6 Best Oscar Best Picture Winners of the 1960s

By Vlad Zakh · June 15, 2026

The 1960s Best Picture winners ran from lavish musicals to daring new voices. Midnight Cowboy has a naive Texan hustler and a sickly con man becoming friends, In the Heat of the Night has a Black detective working with a bigoted sheriff, and A Man for All Seasons has a statesman risking execution rather than compromise. Tom Jones, West Side Story and The Apartment round out the six.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

TMDB ★ 7.7

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

Directed by John Schlesinger · 1h 53m · Rated NC-17

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 96% Metacritic 76

A Black homicide detective reluctantly assists a hostile Southern police force with a murder case.

Directed by Norman Jewison · 1h 49m · Rated PG-13

Won 5 Oscars24 wins & 16 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: History Vault, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

TMDB ★ 7.5

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

Directed by Fred Zinnemann · 2h 00m · Rated G

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Tom Jones (1963)

TMDB ★ 6.6

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

Directed by Tony Richardson · 2h 08m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

West Side Story (1961)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 92% Metacritic 86

Romeo and Juliet retold through rival New York street gangs and a doomed cross-gang romance.

Directed by Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise · 2h 33m · Rated NR

Won 10 Oscars31 wins & 11 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Apartment (1960)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 94% Metacritic 94

An ambitious insurance clerk lends out his flat to philandering executives in exchange for promotions.

Directed by Billy Wilder · 2h 06m

Won 5 Oscars26 wins & 8 nominations

Where to watch

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Oscar Best Picture Winners of the 1960s

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Tom Jones (1963)

West Side Story (1961)

The Apartment (1960)

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