What will win the Best Picture Oscar? That is a question movie lovers have eagerly pondered every year for nearly a century. With great 2024 movies as diverse as The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez, and The Substance among the 2025 Oscar nominees, the mystery of what might take home the gold is more perplexing this year than usual.
Before we discover the grand prize winner at this year’s Academy Awards – which air on ABC on March 2 with host Conan O’Brien – let’s take a look back at, not just the best Best Picture Oscar winners, but all 96 films to receive the honor in the annual ceremony’s prestigious history, along with a tip on how to watch them from home. Let’s start at the very beginning.
The 1920s-1930s
Wings (1927)
Director: William A. Wellman
Starring: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard Arlen
What it’s about: According to History.com, the first movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards (before they were called Oscars) was Wings – an action-packed, silent epic following two World War I fighter pilots and their bitter feud over the same woman.
How to watch Wings
The Broadway Melody (1929)
Director: Harry Beaumont
Starring: Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love
What it’s about: There is a romantic rivalry at the heart of The Broadway Melody – a musical about show business dreams and the first “talkie” to win the highest honor at the Academy Awards.
How to watch The Broadway Melody
- Stream The Broadway Melody on Tubi
- Rent or buy The Broadway Melody on Amazon
- Buy The Broadway Melody on Blu-ray on Amazon
All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
Director: Lewis Milestone
Starring: Lew Ayres, Lewis Wolheim
What it’s about: The first adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, – and only the first to be nominated for Best Picture before Netflix’s 2022 version (one of the best war movies on Netflix) – won the prize for its heartbreaking depiction of World War I from a German soldier’s perspective.
How to watch All Quiet on the Western Front
- Stream All Quiet on the Western Front on Tubi
- Rent or buy All Quiet on the Western Front on Amazon
- Buy All Quiet on the Western Front on Blu-ray on Amazon
Cimarron (1931)
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Starring: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne
What it’s about: Edna Farber’s novel about a newspaper editor and his involvement in the late 19th-Century Oklahoma land rush inspired Cimarron – the first Western to win at the Academy Awards, including the top prize.
How to watch Cimarron
Grand Hotel (1932)
Director: Edmund Goulding
Starring: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore
What it’s about: An iconic ensemble leads the thrilling, romantic interwoven stories told in Grand Hotel, which was only nominated for Best Picture but managed to take it home.
How to watch Grand Hotel
Cavalcade (1933)
Director: Frank Lloyd
Starring: Diana Winyard, Clive Brook
What it’s about: Several notable and tragic events of the early 20th Century are seen through the eyes of a well-to-do English family in Cavalcade, which also earned awards for Frank Lloyd and art director William S. Darling.
How to watch Cavalcade
It Happened One Night (1934)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
What it’s about: Frank Capra, Clark Gable, and Claudette Colbert each won their first Academy Award for It Happened One Night – one of the most charming and influential romantic comedy movies ever made.
How to watch It Happened One Night
- Stream It Happened One Night on Tubi
- Rent or buy It Happened One Night on Amazon
- Buy It Happened One Night on Blu-ray on Amazon
Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
Director: Frank Lloyd
Starring: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton
What it’s about: Mutiny on the Bounty is a thrilling adventure, inspired by a real incident from 1789, about a ship crew rebelling against their sadistic captain.
How to watch Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Starring: William Powell, Luise Rainer, Myrna Loy
What it’s about: The Great Ziegfeld is a lavish, fact-based tale about the ups and downs of show business that also took home an award for Seymour Felix’s choreography.
How to watch The Great Ziegfeld
The Life Of Emile Zola (1937)
Director: William Dieterle
Starring: Paul Muni, Gloria Holden
What it’s about: The following year, the Academy gave the Best Picture Oscar to another fact-based drama, The Life of Emile Zola, which follows the titular French writer and his fight against the unjust Dreyfus affair.
How to watch The Life of Emile Zola
- Stream The Life of Emile Zola on Max
- Rent or buy The Life of Emile Zola on Amazon
- Buy The Life of Emile Zola on Blu-ray on Amazon
You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart
What it’s about: You Can’t Take It with You – based on playwrights George S. Kaufmann and Moss Hart’s brilliant, romantic class satire – won Best Picture the first year the Academy started calling the statuette “Oscar.”
How to watch You Can’t Take It with You
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Hattie McDaniel
What it’s about: Still the all-time highest-grossing movie when adjusted for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo, Gone with the Wind made Oscar history as the first color film to win Best Picture and Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to be nominated and awarded by the Academy when she won Best Supporting Actress.
How to watch Gone with the Wind
- Stream Gone with the Wind on Max
- Rent or buy Gone with the Wind on Amazon
- Buy Gone with the Wind on Blu-ray on Amazon
The 1940s
Rebecca (1940)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Laurence Olivie, Joan Fontaine
What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar himself, but his adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s riveting suspense novel, Rebecca, at least earned him the honor of saying he helmed a Best Picture winner.
How to watch Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Director: John Ford
Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara
What it’s about: Famous for beating Citizen Kane for the top prize is How Green Was My Valley, which is based on Richard Llewellyn’s story of one family’s struggles in a Welsh mining village in the early 1900s.
How to watch How Green Was My Valley
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon
What it’s about: As World War II was still raging, the Best Picture Oscar went to Mrs. Miniver, which chronicles the early days of the earth-shattering conflict through the eyes of a middle-class British family.
How to watch Mrs. Miniver
- Stream Mrs. Miniver on Max
- Stream Mrs. Miniver on IndieFlix
- Rent or buy Mrs. Miniver on Amazon
- Buy Mrs. Miniver on Blu-ray on Amazon
Casablanca (1943)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman
What it’s about: The events of World War II were very much an influence on the story of the heartbreaking classic about unrequited love, Casablanca, in which former lovers reunited over political intrigue in Morocco.
How to watch Casablanca
Going My Way (1944)
Director: Leo McCarey
Starring: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald
What it’s about: The Academy must have been in the mood for something lighter when it awarded Best Picture to a musical called Going My Way, which also earned Bing Crosby his sole Oscar.
How to watch Going My Way
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman
What it’s about: Following World War II’s end, the Academy sought darkness again and gave the top prize to Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend – a film noir classic following an alcoholic’s days-long bender.
How to watch The Lost Weekend
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Myrna Loy, Fredric March
What it’s about: While many films set around and released close to World War II intended to glorify the conflict, The Best Years of Lives took a more honest approach to its psychological effects, by following a trio of traumatized veterans struggling to readjust.
How to watch The Best Years of Our Lives
- Stream The Best Years of Our Lives on Amazon Prime
- Stream The Best Years of Our Lives on Peacock
- Buy The Best Years of Our Lives on Blu-ray on Amazon
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Director: Elia Kazan
Starring: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire
What it’s about: A renowned journalist goes undercover as a Jewish man as research for a series of articles covering anti-Semitism in Gentleman’s Agreement.
How to watch Gentleman’s Agreement
Hamlet (1948)
Director: Laurence Olivier
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
What it’s about: Sir Laurence Olivier also did uncredited screenwriting work on and gave an Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Hamlet – the first talkie based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy and the first non-American film to win Best Picture.
How to watch Hamlet
All The King's Men (1949)
Director: Robert Rossen
Starring: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland
What it’s about: Broderick Crawford earned an Oscar for his lead performance in All the King’s Men – based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel following the triumphant rise and fall of a corrupt politician.
How to watch All the King’s Men
- Stream All the King's Men on Tubi
- Rent or buy All the King’s Men on Amazon
- Buy All the King’s Men on Blu-ray on Amazon
The 1950s
All About Eve (1950)
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring: Anne Baxter, Bette Davis
What it’s about: “Fasten your seatbelts” for All About Eve – the dazzling drama in which the title character schemes to assume the life of an aging Broadway star.
How to watch All About Eve
An American In Paris (1951)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron
What it’s about: A painter struggles to find work in France in the essential romantic musical, An American in Paris, which also won Best Original Score.
How to watch An American in Paris
The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Starring: James Stewart, Charlton Heston
What it’s about: The Greatest Show on Earth brought all the excitement of the circus to the movie theater and, as depicted in The Fabelmans, inspired a young Steven Spielberg to pursue a career in filmmaking.
How to watch The Greatest Show on Earth
- Stream The Greatest Show on Earth on MGM+
- Rent or buy The Greatest Show on Earth on Amazon
- Buy The Greatest Show on Earth on Blu-ray on Amazon
From Here To Eternity (1953)
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed
What it’s about: One of the most exciting and romantic war dramas of all time is From Here to Eternity, which includes one of the most iconic movie kisses and for which Frank Sinatra won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
How to watch From Here to Eternity
On The Waterfront (1954)
Director: Elia Kazan
Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden
What it’s about: Marlon Brando won his first Academy Award for playing a down-and-out former boxer who “coulda been a contender” in On the Waterfront, which also earned Elia Kazan his second Oscar.
How to watch On the Waterfront
Marty (1955)
Director: Delbert Mann
Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair
What it’s about: Ernest Borgnine gives an Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Marty – a Bronx butcher who receives an unexpected chance at love when he meets the equally disillusioned teacher, Clara.
How to watch Marty
- Stream Marty on Amazon Prime
- Stream Marty on Tubi
- Stream Marty on Pluto TV
- Buy Marty on Blu-ray on Amazon
Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
Director: Michael Anderson
Starring: David Niven, Cantinflas
What it’s about: Based on Jules Verne’s seminal, inventive adventure novel, Around the World in 80 Days follows two explorers attempting to do just what the title suggests.
How to watch Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Director: David Lean
Starring: Alec Guinness, William Holden
What it’s about: Future Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Alec Guinness won the Best Actor Oscar for playing one of many POWs forced to build a doomed railroad during World War II in The Bridge on the River Kwai.
How to watch The Bridge on the River Kwai
- Rent or buy The Bridge on the River Kwai on Amazon
- Buy The Bridge on the River Kwai on Blu-ray on Amazon
Gigi (1958)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan
What it’s about: Winner of all nine Oscars it was nominated for, Gigi is a sweeping musical about a friendship between a rich playboy and a courtesan-in-training that blossoms into more.
How to watch Gigi
Ben-Hur (1959)
Director: Willian Wyler
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins
What it’s about: Charlton Heston won Best Actor for playing the title role of a Jewish prince wrongfully sold into slavery in Ben-Hur – a quintessential period epic that is also celebrated for its editing by experts of the craft.
How to watch Ben-Hur
The 1960s
The Apartment (1960)
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine
What it’s about: One of Billy Wilder’s most definitive achievements was The Apartment – an inventive comedy about an insurance clerk who allows his coworkers to have romantic encounters in his Manhattan home.
How to watch The Apartment
- Stream The Apartment on MGM+
- Stream The Apartment on Tubi
- Rent or buy The Apartment on Amazon
- Buy The Apartment on Blu-ray on Amazon
West Side Story (1961)
Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer
What it’s about: William Shakespeare’s seminal romantic tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, is given a modernized, musical update with West Side Story, which Steven Spielberg would later reimagine in 2021.
How to watch West Side Story
- Stream West Side Story on Amazon Prime
- Stream West Side Story on Tubi
- Buy West Side Story on Blu-ray on Amazon
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
Director: David Lean
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness
What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Peter O’Toole never won an Oscar, even for his performance in the title role of Lawrence of Arabia, which is about how England’s T.E. Lawrence led Arab tribes against the Turks during World War I.
How to watch Lawrence of Arabia
- Stream Lawrence of Arabia on Max
- Rent or buy Lawrence of Arabia on Amazon
- Buy Lawrence of Arabia on Blu-ray on Amazon
Tom Jones (1963)
Director: Tony Richardson
Starring: Albert Finney, Susannah York
What it’s about: Four Oscars went to this adaptation of Henry Fielding’s period novel, Tom Jones, which follows the romantic exploits of the chivalrous, titular lothario.
How to watch Tom Jones
My Fair Lady (1964)
Director: George Cukor
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison
What it’s about: Based on the stage musical of the same name, My Fair Lady is the largely influential story (it was the basis for She’s All That) of a phonetics professor who wagers he can make an upper-class citizen out of a working-class, Cockney woman.
How to watch My Fair Lady
The Sound Of Music (1965)
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
What it’s about: Another iconic musical that earned the top prize at the Oscars in the 1960s is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews as a governess who teaches the children of her employer about the joys of song.
How to watch The Sound of Music
- Stream The Sound of Music on Disney+
- Rent or buy The Sound of Music on Amazon
- Buy The Sound of Music on Blu-ray on Amazon
A Man For All Seasons (1966)
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller
What it’s about: Sir Thomas More’s defiance of the Catholic Church’s prohibition of divorce inspired the play A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, who would win an Oscar for penning the screenplay of this enthralling adaptation.
How to watch A Man for All Seasons
In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger
What it’s about: In one of Sidney Poitier’s best movies, In the Heat of the Night, he plays a Black detective asked by a Mississippi police chief to help solve a murder he was unjustly accused of.
How to watch In the Heat of the Night
- Stream In the Heat of the Night on Amazon Prime
- Stream In the Heat of the Night on Tubi
- Buy In the Heat of the Night on Blu-ray on Amazon
Oliver! (1968)
Director: Carol Reed
Starring: Ron Moody, Mark Lester
What it’s about: Based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver! is a musical that tells the story of a young orphan who adopts the art of pickpocketing in 1830s London.
How to watch Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Director: John Schlesinger
Starring: Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman
What it’s about: The first and only Best Picture winner to receive an X rating is Midnight Cowboy, in which a Texas hustler in Brooklyn forms a deep bond with a rebuffed local.
How to watch Midnight Cowboy
- Stream Midnight Cowboy on Amazon Prime
- Stream Midnight Cowboy on Tubi
- Buy Midnight Cowboy on Blu-ray on Amazon
The 1970s
Patton (1970)
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden
What it’s about: George C. Scott brilliantly embodied one of the most famous military figures in history to Oscar-winning acclaim in the monumental biopic, Patton.
How to watch Patton
The French Connection (1971)
Director: William Friedken
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider
What it’s about: In addition to earning a Best Director Oscar, William Friedkin arguably redefined the cop thriller with The French Connection, starring Gene Hackman in a winning performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle.
How to watch The French Connection
The Godfather (1972)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino
What it’s about: The mafia thriller genre was inarguably redefined by one of the best ‘70s movies, The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando in an Oscar-winning performance as Don Vito Corleone.
How to watch The Godfather
- Stream The Godfather on Paramount+
- Rent or buy The Godfather on Amazon
- Buy The Godfather on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Sting (1973)
Director: George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford
What it’s about: In the classic heist thriller classic The Sting, a pair of grifters plan a huge con to avenge the murder of their mutual friend.
How to watch The Sting
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro
What it’s about: Francis Ford Coppola won Best Director after completing his adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel with the, arguably, more powerful follow-up, The Godfather Part II, starring Robert De Niro in an Oscar-winning performance as a young Don Vito Corleone.
How to watch The Godfather Part II
- Stream The Godfather Part II on Paramount+
- Rent or buy The Godfather Part II on Amazon
- Buy The Godfather Part II on Blu-ray on Amazon
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Director: Milos Forman
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher
What it’s about: A movie that gets real about mental health is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which features one of the greatest Jack Nicholson performances as a petty criminal who leads a rebellion against a sadistic nurse after an insanity plea gets him sent to a mental institution.
How to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Rent or buy One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Amazon
- Buy One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Blu-ray on Amazon
Rocky (1976)
Director: John G. Avildsen
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire
What it’s about: Sylvester Stallone was nominated for both writing and starring in the title role of Rocky – one of the best sports movies ever made, which inspired an ongoing franchise of beloved boxing films.
How to watch Rocky
Annie Hall (1977)
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton
What it’s about: A neurotic comedian looks back on his unique relationship with a free-spirited, aspiring singer in Annie Hall, which remains one of the best romantic comedy movies of all time.
How to watch Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Director: Michael Cimino
Starring: Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken
What it’s about: Less a war movie and more an analysis of post-war trauma, The Deer Hunter – one of the best Robert De Niro movies – is the harrowing and controversial story of a veteran and his struggles to find his friends after becoming separated in Vietnam.
How to watch The Deer Hunter
Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)
Director: Robert Benton
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep
What it’s about: Both Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep received Oscars for their performances in Kramer vs. Kramer as a separated couple embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their young son.
How to watch Kramer vs. Kramer
The 1980s
Ordinary People (1980)
Director: Robert Redford
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
What it’s about: Dysfunctional family dynamics are also at the heart of the devastating drama, Ordinary People – one of Donald Sutherland's best movies – for which Robert Redford won his sole competitive Academy Award.
How to watch Ordinary People
- Stream Ordinary People on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Ordinary People on Amazon
- Buy Ordinary People on Blu-ray on Amazon
Chariots Of Fire (1981)
Director: Hugh Hudson
Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson
What it’s about: Vangelis earned his sole Academy Award for his instantly recognizable score for Chariots of Fire, which follows two young, British track runners of differing backgrounds at the 1924 Olympics.
How to watch Chariots of Fire
Gandhi (1982)
Director: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud
What it’s about: Sir Ben Kingsley, who is of Indian descent on his father’s side, disappears into the role of the titular, iconic proponent for non-violent resistance in the rousing historical biopic, Gandhi.
How to watch Gandhi
Terms Of Endearment (1983)
Director: James L. Brooks
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson
What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Shirley MacLaine has just one Oscar, for her performance in Terms of Endearment – a drama tracing the relationship between a woman and her daughter that is often funny, until it is devastating.
How to watch Terms of Endearment
- Stream Terms of Endearment on Paramount+
- Stream Terms of Endearment on MGM+
- Stream Terms of Endearment on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Terms of Endearment on Amazon
- Buy Terms of Endearment on Blu-ray on Amazon
Amadeus (1984)
Director: Milos Forman
Starring: Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham
What it’s about: Milos Forman earned his second Best Director Oscar for Amadeus – a retelling of the life of renowned composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as told by a fellow musician who claims to have enviously murdered him, Antonio Salieri.
How to watch Amadeus
Out Of Africa (1985)
Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep
What it’s about: A big game hunter and a Danish baroness fall in love in 20th-century Kenya in the tender, powerful romance, Out of Africa.
How to watch Out of Africa
- Stream Out of Africa on Netflix
- Rent or buy Out of Africa on Amazon
- Buy Out of Africa on Blu-ray on Amazon
Platoon (1986)
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe
What it’s about: American soldiers are subjected to relentless, senseless brutality while serving in Vietnam in one of the greatest war movies to win Best Picture, Platoon.
How to watch Platoon
The Last Emperor (1987)
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen
What it’s about: The story of Pu Yi – who would become the last person to serve as the monarchical leader of China – is revealed in The Last Emperor, for which Bernardo Bertolucci earned Oscars for both writing and directing.
How to watch The Last Emperor
Rain Man (1988)
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise
What it’s about: Dustin Hoffman gives one of the most esteemed performances of his career as an autistic savant opposite a stellar Tom Cruise as his previously unwitting younger sibling in Rain Man – a beautiful story of redemption through brotherly love.
How to watch Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman
What it’s about: Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman make an irresistible pair as a disgruntled, elderly widow and her chauffeur in one of Freeman’s best movies, Driving Miss Daisy – an inspirational story about redemption through friendship set between the 1950s and 1970s.
How to watch Driving Miss Daisy
The 1990s
Dances With Wolves (1990)
Director: Kevin Costner
Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonell
What it’s about: Kevin Costner won a Best Director Oscar for Dances with Wolves – the first Western to win Best Picture since 1931’s Cimarron – in which the Yellowstone cast member also plays the title role of a Civil War-era soldier who learns the ways of a Native American tribe.
How to watch Dances with Wolves
- Stream Dances with Wolves on MGM+
- Stream Dances with Wolves on Tubi
- Rent or buy Dances with Wolves on Amazon
- Buy Dances with Wolves on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins
What it’s about: An FBI trainee seeks help from a cannibalistic former psychologist to catch a killer in The Silence of the Lambs – one of the best horror movies ever made and the only film out of a handful of horror movies nominated for Best Picture to win so far.
How to watch The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven (1992)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
What it’s about: The Academy would show its taste for the Western again by giving the top prize to one of the best Clint Eastwood movies, Unforgiven, for which the star won his first Oscar as both director and producer.
How to watch Unforgiven
Schindler’s List (1993)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes
What it’s about: Arguably the best Steven Spielberg movie is the film that made him an Academy Award-winning filmmaker as director and producer, Schindler’s List – a technically magnificent, emotionally distressing portrait of the Holocaust.
How to watch Schindler’s List
- Stream Schindler’s List on Netflix
- Rent or buy Schindler’s List on Amazon
- Buy Schindler’s List on Blu-ray on Amazon
Forrest Gump (1994)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright
What it’s about: In one of Tom Hanks’ best movies, the actor gives his second Oscar-winning performance as the simple-minded title hero of Forrest Gump – an endearing revisionist history drama from director Robert Zemeckis.
How to watch Forrest Gump
- Stream Forrest Gump on Paramount+
- Stream Forrest Gump on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Forrest Gump on Amazon
- Buy Forrest Gump on Blu-ray on Amazon
Braveheart (1995)
Director: Mel Gibson
Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau
What it’s about: Mel Gibson became an Oscar-winning filmmaker as the director and producer of the historical epic Braveheart, in which he also stars as Scottish warrior William Wallace in a bid to free his people from England’s tyrannical rule.
How to watch Braveheart
The English Patient (1996)
Director: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche
What it’s about: A French-Canadian nurse indulges in an affair with a British, semi-amnesiac plane crash victim in the romantic World War II-era drama, The English Patient.
How to watch The English Patient
- Stream The English Patient on MGM+
- Rent or buy The English Patient on Amazon
- Buy The English Patient on Blu-ray on Amazon
Titanic (1997)
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet
What it’s about: Sparks fly between a wealthy young woman and a poor young man while on an ill-fated luxury ship in Titanic – James Cameron’s heavily dramatized retelling of the 1912 tragedy that became the highest-grossing film ever for a time.
How to watch Titanic
Shakespeare In Love (1998)
Director: John Madden
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench
What it’s about: A young William Shakespeare indulges in an affair with a woman who inspires some of his most iconic work in Shakespeare in Love, for which Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench also won Oscars for their performances.
How to watch Shakespeare in Love
- Stream Shakespeare in Love on Paramount+
- Stream Shakespeare in Love on MGM+
- Rent or buy Shakespeare in Love on Amazon
- Buy Shakespeare in Love on Blu-ray on Amazon
American Beauty (1999)
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening
What it’s about: Following his own death, a forty-something suburban dad recalls the bizarre last few weeks of his life through overhead narration in American Beauty.
How to watch American Beauty
- Stream American Beauty on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy American Beauty on Amazon
- Buy American Beauty on Blu-ray on Amazon
The 2000s
Gladiator (2000)
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix
What it’s about: Russell Crowe gives an Oscar-winning performance as the hero of Gladiator – a thrilling period piece that surely had audiences “entertained” and spawned the sequel, Gladiator II, in 2024.
How to watch Gladiator
- Stream Gladiator on Paramount+
- Stream Gladiator on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Gladiator on Amazon
- Buy Gladiator on Blu-ray on Amazon
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly
What it’s about: Russell Crowe headlined back-to-back Best Picture winners in the early 2000s – the second being A Beautiful Mind, in which he plays real-life mathematician John Nash, whose struggles with mental illness almost threatened his career.
How to watch A Beautiful Mind
Chicago (2002)
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellwegger, Richard Gere
What it’s about: Catherine Zeta-Jones danced her way to Oscar glory in Chicago – the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical inspired by the infamous “Murderess Row” case of the late 1920s.
How to watch Chicago
- Stream Chicago on Paramount+
- Stream Chicago on MGM+
- Rent or buy Chicago on Amazon
- Buy Chicago on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen
What it’s about: Director Peter Jackson completed his trilogy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s influential fantasy books with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which also became the most acclaimed of the Lord of the Rings movies and earned him a Best Director Oscar.
How to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Stream The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Max
- Stream The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) on Max
- Rent or buy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Amazon
- Buy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Blu-ray on Amazon
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman
What it’s about: Clint Eastwood won his second Best Director Oscar for the tragic boxing drama Million Dollar Baby, which also saw Morgan Freeman win his first Academy Award and Hilary Swank her second.
How to watch Million Dollar Baby
Crash (2005)
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle
What it’s about: Paul Haggis earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for co-writing Crash – an analysis of modern racial tension as told from the point of view of various Los Angeleans in a 36-hour period.
How to watch Crash
The Departed (2006)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
What it’s about: Martin Scorsese received a long-overdue Oscar for directing The Departed – a gritty, bleak, twisty remake of the Chinese cop drama, Infernal Affairs, set in Boston’s criminal underground.
How to watch The Departed
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
What it’s about: One of Joel and Ethan Coen’s best movies and one of the all-time best Western movies, No Country for Old Men – based on Cormac McCarthy’s powerful commentary on violence as seen through the eyes of three men on different sides of the law – also earned the duo Oscars for both writing and directing.
How to watch No Country for Old Men
- Stream No Country for Old Men on Paramount+
- Rent or buy No Country for Old Men on Amazon
- Buy No Country for Old Men on Blu-ray on Amazon
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
What it’s about: A young man reflects on his childhood in Mumbai while competing on a game show in the inspiring fairy tale, Slumdog Millionaire.
How to watch Slumdog Millionaire
The Hurt Locker (2009)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie
What it’s about: Kathryn Bigelow became the first female Best Director winner for The Hurt Locker – one of the best war movies of all time, which stars Jeremy Renner as a military bomb defuser whose recklessness puts him at odds with his peers while serving in Iraq.
How to watch The Hurt Locker
The 2010s
The King's Speech (2010)
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush
What it’s about: Colin Firth gives a brilliant performance as an heir to the British throne struggling to overcome his debilitating stammer in The King’s Speech, which also earned Tom Hooper an Oscar.
How to watch The King’s Speech
- Stream The King's Speech on The Roku Channel
- Rent or buy The King’s Speech on Amazon
- Buy The King’s Speech on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Artist (2011)
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo
What it’s about: The first “silent film” to win the Best Picture Oscar since the very first Best Picture Oscar winner (Wings) was The Artist, which, itself, is a rousing, visually stunning love letter to the silent era.
How to watch The Artist
Argo (2012)
Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston
What it’s about: One of Ben Affleck’s best movies, the intense thriller Argo is based on the true story of a CIA agent who helped Americans escape an Iranian hostage situation by posing as a film crew in 1979.
How to watch Argo
12 Years A Slave (2013)
Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender
What it’s about: Lupita Nyong’o earned a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in her feature-length debut, 12 Years a Slave, which is based on Solomon Northrup’s experience as a free Black man abducted and sold into slavery.
How to watch 12 Years a Slave
Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014)
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone
What it’s about: One of the best Michael Keaton movies, Birdman is a masterclass in satire and surrealism that sees the Oscar nominee poking fun at his own career by starring as a former superhero movie actor seeking a comeback.
How to watch Birdman
Spotlight (2015)
Director: Tom McCarthy
Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams
What it’s about: Michael Keaton led back-to-back Oscar winners in the mid-2010s – the second being Spotlight, which tells the story behind the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé about child molestation cover-ups in the Catholic Church.
How to watch Spotlight
Moonlight (2016)
Director: Barry Jenkins
Starring: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris
What it’s about: Although an infamous mistake initially made it seem like La La Land won in 2017, the Best Picture Oscar really went to Moonlight – the harrowing story of a young Black man struggling with abuse and his sexual identity.
How to watch Moonlight
The Shape Of Water (2017)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones
What it’s about: Visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro won over the Academy with The Shape of Water – one of his many celebrated collaborations with Doug Jones – which sees him continue to indulge in his love of creature features but filtered through a powerful commentary on forbidden love.
How to watch The Shape of Water
Green Book (2018)
Director: Peter Farrelly
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali
What it’s about: Mahershala Ali won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for one of his best roles yet – a Black pianist who forms a strong bond with his white chauffeur while touring the Jim Crow era South – in Green Book, which takes its name from a real road guide used to locate safe areas for Black travelers at the time.
How to watch Green Book
Parasite (2019)
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun
What it’s about: An impoverished, South Korean family infiltrates the lives of a wealthy family in the striking, brilliant, subversive thriller, Parasite – the first movie to win Oscars for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture.
How to watch Parasite
The 2020s
Nomadland (2020)
Director: Chloé Zhao
Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn
What it’s about: The Chinese-born Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win Best Director for Nomadland, which could almost count as a documentary on the post-Recession culture of middle-aged people living exclusively on the road for its casting of real “nomads” as themselves.
How to watch Nomadland
CODA (2021)
Director: Sian Heder
Starring: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin
What it’s about: A young woman, who is the only hearing person in her family, struggles between following her musical aspirations and helping her parents when they fall on hard times in CODA, which also saw star Troy Kotsur make history as the first deaf person to win the Best Actor Oscar.
How to watch CODA
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu
What it’s about: One of the best A24 movies, Everything Everywhere All At Once – a bizarre, emotional, and crowd-pleasing Multiverse movie – took home the top prize, while acting awards went to Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis and DANIELS earned Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
How to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Stream Everything Everywhere All At Once on Max
- Rent or buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on Amazon
- Buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on Blu-ray on Amazon
Oppenheimer (2023)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
What it’s about: Robert Downey, Jr. became the first former SNL actor to win an Oscar for his supporting performance in Oppenheimer – a dramatization of the story of the Atomic Bomb's construction from the perspective of the project's leader, J. Robert Oppenheimer, that also won the top prize.
How to watch Oppenheimer
Now that you can say you have seen every Best Picture Oscar winner so far, would you say you agree with the Academy?
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