The 90th Academy Awards are just two weeks away, meaning the time to catch up on Oscar winners past and present is slowly evaporating. Thankfully, Netflix has a handful of recent and classic winners you can stream right now.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. It was founded in May 1927, but the first Oscars ceremony was not held until May 16, 1929. The first six ceremonies honored particular movie “seasons,” so it was not until the 1934 season that movies released in a specific calendar year were honored.
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Netflix does have an issue with getting classics available to stream but there are a few you can catch, including Sunset Boulevard, To Kill A Mockingbird and The African Queen.
Here is a look at 10 great Oscar winners you can stream on Netflix right now, before the Oscars on Sunday, Mar. 4.
Photo credit: Facebook/ Warner Bros.
Apollo 13
Ron Howard’s stirring film about the disastrous Apollo 13 mission is one of the director’s best works. In fact, he should have won a Best Director Oscar for it, but he lost to Braveheart‘s Mel Gibson in a shocker. Sadly, despite the incredible cast, the movie’s two Oscar wins were both in technical categories. It won Best Sound and Best Film Editing.
Training Day
After Sidney Poitier won his Oscar for 1965’s Lillies of the Field, it took over 35 years for another black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar. That award went to Denzel Washington, who gave a blistering performance as the corrupt Detective Alonzo Harris in Training Day. Today, Washington continues to work with director Antoine Fuqua, appearing in his The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven and the upcoming Equalizer sequel.
Spotlight
Spotlight won the 2015 Oscar for Best Picture, and also took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film became the first movie since Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth (1953) to win only Best Picture and one other Oscar. Spoiler alert: it’s also infinitely better than the DeMille movie. If you liked Steven Spielberg’s The Post and other classic journalism films, this is a must-see.
Howards End
Howards End is a great film to check out if you loved Call Me By Your Name. The 1992 film version of the E.M. Forster novel was directed by James Ivory, who would later write the script for Call Me By Your Name. Howards End is a beautiful film, headlined by a great performance from Best Actress winner Emma Thompson. The film also won for Best Adapted Screenplay for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Best Art Direction – Set Decoration.
Michael Clayton
Tony Gilroy’s directing debut is the thriller Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney as the titular fixer. In a world where truth is constantly in question, this 10-year-old film remains relevant. The film was nominated for Best Picture and six other awards, but its only win was for Tilda Swinton’s supporting role. Gilroy would later direct The Bourne Legacy and worked on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Dead Poets Society
Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society is one of Robin Williams’ most beloved films. In it, he stars as an English teacher who changes the lives of his students. Williams and Weir were both nominated, and the film was up for the 1990 Best Picture Oscar. However, the film’s only win came for Tom Schulman’s original screenplay. Schulman also wrote Disney’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and wrote and directed 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag with Joe Pesci.
Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard is one of the greatest films of all time, and is the greatest film about showbusiness. Released in 1950, the film has never lost its place in pop culture. It inspired a Broadway show, and “Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up” remains one of the most quoted lines in movie history. The movie won Best Writing – Story and Screenplay, as well as Best Set Direction, Black & White and Best Score. Unfortunately for Wilder, the film came out the same year as another immortal classic, All About Eve.
Jaws
If you have somehow never seen Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, now is the perfect time. The film invented the summer blockbuster and spawned three sequels. Jaws went on to win Oscars for John Williams’ iconic score, Best Editing and Best Sound. It was also up for Best Picture, but lost to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. That year also had one of the best Best Picture fields in history, with Dog Day Afternoon, Nashville and Barry Lyndon also up for the award.
My Left Foot
Daniel Day-Lewis has a shot at topping his own record with a fourth Best Actor Oscar win thanks to his nomination for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread. Day-Lewis won his first Oscar for My Left Foot, a biopic about Christy Brown, who overcame cerebral palsy to become a painter and writer. Brenda Fricker also won Best Supporting Actress, and the movie was up for Best Picture. Director Jim Sheridan was also nominated for the screenplay and Best Director.
The Godfather and The Godfather Part II
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather films are breathtaking masterpieces, exploring the Corleone family’s rise and eventual fall. The first film only won three Oscars – Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola lost Best Director to Cabaret‘s Bob Fosse, but the Academy made up for it. He won for The Godfather Part II, which also won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Set Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. The Godfather Part III is also available to stream, and was nominated for seven Oscars.
Other Oscar winners you can check out on Netflix include Boyhood, The Imitation Game, The Reader, Dallas Buyers Club, Milk, Schindler’s List, Cinema Paradiso, The Hurt Locker, Goodfellas and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
