10 Best Picture Oscar Winners You Can Watch on Netflix
Disclosure / Universal Pictures
It is not surprising that the Oscar is the most important film award. It is also the oldest and most televised. Its first edition took place in 1929 and lasted only 15 minutes. Anyone who spent $5 could attend. Now, with an extremely select guest list, the ceremony limits the number of celebrity guests as well. Each year, 24 statues are awarded in recognition of the best film production of the year. But, the most anticipated award is always the Oscar for the best film. Feature film winners in this category have generally already won other awards at smaller festivals and combine all the aspects admired by the Academy: technical quality, good performances, an inspiring story and a powerful message. For cinephiles, Bulla has rounded up a list of ten Oscar winners, 7 for Best Picture and 3 for Best International Film available on Netflix. Titles are organized by year of release and do not follow any classification criteria.
Rome (2018), Alfonso Cuaron
Carlos Somonte / NetflixCleo is a young maid who works for a middle-class family in the gypsy neighborhood of Colonia Mexico City in the mid-1970s. While Cleo is tirelessly dedicated to her job, a couple of seniors experience a crisis in their marriage. Cleo takes care of her four children at home while balancing her own romantic life and ambitions. In the background, the political tension that the country was experiencing in the so-called During the “dirty war” period.
Fantastic Woman (2017), Sebastian Lelio
Disclosure / Ad VitamMarina is a trans woman who works as a waitress and is in love with her lover, Orlando, a divorced, wealthy man many years her senior. When Orlando suffers an aneurysm and dies on the operating table, everyone distrusts him. First, Marina is called “she” because her identity has not changed yet. Orlando had bruises on his body because he fell down the stairs after suffering an aneurysm. Interrogated and treated as a criminal suspect by the police, Marina finds herself kicked out of the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, forbidden to wake up, and subjected to humiliating situations.
War on Terror (2009), Kathryn Bigelow
Disclosure / Voltage imagesJT Sanborn, Brian Geraghty and Matt Thompson are part of a United States Army bomb squad on a mission in Iraq. Their job is to destroy the explosives before they hit someone. But, by mistake, the bomb explodes and kills Thompson. Sergeant William James is sent to replace him a few days before his release from Iraq. James is impulsive and cold-blooded, which worries his teammates.
Gladiator (2000), Ridley Scott
At the end of Marcus Aurelius’ reign, he says that he will abdicate the throne to the Roman general Maximus. This angers the emperor’s son, Commodus, who kills his own father and orders the general’s death. After escaping, Maximus hides under the guise of a slave and a gladiator. Day after day, he wins battles in the arena and gains the trust of the people, knowing that the people’s support will be necessary when he has the chance to take revenge on Commodus.
Schindler’s List (1993), Steven Spielberg
Disclosure / Universal PicturesBusinessman Oskar Schindler arrives in Krakow in 1939, eager to make his fortune in the wake of World War II, which has just begun. After joining the Nazi Party, largely out of political expediency, he organizes his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons. When the SS begins exterminating the Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler is able to protect his workers to keep his factory running, but he soon realizes that in doing so he is also saving innocent lives.
Forrest Gump: The Storyteller (1994), Robert Zemeckis
Even with his low IQ, Forrest Gump never felt vulnerable. Coincidentally, he took part in the most important event in the history of the United States. Forrest taught Elvis Presley to dance, served with distinction in Vietnam, played on the football team, met Richard Nixon and traveled the States on foot. Despite all his experiences, he cannot forget Jenny, his childhood sweetheart.
Between Two Loves (1985) Sydney Pollack
Disclosure / Universal PicturesIn the early 20th century, Karen Blixen, a wealthy Danish woman, goes to live on a coffee farm in Kenya with Bro Blixen-Fineke, a baron whom she marries for convenience. Karen establishes herself as an estate manager, and her love life gets more exciting with the arrival of English aristocratic adventurer Dennis Finch Hatton.
The Godfather (1972), Francis Ford Coppola
Disclosure / Paramount PicturesIn the 1950s, Don Vito Corleone is the head of one of the most influential mob families in New York. Virgil Sollozzo, a gangster, tells Don Vito that he is going to set up a big drug scheme in the city, but he will only do it with the permission of the Corleone family. Vito refuses to support him and ends up being the victim of an attack. As he recovers, he asks his eldest son, Sonny, to take over the business for him.
The Godfather – Part II (1974), Francis Ford Coppola
Disclosure / Paramount PicturesThe first sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture, The Godfather Part II tells the story of Vito Andolini, better known as mobster Don Vito Corleone. After the Italian mafia kills his family, he flees to the United States, where he begins to commit crimes to support his wife and children. Years later, the Corleone family business is headed by Vito’s ambitious younger son Michael.
