Best Movies of 1965 by Rank
71
1
Gillo Pontecorvo
Brahim Haggiag, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Samia Kerbash, Ugo Paletti
Drama / War
Algeria / Italy
French
197
2
Robert Wise
Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Musical / Family / Drama / Romance / Cult
USA
English
235
3
David Lean
Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness
Drama / Romance / Epic / History / Period Film
USA
English
256
4
Roman Polanski
Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Wymark
Thriller / Horror / Drama
UK
English
287
5
Milos Forman
Hana Brejchová, Vladimír Pucholt
Comedy / Romance / Drama
Czechoslovakia
Czech
311
6
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina, Graziella Galvani
Drama / Crime / Experimental / Romance
France / Italy
French
593
8
Sergei Parajanov
Ivan Mikolajchuk, Larisa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva
Drama / Romance / Period Film
Soviet Union
Ukrainian
631
9
Orson Welles
Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, John Gielgud
Comedy / Drama / War
Spain / Switzerland
English
647
10
Federico Fellini
Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo
Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance
Italy / France / West Germany
Italian
778
12
Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos
Ida Kaminska, Jozef Kroner, Hana Slivková
Drama / War
Czechoslovakia
Slovak
893
13
Sidney J. Furie
Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd
Thriller / Spy
UK
English
936
14
Richard Lester
Rita Tushingham, Ray Brooks II, Michael Crawford
Comedy / Romance
UK
English
953
15
Jean-Luc Godard
Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff
Mystery / Sci-Fi / Drama / Romance / Thriller
France / Italy
French
1070
16
Martin Ritt
Richard Burton, Oskar Werner, Claire Bloom, Sam Wanamaker
Thriller / Spy
UK
English
1198
17
Peter Watkins
Michael Aspel, Peter Graham
Drama / Sci-Fi / War / Documentary
UK
English
1294
18
Fred Coe
Jason Robards, Barbara Harris
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1378
19
Marco Bellocchio
Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marino Masé, Liliana Gerace
Drama
Italy
Italian
1563
20
Norman Jewison
Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld
Drama / Period Film / Romance
USA
English
1573
21
Sidney Lumet
Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Alfred Lynch
Drama / War
UK
English
1640
22
Blake Edwards
Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk
Action / Comedy / Adventure / Family
USA
English
1694
23
Kon Ichikawa
Abebe Bikila, Jack Douglas, Hirohito
Documentary / Sports / History
Japan
Japanese
1790
24
Ken Annakin
Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, Terry-Thomas, James Fox
Adventure / Comedy / Action / Romance
UK
English
1808
25
Michael Anderson
Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard, John Mills
Drama / War / Action / Spy / Adventure
UK
English
1855
26
Russ Meyer
Tura Satana, Haji, Lori Williams, Sue Bernard
Action / Drama / Comedy / Crime / Cult
USA
English
1897
27
Tony Richardson
Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer, Dana Andrews, Milton Berle
Comedy
USA
English
1919
28
Elliot Silverstein
Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman
Comedy / Western / Musical / Family
USA
English
2002
29
Sam Peckinpah
Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, James Coburn, Michael Anderson Jr.
Adventure / War / Western
USA
English
2023
30
Andy Warhol
Tosh Carillo, Larry Latrae, Gerard Malanga, J.D. McDermott
Sci-Fi / Experimental
USA
English
2035
31
Robert Aldrich
James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger
Action / Adventure / Drama
USA
English
2060
32
Akira Kurosawa
Toshirô Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki
Drama / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
2114
33
Ritwik Ghatak
Abhi Bhattacharya, Madhabi Mukherjee, Satindra Bhattacharya, Bijon Bhattacharya
Drama
India
Bengali
2227
34
Richard Lester
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Leo McKern
Comedy / Musical / Fantasy / Mystery / Adventure / Cult
UK
English
2227
34
Louis Malle
Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, Paulette Dubost, Claudio Brook, George Hamilton
Adventure / Comedy / Western / Action
France / Italy
French
2245
35
Sergio Leone
Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp
Action / Western / Drama / Thriller
Italy / Spain / West Germany / Monaco
Italian
2251
36
Richard Kaplan
Frances Cole, Archibald Macleish, Eric Sevareid
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2279
37
William Wyler
Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar, Mona Washbourne, Maurice Dallimore
Drama / Horror / Thriller
UK / USA
English
2290
38
Luis Buñuel
Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal, Hortensia Santoveña
Short / Drama / History / Comedy / Religion
Mexico
Spanish
2299
39
André Delvaux
Senne Rouffaer, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Hector Camerlynck, Hilde Uitterlinden
Drama
Belgium
Dutch
2299
39
Wojciech Has
Zbigniew Cybulski, Franciszek Pieczka, Leon Niemczyk, Elzbieta Czyzewska
Drama / Fantasy / Adventure
Poland
Polish
2315
40
Agnès Varda
Jean-Claude Drouot, Claire Drouot, Olivier Drouot, Sandrine Drouot
Drama / Romance
France
French
2316
41
Terence Young
Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2320
42
Richard Brooks
Peter O'Toole, James Mason, Curd Jürgens, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins
Adventure / Drama
UK / USA
English
2328
43
Stuart Burge, John Dexter
Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Maggie Smith, Joyce Redman
Drama / Period Film
UK
English
2338
44
Arthur Penn
Warren Beatty, Alexandra Stewart, Hurd Hatfield, Franchot Tone
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2356
45
James B. Harris
Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox
Thriller / Drama / War
UK / USA
English
2368
46
Miklós Jancsó
János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits
Drama / War / Period Film
Hungary
Hungarian
2393
47
Carol Reed
Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento, Harry Andrews
Drama / Epic / History / Biography
USA
English
2393
47
George Stevens, David Lean, Jean Negulesco
Max von Sydow, Charlton Heston, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Loggia
Drama / Religion / Epic
USA
English
2393
47
René Allio
Sylvie, Victor Lanoux, Malka Ribowska, François Maistre
Drama / Comedy / Adventure
France
French
2395
48
Pietro Germi
Virna Lisi, Gastone Moschin, Nora Ricci, Alberto Lionello
Comedy
France / Italy
Italian
2447
49
Clive Donner
Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss
Comedy / Romance
France / USA
English
2482
50
Guy Green
Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2511
51
Ken Annakin
Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, George Montgomery
War / Action / Drama / Epic
USA
English
2511
51
Andrew V. McLaglen
James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Rosemary Forsyth
Drama / War / Epic
USA
English
2605
52
Robert Youngson
Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Anita Garvin, Edgar Kennedy
Comedy / Family
USA
English (Silent Scenes)
2605
52
John Sturges
George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, John Larkin
Sci-Fi / Thriller / Action
USA
English
2688
54
Seth Holt
Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett, James Villiers, William Dix
Drama / Horror / Thriller
UK
English
2689
55
Alex Segal
Carol Lynley, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ginger Rogers, Barry Sullivan, Hurd Hatfield
Drama / Biography
USA
English
2689
55
Bryan Forbes
George Segal, Tom Courtenay, James Fox, Patrick O'Neal, Denholm Elliott
War / Drama
USA
English
2689
55
Vincente Minnelli
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint, Charles Bronson, Robert Webber
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2689
55
Henry Hathaway
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman
Western
USA
English
2689
55
Robert Stevenson
Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Neville Brand
Family / Comedy / Thriller / Detective / Caper
USA
English
2689
55
Mark Robson
Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni
Action / Drama / Adventure / War
USA
English
2708
56
Costa-Gavras
Catherine Allégret, Jacques Perrin, Simone Signoret
Mystery / Thriller / Detective / Post-Noir
France
French
2709
57
Aleksandar Petrovic
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic, Ali Raner, Senka Veletanlic-Petrovic
Drama / War
Yugoslavia
Serbo-Croatian
2736
58
Marlen Khutsiyev
Valentin Popov, Nikolai Gubenko, Stanislav Lyubshin
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2740
59
Franco Zeffirelli
Mirella Freni, Adriana Martino, Gianni Raimondi, Rolando Panerai
Musical / Drama
West Germany
Italian
2740
59
Miguel Picazo
Aurora Bautista, Carlos Estrada, José María Prada
Drama / Romance
Spain
Spanish
2740
59
James Ivory
Shashi Kapoor, Felicity Kendal, Geoffrey Kendal, Laura Liddell
Drama / Romance
India
English
2756
60
Ray Manzarek
Hank Olguin, Dorothy Manzarek
Short / Drama / Music / Romance
USA
English
2767
61
Luchino Visconti
Claudia Cardinale, Jean Sorel, Michael Craig, Renzo Ricci
Drama
Italy
Italian
2788
62
Satyajit Ray
Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Haradhan Bannerjee
Drama / Romance
India
Bengali
2788
62
Leif Krantz
Roland Grönros, Gunnar Ahlström, Ulla Melin, Ulla Carle
Family
Sweden
Swedish
2788
62
Andrei Konchalovsky
Bolot Bejshenaliyev, Natalya Arinbasarova, Idris Nogajbayev
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2788
62
Marcel Carné
Annie Girardot, Maurice Ronet, O.E. Hasse, Roland Lesaffre
Drama / Romance
France
French
2789
63
Alex Joffé
Robert Hirsch, Dalia Friedland, Misha Asherov, Teddy Bilis
Comedy / Drama
Italy / Israel / France
French
2789
63
Jirí Weiss
James Booth, Anne Heywood, Rudolf Hrusínský
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Romance
Czechoslovakia / UK
English
2789
63
Luis Alcoriza
Ignacio López Tarso, Jaime Fernández, Aurora Clavel
Drama
Mexico
Spanish
2792
64
Ebrahim Golestan
Parviz Fanizadeh, Manuchehr Farid, Zackaria Hashemi
Drama / Comedy
Iran
Persian
2792
64
Yuliya Solntseva
Boris Andreyev, Yevgeni Bondarenko, Vladimir Goncharov
Fantasy
Soviet Union
Russian
2792
64
Jean-Marie Straub
Heinrich Hargesheimer, Carlheinz Hargesheimer, Martha Staendner
Drama
West Germany
German
2792
64
Howard Hawks
James Caan, Laura Devon, Gail Hire, Charlene Holt
Action / Drama / Sports
USA
English
2807
65
Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble
Robert Morley
Animation / Family / Short / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2807
65
Alan Schneider
Buster Keaton, Nell Harrison, James Karen, Susan Reed
Short / Drama
USA
English (Silent)
2807
65
Philip Kaufman, Benjamin Manaster
Lou Gilbert, Ellen Madison, Severn Darden, Anthony Holland, Nelson Algren
Comedy / Religion / Drama
USA
English
2807
65
Gerald Potterton, Buster Keaton, John Spotton
Buster Keaton
Comedy / Short
Canada
English (Silent)
2807
65
Norman Tokar
Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon De Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn
Drama / Family
USA
English
2807
65
Tex Avery, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna, Michael Lah
Tex Avery, Joseph Barbera, Billy Bletcher, Daws Butler, Bill Cole, Pinto Colvig
Animation / Family
USA
English
2842
66
John Ford
Anne Bancroft, Sue Lyon, Margaret Leighton, Flora Robson, Mildred Dunnock
Drama / History / Period Film
USA
English
2860
68
William Conrad
Jeffrey Hunter, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, Viveca Lindfors
Thriller / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2860
68
Ken Loach
Geraldine Sherman, Carol White, Vickery Turner, Michael Standing
Drama / Documentary
UK
English
