🏷 Discover The Best 1960s Movies & TV Shows To Watch Today

151 titles with this tag

Step into the mesmerizing world of 1960s cinema and television, an era defined by bold cultural shifts, revolutionary storytelling, and unforgettable aesthetic charm. From groundbreaking Hollywood classics to vibrant period dramas that recapture the decade's unique spirit, explore our curated guide to the absolute best movies and TV shows capturing the legendary magic of the Swinging Sixties.

Cast

Jaafar Jackson

Colman Domingo

Nia Long

Juliano Krue Valdi

Michael (2026)

8.7 3.5K votes

Genre: Drama, Music

Country: United States of America

Duration: 128 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.

Plot: child abuse, sibling relationship, abusive father, ambition, biography, singer, period drama, music history, ...

Time: 1970s, 1980s, 1960s

Cast

Tom Hanks

Robin Wright

Gary Sinise

Sally Field

Forrest Gump (1994)

8.5 30.0K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 142 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

Plot: new year's eve, vietnam veteran, mentally disabled, friendship, usa president, washington dc, post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd), waitress, ...

Time: vietnam war, 1970s, 1960s

Place: usa, america

Cast

Anya Taylor-Joy

Chloe Pirrie

The Queen's Gambit (2020) TV Show

8.4 5.6K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 7

Audience: TV-MA

Story: In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.

Style: intimate

Plot: chess, based on novel or book, kentucky, female friendship, addiction, orphanage, coming of age, miniseries, ...

Time: 1950s, 1960s, cold war era

Cast

Robert De Niro

James Woods

Elizabeth McGovern

Joe Pesci

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

8.4 6.1K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America, Italy

Duration: 229 min.

Audience: R

Story: A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Plot: new york city, regret, lovesickness, rape, life and death, sexual abuse, street gang, corruption, ...

Time: prohibition era, 1920s, 1960s, ...

Cast

Fred Savage

Dan Lauria

Alley Mills

Jason Hervey

The Wonder Years (1988) TV Show

8.3 1.1K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 115

Audience: TV-PG

Story: The story of Kevin Arnold facing the trials and tribulations of youth while growing up during the 1960s and 70s. Told through narration from an adult Kevin, Kevin faces the difficulties of maintaining relationships and friendships on his enthralling journey into adulthood.

Plot: puberty, girlfriend, high school, friends, growing up, slice of life, coming of age, best friend, ...

Time: 1970s, 1960s

Cast

Peter Coyote

The Vietnam War (2017) TV Show

8.2 219 votes

Genre: Documentary, War

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 10

Audience: TV-MA

Story: An immersive 360-degree narrative telling the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

Plot: civil rights, anti-communism, miniseries, communism, anti war protest, usa history, asian history, indochina war

Time: 1970s, vietnam war, 1950s, ...

Cast

Sebastian Maniscalco

8.2 13.0K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 130 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Plot: friendship, southern usa, based on true story, road trip, racism, pianist, driver, lgbt, ...

Time: 1960s

Cast

Taylour Paige

Jovan Adepo

James Remar

Stephen Rider

IT: Welcome to Derry (2025) TV Show

8.2 1.5K votes

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Audience: TV-MA

Story: In 1962, amid a spate of unexplained disappearances of local children, a group of misfit friends begin to suspect a long-buried ancient evil lurking. As the kids set out to determine what's really going on, a rising unease prompts several townspeople to work together to restore peace – all while a U.S. military operation seeks to exploit Derry for its own objectives.

Style: suspenseful

Plot: based on novel or book, small town, clown, haunted house, prequel, disappearance, psychotic, dead children, ...

Time: 1960s, 1930s, 1900s

Cast

Emma Stone

Viola Davis

Bryce Dallas Howard

Octavia Spencer

The Help (2011)

8.2 9.1K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 146 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.

Style: exploitation

Plot: based on novel or book, mississippi river, racial segregation, racism, writer, maid, moral courage, ressentiment, ...

Time: 1960s

Cast

Chang Chen

Lisa Yang

Chang Kuo-Chu

Elaine Jin Yan-Ling

A Brighter Summer Day (1991)

8.2 392 votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance

Country: Taiwan

Duration: 237 min.

Audience: NR

Story: A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

Plot: high school, baseball bat, based on true story, coming of age, tragedy, murder, youth gang, gang, ...

Time: 1960s

Place: taiwan, taipei

Cast

Jon Hamm

Elisabeth Moss

Vincent Kartheiser

January Jones

Mad Men (2007) TV Show

8.1 1.5K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 7

Episodes: 92

Audience: TV-14

Story: Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.

Style: dark, intense

Plot: work, marketing, marriage, workplace, period drama, advertising, historical, advertising agency, ...

Time: 1960s

Cast

Tom Hanks

From the Earth to the Moon (1998) TV Show

8.1 133 votes

Genre: Action, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 12

Audience: TV-PG

Story: The story of the United States' space program, from its beginnings in 1961 to the final moon mission in 1972.

Plot: moon, nasa, moon landing, astronaut, space program

Time: 1970s, 1960s

Cast

Terence Knox

Stephen Caffrey

Miguel A. Nu00fau00f1ez Jr.

Tony Becker

Tour of Duty (1987) TV Show

8.1 180 votes

Genre: Action, Drama, War

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 58

Audience: TV-14

Story: The trials of a U.S. Army platoon serving in the field during the Vietnam War.

Plot: us army, military, us military

Time: vietnam war, 1960s

Cast

Maggie Cheung

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Siu Ping-Lam

Rebecca Pan

In the Mood for Love (2000)

8.1 3.3K votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: Hong Kong, France

Duration: 99 min.

Audience: PG

Story: In 1960s Hong Kong, two neighbors form an intimate bond after making a discovery about their spouses in this visually stunning tale of unrequited love.

Plot: adultery, newspaper, secret love, martial arts, lovesickness, husband wife relationship, shanghai, china, ...

Time: 1960s

Place: singapore, hong kong

Cast

Ge You

Gong Li

Niu Ben

Guo Tao

To Live (1994)

8.1 382 votes

Genre: Drama, Romance, War

Country: China, Hong Kong

Duration: 133 min.

Story: Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.

Plot: child abuse, gambling, gambling debt, cultural revolution, chinese civil war, shadow puppet

Time: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

Place: china

Cast

Taraji P. Henson

Octavia Spencer

Janelle Monu00e1e

Kevin Costner

Hidden Figures (2016)

8.0 10.5K votes

Genre: Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 127 min.

Audience: PG

Story: The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.

Plot: nasa, mathematics, sexism, biography, racial segregation, racism, historical fiction, scientist, ...

Time: 1960s

Cast

Ralph Fiennes

F. Murray Abraham

Mathieu Amalric

Adrien Brody

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

8.0 16.2K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: United States of America, Germany

Duration: 100 min.

Audience: R

Story: The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.

Plot: hotel, painting, wartime, author, gunfight, theft, period drama, bellhop , ...

Time: 1960s, 1930s

Place: eastern europe

Crime Story (1986) TV Show

8.0 74 votes

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 43

Audience: TV-PG

Story: The hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca.

Plot: organized crime, mobster, police detective

Time: 1960s

Cast

Madeline Carroll

Callan McAuliffe

Rebecca De Mornay

Anthony Edwards

Flipped (2010)

8.0 3.4K votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 89 min.

Audience: PG

Story: When Juli meets Bryce in the second grade, she knows it's true love. After spending six years trying to convince Bryce the same, she's ready to give up - until he starts to reconsider.

Plot: based on novel or book, shyness, family relationships, unrequited love, neighbor, teenage boy, teenage love, first crush, ...

Time: 1950s, 1960s

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

8.0 9.1K votes

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 153 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Plot: based on novel or book, car race, sports, car mechanic, biography, based on true story, le mans, racing, ...

Time: 1960s

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Why 1960s Cinema and Television Remain Unforgettable

The 1960s was a transformative decade that radically redefined global pop culture. Cinema broke free from traditional constraints, embracing counterculture movements, bold artistic experimentation, and daring thematic depth. Meanwhile, television evolved into a powerful storytelling medium, capturing the heartbeat of a changing world.

Top Must-Watch Movies from and about the 60s

Whether you want authentic classics filmed during the era or modern masterpieces set in the decade, these cinematic treasures are essential viewing:

The Graduate (1967): A defining masterpiece of youth disillusionment featuring an iconic Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack.
Psycho (1960): Alfred Hitchcock's legendary thriller that forever changed suspense cinema and horror tropes.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Stanley Kubrick’s visual sci-fi marvel that pushed technical storytelling to new heights.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): Quentin Tarantino’s glamorous, nostalgic love letter to late-1960s Los Angeles.

Iconic TV Shows That Define the Era

Television in the 1960s brought groundbreaking drama and timeless style straight into living rooms, inspiring modern retro hits:

Mad Men: A critically acclaimed drama chronicling the high-stakes, sleek world of 1960s Madison Avenue advertising.
The Twilight Zone: The classic anthology series that blended sci-fi, mystery, and sharp social commentary.
The Queen's Gambit: A visually stunning miniseries illustrating 1960s fashion, competitive chess, and personal struggle.

The Enduring Appeal of Swinging Sixties Entertainment

From mid-century modern aesthetics and vibrant fashion to revolutionary soundtracks and political upheaval, 1960s screen entertainment offers an intoxicating mix of nostalgia and intrigue. Exploring these legendary films and television series allows audiences to experience a historic era that continues to shape modern cinema today.