Greatest Movies of the 60s
Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll! It was the clarion call of a generation, but only a little of that brand of hedonism is reflected in our picks for the best films of the decade. The counterculture axiom of not trusting anyone over 30 also didn't extend much to actors or directors.
Three old guard auteurs make our list -- David Lean, Robert Wise and Alfred Hitchcock -- with two films each. Paul Newman has no less than four starring roles among our best picks. And, really, you can't get any more establishment than a troika of musicals -- 'The Sound of Music,' 'West Side Story' and 'My Fair Lady' -- winning Best Picture Oscars ... now that's far out! -- By Tom Johnson
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40. 'Goldfinger' (1964)
James Bond (Sean Connery) battles one of the most delicious archenemies in his panoply of villains -- mammon-worshipping Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe). Although the Federal gold reserve at Fort Knox is Goldfinger's obsession, Bond has his sights set on a more accessible (and shapely) target -- Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). Talk about shaken and stirred ...
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39. 'Romeo and Juliet' (1968)
Franco Zeffirelli directs what is, hands down, the greatest film adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most enduring tragedies. Richard Whiting and Olivia Hussey are insanely photogenic as Verona's ill-fated young lovers and Nino Rota's haunting "love theme" sets the somber tenor of the film, which is faithful to the Bard's immortal iambic pentameter. Translation: Avoid like the pox updated remakes like the 1996 DiCaprio/Danes misfire.
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38. 'The Dirty Dozen' (1967)
An all-star cast headed by Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and John Cassavetes kicks plenty of Kraut butt in this rousing WWII actioner about a group of death-row inmates given a chance to expunge their records by participating in a suicide mission behind enemy lines on D-Day. Less elegant and more profane than 'The Great Escape,' the film delivers some memorable set-pieces; the best being Jim Brown's iconic sprint while dropping hand-grenades down widely spaced ventilator shafts.
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37. 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' (1967)
Forty years ago, this story about an interracial couple (Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton) springing their marriage plans on the girl's unsuspecting parents (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) was risky and weighty. Time and progress have blunted the dramatic thrust, but there is still much to enjoy in Tracy's last movie role and Hepburn's Oscar-winning performance as a mother who's amenable to the idea.
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36. 'Tom Jones' (1963)
Albert Finney IS the titular hero in this film version of Henry Fielding's novel, which won Oscars for Best Picture and Director (Tony Richardson). In the wonderfully episodic epic, we follow Tom(cat) as he cuts a wide swath through 18th-century England with his various amours and bawdy misadventures. The film also marks the movie debut of Lynn Redgrave.
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35. 'The Jungle Book' (1967)
The animated Disney tale of a boy, Mowgli, raised by wolves, who befriends Baloo, an easygoing bear (voiced by Phil Harris), was inspired by Rudyard Kipling's story. Together they embark on a series of adventures cued by various classic songs: 'The Bare Necessities,' 'I Wanna Be Like You,' 'Trust in Me,' etc. Along with Harris, the great voice cast includes Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders and Sterling Holloway.
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34. 'The Great Escape' (1963)
Top-heavy with an international cast of marquee names, 'Escape' was a big studio, high-concept movie that mixed action, humor and suspense as deftly as a Churchillian wartime speech. Best scene: Hotly pursued by the Germans, Steve McQueen pulls off the most famous wheelie in movie history by jumping his motorcycle over a barricade before wiping out in a mess of barbwire a few scant feet from the Swiss border and freedom.
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33. 'A Raisin in the Sun' (1961)
Trials and tribulations abound for an African-American family (headed by Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee) who move into a predominantly white Chicago neighborhood. The title comes from the opening lines of Langston Hughes' poem 'Harlem': "What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?" In this triumph over adversity, the family's "dream" of living a desegregated existence ultimately wins out.
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32. 'Midnight Cowboy' (1969)
The first (and to date, only) X-rated movie ever to win a Best Picture Oscar, 'Cowboy' is a mesmerizing character study of life on the margins in NYC for a hayseed aspiring stud (Jon Voight) and his sad-sack street-hustler friend, Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). Glen Campbell ballads resonate, and John Schlesinger earned a Best Director award. But it's Hoffman's heartbreaking turn as the gimpy Rizzo that haunts long after the movie's over.
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Reader Comments (157)
l2ndojack at 11:14AM on Jul 17th 2009
You left out: "Ben-Hur", "Bridge Over the River Kwai", "How the West Was One" and "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." The sixties deserve 60 best spots.
Michael5472 at 1:48PM on Jul 17th 2009
How in the name of all that is good and holy did ANYBODY on the staff that picked this list decide that BUTTERFIELD 8 was worthy of inclusion? Its appearance nearly destroys the credibility of the list. And, for the record, a QUARTET of musicals won Best Picture Oscars in the 60s--you've conveniently overlooked 1968's OLIVER! Otherwise, some excellent rankings,though the aggregate smacks a bit of political correctness.
Polowy at 2:05PM on Jul 17th 2009
Ben-Hur was actually released in 1959 -- look for it on the Best '50s list!
alxspeck09 at 2:54PM on Jul 17th 2009
How in gods name did they forget 2001:A Space Odyssey! AFI ranked it the number 1 sci-fi movie of all time, its on Roger Eberts top ten movies of all time, and it is a landmark for cinematography, and special effects! The list wasn't that bad, but the fact that it completely left out one of the most prolific movies of all time is ridiculous.
jrlythgoe at 2:52PM on Jul 18th 2009
I believe Ben Hur was released in 1959 and Bridge Over the River Kwai in 1957 - so they shouldn't be listed in the top movies of the 1960's.
GARY at 2:56PM on Jul 18th 2009
BEN HUR AND BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI WERE 1950'S MOVIIES!
Alan at 4:07PM on Jul 18th 2009
The reason is that Ben-Hur (1959) and Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), were not movies of the 60s. I kept waiting for To Kill a Mockingbird and was glad to finally see it in its rightful place.
Bill C at 4:12PM on Jul 18th 2009
Maybe because "Bridge" was released in 1957? Just a thought.
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audacityanon at 4:20PM on Jul 18th 2009
Ben-Hur, my favortie movie of all time, was acutally released in 1959, and went on to win 11 oscars the following year.
David at 5:50PM on Jul 18th 2009
Ben Hur and Bridge on the River Kwai are from the 1950's, not the 1960's. Just thought I should point that out.
In addition, and more importantly, where is 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY ? How about George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD? How can any list of the 1960's be complete with out them ! BUTTERFIELD 8. ....That turkey !!! Elizabeth Taylor has disowned that notorious film. Also, what about the many classic foreign films of that decade? Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA or 81/2, Trauffaut's JULES AND JIM, Attonionni's L'AVVENTURA or BLOW UP, Goddard's CONTEMPT or Bergman's PERSONA
FRANK at 4:54PM on Jul 18th 2009
YEAH-- LIKE ROMEO AND JULIET IS THERE BUT NOT CLEOPATRA--
WHOEVER MADE UP THE LIST BETTER KEEP HIS DAYTIME JOB--
Joanna at 6:05PM on Jul 18th 2009
Good idea~60 films for the l960's!
Anka at 6:54PM on Jul 18th 2009
Ben Hur. 1959.
Mike Callahan at 7:28PM on Jul 18th 2009
Two of the films you named were released in the 50s. Ben-Hur won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1959 and River Kwai in 1957. How the West was Won was nomionated for Best Picture in 1963, the same year Mad World was released. I doubt either would appear on best film lists of either decade.
Mike Callahan, Ph.D. Cinema USC '72
jcvsdallas at 1:51AM on Jul 19th 2009
Other than "Bridge," all you other picks were forgettable. "Mad World" and "How the West was Won" were box office failures. As for "Ben Hur," the end of Hollywood's salute to bibical crap.
michael at 5:40PM on Jul 17th 2009
You got to be kidding me. Where is 2001 A space odyssey, and where is The Wild Bunch, and Once upon a time in the west ?These movies are some of the best 60s
michael at 5:50PM on Jul 17th 2009
Bridge Over the River Kwai Came out in 1957 and won picture that year
mary at 2:09PM on Jul 18th 2009
OMG iI can't believe I'm so old I remember all of them..but Breakfast at Tiffanys my perswonal favorite...was an usher and watched it three times a day for a month!!!
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