Entertainment
Great Movies That Take Place In The '60s
The '60s is one of the best settings for films because the decade marked a true change in America and around the world. The top 1960s period movies feature characters fighting for equal rights, coping with the horrors of the Vietnam War, and just trying to make it through the everyday struggles of middle-class life. This is a list of 1960s period movies featuring everything from Catch Me If You Can to Across the Universe to Girl, Interrupted. These are just a few of the best movies that take place in the '60s.
What films will you find on this list of movies based in the 1960s? Maybe you'll vote Taking Woodstock to the top of the heap. Set at the most famous music festival of all time, a young man learns more about himself and the town which played host to the epic event. The Doors is another music-centric movie that represents the 1960s aesthetic. If you are looking for some sixties-era laughs and romance, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery has you covered. Other good movies featured on this 1960s period movies list include Moonrise Kingdom, A Single Man, and Riding in Cars with Boys.
Which movies set in the 1960s deserves the top spot on this list? Help us decide by giving your favorites a vote up to help them get to the top of the list.
Ranked by
- 1Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Tate Taylor
In 1960s Mississippi, Southern society girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns from college with dreams of being a writer. She turns her small town on its ear by choosing to interview the Black women who ...more - 2Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for a major airline -- all before his 18th birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, ...more - 3Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
A teen gang in rural Oklahoma, the Greasers are perpetually at odds with the Socials, a rival group. When Greasers Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell) and Johnny (Ralph Macchio) get into a brawl that ends in ...more - 4Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: George Lucas
On the last day of summer vacation in 1962, friends Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), Steve (Ronny Howard), Terry (Charles Martin Smith) and John (Paul Le Mat) cruise the streets of small-town California ...more - 5Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Emile Ardolino
Baby (Jennifer Grey) is one listless summer away from the Peace Corps. Hoping to enjoy her youth while it lasts, she's disappointed when her summer plans deposit her at a sleepy resort in the ...more - 6Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Tom Hanks
Wily band manager Mr. White helps a small town band achieve big time success when they release a Beatles-style pop song in 1964. Pennsylvania band the "Oneders" become a sensation after their drummer ...more - 7Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: David M. Evans
When Scottie Smalls (Thomas Guiry) moves to a new neighborhood, he manages to make friends with a group of kids who play baseball at the sandlot. Together they go on a series of funny and touching ...more - 8Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Actor Rick Dalton gained fame and fortune by starring in a 1950s television Western, but is now struggling to find meaningful work in a Hollywood that he doesn't recognize anymore. He spends most of ...more - 9Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea Duvall
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: James Mangold
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, "Girl, Interrupted" is the searing true story of Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), a young woman who finds herself at a renowned mental institution for ...more - 10Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: James Mangold
The rise of country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) begins with his days as a boy growing up on the family farm, where he struggles under the scorn of his father (Robert Patrick). As the ...more - 11Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Barry Levinson
Radio funny man Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) is sent to Vietnam to bring a little comedy back into the lives of the soldiers. After setting up shop, Cronauer delights the G.I.s but shocks his ...more - 12John Belushi, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: John Landis
When they arrive at college, socially inept freshmen Larry (Thomas Hulce) and Kent (Stephen Furst) attempt to pledge the snooty Omega Theta Pi House, but are summarily rejected. Lowering their ...more - 13Ricki Lake, Divine, Jerry Stiller
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: John Waters
When Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), an overweight teen, auditions for a spot on a popular teen dance show, she beats out the spiteful Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick), winning over Amber's ...more - 14Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Bruce Beresford
Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy), an elderly Jewish widow living in Atlanta, is determined to maintain her independence. However, when she crashes her car, her son, Boolie (Dan Aykroyd), arranges for ...more - 15Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Randall Wallace
Based upon the best-selling book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young" by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and journalist Joseph L. Galloway, this compelling war drama depicts the true story of the ...more - 16Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Kevin J. O'Connor
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Peggy Sue Bodell (Kathleen Turner) attends her 25-year high school reunion after separating from her cheating husband, Charlie (Nicolas Cage). She regrets the decisions she has made in her life, such ...more - 17Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Theodore Melfi
Three brilliant African American women at NASA -- Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson -- serve as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut ...more - 18The Beatles, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington
- Released: 1964
- Directed by: Richard Lester
The Beatles in their feature film debut, one of the greatest rock-and-roll comedy adventures ever. The film has a fully restored negative and digitally restored soundtrack. The film takes on the ...more - 19Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York
- Released: 1997
- Directed by: Jay Roach
A world-class playboy and part-time special agent, Powers is defrosted after 30 years in a cryogenic freeze to match wits with his nemesis, Dr. Evil (also played by Myers). Possessing antiquated spy ...more - 20Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Spurred on by a promise he made to his daughters, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) embarks on what would become a 20-year quest to obtain the movie rights to "Mary Poppins." The author, P.L. Travers (Emma ...more - 21Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. His actions get Frank shunned by the other officers, and often placed in ...more - 22John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Clint Eastwood
In the 1960s, four scrappy young men from New Jersey -- Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) and Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) -- have the magic ...more - 23Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Legendary soul musician Ray Charles is portrayed by Jamie Foxx in this Oscar-winning biopic. Young Ray watches his 7-year-old brother drown at age seven. When he loses his sight at the age of 9, his ...more - 24Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Oliver Stone
This acclaimed Oliver Stone drama presents the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner). When Garrison ...more - 25Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill Murray
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Wes Anderson
The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a community that seems untouched by some of the bad things going on in the rest of the world. ...more
