+
4’Alfie' (1966)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
StarringMichael Caine,Alfieis a cocky womanizer with a Cockney accent who almost immediately addresses the audience to tell them they’re not going to see the opening credits. His sexual escapades encompass the movie’s 114 minutes. Early on, he gets one of his lovers pregnant and tries to convince her to give the baby away to a rich woman. After that relationship ends, Alfie continues to have other affairs and treats these women in a similarly demeaning and unsympathetic fashion.
Nearly six decades later, this comedy-drama hasn’t aged so well. It’s difficult to laugh along with the kind of character who refers to his lover as “it,” not to mention everything else he does. Although this is the point, as his character arc shows how his predatory nature leaves him hollow inside, it feels like only the drama-half of the film still holds up today. Nominated for five Academy Awards,Alfieno doubt inspired other films to (constantly) break the fourth wall.
Alfie (1966)
Watch on Pluto
3’Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (1964)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
One ofthe best war movies of all time,Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bombis a suspenseful and hilarious race against time. It boasts not one, not two, butthreeofPeter Sellers’s most iconic performances: Royal Airforce Captain Mandrake, who tries to convince a delusional general (Sterling Hayden) to give him a code that would stop a plane from starting World War III with the Russians; President Muffley, who has one of the funniest phone conversations in cinema history; and Nazi-turned-American-consultant Dr. Strangelove himself. George C. Scott andSlim Pickensare excellent, too.
This is peak Cold War satire, and one of Stanley Kubrick’s unquestionable masterpieces. Based on the novelRed AlertbyPeter George,Dr. Strangelovetakes a much more humorous tone—as the circumstances seemed so absurd to Kubrick that he felt the story could only work as a comedy.Given the prevalence of unimaginably dangerous bombs in 2024, it’s safe to say this film is just as significant as ever.
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 black-and-white satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb parodies the growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Starring Peter Sellers, the plot revolves around a US Air Force general who orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union against the wishes of the government.
Watch on Max
2’Room at the Top' (1959)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Based on the novel byJohn Braineand directed byJack Clayton,Room at the Topis about Joe Lampton, a lower-class World War II veteran from Duffton. Back in Britain, Joe moves to a different town for a job at the Treasury Department. After seeing her in a play, he plans to woo the wealthy Susan Brown (Heather Sears). She is currently dating an arrogant man who, like Joe, was a prisoner of war, except this man escaped and has more money.
Meanwhile, Joe has an affair with Alice (Simone Signoret), who is older than him and more in his league socially. This tragic romance is essentially about how socio-economics make love more complicated than it ought to be. Though it feels a bit long, the score is annoying, and the dialogue has a bunch of clichés,Room at the Topis still a good examination of a man who is torn between finding true love and improving his social status.Simon Signoretwon an Academy Award for her touching performance, andHermione Baddeleygot an Oscar nod with only 2 minutes of screen time.
