35 Best Films From Directors Over 60

35 Best Films From Directors Over 60

April 16, 2025

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The films below, brilliant in their own ways, are a testament to the enduring talent and wisdom of directors over 60 who continue to redefine the cinematic landscape. These are narratives that will resonate with audiences of all generations, which further proves that age-old but classic adage: it’s never too late. Prepare to be enthralled and inspired as we explore the best films from these visionaries, people who prove that the pursuit of excellence only grows stronger with time.

21. Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion (1992)

best

8.3

Genres

Comedy, Crime

Director

Jūzō Itami

Actors

Akio Tanaka, Akira Nakao, Akira Takarada, Guts Ishimatsu

Moods

Character-driven, Easy, Funny

Without context, Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion seemed like a goofy satire, especially when the silly trumpet score pops up, and unfortunate hotel employees Suzuki and Wakasugi flounder around trying to solve the hotel’s yakuza problem on their own. And when Nobuko Miyamoto shows up as the brilliant lawyer, it’s so satisfying to see her turn the tables on the yakuza purely through words, strategy, and knowledge of law. It’s hilarious, but Minbo doesn’t just poke fun– it demystifies the gangster as a cool and untouchable figure, portraying them instead as loudmouthed bullies that we can handle. It also shows us how much can be done, only if we, as a group, perhaps as a whole nation, can muster the courage to fight.

22. Black Rain (1989)

best

8.3

Genres

Drama, History

Director

Shōhei Imamura

Actors

Akiji Kobayashi, Etsuko Ichihara, Fujio Tokita, Hideji Ōtaki

Moods

Challenging, Character-driven, Discussion-sparking

Not to be confused with the American cop thriller with the same name, Shōhei Imamura’s Black Rain is about the atomic bomb, but it’s not really concerned about nuclear warfare. Sure, the film opens with gruesome shots of the day the bomb dropped, not sparing the viewers from the gore and the titular nuclear fallout, that in black and white looks the same. And yes, much of the conflict occurs because of the lingering effects of the radiation. However, Imamura is much more concerned with the way Japanese society had tried to deal with it through going back to tradition– through going through the motions of matchmaking and propriety and social status and through excluding those who suffered directly from the bomb. Black Rain has a singular perspective, one that stands out due to the country’s denial of war crimes.

23. Good Morning (1959)

best

8.3

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Family

Director

Yasujirō Ozu

Actors

Chishū Ryū, Haruko Sugimura, Keiji Sada, Kuniko Miyake

Moods

Easy, Lighthearted, Lovely

There’s something so delightful about watching Good Morning, the second of Yasujirō Ozu’s films in color. It’s easy to see why– the conflict is relatable, Ozu’s shots are immaculately framed in warm colors, and of course, the pouting children hoping to get a television of their own are just pinch-worthy adorable. But through the neighborhood conversations, the different generational concerns of each Hayashi,  and a surprising amount of fart jokes, Good Morning subtly ponders on social niceties, the consideration we learn to give to others in silence, as well as the freely given affection that becomes harder to share as adults. Good Morning may not be Ozu’s most famous feature, but it’s nonetheless one of his most delightful to watch.

24. Still Alice (2015)

best

8.2

Genres

Drama

Director

Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland

Actors

Alec Baldwin, Daniel Gerroll, Eha Urbsalu, Erin Darke

Moods

Challenging, Character-driven, Well-acted

Still Alice is a drama about a renowned linguistics professor (Julianne Moore) who slowly begins to lose words and find herself lost in familiar places, leading to an unexpected diagnosis of Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Alice’s husband (Alec Baldwin) and three grown children subsequently struggle to maintain balance as her condition deteriorates, even as she steadfastly strives to maintain her self-composure. Interestingly, Alice uses her professional skills in communication to employ innovative ways to maintain her language and memory as well as possible, despite her ongoing decline. It’s a melancholy yet wonderfully touching film that feels thoroughly honest and real every step of the way. Julianne Moore is superb throughout—a role that earned her a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for her performance.

25. Chicago (2002)

best

8.2

Genres

Comedy, Crime, Drama

Director

Rob Marshall

Actors

Bill Corsair, Blake McGrath, Brendan Wall, Brittany Gray

Moods

A-list actors, Dramatic, Easy

From a 1926 play to the iconic 1975 stage musical to Rob Marshall’s 2002 extravaganza, Chicag0 has had a strong hold on popular culture. In a way, it’s existed almost as long as cinema itself and its transformation across mediums and modes of expression has been well documented. The film carries all the marks of its theatrical predecessors, the expansive sets, the luscious costumes, the sleek characters whose banter and songs alike testify to their great chemistry — there’s a lot to admire in such a self-referential spectacle. A black-comedy-fuelled musical about corruption and deceit set during the Jazz Age, Chicago fulfils all its promises. With a stellar ensemble cast featuring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, and John C. Reily, in tandem with dazzling camerawork and most exquisite chiaroscuro lighting, this one brings the stage to the movies. I mean it in the best possible way!

26. Casting Blossoms to the Sky (2012)

best

8.2

Genres

Drama, Fantasy, War

Director

Nobuhiko Obayashi

Actors

Akira Emoto, Bengal, Chōei Takahashi, Hirona Yamazaki

Moods

Challenging, Depressing, Discussion-sparking

As time goes by, the youth doesn’t recognize how connected they are to previous tragedies, more so when it comes to war. Some even say that they have no part in it. Nobuhiko Obayashi’s later years have been preoccupied in countering this idea. Casting Blossoms to the Sky is the first of Obayashi’s anti-war trilogy, with the film inviting its audience to follow a journalist rediscovering the city of Nagaoka after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. There’s a certain dreamlike approach to the way the various war stories are weaved together, with vibrant frames, simple CGI, and prominent green screen that grants some distance between the audience and the actual wartime reality, but it’s no less potent as Reiko interviews those that remember the scars of the past, and the rituals, practices, and art they’ve taken up in response. Casting Blossoms is a depressing story about war and disaster, one that is a tough one to watch. But it never forgets the humanity, the kindness and love that allowed Japan to recover, the very qualities we must protect and remember in ourselves.

27. True Romance (1993)

best

8.1

Genres

Action, Crime, Romance

Director

Tony Scott

Actors

Anna Levine, Anna Levine Thomson, Anna Thomson, April Freeman

Moods

Funny, Thrilling

True Romance is a wildly entertaining and twistedly enjoyable crime film, directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun) and written by a young Quentin Tarantino. It stars Christian Slater as a young nebbish comic book store employee named Clarence who falls in love with a prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette), and sets his mind to rid her of her indebtedness to a volatile pimp named Drexel (Gary Oldman). The story eventually finds them absconding to California with a suitcase full of cocaine, with the intention of selling off their illicit cache to a Hollywood bigwig in order to pursue their dreams of freedom and opportunity. Replete with a remarkable cast of famous names and familiar faces (including Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken and even Val Kilmer as the ghost of Elvis), True Romance is a true 90’s-era classic. It showcases Tarantino’s trademark witty dialogue throughout, enmeshed with the savage humor and jarring violence that he has become so well known for. It’s very much an homage to Hollywood classics such as Bonnie and Clyde and Badlands (including a rousing score by Hans Zimmer inspired by George Tipton’s score for Badlands), and ultimately serves as one of Tarantino’s most underrated career accomplishments.

28. La Belle Noiseuse (1991)

best

8.1

Genres

Drama

Director

Jacques Rivette

Actors

David Bursztein, Emmanuelle Béart, Gilles Arbona, Jane Birkin

Moods

Challenging, Character-driven, Discussion-sparking

When it comes to work, most apply to a job, take a 9-5 role for some decades, and then retire once enough funds have been acquired, the body gives out, or they reach the statutory age in their respective countries. This path isn’t as straightforward for the artist. La Belle Noiseuse is a portrait of an artist in his later years, only making a return due to an unexpected muse. It is quite lengthy, almost four hours, so it may feel like a daunting task for casual film viewers, as much as it is for the painter, but the way Rivette dedicates the time to the etching, the turn of the page, the brush of the paint upon the paper feels so calming, with the artist and their muse at their most natural. It’s easy to deduce the inevitable connection that forms, but La Belle Noiseuse is much more interested in the creative process, rather than the romantic drama, more interested in exploring the way art endeavors to capture the soul, even when the muse continues to remain elusive.

29. Another Year (2010)

best

8.0

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Director

Mike Leigh

Actors

Badi Uzzaman, Ben Roberts, David Bradley, David Hobbs

Moods

Feel-Good, Heart-warming, Romantic

This is a very nice movie about a lovely older couple named Tom and Gerri. It follows their lives for an entire year, as they work at their jobs, invite friends over for dinner, and work in their garden. They live modest but fulfilling lives, and they seem mostly happy and very much in love, a rarity in the movies. This probably sounds horribly boring to most people, but since Mike Leigh is the director, the film is instead a touching and realistic portrayal of love and how people spend their time together. We should all be so lucky as to live a life as charmed as the central couple in this film.

30. The Ghost Writer (2010)

best

8.0

Genres

Mystery, Thriller

Director

Laurent Bouzereau, Roman Polanski

Actors

David Rintoul, Ewan McGregor, James Belushi, Jon Bernthal

Moods

Sunday, Suspenseful

Craving mystery? This is the film for you. A writer (Ewan McGregor) is given the lucrative task of bringing to life the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former British Prime Minister. Lang, now retired in an island in America, was once one of the world’s most influential politicians. When a scandal erupts about him, which reveals details about his approach to the relationship between America and Britain, the ghost writer finds himself in the possession of highly sensitive material and dealing with many interested parties.

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