The year 1965 in film involved several significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office and winning five Academy Awards.

The top ten 1965 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• February 15 – George Stevens' production of The Greatest Story Ever Told, a retelling of the account of Jesus Christ, premieres in New York City, New York. It was such a flop with critics and audiences that its failure discouraged production of religious epics for many years. It is considered notable in the 21st century for its astonishing landscapes, powerful and provocative cinematography, Max von Sydow's debut acting performance in an American film, and the final film performance of Claude Rains.
• March 2 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptation of The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premieres. It quickly became a worldwide phenomenon and an instant classic. It successfully displaced Gone with the Wind to become, at the time, the highest-grossing film of all-time. The Sound of Music is credited as the film that saved and restored Twentieth Century-Fox from bankruptcy after it suffered from extremely high production costs of Cleopatra two years prior.
• July 1 – Blake Edwards's epic comedy The Great Race, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, and Keenan Wynn, premieres. Initially a flop with critics and audiences, some do admire Edwards' direction, the acting by its ensemble cast, Henry Mancini's music and its climactic pie fight.
• August 10 - A massive vault fire at MGM studios in Culver City, California, destroys the only known copies of hundreds of archived silent films, including Lon Chaney's London After Midnight and Greta Garbo's The Divine Woman.
• December 22 – David Lean's film adaptation of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, and Alec Guinness, premieres and, like The Sound of Music, quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Its moral story and message of a love and human spirit that defied the communist Soviet Union have made the film a true classic with critics and audiences. It was included among top films by the American Film Institute. In a decade of very difficult times for its studio, Zhivago became the most successful and acclaimed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film since How the West Was Won; it was the greatest MGM film since Ben-Hur.

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Sound of Music – Argyle Enterprises, 20th Century Fox

Best Director: Robert Wise – The Sound of Music

Best Actor: Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou

Best Actress: Julie Christie – Darling

Best Supporting Actor: Martin Balsam – A Thousand Clowns

Best Supporting Actress: Shelley Winters – A Patch of Blue

Best Foreign Language Film: The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze), directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, Czechoslovakia

BAFTA Film Awards:

Best Film from Any Source: My Fair Lady

Best British Film: The Ipcress File

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: Doctor Zhivago

Best Actor: Omar Sharif – Doctor Zhivago

Best Actress: Samantha Eggar – The Collector

Comedy or Musical:

Best Picture: The Sound of Music

Best Actor: Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou

Best Actress: Julie Andrews – The Sound of Music

Other

Best Supporting Actor: Oskar Werner – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Best Supporting Actress: Ruth Gordon – Inside Daisy Clover

Best Director: David Lean – Doctor Zhivago

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Knack ...and How to Get It, directed by Richard Lester, United Kingdom

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa (Sandra of a Thousand Delights), directed by Luchino Visconti, Italy

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Alphaville, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy

United States unless stated

United States unless stated

• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)
• Goofy (1965)

• January 1 - Dan Yeager, American actor, writer, producer and director
• January 3 – Jens Albinus, Danish actor
• January 4
  • Yvan Attal, French actor, scriptwriter and director
  • Julia Ormond, English actress
• January 5 - Vinnie Jones, British actor, producer and singer
• January 8 - Michelle Forbes, American actress
• January 9 – Joely Richardson, English actress
• January 10 – Butch Hartman, American animator, writer, producer and director
• January 12 - Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, filmmaker and actor
• January 15 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
• January 22
  • Diane Lane, American actress
  • Brian McCardie, Scottish actor and writer
• January 24 - Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian animator, director, producer and voice actor
• January 27 – Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
• January 28 - Lynda Boyd, Canadian actress, singer, musician and writer
• January 31 - Matt McColm, American actor and stuntman
• February 1 – Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
• February 3 – Maura Tierney, American actress
• February 5 - Jordi Caballero, Spanish actor, writer and producer
• February 7
  • Chris Rock, American actor and comedian
  • Jason Gedrick, American actor
• February 9
  • Darren Dalton, American actor, screenwriter and producer
  • Keith Wickham, British voice actor, comedian and screenwriter
• February 12 - Christine Elise, American actress
• February 13
  • Andy Buckley, American actor
• February 17 - Michael Bay, American director and producer
• February 18 – Dr. Dre, American music producer
• February 20 - Ron Eldard, American actor
• February 23 – Kristin Davis, American actress
• February 27 - Noah Emmerich, American actor and director
• March 4 - Stacy Edwards, American actress
• March 9
  • Mike Pollock, American voice actor and former radio personality
  • Coolie Ranx, British-Jamaican actor and singer
• March 11 - Wallace Langham, American actor
• March 13 - Steve Bacic, Canadian actor
• March 14
  • Aamir Khan, Indian actor
  • Kevin Williamson, American screenwriter, director and producer
• March 18 - Yul Vazquez, Cuban-American actor and musician
• March 19 - Fred Stoller, American actor and stand-up comedian
• March 23
  • Peter Jacobson, American actor
  • Wayne Péré, American character actor
• March 25 – Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress
• March 31 – Steve Bing, American businessman, philanthropist and film producer (d. 2020)
• April 1 - José Zúñiga, Honduran-American actor
• April 3 - Angela Featherstone, actress and writer
• April 4 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor
• April 9 - Mark Pellegrino, American actor
• April 11 - Lynn Ferguson, Scottish writer and actress
• April 16
  • Jon Cryer, American actor
  • Martin Lawrence, American actor and comedian
• April 17
  • William Mapother, American actor
  • Catherine Russell, British actress
• April 22 - Roman Coppola, American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer
• April 25 - John Henson, American puppeteer (d. 2014)
• April 26 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian
• April 27 - Anna Chancellor, English actress
• April 30 - Adrian Pasdar, American actor and voice artist
• May 2 - Ari Lehman, American actor
• May 3 - Rob Brydon, Welsh actor, comedian, presenter, singer and writer
• May 10 - Kiyoyuki Yanada, Japanese voice actor (d. 2022)
• May 12 - Anthony Brandon Wong, Australian actor
• May 13 - Lari White, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2018)
• May 16 - Vincent Regan, British actor
• May 19 - Mikhail Gorevoy, Russian actor
• May 23 – Liina Tennosaar, Estonian actress
• May 24
  • John C. Reilly, American actor and comedian
  • Peter Tuiasosopo, American actor
• May 27 – Zenobia Shroff, Indian-American actress and comedienne
• May 28 - Alon Abutbul, Israeli actor
• May 31
  • Jeremy Hotz, Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian
  • Brooke Shields, American actress and model
• June 1 - Andrew Havill, English actor
• June 8 - Frank Grillo, American actor
• June 10 – Elizabeth Hurley, English model and actress
• June 18 – Kim Dickens, American actress
• June 19 – Sean Marshall, American child actor and singer
• June 22 - J. J. Cohen, American actor
• June 24 - Richard Lumsden, English actor, writer, composer and musician
• June 28 – Sonny Strait, American voice actor
• July 1 - Tom Hodges, American actor and producer
• July 3
  • Tommy Flanagan, Scottish actor
  • Connie Nielsen, Danish actress
• July 4
  • Gérard Watkins, English-French actor, playwright, director and screenwriter
  • Tracy Letts, American actor, playwright and screenwriter
• July 8
  • Corey Parker, American actor and acting coach
  • Lee Tergesen, American actor
• July 9
  • K. Todd Freeman, American actor
  • David O'Hara, Scottish character actor
• July 11
  • Liane Curtis, American actress and musician
  • Pamela Gidley, American actress and model (d. 2018)
• July 14 - Bibo Bergeron, French animator and director
• July 16 - Daryl Mitchell, American actor and rapper
• July 17
  • Santiago Segura, Spanish filmmaker and actor
  • Alex Winter, British-born American director, writer and actor
• July 23 - Allison Abbate, American producer and animator
• July 24
  • Kadeem Hardison, American actor
  • Doug Liman, American director and producer
• July 25 – Illeana Douglas, American actress
• July 26 – Jeremy Piven, American actor
• July 28 - James Biberi, Albanian-American actor
• August 1 - Sam Mendes, British director, producer and screenwriter
• August 4 - James Tupper, Canadian actor
• August 5 - Scott William Winters, American actor
• August 6
  • Jeremy Ratchford, Canadian actor
  • De'voreaux White, American actor
• August 10 - Claudia Christian, American actress and singer
• August 11
  • Embeth Davidtz, American-South African actress
  • Viola Davis, American actress
• August 12 - Peter Krause, American actor, director and producer
• August 16 - Brian McCann, American actor, comedian and writer
• August 18 - Ikue Ōtani, Japanese actress, singer, voice actress and narrator
• August 19
  • Maria de Medeiros, Portuguese actress, director and singer
  • Kevin Dillon, American actor
  • Kyra Sedgwick, American actress
• August 22 - Courtney Gains, American actor
• August 24 – Marlee Matlin, American actress
• August 25 - Kim Kold, Danish actor
• August 31
  • Daniel Bernhardt, Swiss actor, model and martial artist
  • Jaime P. Gomez, American actor
• September 3 – Charlie Sheen, American actor
• September 4 - Michael Bentt, British-born American actor
• September 6 - John Polson, Australian actor and director
• September 9 - Constance Marie, American actress
• September 13 - Jeff Ross, American stand-up comedian and actor
• September 15 - Joe Chrest, American academic and actor
• September 17
  • Bryan Singer, American director, producer and screenwriter
  • Kyle Chandler, American actor
• September 19 - Cheri Oteri, American actress and comedian
• September 21
  • Cheryl Hines, American actress, comedian and director
  • David Wenham, Australian actor
• September 25 - Gordon Currie, Canadian-American actor
• September 30 - Omid Djalili, British stand-up comedian, actor and writer of Iranian descent
• October 1 - Cindy Margolis, American actress and model
• October 8
  • Peter Greene, American actor
  • Burr Steers, American actor, screenwriter and director
• October 10
  • Chris Penn, American actor (d. 2006)
  • Rebecca Pidgeon, American actress, singer and songwriter
• October 11
  • Lennie James, English actor
  • Ivo Uukkivi, Estonian actor, singer and television producer
  • Sean Patrick Flanery, American actor, author and martial artist
• October 14 – Steve Coogan, English actor
• October 18 - Ralph Eggleston, American animator, art director, storyboard artist, writer, director and production designer (d. 2022)
• October 19 – Merle Jääger, Estonian actress and poet
• October 20 – William Zabka, American actor
• October 22 - Valeria Golino, Italian actress and film director
• October 25 – Mathieu Amalric, French actor and filmmaker
• October 27 - Mohan Kapur, Indian actor and television host
• October 28 - Jami Gertz, American actress
• October 31 - Rob Rackstraw, British voice actor
• November 2 – Shah Rukh Khan, Indian actor
• November 7 - Mike Henry, American actor, comedian, writer and producer
• November 19 - Paul Weitz, American filmmaker and actor
• November 21 – Alexander Siddig, Sudanese-English actor
• November 22 - Mads Mikkelsen, Danish actor
• November 23 - Don Frye, American actor
• November 24 – Shirley Henderson, Scottish actress
• November 25 - Dougray Scott, Scottish actor
• November 26 - Scott Adsit, American actor, comedian and writer
• November 30
  • Ben Stiller, American actor
  • Andrew Tiernan, British actor and director
• December 2 - Beatrice Macola, Italian actress (d. 2001)
• December 3
  • Steve Harris, American actor
  • Andrew Stanton, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer and voice actor
• December 7 – Jeffrey Wright, American actor
• December 9 - Margaret Riley, producer (d. 2024)
• December 14 - Ted Raimi, American character actor, director, comedian and writer
• December 15 - Anjul Nigam, Indian-born American actor, producer and writer
• December 16 – J.B. Smoove, American actor and comedian
• December 19 - Jessica Steen, Canadian actress
• December 21 – Andy Dick, American comedian, actor, musician and television and film producer
• December 22 - David S. Goyer, American filmmaker
• December 27 – Salman Khan, Indian actor
• December 31 – Gong Li, Chinese actress

• January 14 – Jeanette MacDonald, 61, American actress, singer, San Francisco, One Hour with You
• February 5 – Irving Bacon, 71, American actor, Meet John Doe, Fort Ti
• February 10 – Arnold Manoff, 50, American screenwriter, No Minor Vices, Casbah
• February 15 – Nat King Cole, 45, American singer and actor, St. Louis Blues, Istanbul
• February 23 – Stan Laurel, 74, British actor, The Flying Deuces, Sons of the Desert
• March 1 – Fred Immler, 84, German actor, Madame Du Barry, Zapata's Gang
• March 6 – Margaret Dumont, 82, American actress, Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera
• March 8 – Esther Howard, 72, American actress, The Big Noise, Detour
• March 23 – Mae Murray, 79, American actress, The Merry Widow, The Delicious Little Devil
• March 28
  • Clemence Dane, 77, British screenwriter, Anna Karenina, Perfect Strangers
  • Jack Hoxie, 80, American Western actor, The Last Frontier, Gold
• April 1 – Edna Tichenor, 64, American actress, London After Midnight, The Show
• April 3 – Ray Enright, 69, American director, Alibi Ike, The Spoilers
• April 8 – Lars Hanson, 78, Swedish actor, The Wind, Flesh and the Devil
• April 10 – Linda Darnell, 41, American actress, My Darling Clementine, The Mark of Zorro
• April 24 – Louise Dresser, 85, American actress, A Ship Comes In, The Scarlet Empress
• April 30 – Helen Chandler, 59, American actress, Dracula, The Last Flight
• 5 May – John Waters, 71, screenwriter and director, The Big Country, The Desperate Hours
• June 6 – Lech Owron, 71, Polish actor, Vampires of Warsaw, The Little Eagle
• June 7 – Judy Holliday, 43, American actress, Born Yesterday, Bells Are Ringing
• June 8 – Florence Ryerson, 72, American screenwriter, The Wizard of Oz, The Ice Follies of 1939
• June 15 – Steve Cochran, 48, American actor, The Best Years of Our Lives, White Heat
• June 22 – David O. Selznick, 63, American producer, Gone with the Wind, Rebecca
• June 23 – Mary Boland, 85, American stage and film actress, The Women, Ruggles of Red Gap
• June 27 – Anthony Veiller, 62, American screenwriter, The Stranger, The Killers
• July 11 – Ray Collins, 78, American actor, Citizen Kane, The Kid from Left Field
• July 19 – Clyde Beatty, 62, American actor and animal trainer, Africa Screams, Ring of Fear
• July 24 – Constance Bennett, 60, American actress, Topper, Merrily We Live
• July 28 – Minor Watson, 75, American actor, Woman of the Year, The Jackie Robinson Story
• August 6
  • Everett Sloane, 55, American actor, Citizen Kane, The Lady from Shanghai
  • Nancy Carroll, 61, American actress, The Devil's Holiday, Hot Saturday
• August 30 – Pauline Garon, 64, Canadian actress, The Heart of Broadway, The College Hero
• September 2 – Felix E. Feist, 55, American director, This Woman Is Dangerous, The Big Trees
• September 4 – Isabel Jeans, 93, British actress, Suspicion, Gigi
• September 7
  • Catherine Dale Owen, 70, American actress, Such Men Are Dangerous, Born Reckless
  • Jean Peyrière, 79, French actor, Le roi de Paris, Fanfan la Tulipe
• September 8 – Dorothy Dandridge, 42, American actress, singer, Carmen Jones, Porgy and Bess
• September 27 – Clara Bow, 60, American actress, Wings, It
• September 29 – Eddie Gribbon, 75, American film actor, brother of Harry Gribbon
• October 3 – Zachary Scott, 51, American actor, Mildred Pierce, The Southerner
• October 6 – Tom Kennedy, 80, American actor, Petticoat Larceny, Bringing Up Father
• October 18 – Henry Travers, 91, British actor, It's a Wonderful Life, Shadow of a Doubt
• October 21 – Marie McDonald, 42, American actress, The Geisha Boy, Living in a Big Way
• October 23 – Janice Logan, 50, American actress, Dr. Cyclops, Opened by Mistake
• October 31 – Rita Johnson, 52, American actress, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Major and the Minor
• November 14 – Russell Collins, 68, American actor, Miss Sadie Thompson, Bad Day at Black Rock
• November 26 – Wild Bill Elliott, 61, American actor, The San Antonio Kid, Sudden Danger
• December 5 – Joseph I. Breen, 77, chief administrator of the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (Hays Code) from 1934 to 1954
• December 22 – Albert Ritz, 64, American entertainer of the Ritz Brothers, Sing, Baby, Sing, Life Begins in College
• December 29 – Frank S. Nugent, 57, American screenwriter, The Searchers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

• Ian Abercrombie – Von Ryan's Express
• Woody Allen – What's New Pussycat
• Paul Benedict – The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
• Jane Birkin – The Knack ...and How to Get It
• Jacqueline Bisset – The Knack ...and How to Get It
• Dabney Coleman – The Slender Thread
• Robert De Niro – Three Rooms in Manhattan
• Agneta Ekmanner – Love 65
• Michael Gambon – Othello
• Giancarlo Giannini – Libido
• Uschi Glas – The Sinister Monk
• Olivia Hussey – The Battle of the Villa Fiorita
• Timothy Hutton – Never Too Late
• Derek Jacobi – Othello
• James Karen – Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster
• Philip Kaufman (director) – Goldstein
• Stuart Lancaster – Mudhoney
• Ana Martín – El gángster
• Alex Rocco – Motorpsycho
• Katharine Ross – Shenandoah
• Fran Ryan – Mickey One
• José Sacristán – La familia y... uno más
• Hiroyuki Sanada – Rokyoku komori-uta
• Abe Vigoda – Three Rooms in Manhattan
• José Wilker – A Falecida
• Paul Williams – The Loved One