The 1960s marked a monumental decade for the movies. The best Oscar-nominated 1960s movies make up a varied collection, ranging from big-budget musicals to small-scale dramas. But whatever the style or scope of the story, these Best Picture nominees and winners are considered some of the very best movies ever filmed.
What beloved films will you find on this list of 1960s Oscar-winning movies? The Graduate did not win the Oscar in 1967, but the darkly comic coming-of-age story went down in history as one of the best films ever made. The film's star, Dustin Hoffman, seems to have the winning touch: the actor also appeared in Midnight Cowboy, which won Best Picture in 1969.
Academy voters loved musicals in the 1960s, with filmed adaptations of The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story all taking home the top prize throughout the decade. Other great films featured on this list of top 1960s Oscar-nominated movies include In the Heat of the Night, The Hustler, and Alfie.
Which of these Oscar-nominated 1960s films is the very best? That's up to you to decide. Vote your favorite movies to the top of the list by giving them a thumbs up.1
8425The Apartment
Shirley MacLaine, Jack LemmonReleased: 1960
Directed by: Billy Wilder
Won Best Picture in 1960.The Apartment is a 1960 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, which stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. It was Wilder's next movie after Some Like It... more2
8626To Kill a Mockingbird
Robert Duvall, Gregory PeckReleased: 1962
Directed by: Robert Mulligan
Nominated in 1962.To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote was based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. It... more- 37021
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard BurtonReleased: 1966
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Nominated in 1966.Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American black comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is an adaptation of the play of the same title by Edward Albee.... more - 47426
Cleopatra
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard BurtonReleased: 1963
Directed by: Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian
Nominated in 1963.Cleopatra is a 1963 epic historical drama film chronicling the struggles of Cleopatra VII, the young Queen of Egypt, to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz... more - 56723
The Sound of Music
Julie Andrews, Christopher PlummerReleased: 1965
Directed by: Robert Wise
Won Best Picture in 1965.The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway... more - 67329
The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman, Anne BancroftReleased: 1967
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Nominated in 1967.The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College.... more - 75622
Lawrence of Arabia
Omar Sharif, Peter O'TooleReleased: 1962
Directed by: David Lean
Won Best Picture in 1962.Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British epic adventure drama film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the... more - 85222
Mutiny on the Bounty
Clark Gable, David NivenReleased: 1935
Directed by: Frank Lloyd
Nominated in 1962.Mutiny on the Bounty is an American 1935 drama film starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and directed by Frank Lloyd based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the... more - 95122
West Side Story
Natalie Wood, Rita MorenoReleased: 1961
Directed by: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
Won Best Picture in 1961.West Side Story is a 1961 American romantic musical drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was... more - 107142
Bonnie and Clyde
Gene Hackman, Faye DunawayReleased: 1967
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Nominated in 1967.Bonnie and Clyde is a 1967 American biographical film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the title characters Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The film features... more - 115225
Mary Poppins
Julie Andrews, Dick Van DykeReleased: 1964
Directed by: Robert Stevenson
Nominated in 1964.Mary Poppins is a 1964 American musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. The screenplay is by Bill Walsh... more - 125023
Doctor Zhivago
Omar Sharif, Julie ChristieReleased: 1965
Directed by: David Lean
Nominated in 1965.Doctor Zhivago is a British-American 1965 epic dramaromance film directed by David Lean, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. It is set in Russia between the years prior to WWI, and is based on... more - 135225
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Katharine Hepburn, Sidney PoitierReleased: 1967
Directed by: Stanley Kramer
Nominated in 1967.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and written by William Rose. It stars Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn,... more - 144317
Elmer Gantry
Burt Lancaster, Shirley JonesReleased: 1960
Directed by: Richard Brooks
Nominated in 1960.Elmer Gantry is a 1960 drama film about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion to small town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same... more - 157047
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Paul Newman, Robert RedfordReleased: 1969
Directed by: George Roy Hill
Nominated in 1969.Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws... more - 163916
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judy Garland, William ShatnerReleased: 1961
Directed by: Stanley Kramer
Nominated in 1961.Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American drama film dealing with the Holocaust and with the post-WWII geo-political complexity of the Nuremberg Trials. The picture was written by Abby Mann and... more - 174320
The Alamo
John Wayne, Richard WidmarkReleased: 1960
Directed by: John Wayne
Nominated in 1960.The Alamo is a 1960 American historical epic film about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo produced and directed by John Wayne and starring Wayne as Davy Crockett. The picture also stars Richard Widmark as... more - 183721
Midnight Cowboy
Dustin Hoffman, Jon VoightReleased: 1969
Directed by: John Schlesinger
Won Best Picture in 1969.Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The script was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Jon Voight... more - 193215
The Longest Day
Sean Connery, John WayneReleased: 1962
Directed by: Darryl F. Zanuck, Ken Annakin, Bernhard Wicki, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald
Nominated in 1962.The Longest Day is a 1962 film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about D-Day, the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during WWII. The film was produced by Darryl F.... more - 203620
Darling
Julie Christie, Dirk BogardeReleased: 1965
Directed by: John Schlesinger
Nominated in 1965.Darling is a 1965 British drama film written by Frederic Raphael, directed by John Schlesinger, and starring Julie Christie with Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey. Darling was nominated for five... more - 213217
The Lion in Winter
Anthony Hopkins, Katharine HepburnReleased: 1968
Directed by: Anthony Harvey
Nominated in 1968.The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama film made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E. Levine and... more - 223722
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
James Earl Jones, Peter SellersReleased: 1964
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Nominated in 1964.Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, more commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 political satire black comedy film that satirizes fears of a nuclear conflict... more - 233723
Zorba the Greek
Anthony Quinn, Alan BatesReleased: 1964
Directed by: Michael Cacoyannis
Nominated in 1964.Zorba the Greek is a 1964 British-Greek drama film directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and starring Anthony Quinn as the title character. It is based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos... more - 243521
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
Carl Reiner, Alan ArkinReleased: 1966
Directed by: Norman Jewison
Nominated in 1966.The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It is based on the Nathaniel Benchley novel The Off-Islanders, and was adapted for the... more - 253825
Alfie
Michael Caine, Shelley WintersReleased: 1966
Directed by: Lewis Gilbert
Nominated in 1966.Alfie is a 1966 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Michael Caine. It is an adaptation by Bill Naughton of his own novel and play of the same name. The film was... more
