Top 81 Ranked

Best 1964 Movies

Golden Era Classics and Cinematic Masterpieces

Explore the best films from a landmark year in cinema history. From iconic spy thrillers to legendary musicals and profound dramas.

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About Movies in 1964

If you travel back to 1964, you will find a year where the old guard of the studio system was finally beginning to lose its grip on the steering wheel. It was a twelve month stretch defined by a collision between high art and high octane entertainment, resulting in a landscape where James Bond, the Beatles, and nuclear paranoia could all occupy the same marquee. While 1939 is often cited as the pinnacle of classic Hollywood, 1964 was arguably the year that modern cinema truly announced its arrival.

The cultural context of the time demanded a new kind of storytelling. The world was still reeling from the assassination of John F. Kennedy only a year prior, and the escalating tension of the Cold War hung over every dinner table. This anxiety found its masterpiece in Stanley Kubrick. With its release in early 1964, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb proved that audiences were ready for pitch black satire. Its cynical, razor sharp look at military incompetence showed that the days of pure, uncomplicated patriotism in film were fading.

Simultaneously, the British Invasion was taking over the silver screen just as it had dominated the radio waves. Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night captured the anarchy and frantic energy of the Beatles in a way that felt revolutionary. It was more than a promotional vehicle for a band; its quick cuts and handheld camerawork influenced the visual language of music videos for the next four decades. 1964 was also the year that Goldfinger hit theaters, perfecting the James Bond formula and transforming 007 from a popular character into a global cultural phenomenon. Between the Fab Four and Bond, London was clearly the new creative center of the universe.

However, the traditional musical was still capable of reaching untouchable heights. Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins and George Cukor’s My Fair Lady both debuted in 1964, sweeping up awards and proving that the massive, colorful spectacle still had a place in the hearts of families everywhere. These films represented the perfection of a certain style of filmmaking that relied on massive sets and flawless choreography, standing in stark contrast to the gritty innovations happening elsewhere.

Perhaps the most significant legacy of 1964 lies in the birth of the Spaghetti Western. Over in Europe, Sergio Leone released A Fistful of Dollars, introducing the world to Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name. This film stripped away the moral clarity of the American frontier and replaced it with violence, dust, and a moral ambiguity that would redefine the genre forever.

Film fans remember 1964 because it was a bridge. It preserved the elegance of the past while opening the door to the experimental, cynical, and bold voices of the future. It was a year where you could go to the theater to see Julie Andrews fly with an umbrella one week and watch a nuclear apocalypse unfold the next. This range is what makes it one of the most vital chapters in cinematic history.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

See Top Ten
81
1964 in Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)
Man's Favorite Sport?
1964

Roger Willoughby is a renowned fishing expert, who, unbeknownst to his friends, co-workers, or boss, has never cast a line in his life. One day, he crosses paths with Abigail Paige, a sweetly annoying girl who has just badgered his boss into signing Roger up for an annual fishing tournament.

Comedy
Romance
Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss, Maria Perschy, John McGiver
80
1964 in Advance to the Rear (1964)
Advance to the Rear
1964

As punishment for their incompetence in battle, disgraced Union soldier Capt. Jared Heath and his apathetic commanding officer, Col. Claude Brackenbury, are reassigned away from the front lines. The hapless Heath and Brackenbury must now lead a ragtag group on a classified mission to protect a transport for the U.S. Treasury. Complicating matters is Martha Lou Williams, a Confederate agent posing as a lady of the evening.

Comedy
War
1h 37m
George Marshall
Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, Melvyn Douglas, Jim Backus
79
1964 in One Potato, Two Potato (1964)
One Potato, Two Potato
1964

Study of interracial marriage in the 1960s. A white divorcée falls in love with and marries an African-American man. When her ex-husband sues for custody of her child, arguing that a mixed household is an improper place to raise the girl, the new husband fights for his parental rights in court, fighting against a judge who represents the prejudices of the era.

Drama
1h 20m
Larry Peerce
Barbara Barrie, Bernie Hamilton, Richard Mulligan, Harry Bellaver

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78
1964 in Blood and Black Lace (1964)
Blood and Black Lace
1964

Isabella, a young model, is murdered by a mysterious masked figure at a fashion house in Rome. When her diary, which details the house employees' many vices, disappears, the masked killer begins killing off all the models in and around the house to find it.

Horror
Thriller
1h 28m
Mario Bava
Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Ariana Gorini
77
1964 in Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)
Your Cheatin' Heart
1964

The story of the country and western singer Hank Williams.

Drama
Music
1h 39m
Gene Nelson
George Hamilton, Susan Oliver, Red Buttons, Arthur O'Connell
76
1964 in Nothing But a Man (1964)
Nothing But a Man
1964

A proud black man and his school-teacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s America.

Drama
Romance
1h 35m
Michael Roemer
Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Julius Harris, Gloria Foster
75
1964 in The Bargee (1964)
The Bargee
1964

After a lock-keeper entrusts his daughter to a canal Casanova, he is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. He then refuses to open his locks - causing barges to pile up in every direction until the guilty party confesses.

Comedy
1h 42m
Duncan Wood
Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, Eric Sykes, Ronnie Barker
74
1964 in Get Yourself a College Girl (1964)
Get Yourself a College Girl
1964

A young music student faces expulsion after her instructors learn she is moonlighting as a pop-music writer.

Comedy
Music
1h 27m
Sidney Miller
Mary Ann Mobley, Joan O'Brien, Nancy Sinatra, Chris Noel
73
1964 in For Those Who Think Young (1964)
For Those Who Think Young
1964

A wealthy young man tries to woo a university student, while her two uncles work to popularize a local club.

Comedy
Romance
1h 36m
Leslie H. Martinson
James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Paul Lynde, Tina Louise
72
1964 in Goodbye Charlie (1964)
Goodbye Charlie
1964

When a cavorting Hollywood writer is killed by the angry husband of a woman he was having an affair with, he comes back as a spirit in the form of a beautiful woman and moves in with his/her best friend as a base operation for enacting sweet revenge.

Comedy
Romance
1h 56m
Vincente Minnelli
Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone, Joanna Barnes
71
1964 in Never Put It in Writing (1964)
Never Put It in Writing
1964

An executive, passed over for a promotion, sends an angry letter to his bosses while in Ireland. Learning he's up for a better job, he rushes to retrieve the letter.

Comedy
1h 33m
Andrew L. Stone
Pat Boone, Milo O'Shea, Fidelma Murphy, Reginald Beckwith
70
1964 in Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (1964)
Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!
1964

Following a misunderstanding about Yogi Bear’s whereabouts, Cindy Bear ends up in captivity at a Missouri circus. It’s now up to Yogi and his friend, Boo-Boo, to save her.

Animation
Comedy
1h 29m
Joseph Barbera
Daws Butler, Don Messick, Julie Bennett, James Darren
69
1964 in Electronic Processes - In Crystal and Living Organism (1964)
Electronic Processes - In Crystal and Living Organism
1964

Cameraman Yonesaku Kobayashi (1905-2005) is a pioneer of scientific films of Japan. He and producer Sozo Okada made many scientific educational films, and in 60's - 70's, many avant-garde composers composed music for these films.

Documentary
26m
渡辺正巳
Tatsuya Jo
68
1964 in Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)
Two Thousand Maniacs!
1964

Six people are lured into a small Deep South town for a Centennial celebration where the residents kill them one by one as revenge for the town's destruction during the Civil War.

Horror
1h 27m
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Connie Mason, William Kerwin, Jeffrey Allen, Ben Moore
67
1964 in The Married Woman (1964)
The Married Woman
1964

A superficial woman finds conflict choosing between her abusive husband and her vain lover.

Drama
Romance
1h 35m
Jean-Luc Godard
Macha Méril, Bernard Noël, Philippe Leroy, Christophe Bourseiller
66
1964 in Kisses for My President (1964)
Kisses for My President
1964

A hapless husband takes a back seat to his wife, the first female president of the United States.

Comedy
1h 53m
Curtis Bernhardt
Fred MacMurray, Polly Bergen, Arlene Dahl, Edward Andrews
65
1964 in Roustabout (1964)
Roustabout
1964

After a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.

Music
Romance
1h 41m
John Rich
Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Freeman, Leif Erickson
64
1964 in Fanny Hill (1964)
Fanny Hill
1964

Young, pretty and innocent, Fanny Hill has lost her parents and must find her way in life amidst the perils of turbulent 18th-century London. She's fortunate enough to rapidly find a place as chambermaid of the effusive Mrs. Brown, who lives in a large house teeming with female 'relatives' in negligée and with very relaxed manners. She also insists that Fanny alone meets various gentlemen who show an ardent interest in her.

Comedy
History
1h 45m
Russ Meyer
Miriam Hopkins, Alexander D'Arcy, Walter Giller, Chris Howland
63
1964 in Nightmare (1964)
Nightmare
1964

A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.

Thriller
Horror
1h 23m
Freddie Francis
David Knight, Moira Redmond, Jennie Linden, Brenda Bruce
62
1964 in The Visit (1964)
The Visit
1964

Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...

Drama
1h 40m
Bernhard Wicki
Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Quinn, Irina Demick, Paolo Stoppa
61
1964 in What a Way to Go! (1964)
What a Way to Go!
1964

A four-time widow discusses her four marriages, in which all of her husbands became incredibly rich and died prematurely because of their drive to be rich.

Comedy
Romance
1h 51m
J. Lee Thompson
60
1964 in Fate Is the Hunter (1964)
Fate Is the Hunter
1964

An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.

Drama
1h 46m
Ralph Nelson
Glenn Ford, Jane Russell, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette
59
1964 in 633 Squadron (1964)
633 Squadron
1964

When Norwegian resistance leader Lieutenant Erik Bergman reports the location of a German V-2 rocket fuel plant, the Royal Air Force's 633 Squadron is assigned the mission to destroy it. The plant is in a seemingly-impregnable location beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a long, narrow fjord lined with anti-aircraft guns. The only way to destroy the plant is by collapsing the cliff on top of it.

Drama
War
1h 42m
Walter Grauman
Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, Maria Perschy, Harry Andrews
58
1964 in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
The Fall of the Roman Empire
1964

In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.

Drama
History
3h 8m
Anthony Mann
Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason
57
1964 in Behold a Pale Horse (1964)
Behold a Pale Horse
1964

Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.

Drama
War
1h 58m
Fred Zinnemann
Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Raymond Pellegrin
56
1964 in 36 Hours (1964)
36 Hours
1964

Germans kidnap an American major and try to convince him that World War II is over, so that they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him.

Drama
Thriller
1h 55m
George Seaton
James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Taylor, Werner Peters
55
1964 in Night Must Fall (1964)
Night Must Fall
1964

A psychotic killer gets in the good graces of his aging invalid employer, and worms his way into the affection of her beautiful daughter, with unpleasant results for all.

Thriller
Horror
1h 32m
Karel Reisz
Albert Finney, Mona Washbourne, Susan Hampshire, Sheila Hancock
54
1964 in Circus World (1964)
Circus World
1964

Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between his adopted daughter and her mother.

Drama
2h 23m
Henry Hathaway
John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale, Rita Hayworth, Lloyd Nolan
53
1964 in The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)
The Yellow Rolls-Royce
1964

One Rolls-Royce belongs to three vastly different owners, starting with Lord Charles, who buys the car for his wife as an anniversary present. The next owner is Paolo Maltese, a mafioso who purchases the car during a trip to Italy and leaves it with his girlfriend while he returns to Chicago. Finally, the car is owned by American widow Gerda, who joins the Yugoslavian resistance against the invading Nazis.

Drama
Comedy
2h 2m
Anthony Asquith
Ingrid Bergman, Rex Harrison, Shirley MacLaine, Jeanne Moreau
52
1964 in The Chalk Garden (1964)
The Chalk Garden
1964

The peculiar antics of Laurel, an emotionally troubled young girl, are the focus of The Chalk Garden – a stately household drama set on the cliffs of the English south coast. Edith Evans plays a matriarchal grandmother who, in raising her granddaughter, has neglected her other love – a barren chalk garden. Mayhem ensues as Laurel's behavior frightens away a succession of governesses until an enigmatic one is hired in spite of her mysterious references. She skillfully sets about tending to the girl's reckless emotions and the pitifully failed garden.

Drama
Mystery
1h 45m
Ronald Neame
Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills, Edith Evans
51
1964 in Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
Sex and the Single Girl
1964

A womanizing reporter for a sleazy tabloid magazine impersonates his hen-pecked neighbor in order to get an expose on renowned psychologist Helen Gurley Brown.

Comedy
Romance
1h 50m
Richard Quine
Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Lauren Bacall
50
1964 in The Carpetbaggers (1964)
The Carpetbaggers
1964

Jonas Cord is a disagreeable young tycoon who's building planes, directing films, and catting around on the corporate make in 1930s Hollywood.

Drama
2h 30m
Edward Dmytryk
George Peppard, Alan Ladd, Carroll Baker, Robert Cummings
49
1964 in Bedtime Story (1964)
Bedtime Story
1964

Benson is a Casanova who tricks women into having sex with him before leaving them. He is content with this game until he meets Jamison, a real operator who poses as an exiled prince and not only gets women to share his bed but also to give him money to help him fund his supposed counter-revolution.

Comedy
1h 39m
Ralph Levy
Marlon Brando, David Niven, Shirley Jones, Dody Goodman
48
1964 in Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
Paris When It Sizzles
1964

Hollywood producer Alexander Meyerheimer has hired drunken writer Richard Benson to write his latest movie. Benson has been in Paris supposedly working on the script for months, but instead has spent the time living it up. Benson now has just two days to the deadline and thus hires a temporary secretary, Gabrielle Simpson, to help him finish on time.

Romance
Comedy
1h 50m
Richard Quine
William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, Grégoire Aslan, Raymond Bussières
47
1964 in Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Viva Las Vegas
1964

Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it when the pretty swimming pool manageress takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both race and girl, problems made more difficult by rivalry from Elmo Mancini, fellow racer and womaniser.

Music
Romance
1h 25m
George Sidney
Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest
46
1964 in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964

An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.

Horror
Mystery
2h 13m
Robert Aldrich
Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
45
1964 in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
1964

The buoyant Molly Brown has survived the first crisis of her life—a flood. Sixteen years later she sets out to make her way in the world. She assures the Leadville saloon keeper that she can sing and play the piano, and learns quickly. Soon she marries Johnny Brown, who in a few years will be able to replace the original cigar wrapper wedding ring with a replica in gold and gemstones. The Browns head for Europe and bring a few crowned heads back to Denver for a party that turns into a ballroom brawl. Molly goes to Europe alone, returning on the Titanic. She didn't survive a flood as a baby for the story to end here.

Comedy
2h 8m
Charles Walters
Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley, Jack Kruschen
44
1964 in Strait-Jacket (1964)
Strait-Jacket
1964

After a twenty-year stay at an asylum for a double murder, a mother returns to her estranged daughter where suspicions arise about her behavior.

Thriller
Horror
1h 33m
William Castle
Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John
43
1964 in The Disorderly Orderly (1964)
The Disorderly Orderly
1964

Poor Jerome Littlefield. He wants to be a doctor – but that's not exactly the perfect career choice when you're hopelessly squeamish. So he settles for the job of orderly at the Whitestone Sanitarium, a career move that's guaranteed to keep the patients – and viewers – in stitches!

Comedy
Romance
1h 29m
Frank Tashlin
Jerry Lewis, Glenda Farrell, Karen Sharpe, Susan Oliver
42
1964 in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
1964

Milquetoast Henry Limpet experiences his fondest wish and is transformed into a fish. As a talking fish he assists the US Navy in hunting German submarines during World War II.

Animation
Family
1h 39m
Arthur Lubin
Don Knotts, Carole Cook, Jack Weston, Andrew Duggan
41
1964 in Send Me No Flowers (1964)
Send Me No Flowers
1964

When a hypochondriac assumes that he is dying, he makes an elaborate plan to ensure his wife's happiness. However, trouble ensues when she misunderstands his intentions.

Comedy
Romance
Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Paul Lynde
40
1964 in The Best Man (1964)
The Best Man
1964

The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-runners begin to decide how badly they want the job.

Drama
1h 42m
Franklin J. Schaffner
Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton
39
1964 in Lady in a Cage (1964)
Lady in a Cage
1964

A woman trapped in a home elevator is terrorized by a group of vicious hoodlums.

Drama
Mystery
1h 34m
Walter Grauman
Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Jennifer Billingsley, Rafael Campos
38
1964 in The Outrage (1964)
The Outrage
1964

At a disused railway station, three men -- a con artist, a preacher, and a prospector -- discuss the recent trial and sentencing of the outlaw Juan Carrasco for the murder of a man and the rape of his wife. In their recounting, the three explore the conflicting testimonies of the parties involved in the crimes. Disconcerting new questions arise with each different version of the event.

Drama
Crime
1h 36m
Martin Ritt
Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson
37
1964 in The Last Man on Earth (1964)
The Last Man on Earth
1964

When a disease turns all of humanity into the living dead, the last man on earth becomes a reluctant vampire hunter.

Science Fiction
Horror
1h 27m
Ubaldo Ragona
Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi Stuart
36
1964 in Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
Robin and the 7 Hoods
1964

Set in Prohibition era Chicago, bootlegger Robbo and his cronies refuse to pay the greedy Guy Gisborne a cut of their profits after Guy shoots mob boss Big Jim and takes over. When Big Jim's daughter, Marian, gives Robbo a large sum, believing he has avenged her father's death, the gangster donates to an orphanage, cementing his reputation as a softhearted hood.

Music
Comedy
2h 3m
Gordon Douglas
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby
35
1964 in The Thin Red Line (1964)
The Thin Red Line
1964

Set during the Allied invasion of the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater during WWII, this film is based on the novel by James Jones. Keir Dullea is Private Doll, who dreads the invasion and steals a pistol to help him protect himself. Sergeant Welsh (Jack Warden), a caustic, battle-scarred veteran, hates Doll, whom he considers a coward. In battle, Doll kills a Japanese soldier and is filled with remorse, which further angers the sergeant. The next day, an emboldened Doll wipes out an entire enemy machine gun post and begins to feel as sadistic as Welsh. The two must work together to clear away some mines, but as they do, their platoon is surprised by a Japanese raid.

War
1h 39m
Andrew Marton
Keir Dullea, Jack Warden, James Philbrook, Bob Kanter
34
1964 in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
1964

Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his glowing nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea...

Animation
Family
52m
Larry Roemer
Burl Ives, Billie Mae Richards, Larry D. Mann, Stan Francis
33
1964 in Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Cheyenne Autumn
1964

A reluctant cavalry Captain must track a defiant tribe of migrating Cheyenne.

Western
2h 37m
Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Sal Mineo
32
1964 in Lilith (1964)
Lilith
1964

Vincent Bruce, a war veteran, begins working as an occupational therapist at Poplar Lodge, a private psychiatric facility for wealthy people where he meets Lilith Arthur, a charming young woman suffering from schizophrenia, whose fragile beauty captivates all who meet her.

Drama
Romance
1h 54m
Robert Rossen
Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, Kim Hunter
31
1964 in The Soft Skin (1964)
The Soft Skin
1964

Pierre Lachenay is a well-known publisher and lecturer, married to Franca and father of Sabine. He starts a love affair with air hostess Nicole, which Pierre is hiding, but he cannot stay away from her.

Drama
Romance
1h 59m
François Truffaut
Françoise Dorléac, Jean Desailly, Nelly Benedetti, Daniel Ceccaldi
30
1964 in The World of Henry Orient (1964)
The World of Henry Orient
1964

A mischievous, adventuresome fourteen-year-old girl and her best friend begin following an eccentric concert pianist around New York City after she develops a crush on him.

Comedy
Drama
1h 46m
George Roy Hill
Peter Sellers, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Paula Prentiss
29
1964 in The Naked Kiss (1964)
The Naked Kiss
1964

A former prostitute works to create a new life for herself in a small town, but a shocking discovery could threaten everything.

Crime
Drama
1h 33m
Samuel Fuller
Constance Towers, Michael Dante, Anthony Eisley, Virginia Grey
28
1964 in Yearning (1964)
Yearning
1964

War widow Reiko rebuilds and runs the grocery shop in the house of her husband's family. Many years later, their business is threatened by a newly built supermarket and Reiko's in-laws plan to convert their small shop into a supermarket, to her detriment.

Drama
Romance
1h 38m
Mikio Naruse
Hideko Takamine, Yūzō Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Mie Hama
27
1964 in The Killers (1964)
The Killers
1964

A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.

Crime
Mystery
1h 33m
Don Siegel
Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, Clu Gulager
26
1964 in Seven Days in May (1964)
Seven Days in May
1964

A U.S. Marine Corps colonel alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.

Drama
Thriller
Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner
25
1964 in Topkapi (1964)
Topkapi
1964

Arthur Simon Simpson is a small-time crook biding his time in Greece. One of his potential victims turns out to be a gentleman thief planning to steal the emerald-encrusted dagger of the Mehmed II from Istanbul's Topkapi Museum.

Comedy
Crime
1h 59m
Jules Dassin
Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley
24
1964 in Marriage Italian Style (1964)
Marriage Italian Style
1964

During the bombing of Naples in World War II, a cynical businessman helps a naive prostitute, who spends the next two decades desperate to have him reciprocate her feelings.

Drama
Romance
Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi, Tecla Scarano
23
1964 in The Pumpkin Eater (1964)
The Pumpkin Eater
1964

Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.

Drama
1h 50m
Jack Clayton
Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch, James Mason, Janine Gray
22
1964 in Red Desert (1964)
Red Desert
1964

In an industrializing Italian town, a married woman, rendered mentally unstable after a traffic accident, drifts into an affair with a friend of her husband.

Drama
1h 57m
Michelangelo Antonioni
Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi
21
1964 in Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
Kiss Me, Stupid
1964

While traveling home from Vegas, an amorous lounge singer named Dino gets conned by a local mechanic/songwriter into staying in town for the night. The mechanic's songwriting partner, Orville, offers Dino his home for overnight lodging and enlists a local waitress/call girl to pose as his wife in order to placate Dino's urges.

Comedy
Romance
Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston, Felicia Farr
20
1964 in Gertrud (1964)
Gertrud
1964

Hopeless romantic Gertrud inhabits a turn-of-the-century milieu of artists and musicians, where she pursues an idealized notion of love that will always elude her. She abandons her distinguished husband and embraces an affair with a young concert pianist, who falls short of her desire for lasting affection. When an old lover returns to her life, fresh disappointments follow, and Gertrud must try to come to terms with reality.

Drama
Romance
1h 59m
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Nina Pens Rode, Bendt Rothe, Ebbe Rode, Baard Owe
19
1964 in Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
1964

Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.

Crime
Thriller
1h 51m
Bryan Forbes
Kim Stanley, Richard Attenborough, Margaret Lacey, Marie Burke
18
1964 in The Train (1964)
The Train
1964

As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.

War
Thriller
Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau, Suzanne Flon
17
1964 in Fail Safe (1964)
Fail Safe
1964

Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.

Thriller
Drama
Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Larry Hagman
16
1964 in The Americanization of Emily (1964)
The Americanization of Emily
1964

American sailor Charlie Madison falls for a pretty Englishwoman while trying to avoid a senseless and dangerous D-Day mission concocted by a deranged admiral.

Comedy
Drama
1h 55m
Arthur Hiller
James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn
15
1964 in Band of Outsiders (1964)
Band of Outsiders
1964

Cinephile slackers Franz and Arthur spend their days mimicking the antiheroes of Hollywood noirs and Westerns while pursuing the lovely Odile. The misfit trio upends convention at every turn, be it through choreographed dances in cafés or frolicsome romps through the Louvre. Eventually, their romantic view of outlaws pushes them to plan their own heist, but their inexperience may send them out in a blaze of glory -- which could be just what they want.

Crime
Drama
1h 37m
Jean-Luc Godard
Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey, Danièle Girard
14
1964 in Becket (1964)
Becket
1964

Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church.

Drama
History
2h 28m
Peter Glenville
Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Gino Cervi
13
1964 in Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Woman in the Dunes
1964

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

Drama
Thriller
2h 27m
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Hiroko Itō, Kōji Mitsui
12
1964 in The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The Masque of the Red Death
1964

A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.

Drama
Horror
1h 30m
Roger Corman
Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston
11
1964 in The Night of the Iguana (1964)
The Night of the Iguana
1964

A defrocked Episcopal clergyman leads a bus-load of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast and comes to terms with the failure haunting his life.

Drama
Romance
Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon
10
1964 in A Hard Day's Night (1964)
A Hard Day's Night
1964

Capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element, 'A Hard Day's Night' is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band have to use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.

Comedy
Music
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Why it ranks

Richard Lester captured the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of Beatlemania through a lens of anarchic, French New Wave-inspired spontaneity. This mockumentary blueprint discarded the stale conventions of the jukebox musical to create a kinetic pop-culture artifact that feels perpetually modern.

9
1964 in Marnie (1964)
Marnie
1964

Marnie is a beautiful but emotionally withdrawn thief, stealing from employers before disappearing under new identities. When her new boss, Mark Rutland, discovers her secret, his fascination turns to obsession, and he blackmails her into marriage, convinced he can cure her. But as he probes deeper into Marnie’s fractured mind, long-buried fears and compulsions begin to surface.

Thriller
Mystery
Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Martin Gabel
Why it ranks

Hitchcock’s provocative dive into psychoanalysis and sexual trauma utilizes a heightened, expressionistic color palette to mirror its protagonist’s fractured psyche. It is a divisive, chilly masterpiece that demands a reassessment of the director’s obsession with control and feminine artifice.

8
1964 in Onibaba (1964)
Onibaba
1964

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

Horror
1h 45m
Kaneto Shindō
Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satō, Jūkichi Uno
Why it ranks

Kaneto Shindo utilizes the swaying pampas grass of medieval Japan to craft a claustrophobic, eroticized horror that is as visually arresting as it is unsettling. Its percussion-heavy score and stark lighting choices create an atmosphere of primal desperation rarely matched in world cinema.

7
1964 in Zorba the Greek (1964)
Zorba the Greek
1964

An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life changed forever when he meets the gregarious Alexis Zorba.

Drama
2h 22m
Mihalis Kakogiannis
Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas, Lila Kedrova
Why it ranks

Anchored by Anthony Quinn’s primal and magnetic physicality, this film celebrates the collision of Apollonian intellect and Dionysian instinct. It is a rugged, percussion-driven ode to the resilience of the human spirit amidst the harsh landscapes of rural Crete.

6
1964 in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
1964

This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant.

Drama
Romance
1h 33m
Jacques Demy
Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Mireille Perrey
Why it ranks

Jacques Demy eschews spoken dialogue for a continuous, sung-through tapestry of pastel-colored melancholia. This radical stylistic experiment results in a profoundly moving exploration of young love and wartime separation that looks like a painting and feels like a heartbeat.

5
1964 in Goldfinger (1964)
Goldfinger
1964

Special agent 007 comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox -- and obliterate the world's economy.

Adventure
Action
1h 50m
Guy Hamilton
Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman, Harold Sakata
Why it ranks

The Bond formula solidified into high art here, establishing a lexicon of gadgetry, grandeur, and villainy that would dominate the action genre for decades. Its brassy confidence and impeccably paced thrills captured the mid-century zeitgeist better than any of its espionage peers.

4
1964 in My Fair Lady (1964)
My Fair Lady
1964

A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.

Comedy
Romance
2h 50m
George Cukor
Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Why it ranks

George Cukor’s lavish adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage hit is a masterclass in production design and rhythmic dialogue. It remains a towering achievement of the studio system’s sunset era, elevated by Rex Harrison’s idiosyncratic sprechgesang and Cecil Beaton’s breathtaking visual textures.

3
1964 in Mary Poppins (1964)
Mary Poppins
1964

In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

Comedy
Family
2h 19m
Robert Stevenson
Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns
Why it ranks

This technical marvel stands as the pinnacle of the Disney live-action canon, seamlessly marrying hand-drawn artistry with a sophisticated, soulful narrative. Julie Andrews delivers a debut of such effortless authority that she instantly became the gold standard for the modern musical protagonist.

2
1964 in A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
A Fistful of Dollars
1964

The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.

Western
Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonté, Wolfgang Lukschy
Why it ranks

Sergio Leone reinvented the frontier mythos with a cynical, sun-drenched violence that effectively birthed the Spaghetti Western. Clint Eastwood’s laconic presence and Ennio Morricone’s operatic score shattered the traditional Hollywood moral compass, favoring grit over gallantry.

1
1964 in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1964

After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.

Comedy
War
Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Why it ranks

Stanley Kubrick transforms the looming specter of nuclear annihilation into a riotous, razor-sharp nightmare that redefined the boundaries of political satire. Peter Sellers’ triple-threat performance anchors a work of terrifying brilliance that remains the definitive cinematic statement on Cold War hysteria.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

The best films from 1964 showcase a remarkable variety of genres, including iconic spy thrillers like Goldfinger, classic musicals such as Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady, profound dramas like Becket and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, as well as groundbreaking westerns exemplified by A Fistful of Dollars. This diversity reflects the dynamic cinematic landscape of that year.

Many 1964 films capture the era's cultural and political anxieties, notably Dr. Strangelove, a dark comedy addressing nuclear paranoia during the Cold War. Additionally, movies like Goldfinger epitomized the burgeoning spy thriller trend amid global tensions, while The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Night of the Iguana explored complex human emotions amid societal change.

1964 was a pivotal year for directors such as Stanley Kubrick with Dr. Strangelove, which cemented his reputation for sharp social satire and innovative filmmaking. Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars helped launch the Spaghetti Western genre, while Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders exemplified the French New Wave style, making the year critical for auteur cinema.

Musicals were a major highlight in 1964, with films like Mary Poppins blending family-friendly fantasy and innovative special effects, while My Fair Lady showcased lavish production and charm in adapting a classic stage musical. These films were instrumental in sustaining Hollywood’s golden-age musical legacy during a period of cinematic transition.

Yes, the 1964 best movies list includes international masterpieces like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg from France, Onibaba from Japan, and Zorba the Greek from Greece. These films brought distinctive cultural perspectives and storytelling styles, contributing to the increasingly global nature of cinema during that time.

1964 films like A Fistful of Dollars revolutionized the Western genre with a grittier, more morally complex style, while Dr. Strangelove redefined war films with its satirical approach. Meanwhile, Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie innovated thriller narratives by blending psychological depth with suspense, marking shifts in genre storytelling.

1964 is considered a landmark year because it marked the transition from classic Hollywood dominance to more modern cinematic expressions, blending high art with popular entertainment. The presence of influential films across genres illustrates a vibrant industry responding to social change, technological advances, and evolving audience tastes.
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