6 Best Oscar Best Picture Winners of the 1960s

By Vlad Zakh · June 15, 2026

Drama thought provokingfeel good

The Academy Award for Best Picture in the 1960s crowned a decade of lavish musicals, sweeping historical dramas, and daring new voices.

Midnight Cowboy (1969) 01

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A naive Texan hustler and a sickly con man form an unlikely friendship while struggling to survive on the streets of New York.

In the Heat of the Night (1967) 02

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A Black homicide detective is forced to work with a bigoted small-town Southern sheriff to solve a murder.

A Man for All Seasons (1966) 03

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

IMDb ★ 7.5

A principled English statesman risks execution rather than compromise his conscience for King Henry VIII.

Tom Jones (1963) 04

Tom Jones (1963)

IMDb ★ 6.6

A charming, illegitimate young man's roguish adventures and romantic entanglements scandalize 18th century England.

West Side Story (1961) 05

West Side Story (1961)

IMDb ★ 7.6

Rival street gangs in New York clash as two young lovers from opposing sides fall for each other.

The Apartment (1960) 06

The Apartment (1960)

IMDb ★ 8.0

A lonely office worker lends his apartment to philandering executives, complicating his own budding romance.

Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix, built to fix a specific annoyance: most recommendation sites are just algorithm-driven noise. Our lists are researched and organized by who's in a film, where it's from, and the mood you're actually in tonight.