Winning an Academy Award doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve made a great film (Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland has two of them, I rest my case). But it does mean that you’re officially in the history books, and that future generations will one day want to see your film, even if they know nothing else about it. And nowadays people tend to seek out films on instant streaming services like Netflix, because it’s easier that way, and not because the selection is very good.
In fact, the selection of Oscar winners on Netflix right now is pretty darned terrible. Most of the Best Picture winners aren’t available, nor are the award winners in the acting categories. So if you’re diving for Oscar winners to watch this Academy Awards season you might think you’re out of luck, and yes, if you’re relying solely on Netflix, you mostly are.
Also: The Academy’s Biggest Losers | When Oscar Nominations Go Bad
Mostly. We’ve scoured the current Netflix library for all the best Oscar winners we could find, and came back with links to eighteen worthy films that you should see if you really care about the awards season, about the film industry, or just about nifty films that earned little golden statues.
Enjoy!
18 Great Oscar Winners on Netflix:
Top Photo: Miramax Films
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
Oscar Winners on Netflix
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The African Queen
Screen legend Humphrey Bogart won his only Academy Award for co-starring in The African Queen, John Huston's World War I romantic drama, co-starring a fiery Katherine Hepburn.
Photo: United Artists
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Amadeus
F. Murray Abraham won an Oscar for his unforgettable performance as a mediocre artist who sabotages the title character, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, because he's a natural talent. Amadeus won seven other Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Photo: Orion Pictures
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An American Werewolf in London
The horror genre doesn't get a lot of love from the Academy Awards, but Rick Baker's astounding prosthetic effects in the classic horror comedy An American Werewolf in London did win the first-ever Oscar for Best Makeup.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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Beginners
At age 82, Christopher Plummer became the oldest actor to win an Academy Award for Beginners, in which he gives sensitive and funny portrayal of a septuagenarian who comes out of the closet for the first time.
Photo: Focus Features
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The Big Short
Adam McKay's fast-edited, hilarious and absurdly informative all-star comedy about the economic collapse won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for four more, including Best Picture.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
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Boyhood
Richard Linklater's shot this ambitious coming-of-age drama over eleven years, so all of the actors could grow up naturally on camera. It was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and won Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette's beautifully human performance.
Photo: IFC Films
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Braveheart
Mel Gibson's handsome, violent, romantic epic takes enormous liberties with history, but you'll get so swept up in the action that you probably won't care. It won five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
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Good Will Hunting
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote and co-starred in this slick and satisfying melodrama, winning them an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and helping the late, great Robin Williams win his only Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor.
Photo: Miramax Films
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The Graduate
One of the most iconic motion pictures ever made was nominated for seven Academy Awards but, surprisingly, only won a single Oscar, for Mike Nichols as Best Director.
Photo: Focus Features
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Milk
Gus Van Sant's biopic about slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won two Oscars, for Sean Penn's lead performance and Dustin Lance Black's original screenplay.
Photo: Gramercy Pictures
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No Country for Old Men
The Coen Bros.' morally quagmirous and hauntingly violent adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's crime western No Country for Old Men won for Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, for Javier Bardem's demonic performance as the murderous Anton Chigurh.
Photo: Miramax Films
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On Golden Pond
Mark Rydell's intimate drama earned Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, giving Peter Fonda and Katherine Hepburn two of their last great performances, and the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was nominated for seven more Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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Patton
Before Francis Ford Coppola won four Oscars for his Godfather movies, he won the Academy Award for co-writing the original screenplay to the World War II biopic Patton. The film won seven Oscars total, including Best Picture and Best Actor, even though George C. Scott refused to accept his award.
Photo: 20th Century Fox
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Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece helped change the face of American independent cinema, and was nominated for seven Oscars. It only won one of them, for Best Original Screenplay.
Photo: Miramax Films
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Shakespeare in Love
John Madden's witty and romantic costume comedy Shakespeare in Love won seven Oscars including Best Actress and, in one of the most controversial decisions in the Academy's history, Best Picture (beating Steven Spielberg's acclaimed World War II drama Saving Private Ryan).
Photo: Miramax Films
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Sunset Boulevard
One of the most acidic motion pictures ever made, Billy Wilder's exposé of Hollywood's inner demons was nominated for eleven Oscars (including Best Picture) and won three, for Best Original Screenplay, Best Music and Best Black-and-White Art Direction (a category which no longer exists).
Photo: Paramount Pictures
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Robert Mulligan's beloved adaptation of Harper Lee's classic novel earned Gregory Peck a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor, as well as the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Black-And-White Art Direction. It was nominated for eight Oscars overall, including Best Picture (which it lost to Lawrence of Arabia).
Photo: Universal Pictures
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The Usual Suspects
Kevin Spacey won his first Academy Award for his unusual and unlikely performance in the crime thriller The Usual Suspects, which also earned an Oscar for its twisting, turning and very original screenplay.
Photo: Gramercy Pictures
