With Oscar nominations right around the corner, you may want to revisit a few Academy Award winners of the past. Netflix makes this easy, with a whole category dedicated to “Oscar-winning movies.”
Below are 21 standouts from that retrospective category. But I should also mention that Netflix’s own “Roma” is a front-runner for Best Picture (nominees will be announced Jan. 22 and the awards ceremony is Feb. 24). Although it hasn’t won an Oscar yet, you should stream that beautiful movie right along with the already certified winners.
And if you want to stay informed about what’s joining Netflix on a weekly basis, be sure to subscribe to the Streamline newsletter.
Streamline makes recommendations for streaming shows and movies. Every Saturday, Streamline highlights the best shows to watch online, with a focus on Netflix.
“Boyhood”
Premise: Divorced parents raise their kids through adolescence to adulthood.
Oscar Win: 2015 — Best Supporting Actress, Patricia Arquette
Runtime: 2 hours, 45 minutes
“Dallas Buyers Club”
Premise: Diagnosed with AIDS, a Texas man smuggles drugs that seem to help fight the disease.
Oscar Wins: 2014 ― Best Actor, Matthew McConaughey; Best Supporting Actor, Jared Leto; Best Makeup
Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes
“Room”
Premise: After being kidnapped and raped, and subsequently giving birth to a son in confinement, a young mother plots escape for herself and her child.
Oscar Win: 2016 ― Best Actress, Brie Larson
Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes
“Good Will Hunting”
Premise: A man in trouble with the law proves to be a genius at mathematics, then learns about life through transformative therapy sessions.
Oscar Wins: 1998 ― Best Original Screenplay, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; Best Supporting Actor, Robin Williams
Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes
“No Country for Old Men”
Premise: A man stumbles upon a drug deal gone awry, steals the money and then goes on the run from the law, and from an assassin hunting him down.
Oscar Wins: 2008 ― Best Picture; Best Supporting Actor, Javier Bardem; Best Director, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen; and Best Adapted Screenplay, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes
“The Departed”
Premise: The Irish mafia in Boston and the local police both send undercover agents to infiltrate each other’s competing organizations.
Oscar Wins: 2007 ― Best Picture; Best Director, Martin Scorsese; Best Adapted Screenplay, William Monahan; and Best Film Editing
Runtime: 2 hours, 31 minutes
“Milk”
Premise: The first openly gay elected official in California struggles to win acceptance in San Francisco.
Oscar Wins: 2009 ― Best Actor, Sean Penn; and Best Original Screenplay, Dustin Lance Black
Runtime: 2 hours, 8 minutes
“Her”
Premise: A divorced man falls in love with his virtual assistant while trying to regain a lust for life.
Oscar Win: 2014 ― Best Original Screenplay, Spike Jonze
Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes
“Silver Linings Playbook”
Premise: Two people bond over both taking medications for mental illness and then fall in love while teaming up for a dance competition.
Oscar Win: 2013 ― Best Actress, Jennifer Lawrence
Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Premise: A new treatment allows a woman to erase the memory of her boyfriend, causing the boyfriend to get frustrated that their love story has been lost.
Oscar Win: 2005 ― Best Original Screenplay, Pierre Bismuth, Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman
Runtime: 1 hours, 48 minutes
“Schindler’s List”
Premise: A Nazi businessman in Germany has a change of heart and spends his fortune employing Jews to keep them from the death camps during the Holocaust.
Oscar Wins: 1994 ― Best Picture; Best Director, Steven Spielberg; Best Original Music Score, John Williams; Best Adapted Screenplay, Steven Zaillian; Best Cinematography; Best Film Editing; and Best Production Design
Runtime: 3 hours, 15 minutes
“Cold Mountain”
Premise: A wounded Confederate soldier tries to leave the war effort and rejoin his wife at home.
Oscar Win: 2004 ― Best Supporting Actress, Renée Zellweger
Runtime: 2 hours, 34 minutes
“Ex Machina”
Premise: A programmer works with his boss to test the artificial intelligence capabilities of a “female” robot.
Oscar Win: 2016 ― Best Visual Effects.
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
“The Fighter”
Premise: A boxer keeps losing and his family drags him down, but through persistence, they all get their act together.
Oscar Wins: 2011 ― Best Supporting Actor, Christian Bale; and Best Supporting Actress, Melissa Leo
Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
Premise: A young girl escapes the harsh realities of post-civil war Spain by exploring a mystical realm.
Oscar Wins: 2007 ― Best Cinematography; Best Production Design; and Best Makeup
Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes
“Apocalypse Now”
Premise: A captain takes on a mission to terminate an officer who has gone mad in the jungles of Vietnam.
Oscar Wins: 1980 ― Best Cinematography; and Best Sound Mixing
Runtime: 2 hours, 27 minutes
“The Constant Gardener”
Premise: After the murder of his wife in Kenya, a diplomat tries to figure out what happened.
Oscar Win: 2006 ― Best Supporting Actress, Rachel Weisz
Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes
“Atonement”
Premise: A young girl accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he didn’t commit, sending him to jail and wrecking all three lives.
Oscar Win: 2008 ― Best Original Music Score
Runtime: 2 hours, 3 minutes
“The Aviator”
Premise: A wealthy tycoon tries to conquer Hollywood and the aviation industry while losing his mind in the process.
Oscar Wins: 2005 ― Best Supporting Actress, Cate Blanchett; Best Cinematography; Best Costume Design; Best Film Editing; and Best Production Design
Runtime: 2 hours, 50 minutes
“Pulp Fiction”
Premise: Professional hit men discuss the nuances of life while their own lives get entangled with those of other criminals.
Oscar Win: 1995 ― Best Original Screenplay, Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino
Runtime: 2 hours, 34 minutes
“Lincoln”
Premise: The president tries to keep the United States together during the Civil War.
Oscar Wins: 2013 ― Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis; and Best Production Design
Runtime: 2 hours, 30 minutes