The 40 most popular 1960s adventure movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


2001: A Space Odyssey
1968 · 2h 29m · UK
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.


The Jungle Book
1967 · 1h 18m · US
The boy Mowgli makes his way to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther. Along the way he meets jazzy King Louie, the hypnotic snake Kaa and the lovable, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo, who teaches Mowgli "The Bare Necessities" of life and the true meaning of friendship.


From Russia with Love
1963 · 1h 55m · UK
Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.


Dr. No
1962 · 1h 50m · UK
Agent 007 battles mysterious Dr. No, a scientific genius bent on destroying the U.S. space program. As the countdown to disaster begins, Bond must go to Jamaica, where he encounters beautiful Honey Ryder, to confront a megalomaniacal villain in his massive island headquarters.


Planet of the Apes
1968 · 1h 52m · US
Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.


One Hundred and One Dalmatians
1961 · 1h 19m · US
When a litter of dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.


Thunderball
1965 · 2h 10m · UK
A criminal organization has obtained two nuclear bombs and are asking for a 100 million pound ransom in the form of diamonds in seven days or they will use the weapons. The secret service sends James Bond to the Bahamas to once again save the world.


Lawrence of Arabia
1962 · 3h 48m · UK
During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.


Goldfinger
1964 · 1h 50m · UK
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.


You Only Live Twice
1967 · 1h 57m · UK
A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.


On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1969 · 2h 22m · UK
With the help of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Unione Corse crime syndicate, and Draco's troubled daughter Tracy, James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Stravro Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat in the Swiss Alps, where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women.


The Great Escape
1963 · 2h 53m · US
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.


Spartacus
1960 · 3h 17m · US
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.


Where Eagles Dare
1968 · 2h 35m · UK
World War II is raging, and an American general has been captured and is being held hostage in the Schloss Adler, a Bavarian castle that's nearly impossible to breach. It's up to a group of skilled Allied soldiers to liberate the general before it's too late.


The Dirty Dozen
1967 · 2h 29m · UK
12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.


The Guns of Navarone
1961 · 2h 40m · UK
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.


Casino Royale
1967 · 2h 11m · US
Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.


L'etreinte
1969 · 1h 43m · BE
L’Étreinte (1969) is a sharp, provocative Franco-Belgian psychological drama that masterfully subverts power dynamics through an erotic lens. Heavily inspired by The Story of O, the film tracks Gisèle, an innocent runaway who becomes a housemaid—and subsequent sex slave—to Michel, a wealthy playboy. What begins as a classic tale of bourgeois exploitation takes a radical turn when a visiting friend awakens Gisèle to her own alienation. In a striking third-act shift, the film flips the master-servant dynamic, leaving the oppressor completely subjugated by his former victim..


True Grit
1969 · 2h 8m · US
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.


It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963 · 3h 12m · US
A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.


100 Rifles
1969 · 1h 50m · US
When half-breed Indian Yaqui Joe robs an Arizona bank, he is pursued by dogged lawman Lyedecker. Fleeing to Mexico, Joe is imprisoned by General Verdugo, who is waging a war against the Yaqui Indians. When Lyedecker attempts to intervene, he is thrown into prison as well. Working together, the two escape and take refuge in the hills, where Lyedecker meets beautiful Yaqui freedom fighter Sarita and begins to question his allegiances.


Jason and the Argonauts
1963 · 1h 44m · US
Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.


Barbarella
1968 · 1h 38m · FR
In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.


Play Dirty
1969 · 1h 58m · UK
During World War II in North Africa, a group of British commandos disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital Nazi oil depot.


Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
1968 · 2h 24m · UK
A hapless inventor finally finds success with a flying car, which a dictator from a foreign government sets out to take for himself.


Easy Rider
1969 · 1h 36m · US
Wyatt and Billy, two Harley-riding hippies, complete a drug deal in Southern California and decide to travel cross-country in search of spiritual truth.


The Time Machine
1960 · 1h 43m · US
A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.


Khartoum
1966 · 2h 14m · UK
English General Charles George Gordon is appointed military governor of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by the Prime Minister. Ordered to evacuate Egyptians from the Sudan, Gordon stays on to protect the people of Khartoum, who are under threat of being conquered by a Muslim army.


Mysterious Island
1961 · 1h 41m · UK
During the US Civil War, Union POWs escape in a balloon and end up stranded on a South Pacific island, inhabited by giant plants and animals. They must use their ingenuity to survive the dangers, and to devise a way to return home. Sequel to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' .


Rancho solo
1967 · 1h 27m · MX
The film is a typical whodunit story, combined with a "ranchero" and western flavor. A young engineer arrives to his godfather hacienda, along with his fiancée. But the things got complicated when the godfather's wife reveals that she had an affair with the young man. One night, the young man's father is murdered in the wood, and he will look for revenge.


Treasure of Silver Lake
1962 · 1h 51m · FR
Fred Engel's father is murdered by Colonel Brinkley in order to acquire a treasure map, however the Colonel only acquires half of it, the other half as held by Mrs. Butler. Discovering the scene of the crime, Old Shatterhand and Winnetou help Fred bring his father's murderer to justice and locate the treasure of Silver Lake.


Lord of the Flies
1963 · 1h 32m · UK
Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction regresses to savagery with horrifying consequences.


Asterix and Cleopatra
1968 · 1h 12m · FR
Popular animated hero Asterix and his faithful sidekick Obelix travel to ancient Egypt to help Cleopatra build a new summer home. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar have made a bet, with Caesar wagering the project cannot be completed in a few weeks time. With the help of a magic potion, Asterix comes to the rescue of the Queen of the Nile as Caesar and an angry architect plot against them.


La Valentina
1966 · 1h 39m · MX
A smuggler, condemned to be shot, is pardoned in exchange for kidnapping "La Valentina."


The Alamo
1960 · 3h 22m · US
The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.


The Bible: In the Beginning...
1966 · 2h 55m · IT
Covering only the first 22 chapters of the Book of Genesis, vignettes include: Adam and Eve frolicking in the Garden of Eden until their indulgence in the forbidden fruit sees them driven out; Cain murdering his brother Abel; Noah building an ark to preserve the animals of the world from the coming flood; and Abraham making a covenant with God.


La ley del gavilán
1968 · 1h 25m · MX
A 1968 film.


The Professionals
1966 · 1h 57m · US
An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.


Yellow Submarine
1968 · 1h 30m · UK
The wicked Blue Meanies take over Pepperland, eliminating all color and music. As the only survivor, the Lord Admiral escapes in the yellow submarine and journeys to Liverpool to enlist the help of the Beatles.


Lord Jim
1965 · 2h 34m · UK
After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2000.
The 1960s broke the old rules everywhere at once — the French New Wave, the collapse of the Hollywood Production Code, and new waves across Europe and Japan reshaping what a film could show and say.
Adventure films are built on journey and discovery: lost worlds, long voyages, and heroes far from home. The genre overlaps heavily with fantasy and action, but its engine is always forward motion into unfamiliar territory.