See the movies that won the prizes
Top 20 Oscar winning Films on Netflix as chosen by film critic PAUL STEWARD
20. I, Tonya
This true life tale of controversial American figure skater Tonya Harding is told from contrasting and sometimes unreliable viewpoints. With a thread of dark humour running through it, the film is elevated by stellar performances from Margot Robbie who won best actress as Tonya and a stony faced turn from Alison Janney as her mother LaVona, which won her the best supporting actress award in 2018. The film also won best film editing.
19. The Theory of Everything
Eddie Redmayne won the 2015 best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Doctor Stephen Hawking in this biography of the celebrated physicist. The film, which also features a great performance from Felicity Jones, is based on the memoir of Jane Hawking, and focuses on the pair’s relationship as well as the professor’s battle with motor neurone disease. An inspiring look at an extraordinary life.
18. The King’s Speech
Tom Hooper’s biopic of stuttering King George VI won four Oscars at the 2011 awards, including best picture. Hooper and writer David Seidler both claimed golden statuettes for directing and writing, while Colin Firth’s portrayal of the king won him the best actor award. However Geoffrey Rush is the film’s unsung hero, generating a great chemistry with Firth as Lionel Logue, the King’s Australian Speech therapist.
17. Darkest Hour
Gary Oldman shines as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in this film based on his early days in office during World War Two. Unrecognisable under a plethora of prosthetic make-up, Oldman delivers an Oscar-winning performance as the leader of a country on the brink of defeat. Captivating viewing.
16. Dallas Buyers Club
Matthew McConaughey lost 47 pounds in weight and took home the 2014 best actor Oscar for his portrayal of homophobic Texan Ron Woodroof. Diagnosed with HIV and given only days to live, Woodroof set up a drug smuggling operation to supply medicines to Dallas’s HIV positive gay community. Jared Leto also picked up the best supporting actor award for his turn as Woodroof’s transgender business partner Rayon.
15. The Fighter
Christian Bale and Melissa Leo both won Oscars for their supporting roles in this David O’Russell true life drama. Based on the story of ‘Irish’ Micky Ward (Mark Walberg) and his unlikely rise to boxing glory. Bale plays his drug addled older brother and trainer Dicky. Leo stars as the pair’s feisty mother Alice. A gritty and exhilarating fight flick with some outstanding performances.
14. The Big Short
With a star studded cast which included Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, this retelling of the 2005 USA housing crisis won the best adapted screenplay Oscar for director Adam McKay and co-writer Charles Randolf. The films witty script cleverly generates laughs from a very dry subject!
13. Dunkirk
Based on the famous 1940 evacuation of troops from the beaches of France, this Christopher Nolan epic, won 2018 Oscars for film editing, sound editing and sound mixing. Staring Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and Cillian Murphy, the film tells the story from three separate but cleverly interlinking viewpoints.
A technically brilliant and immersive spectacle.
12. Rango
This quirky animation from director Gore Verbinski, features Johnny Depp as the voice of Rango, a pet chameleon who after getting lost finds himself becoming the sheriff of an old western town. Vibrant comedy which pays homage to old school westerns and the winner of the Oscar for best animation in 2012.
11. Girl interrupted
Based on the memoir of writer Susanna Kaysen’s 18-month stay in a mental hospital, this intense drama from director James Mangold features Winona Ryder in the lead role, and was the film that launched Angelina Jolie onto the world stage, winning her the best supporting actress Oscar in the year 2000.
10. Phantom Thread
From acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, this 1950s-set drama stars the incomparable Daniel Day Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious lifestyle is disrupted by the arrival of a strong willed young woman. An elegant period romance which won the 2018 Oscar for best costume design.
9. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The final instalment in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy swept the board in 2004, claiming 11 Oscars, including best picture and best adapted screenplay for Jackson and his fellow writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. The New Zealander also walked away with the best director prize.
The film is a rousing conclusion to the epic fantasy trilogy based on the books of J.R.R. Tolkien.
8. The Revenant
Winner of three Oscars including a first best actor award for Leonardo DiCaprio, this gruelling tale of a frontiersman’s battle for survival in the snow covered Missouri wilderness is as captivating as it is gruelling. Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki also collected Oscars at the 2016 ceremony for their work.
7. The Social Network
Acclaimed director David Fincher, pulls a master stroke by turning the creation of Facebook into a dramatic and thoroughly engaging film. Jesse Eisenberg stars as the website’s creator Mark Zuckerberg. Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake also excel. The film won the 2011 adapted screenplay oscar for its writer Aaron Sorkin, as well as collecting Oscars for editing and its pulsating score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
6. 12 Years a Slave
Winner of the best picture Oscar in 2014, Steve McQueen’s tragic tale of a free black man abducted and sold into slavery is a powerful epic which also won writer John Ridley the best adapted screenplay award. A star studded cast deliver outstanding performances including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and best supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o.
5. Spotlight
The true story of how the Boston Globe newspaper uncovered a massive child molestation cover-up within the Catholic Church and winner of the 2016 best picture Oscar. Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton keep it low key in this shocking and completely enthralling drama.
4. Goodfellas
A deserved best supporting actor win for Joe Pesci, was surprisingly the only Oscar Martin Scorsese’s classic gangster epic picked up in 1991, but with a strong performance from Robert DeNiro and a career best turn from lead Ray Liotta, the film remains one of the greatest gangster flicks ever made.
3. Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino proved he could turn his hand to any genre with this unorthodox but excellent World War Two film, which tells an alternative history version of a plot to assassinate Nazi Germany’s leadership.
Brad Pitt stars alongside Mélanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz, whose turn as SS Colonel Hans Landa won him the 2009 best supporting actor Oscar.
2. Ex Machina
The directorial debut from writer Alex Garland, this stylishly cerebral sci-fi tells the tale of Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) a young computer programmer selected to participate in a ground breaking synthetic intelligence experiment.
Also staring Alicia Vikander and Oscar Issac, the film won the 2016 Oscar for visual effects.
1 . Silence of the Lambs
In order to catch a serial killer, rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling must seek the help of a convicted cannibal. Anthony Hopkin’s most iconic performance as Doctor Hannibal Lecter won him the 1992 best actor award. The film picked up five Oscars including best picture and best actress for Hopkins co–star Jodie Foster. An utterly gripping psychological thriller.
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