When Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Picture at the Academy Awards for One Battle After Another, he made an interesting comparison to the year 1975. Essentially, he said that even though his movie won, there was no “best” among the nominees, since every nominee for 2025 was excellent, similar to 1975.

However, when he name-dropped all five movies that were up for best picture from ‘75–those being, Nashville, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest–I thought, wait a minute. ALL five of those movies were up for Best Picture? In the same year?!

Because, oh my God, that might be the best line-up of Best Picture movies ever (with 1994 being a close second). So, why was 1975 so good? Well, you’re about to find out.

Like PTA Said, Any One Of Those Nominees Could Have Won, But Three In Particular Are Perhaps The Gold Standard

Do you know what might just be the best movie of the ‘70s? Dog Day Afternoon. Actually, let me take that back, because what could be more iconic than Jaws? I even watched it again recently on the big screen, and it STILL holds up. But, okay, I’m sorry, can I start all over? Could either of those two films really be considered better than One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?

I mean, Nest is actually one of only three movies in history to ever sweep all five major categories, those being Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (Adapted). However, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, and Cuckoo's Nest could all be considered peak ‘70s cinema.

Because it’s one thing to be beloved for THE time, and another thing to be beloved for ALL time. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of those aforementioned movies on somebody’s top ten list. However, let’s not sleep on the other two nominees…

Nashville And Barry Lyndon Shouldn't Be Overlooked Just Because The Other Three Nominees Were So Strong!

Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director, and one thing that irks me is that he never won Best Picture or even Best Director. Four out of his 13 movies were nominated for Best Picture–those being Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Barry Lyndon–and if it were up to me, all four of them would have won Best Picture.

However, of those four, I think most would agree that Barry Lyndon is the weakest link, but I couldn’t disagree more. Barry Lyndon is a masterpiece, and I am always recommending it to film fans.

Now, Nashville is an interesting one. Directed by Robert Altman, it has a massive cast of 24 main characters and several musical numbers. It’s a musical comedy drama with several storylines that’s bombastic and satirical, and it truly feels like a product of its time. So, as PTA said, there was no real “best” in 1975. They were ALL the best. That said…

If It Were Up To Me, I Would Have Given It To Jaws

PTA was being nice when he said that there was no “best” movie, but I disagree…I think Sinners was the best movie of last year. Still, I get his point. I loved One Battle After Another. And Train Dreams. And Bugonia. So, I get it. All of the nominees for 2025 were excellent.

Still, similar to how I’d pick Sinners over everything when it comes to 2025, I’d pick Jaws for 1975. It just has it all. Yes, Nashville is more impressive for its sprawling narrative, and yes, Barry Lyndon is a visual work of art. Yes, Dog Day Afternoon is taut and gripping, and yeah, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is dark and narratively rich.

But Jaws is freaking Jaws, man, and I feel like people will still love it even 100 years from now.

That said, in a year like 1975 - as well as 2025 - we all win.

Zaentz And Forgerty’s Beef Started At Fantasy Records

Creedence Clearwater Revival, led by John Fogerty and his brother Tom, were signed to Fantasy Records in 1964. The San Francisco-based label was mostly known for jazz, but like the rest of the industry, everything was moving to rock music. At the time, Saul Zaentz was working for the label, and he would become president in 1967. He was also CCR’s manager. That’s where the trouble began, at least in CCR and Fogerty’s minds.

CCR was by far the most successful band signed to Fantasy, and the company (and Zaentz) made a ton of money off of their hit songs like “Bad Moon Rising,” Vietnam war movie staple “Fortunate Son,” and many others. Zaentz used that money to expand his business, but in the process, he alienated Fogerty and his bandmates, who believed he’d promised them a better recording contract but backed out of the deal. That meant Zaentz made a lot of money, and CCR made very little.

After CCR broke up, Fogerty started his successful solo career and continued to take swipes at Zaentz, including, most famously, releasing a song about a pig who can’t dance, but will “steal your money” called “Zanz Kant Danz,” which was later changed to “Vanz Kant Danz” to avoid a libel suit. That doesn’t mean there weren’t lawsuits, as the two were involved in multiple suits over the years.

Zaentz Put That Money To Work

While Fogerty and CCR believed Zaentz had ripped them off, Zaentz took the money earned by CCR’s success and began investing in movies. His first production through Fantasy Films was a lesser-remembered movie starring Rip Torn called Payday.

The second movie, however, was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which became one of the most beloved movies of all time, and won five Oscars (one of three movies to win “The Big Five”: Best Director (Miloš Forman), Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Screenplay (Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman) and Best Picture, which was awarded to producers Michael Douglas and Zaentz.

In 1984, Zaentz teamed up with Miloš Forman again, and together they won Best Picture and Best Director for Amadeus, the fictionalized telling of the life of Mozart. The film won a total of eight Oscars in 1985. Zaentz wasn’t done. After releasing the critically acclaimed The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Mosquito Coast, and At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Zaentz returned to the Oscars in 1997 and once again won Best Picture with the 1996 war movie The English Patient, which you can watch with the MGM+ add-on with a Prime subscription. In total, Zaentz (who died in 2014) produced movies that collected 22 Oscars out of 34 nominations.

I leave you to make your own decisions on Zaentz’s character. It’s definitely a complicated situation that might be determined by whether you're more of a movie fan or more of a Creedence fan.

Ghost (1990)

The acclaimed romantic “horror” movie Ghost is a prime example of a film in which the main character is dead for the majority of the story. Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is murdered about 20 minutes in, but his spirit remains to solve the truth behind his death and reach out to his longtime girlfriend, Molly (Demi Moore), with the help of a medium named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg, in an Oscar-winning performance).

Titanic (1997)

The fictional romance at the center of James Cameron's Titanic comes to a tragic end when Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) succumbs to the ocean's freezing temperatures – a death many believe could have been prevented if Rose (Kate Winslet) shared her makeshift liferaft. She is later reunited with her lover, however, when she succumbs to old age at the end of the Best Picture Oscar winner based on a true story.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Tom Hanks' Captain John H. Miller does, indeed, accomplish his eponymous mission in Steven Spielberg's harrowing war movie classic, Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, he does not survive the task, but not before urging Private John Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) to "earn" the life he has been given, thanks to this rescue.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame comes to a bittersweet conclusion when the team is forced to say goodbye to the hero who kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first place, Tony "Iron Man" Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), after he saves the universe. Using nano-bot equipped armor to form a makeshift Infinity Gauntlet, he erases Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his army from existence with a finger snap that is, unfortunately, too much for his mortal body to handle.

Gladiator (2000)

Director Ridley Scott's Gladiator is the story of Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe), who is sold into slavery by corrupt emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who also murders his family. However, he does reunite with them in the afterlife after defeating Commodus in a duel that he does not survive, having been previously and unfairly wounded by his opponent.

Beetlejuice (1988)

The title character is not the main character in Tim Burton's ghoulish comedy, Beetlejuice, although Michael Keaton's mischievous bio-exorcist (whose name is actually spelled "Betelgeuse") is dead throughout. The plot kicks off when Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) suffer a fatal accident and then try to rid their house of its new living tenants.

Alien (1979)

We all think of Scream Queen Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley as the hero of the Alien movies, but that is not quite the case at the beginning of the saga. Ripley is promoted to the hero of the story and captain of the Nostromo after the Xenomorph attacks Dallas (Tom Skerritt) in a shocking twist.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

There is not exactly one true protagonist in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, as each of its three non-linear stories ultimately has a different lead. However, John Travolta does get top billing for the Oscar-winning drama and his character, Vincent Vega, is mowed down with an uzi by Butch (Bruce Willis) in the second chapter, which is also the film's chronological finale.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

Technically, Tommy Lee Jones' Ed Tom Bell is the true central character of Joel and Ethan Coen's Oscar-winning adaptation of author Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men. However, much of the modern Western movie classic follows Josh Brolin's Llewellyn Moss and his struggle to outrun and outwit the sadistic Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), up until his abrupt murder.

Psycho (1960)

It at least seems like Janet Leigh's Marion Crane is the central focus of Alfred Hitchcock's masterful horror movie, Psycho, until about halfway through the story. After the real estate secretary is brutally killed while taking a shower in her motel room, we realize the true "psycho" is Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who murders Marion and others while subconsciously taking on the identity of his dead mother.

Logan (2017)

Hugh Jackman's retirement from the role of Wolverine was confirmed by the end of Logan, in which the former X-Men member, whose healing ability had been diminishing, gives his life to protect Laura (Dafne Keen) and other young mutants. Of course, seven years later, a variant of the Adamantium-clawed mutant would star in Deadpool & Wolverine, but the emotional conclusion of James Mangold's Oscar-nominated film is no less effective for it.

Citizen Kane (1941)

The first scene of co-writer and director Orson Welles' revolutionary drama, Citizen Kane, depicts the death of the megalomaniacal title character, Charles Foster Kane (Welles). The succeeding story follows an investigation regarding the meaning of his final word, "Rosebud."

Hereditary (2018)

The marketing for first-time feature director Ari Aster's stunning A24 horror movie, Hereditary, made it seem as if the story would follow young Charlie (Milly Shapiro), making her demise all the more shocking. The unsettling twist confirmed that Charlie's mother, Annie (Toni Collette), was the film's true protagonist, but, of course, she would end up losing her head as well.

The Departed (2006)

Director Martin Scorsese's The Departed is the story of two men on opposite sides of the law, namely undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Sgt. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who has ties to Boston's Irish Mob. Both lose their lives by the end, with Costigan getting killed by James Badge Dale's also corrupt Trooper Barrigan, and Sullivan getting killed by Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg).

The Sixth Sense (1999)

In The Sixth Sense, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) tries to help a young boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) come to terms with his ability to see ghosts. At the end, in just about the best M. Night Shyamalan movie twist, it is revealed that Malcolm himself is a ghost, but neither he nor the audience knew the entire time.

Promising Young Woman (2020)

The Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman is a unique type of revenge movie, following Cassie (Carey Mulligan) and her bid to punish those involved with the assault that drove her friend, Nina, to take her own life. In the end, she achieves her goal, but by allowing herself to get murdered by the man who assaulted Nina, Al Monroe (Chris Lowell), which finally incriminates him.

The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

The Place Beyond the Pines is widely considered one of the best Ryan Gosling movies, despite the fact that the actor is not actually in the film for very long. Roughly halfway through the story, his character, Luke, dies whilst struggling to get away from a bank robbery job gone wrong.

A Quiet Place (2018)

In the heartbreaking final act of the acclaimed post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, A Quiet Place, Lee Abbott (John Krasinski, who also co-writes and directs) lets out a loud scream to attract the vicious, sound-hunting aliens away from his children, ultimately sacrificing himself for them. In addition to returning to helm the sequel, A Quiet Place Part II, Krasinski reprises the role in a flashback to the day the Death Angels' invasion begins.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems sees self-destructive jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) jump through hoops to pay off his insurmountable debt. At the shocking end of the intense, acclaimed A24 movie, just after finally landing the big win he needs, he is abruptly shot in the head by his brother-in-law's unstable goon, Phil (Kevin William Richards).

Train To Busan (2016)

An essential reason why South Korean import Train to Busan is regarded as one of the greatest zombie movies ever made is its heartbreaking conclusion in which Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) is bitten trying to protect his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an). The father is seen reminiscing about Su-an's birth right before he becomes one of the undead and, with all the humanity he has left, makes the decision to throw himself off the train and not bring harm to anyone else.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is not only a film that gets real about mental health, but depicts one of the bleakest realities imaginable for an asylum patient, as seen in the eyes of criminal Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who only ended up in the institution by pleading insanity. After discovering that McMurphy has been lobotomized and that life has left his eyes, "Big Chief" Bromden (Will Sampson) mercifully suffocates his friend to death before escaping.

Soul (2020)

One of Pixar's best movies, Soul, tells the story of a jazz musician (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dies in an accident just after landing the gig of his life. He then explores the afterlife, struggling to figure out a way to return to Earth.

Terrifier (2017)

Terrifier 2 introduces one of the most beloved horror movie Final Girls in Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), but the woman you expect to make it out alive in its predecessor is not so lucky to be called a Final Girl. In fact, Tara Heyes (Jenna Kanell) even dies in a subversive way, as it seems she is about to put an end to Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) before the sadistic harlequin pulls out a pistol and shoots her in the head.

300 (2007)

Zack Snyder's 300 is an intense, highly fictionalized account of events surrounding the Battle of Thermopylae. One detail that the film does get right is that the Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) was killed in battle.

To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)

Director William Friedkin's intense crime thriller, To Live and Die in L.A., follows Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William Petersen) and his determination to find Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe), a counterfeiter who killed his partner. Unfortunately, Masters manages to escape as Chance and Masters' associate, Jack, fatally shoot each other.

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

One of the most essential reasons why Deep Blue Sea is a classic shark movie is the moment when the film takes a literal bite out of its biggest star, Samuel L. Jackson. The actor's character, Russell Franklin, is in the middle of a heroic speech when a genetically engineered shark leaps out of the water, pulls him underneath the surface, and eats him alive.

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

A movie dad we would be proud to have is Guido Orefice, played by co-writer and director Roberto Benigni in the heartbreaking Holocaust-era drama, Life is Beautiful. The Jewish-American man remains committed to using humor to shield his young son from the unspeakable tragedy surrounding him up until the very moment he is shot by Nazi officers.

Carnival Of Souls (1962)

In the cult horror film Carnival of Souls, Candace Hilligoss stars as Mary Henry, who takes a job as an organ player for a traveling carnival after suffering a terrible car accident. However, as the final scene reveals, Mary never actually survived that accident.

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Sean Connery was open about how much he disliked one of his last movies, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is based on a comic book by Alan Moore that groups various iconic figures of literature together, including Captain Nemo and Tom Sawyer. At least, if there had been a sequel, the former James Bond actor would not have needed to show up for it as his character, legendary adventure hero Allan Quatermain, passes away at the end.

15 Minutes (2001)

15 Minutes is a buddy cop action flick in which veteran New York detective Eddie Flemming (Robert De Niro) teams up with fire marshal Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) to investigate the crimes of two Eastern European convicts seeking fame and fortune by selling off video recordings of their violent acts. One video they successfully sell to a popular news program is the murder of Flemming, who is suffocated to death roughly halfway through the film.

Alien 3 (1992)

Sigourney Weaver explained to the Chicago Tribune that she only agreed to star in Alien 3 if Ellen Ripley is killed off, which does occur when she jumps into a burning furnace as a baby Xenomorph bursts from her chest. Of course, the actor would come back just once more for Alien: Resurrection, but as a clone of Ripley.

The Lovely Bones (2010)

Many critics and audiences agree that director Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones is not a great movie despite its interesting plot. Based on author Alice Sebold’s novel, it stars Saoirse Ronan as a teenage girl watching over her family, and the man who murdered her, from the afterlife.

Instead, Stan mentioned two other movies that he feels are more fitting to compare to Thunderbolts* given what we can expect to see from him and the other main characters. As he told BAFTA:

This isn’t the first time Sebastian Stan has mentioned The Breakfast Club while talking about Thunderbolts*, as he felt the team chemistry between himself and co-stars like Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was “a little bit like” the 1985 John Hughes movie. Then There’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one of Jack Nicholson’s best movies. That’s definitely a more intense cinematic experience compared to The Breakfast Club, but I see what Stan is getting at when highlighting how Thunderbolts* also has these conflicting personalities that get rather violent with each other before needing to put aside their differences.

I’m guessing we can also expect Thunderbolts* to have a more upbeat ending than One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest since this is still a (presumably) PG-13-rated superhero movie. That’s not to say there won’t be casualties along the way, as I already suspect that Taskmaster will be killed off. The important thing, though, is that while the Suicide Squad might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Thunderbolts*, you’d be better off thinking of the two movies Stan mentioned to get a better grasp on the MCU movie’s overall vibe.

Following his surprise appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, Bucky Barnes will return in Thunderbolts* to work with Yelena Belova, John Walker/U.S. Agent, Alexei Shostakove/Red Guardian, Ava Starr/Ghost andAntonia Dreykov/Taskmaster on a mission these characters are forced into by Julia Louis Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Directed by Jake Schreier and written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, the movie comes out on May 2.

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

In 1961, Harper Lee won a Pulitzer Prize for her debut novel (and her only novel until 2015's Go Set a Watchmen), To Kill a Mockingbird, which depicts a trial against a Black man accused of assault in the 1930s South from the point of a view of young Scout Finch. Soon after, the powerful anti-prejudice statement was adapted into a feature by director Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck in an Oscar-winning portrayal of selfless attorney Atticus Finch.

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

All three volumes of J.R.R. Tolkien’s influential trilogy of fantasy novels – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King – were published between 1954 and 1955. Director Peter Jackson would bring Middle Earth to life in his live-action Lord of the Rings movies, which were a worldwide critical and commercial smash, spawning a prequel trilogy based on The Hobbit, an Amazon Prime series (The Rings of Power), and an animated spin-off (The War of the Rohirrim).

Forrest Gump (1994)

Six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, went to director Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks in the title role of a simple man who, unwittingly, lives a truly historic life. A year after the film’s release, Winston Groom, author of the original 1986 novel, would publish a sequel, Gump & Co., that chronicles the shrimp company owner’s life in the 1980s.

The Shining (1980)

Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall lead Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 1977 novel, The Shining, in which an author is mysteriously driven mad while serving as the caretaker for a Colorado ski resort with his wife and psychic son. While now revered as one of the best King adaptations, let alone one of the best horror movies ever made, the author famously hated the thriller which was not a critical or commercial success upon release either.

Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

Writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak earned the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, in which the ill-behaved Max dreams he is the king of a place where otherwordly creatures roam. The beloved 1963 children’s book was adapted into a bizarre, beautifully puppeteered, and significantly darker live-action feature film by director Spike Jonze and starring Max Records with the voice talents of James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara.

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

The Oscar-winning film that made cannibalistic criminal psychologist Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) one of the horror genre’s most feared villains is actually based on the second book to feature the character. Jonathan Demme’s adaptation of 1988’s The Silence of the Lambs is also predated by Manhunter – Michael Mann’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’ first Lecter novel, Red Dragon.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Director Miloš Forman's Best Picture Oscar winner, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, stars Jack Nicholson as a criminal who pleads insanity to get out of jail and ends up leading a revolt against the sinister Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). While revered as a film that takes mental health seriously, some would say it does not quite do Ken Kesey's 1962 novel justice, rendering the narrator, Chief Bromden (portrayed by Will Sampson), into more of a side character.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

Joel and Ethan Coen were quite faithful to Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel when adapting No Country for Old Men, which follows a disillusioned sheriff (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and his search for a hunter (played by Josh Brolin) who is on the run from a sadistic hitman (played by Javier Bardem). In fact, for its breathtakingly grounded craftsmanship, Bardem's chilling Oscar-winning performance, and provocative commentary on violence, some might say it is the best Western movie of all time.

The Harry Potter Movies (2001-2011)

J.K. Rowling’s seven-part series of young adult fantasy novels following an orphaned wizard’s education in the mystic arts at Hogwarts was published between 1997 and 2007. The bestselling series inspired eight Harry Potter movies (including two based on the final novel, Deathly Hallows) which starred Daniel Radcliffe and became an enduring worldwide phenomenon.

The Godfather And The Godfather Part II (1972-1974)

Mario Puzo’s 1969 post-World War II crime epic, The Godfather, inspired two Best Picture Oscar winners following the rise of reluctant mafia boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). Director Francis Ford Coppola would collaborate with Puzo on the screenplay for a third installment that was released in 1990 and is not held in such high regard today.

Dune And Dune: Part Two (2021-2024)

Director Denis Villeneuve adapted Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi epic Dune, which largely influenced George Lucas’ Star Wars saga, into two widely acclaimed big-screen adventures that brought the eponymous planet to life with wondrous visual effects. The first live-action adaptation by David Lynch from 1984 was, unfortunately, far less appreciated.

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay for director Mel Stuart’s adaptation of his 1964 novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – the title of which replaced the original eponymous character, Charlie Bucket, with Gene Wilder’s eccentric chocolatier. While Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation, with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie, is not quite the beloved children's movie the original is, it at least made the poor Golden Ticket holder the title hero again.

The Color Purple (1985)

Alice Walker’s influential tale of a Black, Southern woman’s life of abuse and neglect inspired one of director Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in Oscar-nominated roles. Winfrey would later produce a stage musical based on the novel that was also adapted into a film starring Fantasia Barrino in 2023.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

One of the most controversial X-rated classics in cinematic history is Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ 1962 dystopian novel, A Clockwork Orange. It stars Malcolm McDowell as one of the most fearsome 1970s movie villains, Alex DeLarge – a gang leader subjected to an experimental, government-issued cure for his violent tendencies.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005)

Douglas Adams condensed his absurdist, science-fiction radio play, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, into a 1979 novel that was first adapted as a British miniseries in 1981. Decades later, Disney released a feature adaptation starring Martin Freeman, Mos Def, and Alan Rickman as the voice of a clinically depressed but still friendly robot named Marvin, who was portrayed on screen by Warwick Davis.

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)

Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson chronicled his experiences in the Sin City with attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta in a fictionalized memoir called Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, published in 1971. Director Terry Gilliam adapted the book into a wild, psychedelic trip starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke (Thompson's alter ego) and Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo.

The Road (2008)

Just two years after it was published, one of Cormac McCarthy’s most acclaimed novels, The Road, was adapted into a film starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as an unnamed father and son searching for sanctuary in a ruined future. Director John Hillcoat’s thriller is regarded as one of the best post-apocalyptic movies of its time.

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

François Truffaut adapted Ray Bradbury’s prophetic, dystopian 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451, into a film starring Oskar Werner as a fireman tasked with destroying any and all literature who has a sudden change of heart. Michael B. Jordan would portray the hero, Guy Montag, in a later feature made exclusively for HBO in 2018.

Blade Runner (1982)

Ridley Scott’s seminal, Harrison Ford-led sci-fi thriller, Blade Runner, takes inspiration from Philip K. Dick’s 1986 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The author’s vision of a world in which artificial beings known as Replicants live among humans was also expanded upon in director Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049.

The Hunger Games Movies (2012-2015)

Jennifer Lawrence received wide acclaim for portraying teenage rebel Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games and its three sequels, based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian trilogy published between 2008 and 2010. Cinema would return to Panem once more with 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which takes place during one of the earliest holdings of the eponymous challenge that pits children against each other in an annual fight to the death.

Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961)

Holly Golightly – the central character of Truman Capote’s 1958 novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s – essentially remains the same in Blake Edwards’ Audrey Hepburn-led adaptation. However, the story changes dramatically, making it more of a sweeping romance between the callgirl and the previously unnamed narrator, Paul (played by George Peppard in the film).

American Psycho (2000)

Before he took on the mantle of a live-action Batman actor, Christian Bale gave a star-making performance as a more menacing urban yuppie with a violent double life named Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. His portrayal of the character in director Mary Harron’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ provocative 1991 novel has since been recognized as one of the most disturbing killers in cinematic history.

The Haunting (1963)

A psychologist invites a group of patients to stay in a house supposedly inhabited by ghosts in director Robert Wise’s classic haunted house movie, The Haunting, which is based on Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. The chilling 1959 novel inspired another film bearing the shortened title from 1999 and, in 2018, a more loosely connected but widely acclaimed Netflix miniseries from creator Mike Flanagan.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005)

The first volume of C.S. Lewis’s seven-part fantasy novel series, published in 1950, was adapted into a critically and commercially successful adventure set in a wondrous land. The next two books in the series, collectively known as The Chronicles of Narnia, also received feature-length adaptations from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)

Abby Ryder Fortson makes her film debut in the first feature based on Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., which also stars Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams as the title character's supportive mother. Author Judy Blume shared with Today that she believes writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig’s adaptation surpassed her own novel, which offered a groundbreaking inside look at the pains of female adolescence in 1970.

Catch-22 (1970)

Director Mike Nichols and writer Buck Henry adapted Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel into the star-studded WWII-era satire Catch-22, starring Alan Arkin and Bob Newhart. The book also inspired a Hulu original miniseries released in 2019 starring Christopher Abbott and George Clooney, who also executive produced.

Watchmen (2009)

Many credit the long-awaited acceptance of comic book fiction as earnest literature with writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons and their groundbreaking graphic novel, Watchmen, which was originally published by DC in 12 parts between 1986 and 1987. Director Zack Snyder first adapted the story of costumed crimefighters coming out of retirement years after vigilanteism is banned into a live-action film 15 years before Warner Bros. released a two-part animated feature in 2024.

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Amy Tan's influential 1989 novel, The Joy Luck Club, depicts the eye-opening experiences of four different women from a Chinese family. The author made a cameo in the film adaptation from director Wayne Wang.

Lord Of The Flies (1963)

William Golding’s seminal coming-of-age survival novel, Lord of the Flies, was first adapted for cinema nine years after it was published. Writer and director Peter Brook’s adaptation is considered to be more a faithful take on the story of adolescent boys stranded on a desert island than the American version released in 1990 by director Harry Hook.

Lolita (1962)

Vladimir Nabokov’s provocative 1955 novel, Lolita – the story of a middle-aged college professor obsessed with his teenage stepdaughter – was first adapted for cinema by director Stanley Kubrick in the early 1960s, starring James Mason and Sue Lyon in the title role. Director Adrian Lyne would later remake the drama in 1997 with Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain.

Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)

Denzel Washington portrays one of the most iconic Black detectives in pop culture, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, in Devil in a Blue Dress. Based on Walter Mosley's 1990 novel, and the first to feature the character, the gritty period piece follows the World War II veteran as he becomes embroiled in the search for a mysterious woman.

The Twilight Movies (2008-2013)

Stephanie Meyer became one of the most popular authors of her time with 2008's Twilight and its three sequels, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. The saga, chronicling a teenage girl’s complicated romance with a vampire, was adapted into five box-office hits that made A-listers out of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.

Jaws

Never bet against Steven Spielberg, especially with John Williams providing what turned out to be an Oscar-winning score! The 1975 thriller Jaws is widely considered to be one movie that's at least as good as its source material. Spielberg cut out a lot of side plots from Peter Benchley's 1974 novel, and the actors really elevated the book's largely unlikeable characters, particularly Robert Shaw as Quint, turning the film into a classic you can watch over and over.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

There are some pretty big differences between Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the 1971 classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder (not to mention the 2005 remake and 2023 prequel). That means it's probably a matter of personal preference regarding which is "better," but it's hard to argue with Mel Stuart's musical fantasy.

The Thing

While John W. Campbell Jr.'s 1938 novella Who Goes There? is considered a classic for its deeply developed characters and an alien that's smarter — and therefore possibly scarier — than its movie's equivalent, John Carpenter's The Thing from 1982 is considered one of the best horror movies of all time. Its truly repulsive monster and effective special effects hold up even decades later.

Stand By Me

Lots of Stephen King novels have been adapted for the screen, and not all of those projects have been great. Stand By Me, however, which was adapted from "The Body," from the Different Seasons collection, is considered one of the best movies from the '80s. Some people prefer the movie, if only for the nostalgia kick provided by its phenomenal casting of Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell.

The Ring

Both the Americanized 2002 horror The Ring and Koji Suzuki's 1991 novel are highly acclaimed, but the book simply can't match the movie in terms of the creepy imagery from the cursed video.

Fight Club

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are simply incomparable as a dynamic duo in 1999's Fight Club. Not only is the movie considered one of the best of the '90s, and Chuck Palahniuk — author of the 1996 book of the same name — has spoken positively about David Ficher's film.

The Lord Of The Rings

I don't think anyone's arguing the talents of J. R. R. Tolkien here, and indeed many do prefer the world-building and lore of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings saga. However, other fans argue that the films are more inviting, bringing emotion to the characters and cutting through all of the author's descriptive text.

The Hunger Games

There's no question that Suzanne Collins' The Hunter Games books could stand on their own, but it was thrilling to see those terrifying games portrayed on the big screen. From the worlds built for the youngsters' trials to The Hunger Games' ridiculous outfits, it's no wonder many hold Jennifer Lawrence's movie trilogy in such high regard. To me, it was worth it all to see Katniss' red carpet-worthy "Girl on Fire" dress.

The Shining

The Shining is one of Stephen King's best books, and — thanks in large part to Jack Nicholson's unforgettable turn as Jack Torrance — the horror movie of the same name also remains a time-honored classic. Both will scare the daylights out of you, and there are enough differences between Stanley Kubrick's film and the book that The Shining is totally still worth reading after you've seen the movie.

Requiem For A Dream

Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1978 novel Requiem for a Dream is a good read, but you just can't beat the performances turned in by the cast of Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film. Whether it's the heartbreaking tailspin of Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans' characters into addiction, Ellen Burstyn's obsession with being on television or Christopher McDonald's haunting Tappy Tibbons leading a chant about JUICE, this movie elevates the already-harrowing text into something that you won't be able to shake.

Room

Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel Room is told from the perspective of 5-year-old Jack, which gives a different POV to the story of a mother and her son escaping after years of captivity than the 2015 film adaptation. The book is undoubtedly gripping, but the movie holds its own, earning four Academy Award nominations, including a win for Brie Larson for Best Actress.

The Silence Of The Lambs

It doesn't matter how good Thomas Harris' 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs was — and it was definitely good — the 1991 film adaptation won the Academy Awards' "Big Five," which includes the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Talley). Since its release there have been three more movies and two TV series based on these characters, so I'd say that paints both the film and the novel in a phenomenally successful light.

Mean Girls

It's not really fair to compare 2004's Mean Girls to the source material that inspired it. That's because Tina Fey adapted one of the best high school movies of all time from Rosalind Wiseman's self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabes, which is a guide for parents to help their teenage daughters survive in a world of cliques, gossip and boyfriends. While moms of teens (myself included) could probably use all the help we can get, there's no way Queen Bees and Wannabees could stand up to Mean Girls' most quotable lines and pop culture references.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird has been a staple in schools since it came out in 1960 for its exploration of themes like race and stereotypes. It wouldn't be fair or correct to say that the 1962 film was better, but Gregory Peck and Mary Badham gave performances that earned them Oscar nominations as Atticus and Scout Finch, respectively. Overall the movie won three of the eight awards it was up for (including Best Actor for Peck), which should make it worthy of being considered as good as Lee's novel.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

While many still prefer Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the 1975 movie made Randle Patrick McMurphy's crimes more palatable for the moviegoing audience and ultimately won five of the nine Academy Awards it was nominated for, including Best Actor for Jack Nicholson and Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched).

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, but the movie proved why Hitchcock was the master of suspense, with that infamous shower scene likely inspiring audience members to start double-checking the locks on their bathroom doors. While the 1960 film may be as good (or better than) the book, the same can't be said for 1998's Psycho, which is considered one of the worst remakes in Hollywood history.

The Shawshank Redemption

Adapted from Stephen King's novella from Different Seasons, The Shawshank Redemption was turned into a classic movie that many think surpasses its source material. Frank Darabont's 1994 film adds a lot to the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) and their decades together in prison. The film garnered seven Oscar nominations but did not win any.

Jurassic Park

Michael Crichton set the stage with his 1990 novel Jurassic Park for how dinosaurs could come to exist in the modern era and Steven Spielberg got hold of the idea and ran with it, creating a world for the big screen that we'd only ever dreamed about. As good as the book is, there was just something about seeing the prehistoric beasts walking amongst the humans with our own eyes, and that idea has since inspired two trilogies and several TV series.

Forrest Gump

A lot was changed in the story of Forrest Gump between the 1986 novel by Winston Groom and the 1994 Robert Zemeckis film, but for many, it was Tom Hanks' heartbreaking portrayal that got us, along with plenty of quotes still being repeated today. The six Academy Awards from 13 nominations also speak to it being a pretty good movie adaptation.

The Hunt For Red October

The 1990 spy thriller The Hunt for Red October cut out quite a few subplots and a lot of technical language from Tom Clancy's best-selling debut novel, making it more approachable for a wider audience. Without the popularity of this movie, would we still live in a world with three dozen Jack Ryan novels, a handful of films and a TV series? Thankfully we don't have to consider the alternative.

The Notebook

Nobody tells an epically sad love story quite like Nicholas Sparks, and that includes his 1996 novel The Notebook. However, seeing Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams' chemistry as they brought Noah and Allie's story to life in the 2004 drama was what really stuck with fans over the years.

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is one of the funniest and most quotable movies of the 1980s, and it's considered just as good as its source material, though the two are very different. William Goldman's 1973 novel is highly praised amongst those who have read it, with many fans suggesting that people who have only seen the movie would still enjoy the book.

A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick's 1971 adaptation of A Clockwork Orange is a fairly loyal interpretation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel, save for a few changes to make Malcolm McDowell's Alex more palatable. Many prefer the film's darker ending, as well, to the more optimistic conclusion Burgess wrote.

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women has been adapted twice in recent decades — the 1994 version starring Winona Ryder as Jo March and Greta Gerwig's 2019 film. Because each iteration alters the March sisters' stories to better reflect the societal roles and priorities of a woman in that day, it only makes sense that audiences connect more with the updated material.

The Wizard Of Oz

No matter how classic L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is — and there are plenty who are staunch defenders of the book — there's nothing quite like seeing Dorothy step from her sepia-toned Kansas farmhouse into the fantastic Technicolor world of Oz in 1939's The Wizard of Oz. The film adaptation remains a beloved children's movie all these decades later.

Shutter Island

Both the 2003 psychological thriller by Dennis Lehane and Martin Scorsese's 2010 adaptation of Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio are highly regarded by fans, with many choosing to experience both, despite knowing how it ends. The movie stays loyal to the novel and can be considered at least as good, if not better.

The Devil Wears Prada

In Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada, her fictionalized account of working for Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is undoubtedly fascinating, but Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly on top of the performances of Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and the rest of the cast elevate the story.

The Godfather

Mario Puzo's 1969 bestseller The Godfather was arguably made even better by Francis Ford Coppola by focusing his film on Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone and his relationship with son Michael (Al Pacino), thereby streamlining the novel's grand story.

A Simple Favor

In the movie adaptation of A Simple Favor, many find Anna Kendrick's Stephanie more likable than the blogger in Darcey Bell's 2017 novel of the same name. To that point, Blake Lively makes her own character Emily feel even more dangerous.

Blade Runner

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is considered one of the best sci-fi movies of all time and many think it's even better than its literary counterpart, Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? From Harrison Ford's portrayal of android hunter Rick to the book's bleaker ending, this is the rare film that surpasses its source material in many fans' eyes.

City Of God

Fernando Meirelles' celebrated 2002 crime drama City of God expands on the 1997 novel by Paulo Lins in its performances and how it illustrates gang life in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Respect and homage are paid to the people of the region, and the cinematography shows the beauty that exists amidst the tragedy.

Drive

Many fans seem to prefer Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 movie Drive to the 2005 book by James Sallis, crediting the director and Ryan Gosling with further developing the Driver and other themes in Sallis' work.

From the best Marvel movies to a handful of Best Picture winners and so many others, here are 32 times the villain stole the show in a movie.

Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

Alan Rickman crushed his first major movie role as Hans Gruber in 1988’s Die Hard. Nothing against Bruce Willis’ John McClane, but there’s no denying the fact that Gruber immediately became one of those unforgettable villains we love to hate. The saying “It isn’t Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from Nataktomi Plaza” says it all.

Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Luke Skywalker is an iconic hero, Han Solo is the coolest scoundrel in the galaxy, and Princess Leia is divine, but we all know that Darth Vader sucks all the air out of the room whenever he’s on-screen in Star Wars. The presence, the physicality, and the powerful voice of the late James Earl Jones, all make Lord Vader one of the best villains of all time.

Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)

Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger is hands down one of the best Marvel villains, with only a couple of other foes topping him in the ranking. The intensity, emotion, and wow factor all go up whenever this long-lost son of Wakanda shows up in Black Panther. 

Colonel Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)

Quentin Tarantino pulled off the impossible when he gave the world Colonel Hans Landa, a maniacal yet charming Nazi played by Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds. Seriously, the movie could have been two hours of Landa talking to people (which it pretty much was) and we still would have gone crazy for it. Almost feel bad liking the guy this much.

Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)

Avengers: Infinity War, for all intents and purposes, is Thanos’ movie and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are just living in it. Rarely do movies allow the villain to take center stage like this, and the 2018 crossover event is better because of it.

Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men)

Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem’s ice-cold killer from No Country for Old Men, is one of those movie villains we’ll be studying for years, if not decades, to come. Every time this assassin with a bad haircut and a unique set of skills comes on screen, you can feel a chill run down your spine.

Annie Wilkes (Misery)

One of the meanest ‘90s movie villains, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) from Misery steals the scene whenever she’s on screen in Rob Reiner’s 1990 Stephen King adaptation. A force of pure evil, this obsessive book fan will forever live in our hearts, even if she fills us with fear.

Terence Fletcher (Whiplash)

J.K. Simmons has played some great villains over the years (Oz fans know what we’re talking about), but even the neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger couldn’t hold a candle to Terence Fletcher in Whiplash. The angry, petty, vindictive, and obsessive Julliard professor is a force to be reckoned with in this 2014 drama.

The Joker (The Dark Knight)

From the first time Heath Ledger’s Joker appears on screen in The Dark Knight, you know he’s going to be a villain to remember. The anarchy, the carnage, the changing stories about how he got his scars, all of it makes him someone we’ll never forget. 

The Terminator (The Terminator)

James Cameron gave the world one of the best sci-fi movies and all-time great villains when he unleashed The Terminator upon the world in 1984. And while Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) are heroes worth rooting for, we all know we want nothing more than to see Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular cyborg show up with his one-liners and knack for killing folks.

Hannibal Lecter (The Silence Of The Lambs)

Hannibal Lecter, the role that won Anthony Hopkins an Academy Award, was only on screen in The Silence of the Lambs for 16 years, and he still stole the show. The cannibalistic prison inmate who helps Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling in the most unorthodox and unsettling ways is still the most talked about part of the movie despite his limited screen time.

Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)

Few nurses or medical professionals have instilled as much fear in the hearts of audiences as Nurse Ratched, Louise Fletcher’s manipulative and sadistic character from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Sure, we all love Jack Nicholson’s R.P. McMurphy, but Ratched stole the show.

Clarence Boddicker (Robocop)

Long before he was the wise-cracking Red Foreman on That ‘70s Show, Kurtwood Smith played the sensationally violent Clarence Boddicker in Robocop. The man who turned Peter Weller’s Alex Murphy into a crime-fighting cyborg had some wild moments throughout the movie, most of which we can’t really describe here.

Nino Brown (New Jack City)

Already on the rise thanks to Major League, Wesley Snipes became a massive star thanks to his portrayal of Nino Brown, the powerful drug lord in New Jack City. Nothing against Ice-T’s Scotty Appleton (who takes things personally), but Nino is in in a league of his own in this sprawling crime epic.

Bodhi (Point Break)

Though he could be considered an antihero we hate to love, Bodhi, Patrick Swayze’s surfing, skydiving, and bank-robbing character from Point Break is also an incredibly interesting villain. Both physical and spiritual, this three-dimensional adrenaline junkie is just so dang cool.

Regina George (Mean Girls)

Villains don’t have to be angry nurses or criminals with a high body count, and Regina George (Rachel McAdams) proved that in Mean Girls. The leader of the Plastics, a group she ran with an iron and pink fist, Regina was for sure one of the most vindictive antagonists of the 2000s and one we still love to hate.

Clubber Lang (Rocky III)

For the most part, the Rocky movies featured iconic and unique villains like Apollo Creed (before he turned good) and Ivan Drago, but Clubber Lang from Rocky III is in a league of his own. Mr. T’s formidable foe in the 1982 movie stole every scene and his presence could be felt even when he wasn’t on screen.

Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)

Being bad never looked as good as it did for Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) in the 1992 erotic thriller, Basic Instinct. The crimes, the head games, the seduction, and the attitude make this femme fatale one of the best villains of all time.

Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

Though there are some who still miss the message of Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is Good” speech from Wall Street, Michael Douglas’ powerful character is very much the villain in Oliver Stone’s 1987 drama. Poor Charlie Sheen didn’t stand a chance next to this guy.

The Wicked Witch Of The West (The Wizard Of Oz)

Margaret Hamilton’s portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz is one of those villainous performances that we’ll never forget. The way she could say things like “I’ll get you my pretty,” throw fireballs, and call on an army of flying monkeys is still frightening all these years later.

Norman Bates (Psycho)

One of the best slasher horror movies of all time, Psycho also features one of the genre’s great villains in Norman Bates. After his facade of a seemingly harmless albeit off-putting man with mommy issues fades away, we’re left with an unforgettable creep.

Cyrus The Virus (Con Air)

Nothing against Nicolas Cage, but Con Air is Cyrus the Virus’ movie. The way John Malkovich looks on screen with that shaved head and goatee makes him look like a cleanup hitter for the Houston Astros who went crazy and killed a bunch of folks after getting busted for steroids adds such a great dynamic to this iconic ‘90s action movie.

Luther (The Warriors)

Though he’s only in a handful of scenes, Luther, with his “Warriors, come out to play,” delivery, steals the show in this ‘70s classic. Would The Warriors be a good movie without him? Probably. But the leader of the Rogues makes it an all-timer.

Scar (The Lion King)

When it comes to Disney villains from the ‘90s, there are few that come close to the rightful king that is Scar. Voiced by Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons, the brother of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) takes villainy to a whole new level in The Lion King. Sure, he destroys the natural order of things, brings famine and drought to the Pride Lands, and gives his nephew one major guilt trip after killing his father, but that’s what makes him so iconic, right?

HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

You don’t have to be a human or even a living thing to make a good villain, and HAL 9000 proved that in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Voiced by Douglas Rain, this cold and calculated computer goes out of his way to make life miserable for the astronauts aboard the Discovery One spacecraft. What makes him even more menacing is that HAL is mostly depicted as a camera lens with a red dot in the middle.

Howard Payne (Speed)

Though Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock became massive stars following the 1994 release of Speed, it was impossible to be captivated by the maniacal and over-the-top performance of Dennis Hopper as Howard Payne. The cop-turned-bomber has a way about him that’s just so perfect in this landmark action flick. And if it weren’t for the iconic bus jump sequence, he’d probably be what we talk about the most.

Max Cady (Cape Fear)

Whenever we talk about the best Robert De Niro movies, it doesn’t take long for Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of Cape Fear to enter the conversation. Max Caddy, one of the all-time great movie villains, steals every single scene in this tense revenge thriller, even when the ex-con with a bone to pick with his former defense attorney isn’t on screen. And the way he says “Counselor” when toying with Nick Nolte’s Sam Bowden is just perfect.

Count Orlok (Nosferatu)

Few movie characters have an impact on the viewer like Count Orlok, Max Schreck's vampire from the 1922 silent horror film, Nosferatu. The off-putting appearance, the eerie movements, and the unrelenting nature of the monster are all frightening more than a century after the controversial film was first released.

Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest)

Frank Perry’s Mommie Dearest is one of the wildest and most terrifying biographical dramas ever made, and the based-on-a-true-story aspect of it makes Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Joan Crawford even more terrifying. There’s a good chance more people know the “No wire hangers!” line than the movie itself, which says it all.

Agent Smith (The Matrix)

The way Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith says “Mr. Anderson,” whenever he encounters Neo (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix is so bone-chilling, so iconic, and so perfect, we just can’t get enough of it. One of the best sci-fi villains of all time, it’s hard to look away from this increasingly powerful computer program.

John Doe (Seven)

Though we don’t meet Kevin Spacey’s John Doe until the final act of Seven, his presence can be felt throughout David Fincher’s 1995 thriller. The nature of his crimes, especially during the movie’s twisted ending, tells us everything we need to know about the bitter, dangerous, and self-righteous killer.

Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)

When it comes to the best horror movie icons, Freddy Krueger is in a league of his own. Robert Englund’s knife-handed killer from A Nightmare on Elm Street is equal parts terrifying and hilarious, so much so that we don’t really care who plays his victims (except for maybe Johnny Depp).

Michael Myers (Halloween)

The masked killer from John Carpenter's horror movie classic, Halloween, is, arguably,  the scariest slasher of all time, and not just because he is one of the first of his kind. In the 1978 original, Michael Myers has no apparent motive to stalk Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and other Haddonfield babysitters, save an unsatiable, natural-born bloodlust that makes him the embodiment of evil.

Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Smokey And The Bandit)

The only thing in the way of The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) getting his black T-top Trans Am — one of the coolest cars in cinematic history — across state lines is Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Comedy legend Jackie Gleason steals the show in 1977's Smokey and the Bandit as the relentless lawman who becomes The Bandit's pursuer after Carrie (Sally Field) leaves his son at the altar.

Xenomorph (Alien)

Has there ever been a scarier cinematic creature than H.R. Giger's design of the Xenomorph in Alien? The bloodthirsty extraterrestrial proves to be a little more than a thorn in the side of the crew of the Nostromo in the masterfully suspenseful, 1979 sci-fi movie classic from director Ridley Scott.

Lex Luthor (Superman: The Movie)

The Man of Steel has the ability to do things no human being can, and yet his archenemy is a mere mortal of immense power and intelligence named Lex Luthor. Academy Award winner Gene Hackman's performance in one of the best superhero movies, 1978's Superman: The Movie (also starring Christopher Reeve in the title role), has since become the definitive live-action portrayal of the DC villain.

Dr. Christian Szell (Marathon Man)

If going to the dentist was not already nerve-racking enough for some people, director John Schlesinger's 1976 thriller Marathon Man made the idea seem anything but safe. Sir Laurence Olivier gives a brilliant, chilling, Oscar-nominated performance as Dr. Christian Szell — a Nazi war criminal and diamond smuggler who tortures his victims with painful oral surgeries.

Nurse Mildred Ratched (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)

While One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is praised as one of the most honest movies about mental illness, one thing about the 1975 classic that we would hope is exaggerated is how Mildred Ratched treats patients. Louise Fletcher earned a well-deserved Oscar for portraying the abusive, self-righteous mental nurse with a severe lack of humanity. 

Pazuzu (The Exorcist)

Regan MacNeill (legendary horror movie Scream Queen Linda Blair) often shows up on many all-time best horror movie villain lists, but she is the victim here. The true antagonist of 1973's The Exorcist is the demonic force possessing the 12-year-old girl known as Pazuzu.

Scorpio (Dirty Harry)

Only a cop as tough and rebellious as Det. Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) could take down a psychopathic murderer as cunning and unpredictable as the mysterious "Scorpio." Andrew Robinson is unplugged as the out-of-control antagonist of 1971's Dirty Harry, whose penchant for toying with the authorities through ransom notes was loosely inspired by the real-life Zodiac Killer.

Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange)

Sometimes the protagonist of a story counts as its villain and such is certainly the case for Stanley Kubrick's classic film adaptation of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm McDowell stars in the controversial 1971 thriller as sadistic criminal Alex DeLarge, who undergoes an experimental program that intends to correct violent people.

Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Easily the most recognizable character from the entire Star Wars franchise is Darth Vader and it is easy to see why. Voiced by James Earl Jones and originally portrayed in person by David Prowse in the 1977 original, the Sith Lord's ominous baritone, striking helmet design, and ruthless devotion to the Dark Side make him an intimidating force in any galaxy.

Col. Walter E. Kurtz (Apocalypse Now)

Capt. Benjamin L. Willard certainly experiences great "horror" in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war movie masterpiece, Apocalypse Now, at the hands of Col. Walter E. Kurtz. Inspired by a 19th-century ivory trader from Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, Oscar-winning Marlon Brando's role is an unhinged sadist who will go to unimaginable lengths to win the Vietnam War his own way, no matter who has to kill or torture.

Margaret White (Carrie)

Her telepathic powers may have sealed the doom of many people, but the titular teen from Brian De Palma's 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie (played by Sissy Spacek) is anything but an antagonist. She is a victim of intense emotional and physical abuse by her own religious fanatic mother (and one of the all-time best female horror movie villains) Margaret White (Academy Award nominee Piper Laurie).

Alain Charnier (The French Connection)

Gene Hackman leads William Friedkin's 1971 Best Picture Oscar winner The French Connection as Popeye Doyle, who is the unique kind of cop who knows how to think like a criminal. However, even he struggles to stay one step ahead of Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), who is the elusive, Marsaille-based leader of a crime operation in New York.

Leatherface (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)

There really is no slasher in horror movie history quite like the flagship antagonist of Tobe Hooper's relentless nightmare transferred to celluloid, 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Being a cannibal who wears his victim's faces as a mask makes Leatherface (Gunner Hansen) bad enough but chasing people around with a bladed power tool is pure insanity.

Apollo Creed (Rocky)

In the original sports movie classic, 1976's Rocky, all we want is to see Sylvester Stallone's titular rookie take down the arrogant boxing champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), which he finally manages to do in the 1979 sequel. Of course, all of that would change in 1982's Rocky III when the rivals formed a friendship that ended with Apollo's tragic death in the ring in the fourth film.

Kurt Barlow (Salem’s Lot)

One of the most terrifying vampires to ever grace the small screen was Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder). Director Tobe Hooper's two-part, made-for-TV 1979 adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot offers a wildly different interpretation from the novel's bloodsucking nobleman, his more creature-esque appearance, arguably, made for a more memorably creepy portrayal.

Dean Vernon Wormer (National Lampoon's Animal House)

If there is anything more important to the college experience than education, it must be a student's success in maintaining a social life, sometimes if that means indulging in debaucherous acts with fellow Greek life members. However, John Vernon's Dean Womer from the 1978 comedy classic National Lampoon's Animal House does not share this philosophy and, as a result, wishes to extract the rowdy Delta Tau Chi from Faber College.

Evelyn Draper (Play Misty for Me)

Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut with the 1971 thriller Play Misty for Me, in which he also stars as a radio DJ who crosses paths with Evelyn (Jessica Walter), a frequent caller who particularly favors an Erroll Garner classic. What starts off as a casual romantic encounter proves to have deadly consequences for Eastwood's Dave Garver as Evelyn forcibly inserts herself into his life.

Grand Moff Tarkin (Star Wars)

Of course, the most memorable villain from the original Star Wars is Darth Vader, but many fans might claim that the film's more formidable threat is the Sith Lord's right-hand man. Horror legend Peter Cushing stars as Tarkin, whose devotion to the Empire leads him to commit horrific acts, such as destroying Princess Leia's home planet, Alderaan.

Emilio Barzini (The Godfather)

There are not many "good guys" in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 adaptation of Mario Puzo's The Godfather, but one of the absolute worst is Emilio Barzini. Richard Conte's crime boss proves to be the greatest foil to the Corleone Family.

Kananga/Mr. Big (Live And Let Die)

Yaphet Kotto gives a wonderfully charming, but also menacing, performance as one of the best James Bond villains of the 1970s, Dr. Kananga, in Live and Let Die. The most fascinating aspect of the politician, whom Roger Moore's 007 takes on, is his double life as a peddler called Mr. Big.

Han (Enter the Dragon)

Even a martial arts master like Bruce Lee had his fair share of challenging onscreen foes, especially in the 1973 kung fu movie masterpiece, Enter the Dragon. Lee (also the actor's character) is enlisted to investigate Han (Kien Shih), who is a shady former monk with a bladed left hand that makes him a horrifying opponent in combat.

Luther (The Warriors)

Actor David Patrick Kelly performs one of the most iconic improvised movie moments in Walter Hill's 1979 thriller, The Warriors, as Luther. The menacing gang leader tries to entice his titular rivals by clinking three glass bottles together and serenading them to "come out to play."

Mayor Larry Vaughn (Jaws)

We would call the shark from Jaws a type of horror movie villain with understandable motivations (considering the animal has no real violent ambitions and just wants to eat), but we believe does not really deserve that label. As far as we are concerned, the true antagonist of director Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster is Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), who greedily ignores any warnings of the aquatic apex predator and decides to keep Amity Island's beach open, leading to more bloodshed.

Toecutter (Mad Max)

Years before George Miller brought him back to play Immortan Joe in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, the Australian actor starred in the 1979 original Mad Max movie as its main antagonist, Toecutter. The sadistic criminal is not only a pivotal force in the fall of society, but you could also say he is the creator of the Wasteland's savior as it is his gang that killed Max Rockantansky's (Mel Gibson) wife and child, transforming the once devoted cop into a hardened road warrior.

Damien Thorn (The Omen)

What better representative of villainy could there be than the literal embodiment of evil? Harvey Stephens gives a chilling performance in 1976's The Omen as young Damien Thorn, whose parents Robert (Gregory Peck) and Katherine (Lee Remick), make the terrifying discovery that he is the Antichrist.

The Tall Man (Phantasm)

Jebediah Morningside (better known as The Tall Man) is the best-known role of actor Angus Schrimm, who was hired for the part in Phantasm based on his naturally unsettling appearance. Don Coscarelli's cult favorite 1979 supernatural thriller follows two young brothers who suspect the strange man is robbing from graves and sets out to figure out the shocking truth behind it.

Billy (Black Christmas)

There is very little known about the killer from one of the greatest holiday horror movies, Black Christmas, such as his true name, his actual appearance, and his reason for stalking and killing members of Pi Kappa Sigma. That is precisely what makes the villain of director Bob Clark's influential slasher such a hauntingly unsettling presence.

The Mutants (The Hills Have Eyes)

One of the earliest Wes Craven movies sees a vacationing family fall prey to another family of vicious, savage mutants when an accident leaves them stranded in a deserted area where nuclear testing once took place. The most iconic villainous cavedweller from the 1977 original The Hills Have Eyes is, easily, Michael Berryman as Pluto.

Lord Summerisle (The Wicker Man)

The character that made Christopher Lee a horror movie icon would have to be Hammer's iteration of Dracula, but the British actor brought an even more unique level of deceptive charm to his performance in 1973's The Wicker Man. He plays Lord Summerisle, who is the leader of an island community whose customs clash wildly so with Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward) as he searches the land for a missing little girl.

General Woundwort (Watership Down)

In the 1978 adaptation of Richard Adams's novel, Watership Down — an animated film primarily for adults — the rabbits' main obstacle is human land developers destroying their home. However, they also come at odds with one of their own kind named Gen. Woundwort (Harry Andrews), who became a violent and erratic creature due to a brutal upbringing.

Dr. Phibes (The Abominable Dr. Phibes)

One of the most underrated roles on Vincent Price's prolific resume is the widowed Anton Phibes. The 1971 release of The Abominable Dr. Phibes sees him seeking to punish the physicians who were accidentally responsible for his wife's tragic death.

Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Louise Fletcher's performance as the manipulative Nurse Ratched is one of the most chilling to grace the silver screen. Her iron-fisted rule over McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) and the rest of the patients is quietly evil, making it way more effective and terrifying than an over-the-top style of villain. 

Wicked Witch Of The West - The Wizard Of Oz

There may be no more recognizable villain, male or female, to movie fans than the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard Of Oz. The Margaret Hamilton character has been scaring kids (in the best way) for almost a century. The role is so iconic that when we think of a generic "witch," we almost always picture the Wicked Witch of the West. 

Alex Forrest - Fatal Attraction

You know we couldn't make this list without the absolutely unhinged Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction. Close's performance of the jilted lover is consistently ranked among the great villains of all time and it's easy to see why. The movie keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as she gets more and more detached from reality, leaving us all terrified of what could come next. 

Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal - Dredd

Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal (Lena Headey), the gang boss in 2012's Dredd, is among the most ruthless criminals on film in recent years. Her control over the housing block Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is trying to police is fanatical and all-encompassing. Ma-Ma doesn't seem to have - or want - friends or advisors, just soldiers in her battle for control. 

Mary Lee Johnston - Precious

A lot of the villains on this list are traditional movie villains. Mary Lee Johnston (Mo'Nique) in Precious is not traditional. She's also the "realest" villain on this list. So real, it's horrifying, making Precious being a great movie that you almost never want to watch ever again. She's so evil it's really hard to watch. Mo'Nique is fantastic, bringing this wicked character to life on the screen. 

Phyllis Dietrichson - Double Indemnity

Female villains are nothing new, of course. One of the all-time classic examples is Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity from 1944. Barbara Stanwyck plays the traitorous wife who takes advantage of an insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) by dragging him into her diabolical plan to off her husband and collect on his life insurance. 

Kathryn Merteuil - Cruel Intentions

High school bullies make great villains. They make especially great villains when they are as manipulative as Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Cruel Intentions. Kathryn has no morals and no ethics, she only cares about herself and doesn't care who she hurts. That's why watching her get caught in the end is so satisfying. It's also maybe the best use of music in the movies. 

Pamela Voorhees - Friday The 13th

In the history of horror movies, one of the most iconic has to be the original Friday The 13th. While Jason Voorhees is on the Mount Rushmore of slasher film villains after countless sequels and spinoffs in the franchise, it's his mother who is the real villain in the original and that's why she, Pamala Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), deserves to be on this list. 

Mystique - X-Men

Magneto may the "big bad" in most of the X-Men movies, but he wouldn't be nearly as threatening without his right-hand woman, Mystique. Played by both Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence in the movies, the shapeshifting mutant does a lot of Magneto's dirty work. 

Elektra King - The World Is Not Enough

Given James Bond's history with women, you might expect more of his villains to be women. While there are plenty of henchmen, there are not a lot of women who played Bond villains. One great exception is the diabolical Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) in The World Is Not Enough. King,  wasn't born evil, but she definitely turned that way, perhaps even more extreme than the man who made her that way. 

Regina George - Mean Girls

Ruining Regina George's life might not have made Cady (Lindsay Lohan) happy in Mean Girls, but it sure was satisfying to watch! George, played by the great Rachel McAdams, is one of the all-time great girl-bullies in movie history. The manipulative popular girl gets what's coming to her in the end, after proving how awful she can be to even her closest friends. 

Bellatrix Lestrange - Harry Potter

It's impossible to see anyone other than Helena Bonham Carter in the role of the Harry Potter Bellatrix Lestrange. She plays the role of the villain perfectly in the series. Most of Potter and Co.'s enemies are male, of course, but one of the scariest has to be Lestrange.

Cassandra Nova - Deadpool And Wolverine

The MCU has a handful of female villains and for the most part, they are among the most powerful of all the villains. Take Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) in Deadpool And Wolverine, for example. She's just as powerful as her brother, Charles Xavier, but she's pure evil. That's a terrifying combination. 

Annie Wilkes - Misery

This list would certainly not be complete without one of the meanest villains of the '90s, or any other decade in film history. Annie Wilkes, played by Kathy Bates in an Oscar-winning performance. She completely stole the show in one of the greatest horror movies of all time and earned a place on the Mount Rushmore of movie villains. 

Mama Fratelli - The Goonies

Big-time fame came late to Anne Ramsey. The actress had built a solid career in Hollywood as a character actor, but she really hit the big time after playing the villainous Mama Fratelli, matriarch of a hapless, yet very mean family, in The Goonies. Tragically, she died just three years later of cancer at age 59. 

Amy Dunne - Gone Girl

Is there anything as scary as a cold, calculating villain like Amy Dunne in Gone Girl? Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, is certainly justified in her beef with her cheating husband, put her method of revenge is pure evil. It's also darn impressive, and in the end, she "wins," so she deserves to be on this list. 

Miranda Priestly - The Devil Wears Prada

Everyone has had bad bosses, but no one has had a boss quite as awful as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Meryl Streep's performance as the ultimate boss from hell is one of the best of her amazing career and a rare example of the actress playing a true villain. 

Cruella DeVille - One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Disney has a long history of great female villains, and close to the top of the greatest ones has to be Cruella DeVille. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians baddie knows exactly how to tear out viewers' hearts in everything she does, to say nothing of making coats from puppies. 

Aileen Wuornos - Monster

Charlize Theron plays one of the rare real people on this list, serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Monster is the perfect description of her, too. While her unbelievably terrible life that led to her murders is something no one would wish on their worst enemy, what Wuornos became is pure evil in every way. Theron won an Oscar for her performance as Wuornos, who was executed in prison a year before the movie was released. 

Hela - Thor: Ragnorak

Some of the most powerful villains in the MCU are women and Hela in Thor: Ragnorak certainly qualifies here. Cate Blanchett's chameleon-like performance is just so great and Hela looks so cool, that you almost want to root for her. 

Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty

When you're such a good villain that they start making spin-offs about you, you absolutely belong on this list. Maleficent is one of the all-time great villains in Disney history and we love to hate her so much that she even got two films all her own in the 2010s, starring Angelina Jolie as the diabolical fairy, where we learn she's maybe not as evil as it seems. 

Harley Quinn - Suicide Squad

Of all the villains on this list, Harley Quinn is the most fun. Yeah, she's a psychopath, sure, but she's a fun psychopath! That's really all she wants to do, have fun and create chaos and that makes her pretty endearing in a lot of ways, as does Margot Robbie's awesome performance as the manic pixie dream psycho in the Suicide Squad movies. 

Veronica - Heathers

On the surface, you may argue that Heather Chandler (Kim Walker) is the villain in Heathers. Like Regina George, Chandler is the alpha mean girl in the crew of Heathers. But really, it's Veronica (Winona Ryder) and her boyfriend J.D. (Christian Slater), who are the real baddies here. They're the ones committing the murders, after all.  

Elle Driver - Kill Bill

Daryl Hannah was mostly known for rom-coms and more "innocent" characters before she was brilliantly cast by Quentin Tarantino as Elle Driver in Kill Bill. The California Mountain Snake, as Driver was known as part of the Deadly Vipers is a remorseless killer and relentless in her pursuit of her intended victim. 

Elsa Schneider - Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

Elsa Schneider is the worst kind of traitor, she's a Nazi traitor who turns on one of cinema's great heroes, Indiana Jones. It's an unforgivable sin that earns her place on this list. Allison Doody's performance is great, as the surprise twist is something few saw coming. 

Catherine Tramell - Basic Instinct

It's unfortunate that Basic Instinct is really only remembered for one scene, surely you know which one. It's sad because Sharon Stone's work in the film as the calculating Catherine Tramell deserves to be remembered for more than just that interrogation scene. It's arguably the finest performance of her career. 

Jadis The White Witch - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Jadis The White Witch (Tilda Swinton) is, in the end, really nothing more than a dictator and a bully. She just has powerful magic to help her in her mercurial schemes and grievances. Not only does she delight in turning her enemies to stone for even the most minor slights, but she also plunges Narnia into winter for decades. 

Madison Lee - Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

Traitorous villains, like Madison Lee (Demi Moore) in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle are the worst kind of people, but they make for some epic baddies in movies. A former Angel, Madison turns to the dark side after she thinks Charlie disrespects her and goes after her old friends with total abandon. 

Ursula - The Little Mermaid

It's hard to narrow down all the great Disney female villains for this list, but we had to include Ursula from The Little Mermaid. She's the epitome of everything that makes Disney villains great. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?

Mallory Knox - Natural Born Killers

Like many others on this list, Mallory Knox (Juliette Lewis) in Natural Born Killers is in some ways a victim of circumstance. Her upbringing was shocking, and her husband Mickey (Woody Harrelson) is the catalyst for their crime spree. Neither of those things gives her a pass though. Instead she makes this list as an all-time great villain. 

Frau Farbissina - Austin Powers 

One of the great Bond villainesses. Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love is the inspiration for another great, Frau Farbissina in the Austin Powers franchise. Mindy Sterling's performance as Dr. Evil's right-hand woman is just pitch-perfect as a parody and she absolutely deserves to be on this list. 

President Alma Coin - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the classic bad guy in The Hunger Games movies, but after Snow is finally deposed and Alma Coin (Julieanne Moore) takes over as President, it turns out she's just as ruthless as Snow. Her pettiness towards Katniss doesn't do much to endear her to anyone, either.

Mad Max (Mad Max Franchise)

No one could have predicted that a small-budget Australian movie like The Road Warrior would launch a franchise, but it has. Mel Gibson's Mad Max, a former cop turned vigilante in a post-apocalyptic world. Max is violent and ruthless, but he's driven by grief, so we love him for it. 

Jack Sparrow (Pirates Of The Caribbean)

There aren't a lot of chances in life to root for a pirate, but there aren't a lot of pirates quite like Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He cheats, lies, and steals and we love him for it. He's one of the greatest antiheroes of all time. 

Catwoman (Batman)

Though Catwoman may have started as a villain in the Batman comics, in most of her appearances in movies, she's been a clear antiheroine. She's been portrayed on the big screen most recently by Zoë Kravitz in The Batman, and in the past by Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Halle Berry, and each time, she walks that line between enemy and friend to Batman. 

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

One of the worst characters on this list has to be Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) from American Psycho. The title tells the whole story, right? Yet somehow, he's one of the most quotable characters in film history, Whether it's about how Huey Lewis is great or getting reservations at Dorsia we love to quote the serial killer and that means we are rooting for him, in a way. 

Arthur Fleck (The Joker)

Everyone knows where the Joker ends up, as the Clown Prince of Crime and one of the worst villains in Gotham. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in The joker is easy to root for, at least at first. He's a guy that just can't catch a break and he's pushed to his limit, so we can all empathize with his plight, even when it leads to crime. We just don't take it as far as Fleck does, hopefully. 

Han Solo (Star Wars)

You might be surprised to see Han Solo (Harrison Ford) on this list, but you have to remember, before he became a hero, he was a bad boy smuggler; the one who shot first in his meeting with Greedo; just a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder who few people trusted. He didn't want to get involved in the fight for freedom and fought joining the rebellion for years.  

Vito Corleone

Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in The Godfather rose from the most modest of circumstances in Sicily to the height of power in New York City. Unfortunately, he made that rise through brutality and murder. Still, he's loyal and honest to his family and his organization, and he's just...well... cool. Plus he loves cats. 

Snake Plissken (Escape From New York)

Snake Plissken is maybe the coolest guy on this list. Sure, he's a heartless criminal who only looks out for himself, but can you blame him? Look at the mess of a world he's living in. He's who everyone would want to be if they were stuck in a bombed-out shell that was once New York City. 

Deadpool (Deadpool)

The Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool, is a now-legendary antihero from Marvel. He's foul-mouthed and murderous. Everything most Marvel heroes eschew, Deadpool embraces and we love him for it. Somehow, despite being everything a hero isn't supposed to be, makes him a better hero than many. He's just a bad guy who gets paid to mess up worse guys. 

Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)

In Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson's Jules Winnfield is trying to walk a different path. He's had enough of being a hitman, and we should admire him for it, but let's be honest, it's his coolness in being a hitman that makes us love him. The bible-quoting, swearing, no-nonsense criminal is just fun to root for, despite all the murdering. 

Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

No one can ever question the motivations of Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The abuse she suffered would not be wished on anyone's worst enemies. What it turns her into is something terrifying, and yet endearing, making her the ultimate antiheroine. 

John Wick (John Wick)

Yes, John Wick is avenging the murder of a dog when he is sucked back into his old life, and that is something we can all stand behind, but let's not forget he is a cold-blooded assassin. He lives and operates in a terrifying underworld that is not making the world a better place. So while his immediate actions might be somewhat justified, he's no hero. 

R.P. McMurphy (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)

Randle Patrick McMurphy is one of the greatest antiheroes of modern literature and cinema. Played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest RP McMurphy is the best kind of troublemaker. A career criminal trying to take down the real bad guys, "the system", or in this specific case, Nurse Ratched and the institution he finds himself in. 

Léon (Léon: The Professional)

Jean Reno's performance as the protagonist in Léon: The Professional is phenomenal. His dedication to Mathilda (Natalie Portman) is heartfelt and honest and that's what endears him to audiences. The hitman with a heart of gold, so to speak. 

Veronica (Heathers)

One of the darkest (and best) comedies of the 1980s was Heathers and at its heart is Veronica (Winona Ryder), who becomes part of a murderous duo with her boyfriend J.D. (Christian Slater). It plays for laughs, sure, and every teenager can relate, but, yikes, she's terrible! 

Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange)

There may be no worse person on this list than Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange. His penchant for "ultra-violence" is beyond disturbing, but she sure does have style! The white suit and black bowler hat is an iconic look so that alone makes him cool enough to root for. It's really what happens to him at the hands of the doctors to cure him that gets us rooting for him though, as messed up as that is. 

Wolverine (X-Men)

Comic books, and the movies based on them, are filled with great antiheroes, and Wolverine is among the very best. Hugh Jackman's version of Wolverine in all of the various X-Men movies makes us love the character even more. 

Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden in Fight Club has almost become an actual hero to many these days, but it shouldn't be. Sure, he shows the Narrator (Edward Norton) a different way to live, with more confidence and moxie, but he's a terrible role model, ultimately. Brad Pitt plays the role with so much charisma though, he's hard not to love.  

Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad)

Harley Quinn, played brilliantly by Margot Robbie in various DC films, including Suicide Squad among others, is one of the most likable antiheroines on this list. She's as violent as a character can be, but she sure does it with style! 

Severus Snape (Harry Potter)

Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) in the Harry Potter franchise walks the line between antihero and hero more than anyone on this list. His motivations seem to be to get back at Harry for his unrequited love for Harry's mother, but he ultimately proves his loyalty several times in Harry's fight with Voldemort. 

Michael Corleone (The Godfather Saga)

While Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) may claim that that he's trying to go legit, his actions at every turn throughout the The Godfather series say otherwise. Pretty much everything he says is immediately discarded in favor of his lust for power. He turns on almost everyone around him, yet somehow audiences always see the more human side of him and root for him. 

Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to create one of the most stylish antiheroines in film history. Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) is dead-set on revenge for past actions against her, and boy oh boy does she get it. Don't get in her way.

Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Loki causes more grief and mischief than almost any other character in the MCU, save for Thanos. Still, Tom Hiddleston's various performances are among the best in the franchise, and how can you not love him, even when he's at his worst? Truly one of the best villains in film history.  

Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

It's unlikely that Wall Street Director Oliver Stone meant for Gordon Gekko to become a cultural hero of any kind, but Michael Douglas' Oscar-winning performance has turned him into a very popular antihero. While the character represents everything that is wrong with Wall Street in the 1980s and even today, Douglas is so good, you walk away liking the character, instead of despising him. 

Tony Montana (Scarface)

There is nothing we should like about Tony Montana (Al Pacino) in Scarface. Sure, he got rich after getting thrown out of Cuba and landing in Miami with nothing, but how he got there is just awful. He's mean and nasty to everyone he comes in contact with, even his closest friends. Somehow still, audiences love him and his little friend. 

Bodhi (Point Break)

Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) is a bank-robbing criminal with little regard for anyone but himself and his desires. He's also a surfer and skydiver who is searching for "100% pure adrenaline). It's that second part that audiences fall in love with. He's a guy searching for the ultimate natural high, no matter what it takes. 

The Punisher (Marvel)

There may be no greater example of a pure antihero than The Punisher. Former cop Frank Castle has understandable motives, avenging the murder of his family, but his means are brutal. The character has been played by Thomas Jane, Ray Stevenson, and Dolph Lundgren on the big screen, and more recently by Jon Bernthal in the MCU, but the story is always the same and it's always violent, yet relatable, in a weird way.  

William Foster (Falling Down)

Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down is a man on the edge when the film begins. Soon, he's in a rage, followed by a violent rampage against everything that irks him. It's an irrational response to common feelings all humans deal with. It makes the character relatable, but not righteous. 

Conan (Conan the Barbarian)

Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Conan the Barbarian is another antihero who is driven by his desire to avenge his family's murder. To do so, he is ruthless and violent. His methods are everything we should hate, but we understand what has driven him to this point. 

Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)

Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) isn't a dirty cop, in that he's not taking bribes and treating the innocent badly. He's not a good cop either and his means to the end are terrifying. He's a one-man judge, jury, and executioner throughout the entire Dirty Harry series, but he's got some amazing lines, so we love him. 

Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

Daniel Day-Lewis can make almost any character he plays likable, no matter how awful they are. Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood is the perfect example of this, as he is mean, greedy, and vengeful. Still, the performance is so amazing, and his love for his son is genuine, so we excuse it, to a point. 

Hannibal Lector (The Silence Of The Lambs)

Anthony Hopkins performance as Hannibal Lector in The Silence Of The Lambs is one of the most chilling and scariest in film history. The serial killer-turned-FBI-consultant is awful in every way except for his treatment of Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster). It's exactly why we're rooting for him at the end of the movie to get his revenge on Dr. Chilton (Anthony Heald). 

Antiheroes have been a part of storytelling forever and though we know we're supposed to hate them, this list shows why we can't help but love them. 

Warning: Spoilers ahead, of course.

No Country for Old Men

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a reluctant hero in No Country for Old Men. He stumbles onto a briefcase full of cash from a deal gone bad by the Mexican Cartel and finds himself on the run from them and the assassin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Despite his resourcefulness, which leads audiences to believe he'll come out ok, his mother's mistake leads to Moss getting killed and losing the money while his wife (Kelly Macdonald) is (probably) murdered by Chigurh.

Se7en

Kevin Spacey's John Doe in Se7en is one of the most evil villains in cinema history and a big reason why is that in the end, he gets everything he wants. He completes all seven of the deadly sins when Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) kills Doe and becomes the seventh sin, rage. So while Doe ends up dead, he still wins. 

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Throughout the Star Wars saga, good and evil have traded blows with both sides coming out on top at different times. The first example (or second, depending on what order you watch the Star Wars movies in) is the legendary end of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke, handless, dangles from a tower as Darth Vader tells him about his lineage after Han Solo is carted away, frozen in carbonite. It's bleak. 

Silence Of The Lambs

The ending of Silence of the Lambs is a mixed bag. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) gets Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), but another villain, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) gets away and hunts his nemesis down on an unnamed tropical island. Some may call Lecter an anti-hero here, but he's pure bad guy in reality.

Rocky

One of the reasons Rocky is such a timeless movie is because, in the end, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) actually loses the fight. It makes the movie real and gritty. Its true brilliance is that the end it still triumphant, even though Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wins the fight. 

Avengers: Infinity War

It was the snap heard 'round the universe after Thanos collected all the Infinity Stones and in a millisecond wiped out half of the population everywhere. Marvel is not where audiences ever expect to see a movie end with the villain winning, but Avengers: Infinity War changed everything and it's brilliant. 

Chinatown

One of the reasons Chinatown has one of the greatest scripts ever written is because of the twist ending no one sees coming. Jake (Jack Nicholson) has just worked out all the ins and outs of the scam he's been trying to uncover for the whole movie when he's caught by Cross (John Huston) and forced to help Cross complete his plan. Cross gets away and Jack can only watch it happen. 

Kingpin

The stakes are quite a bit lower in Kingpin than in some of the other movies on this list, but that doesn't change the fact that the villain, in this case bowler Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray) defeats Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) in the final match of the movie. Munson just can't catch a break. 

The Usual Suspects

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist and the greatest trick The Usual Suspects pulls is having Keyser Soze (Kevin Spacey) escape right out from under the noses of the authorities. Hailed as one of the great twists in cinema, while all the clues are right there for audiences to see, the mysterious Soze completes his plan and gets away. 

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is one of the greatest anti-heroes in literary and cinema history, but that doesn't mean he gets to win. No, in the end, it's one of cinema's greatest villains, Nurse Rachet (Louise Fletcher), and the system that wins leaving McMurphy lobotomized. 

Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby is one of the scariest movies ever made and just when you think Rosemary (Mia Farrow) might figure out what is going on with the weirdos in her apartment building, the coven wins, and Rosemary births Satan's child. What's worse is that Rosemary gives in and decides to raise the child. 

Primal Fear

The shocking twist ending to Primal Fear was a controversial one, but it's so satisfying when you think about it. Yeah, the good guy, attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere), and everyone else, is fooled by Aaron/Roy (Edward Norton) and a murderous villain basically gets away with killing multiple people, but it works so, so well. 

Saltburn

One of 2023's most talked-about films, Saltburn leaves audiences guessing until the end with what is really going on. Oliver Quick's (Barry Keoghan) is a bit of a mystery until he reveals that he is pretty evil. He manipulates an entire family so he can get what he wants, which is apparently to dance...um...freely, through the Saltburn estate. 

Skyfall

No one ever expects James Bond to lose, and he rarely does. Sometimes, however, the villain does at least partially win. Skyfall is a great example. Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is one of the best Bond villains of all time, and in the end, while he doesn't live, Silva does take out M (Judi Dench) and in a way, breaks Bond on his way out. 

The Wicker Man

Whether it's the classic original from 1973 or the ill-advised "comedic" 2006 remake of The Wicker Man, the results are the same. The police officer investigating the cult of pagans doesn't get his man in the end, in fact, they get him. 

Fallen

While Fallen isn't going to top any list of great Denzel Washington movies, it is an example of the bad guy winning in the end. It's a weird story, involving demon possession and other occult-ness, and in the end, while Washington's character thinks he's got the upper hand by poisoning himself and shooting his possessed partner, played by John Goodman, it turns out he doesn't and the demon walks away after possessing a cat. Seriously. 

12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys is as confusing as it is visually stunning and because the plot can be so confusing it's hard to say if the bad guy wins definitively. It's even hard to say who the baddies are definitively. What is clear is that despite Bruce Willis' character trying to do what's best for himself and his future, fate, the scientists in the future, or whomever, steps in to take him out. So the good guy doesn't win, which is close enough. 

Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith

There's no surprise that Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith is on this list. It's an interesting addition because most fans knew exactly where this part of the Star Wars saga was headed. Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) wins by drawing Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the Dark Side and creating Darth Vader. Bummer. 

The Bad New Bears

The Bad New Bears is a classic sports comedy that follows a tried and true formula. A group of misfits come together after struggling and make it to the championship game. Unfortunately for the Bears, they lose in the championship to their rivals, the Yankees. The bad guy is most definitely the terrible coach of the Yankees, who even slaps his son before the game ends, yet he's rewarded by winning. Bad news for the Bears. 

Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines

In the Terminator series, fans waited a long time to see Judgment Day, when Skynet became aware. That finally happens at the end of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. John Connor (Nick Stahl) and Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) seek to shut down Skynet before it becomes sentient, but find their destination is the wrong place to do that. Skynet becomes aware, launching the nukes that would kick off the war with the machines. 

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange turns a lot of tropes on their heads. For starters, audiences end up rooting for Alex (Malcolm McDowell) despite being a horrid, homicidal maniac. When he's sent to the hospital to be reformed, the brainwashing works and Alex is "cured" of his ultra-violent tendencies, and yet, we're all left disappointed somehow and the bad guys become those saving the maniac. Or did they...

Taxi Driver

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver is a bad guy. There's no way around it. He might have been driven to madness, but that doesn't mean he's good. Still, he never pays for any of his horrible crimes and in the end, is still driving his cab. It's a win for the anti-hero that shouldn't even be considered that. 

Swimming with Sharks

When Guy's (Frank Whaley) dream job turns into a nightmare at the hands of one of the worst bosses in movie history, Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey) in Swimming With Sharks he comes up with a plan to end Buddy's reign of terror. Instead, Buddy turns it around on Guy and Guy becomes everything he tried to avoid. Chalk another one up for the bad guy. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley is a grade-A sociopath and when presented with an opportunity to weasel his way into a lifestyle he craves, he resorts to everything up to murder to do so. He kills friends, lovers, and other innocent people to get what he wants, without even a hint of remorse most of the time. He also gets away with it all, getting everything he wants with no consequences. 

Cool Hand Luke

"Cool Hand" Luke Jackson is another anti-hero we all love. He's incorrigible and untamable in the best way. That is until he meets The Captain in a prison in Florida who goes out of his way to break Luke in Cool Hand Luke. The Captain is so brutal on Luke, that the movie ends with Luke's death. The Captain wins and seemingly will continue his brutal ways in the future. 

Network

Network doesn't have one bad guy that wins, it has a bad system that wins. Corporations and capitalism are the bad guys, not state actors or terrorists. "There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon," according to Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty). Howard Beale (Peter Finch) tries to take them down, but he's just yelling madly out a window. Almost 50 years after Network came out and the corporations are still winning. 

Basic Instinct

Catherine Tramell is a great villain in Basic Instinct. The role is played so well by Sharon Stone that by the end, audiences aren't sure if she's good or bad, if she's a murderer or not. It's less ambiguous when we see the ice pick in the final scene. Still, she wins, she gets away with murder, or multiple murders and lives on, ready to commit at least one more, maybe. 

Sicario

Sicario's morality is all over the place. Audiences are left asking more questions about it than answers to be found in the movie. Is the CIA evil? Are the U.S. policies in the War on Drugs? Is the Mexican Cartel? What about Benicio Del Toro's character? We just don't know. What we do know is that no one wins, especially not the good guy.  

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

In George Lazenby's only appearance as James Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond saves the world but loses his wife, which definitely qualifies as the bad guy winning. After Bond stymies Blofeld's (Telly Savalas) plans and rescues his love interest, Tracy (Diana Rigg), Blofeld returns the favor when he and his henchwoman gun down Tracy in a drive-by shooting as the couple are leaving their wedding. It's safe to say the moment changed 007 forever. 

Arlington Road

In Arlington Road Michael (Jeff Bridges) suspects his neighbors, played by Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack, as being terrorists, and he pursues them in a cat-and-mouse game that ultimately leads to Michael discovering he was right, but the terrorists are one step ahead of him and Michael dies in an explosion at FBI headquarters and is framed as the perpetrator of the blast. Meanwhile, his neighbors, who are responsible, get away scot-free. 

Gone Girl

Just who is the bad guy in Gone Girl? Is it Nick (Ben Affleck) for the way he treats his wife, or is it his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) for the way she frames him? It's hard to answer, but by the end, Amy has trapped Nick in their toxic relationship, so in one way or another, the bad guy wins. 

The Dark Knight Rises

The Joker in The Dark Night Rises is quite possibly the best villain in any comic book movie ever. Heath Ledger's performance is worthy of all the praise it gets. And while he doesn't get everything he wants, to destroy the soul of Gotham, he does manage to destroy Batman's (Christian Bale) psyche and that is enough to say the bad guy won. 

It's nice to not always have the bad guy lose, even if we don't like it in the moment. But as the Rolling Stones said, sometimes you need to have a little "sympathy for the devil." 

The news of the death of Bill Butler was first reported by The American Society of Cinematographers, which he was the “most senior member” of, and the organization bestowed upon a Lifetime Achievement Award from back in 2003. Along with being the director of photography on Jaws, Butler also was the cinematographer for 1978’s Grease, numerous Rocky movies and the original Chucky movie, 1988’s Child’s Play. He was also nominated for an Oscar alongside Haskell Wexler for Best Cinematography for creating the visuals for the 1975 Best Picture winner, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. 

He was born Wilmer Cable Butler on April 7, 1921 in Cripple Creek. Colorado to farmer parents. When he was a kid, he moved with his family to Iowa, where he would receive a degree in engineering from the University of Iowa. Butler began his career at a local radio station in Indiana before being instrumental in building the first TV stations for ABC when television was just getting its start. 

Butler met famed The French Connection and The Exorcist director Wiliam Friedkin just in time for him to work with him on Friedkin's first credit, The People vs. Paul Crump, a documentary about the titular prisoner who was on death row that was so powerful that it led to Illinois’ governor to reduce Crump’s sentence. The project was key to Butler turning to a career in film cinematography, and Friedkin proved to be a valuable connection that introduced him to the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, whom he worked with on 1969’s The Rain People. 

The director of photography worked on an early Steven Spielberg movie, 1972’s Something Evil, before working with him again for the iconic shark movie ahead of its 1975 release, which of course was a huge success. Nearly 50 years following Jaws originally hitting theaters, it’s thought to be one of the best horror movies ever made, whereas many regard it to be the greatest movie of all time, including filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

While on the set of Jaws, Butler actually developed numerous mechanisms to allow them to  shoot the land and water shots required for the movie, including creating a pontoon camera raft that was waterproof to achieve the shark fin POV shots. 

Also among Butler’s accomplishments is the fact that he worked closely with Sylvester Stallone as a writer, director and star on Rocky II, Rocky III and Rocky IV as the D.P. His final movie was 2009’s Evil Angel. Butler is survived by his five daughters and wife Iris Butler. On behalf of CinemaBlend, we send condolences to the Butler family at this time. 

The 1920s-1930s

Wings (1927)

Director: William A. Wellman

Starring: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard Arlen

What it’s about: According to History.com, the first movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards (before they were called Oscars) was Wings – an action-packed, silent epic following two World War I fighter pilots and their bitter feud over the same woman.

How to watch Wings

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The Broadway Melody (1929)

Director: Harry Beaumont

Starring: Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love

What it’s about: There is a romantic rivalry at the heart of The Broadway Melody – a musical about show business dreams and the first “talkie” to win the highest honor at the Academy Awards.

How to watch The Broadway Melody

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All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)

Director: Lewis Milestone

Starring: Lew Ayres, Lewis Wolheim

What it’s about: The first adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, – and only the first to be nominated for Best Picture before Netflix’s 2022 version (one of the best war movies on Netflix) – won the prize for its heartbreaking depiction of World War I from a German soldier’s perspective.

How to watch All Quiet on the Western Front

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Cimarron (1931)

Director: Wesley Ruggles

Starring: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne

What it’s about: Edna Farber’s novel about a newspaper editor and his involvement in the late 19th-Century Oklahoma land rush inspired Cimarron – the first Western to win at the Academy Awards, including the top prize.

How to watch Cimarron

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Grand Hotel (1932)

Director: Edmund Goulding

Starring: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore

What it’s about: An iconic ensemble leads the thrilling, romantic interwoven stories told in Grand Hotel, which was only nominated for Best Picture but managed to take it home.

How to watch Grand Hotel

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Cavalcade (1933)

Director: Frank Lloyd

Starring: Diana Winyard, Clive Brook

What it’s about: Several notable and tragic events of the early 20th Century are seen through the eyes of a well-to-do English family in Cavalcade, which also earned awards for Frank Lloyd and art director William S. Darling.

How to watch Cavalcade

• Rent or buy Cavalcade on Amazon
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It Happened One Night (1934)

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

What it’s about: Frank Capra, Clark Gable, and Claudette Colbert each won their first Academy Award for It Happened One Night – one of the most charming and influential romantic comedy movies ever made.

How to watch It Happened One Night

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Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)

Director: Frank Lloyd

Starring: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton

What it’s about: Mutiny on the Bounty is a thrilling adventure, inspired by a real incident from 1789, about a ship crew rebelling against their sadistic captain.

How to watch Mutiny on the Bounty

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The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Director: Robert Z. Leonard

Starring: William Powell, Luise Rainer, Myrna Loy

What it’s about: The Great Ziegfeld is a lavish, fact-based tale about the ups and downs of show business that also took home an award for Seymour Felix’s choreography.

How to watch The Great Ziegfeld

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The Life Of Emile Zola (1937)

Director: William Dieterle

Starring: Paul Muni, Gloria Holden

What it’s about: The following year, the Academy gave the Best Picture Oscar to another fact-based drama, The Life of Emile Zola, which follows the titular French writer and his fight against the unjust Dreyfus affair.

How to watch The Life of Emile Zola

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You Can't Take It With You (1938)

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart

What it’s about: You Can’t Take It with You – based on playwrights George S. Kaufmann and Moss Hart’s brilliant, romantic class satire – won Best Picture the first year the Academy started calling the statuette “Oscar.”

How to watch You Can’t Take It with You

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Gone With The Wind (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming

Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Hattie McDaniel

What it’s about: Still the all-time highest-grossing movie when adjusted for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo, Gone with the Wind made Oscar history as the first color film to win Best Picture and Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to be nominated and awarded by the Academy when she won Best Supporting Actress.

How to watch Gone with the Wind

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The 1940s

Rebecca (1940)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Laurence Olivie, Joan Fontaine

What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar himself, but his adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s riveting suspense novel, Rebecca, at least earned him the honor of saying he helmed a Best Picture winner.

How to watch Rebecca

• Stream Rebecca on Filmzie
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How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Director: John Ford

Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara

What it’s about: Famous for beating Citizen Kane for the top prize is How Green Was My Valley, which is based on Richard Llewellyn’s story of one family’s struggles in a Welsh mining village in the early 1900s.

How to watch How Green Was My Valley

• Rent or buy How Green Was My Valley on Amazon
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Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Director: William Wyler

Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon

What it’s about: As World War II was still raging, the Best Picture Oscar went to Mrs. Miniver, which chronicles the early days of the earth-shattering conflict through the eyes of a middle-class British family.

How to watch Mrs. Miniver

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Casablanca (1943)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

What it’s about: The events of World War II were very much an influence on the story of the heartbreaking classic about unrequited love, Casablanca, in which former lovers reunited over political intrigue in Morocco.

How to watch Casablanca

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Going My Way (1944)

Director: Leo McCarey

Starring: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald

What it’s about: The Academy must have been in the mood for something lighter when it awarded Best Picture to a musical called Going My Way, which also earned Bing Crosby his sole Oscar.

How to watch Going My Way

• Rent or buy Going My Way on Amazon
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The Lost Weekend (1945)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman

What it’s about: Following World War II’s end, the Academy sought darkness again and gave the top prize to Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend – a film noir classic following an alcoholic’s days-long bender.

How to watch The Lost Weekend

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The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)

Director: William Wyler

Starring: Myrna Loy, Fredric March

What it’s about: While many films set around and released close to World War II intended to glorify the conflict, The Best Years of Lives took a more honest approach to its psychological effects, by following a trio of traumatized veterans struggling to readjust.

How to watch The Best Years of Our Lives

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Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Director: Elia Kazan

Starring: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire

What it’s about: A renowned journalist goes undercover as a Jewish man as research for a series of articles covering anti-Semitism in Gentleman’s Agreement.

How to watch Gentleman’s Agreement

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Hamlet (1948)

Director: Laurence Olivier

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons

What it’s about: Sir Laurence Olivier also did uncredited screenwriting work on and gave an Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Hamlet – the first talkie based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy and the first non-American film to win Best Picture.

How to watch Hamlet

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All The King's Men (1949)

Director: Robert Rossen

Starring: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland

What it’s about: Broderick Crawford earned an Oscar for his lead performance in All the King’s Men – based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel following the triumphant rise and fall of a corrupt politician.

How to watch All the King’s Men

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The 1950s

All About Eve (1950)

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring: Anne Baxter, Bette Davis

What it’s about: “Fasten your seatbelts” for All About Eve – the dazzling drama in which the title character schemes to assume the life of an aging Broadway star.

How to watch All About Eve

• Rent or buy All About Eve on Amazon
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An American In Paris (1951)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron

What it’s about: A painter struggles to find work in France in the essential romantic musical, An American in Paris, which also won Best Original Score.

How to watch An American in Paris

• Rent or buy An American in Paris on Amazon
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The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

Starring: James Stewart, Charlton Heston

What it’s about: The Greatest Show on Earth brought all the excitement of the circus to the movie theater and, as depicted in The Fabelmans, inspired a young Steven Spielberg to pursue a career in filmmaking.

How to watch The Greatest Show on Earth

• Stream The Greatest Show on Earth on MGM+
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From Here To Eternity (1953)

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed

What it’s about: One of the most exciting and romantic war dramas of all time is From Here to Eternity, which includes one of the most iconic movie kisses and for which Frank Sinatra won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

How to watch From Here to Eternity

• Rent or buy From Here to Eternity on Amazon
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On The Waterfront (1954)

Director: Elia Kazan

Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden

What it’s about: Marlon Brando won his first Academy Award for playing a down-and-out former boxer who “coulda been a contender” in On the Waterfront, which also earned Elia Kazan his second Oscar.

How to watch On the Waterfront

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Marty (1955)

Director: Delbert Mann

Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair

What it’s about: Ernest Borgnine gives an Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Marty – a Bronx butcher who receives an unexpected chance at love when he meets the equally disillusioned teacher, Clara.

How to watch Marty

• Stream Marty on Amazon Prime
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Around The World In 80 Days (1956)

Director: Michael Anderson

Starring: David Niven, Cantinflas

What it’s about: Based on Jules Verne’s seminal, inventive adventure novel, Around the World in 80 Days follows two explorers attempting to do just what the title suggests.

How to watch Around the World in 80 Days

• Rent or buy Around the World in 80 Days on Amazon
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The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)

Director: David Lean

Starring: Alec Guinness, William Holden

What it’s about: Future Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Alec Guinness won the Best Actor Oscar for playing one of many POWs forced to build a doomed railroad during World War II in The Bridge on the River Kwai.

How to watch The Bridge on the River Kwai

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Gigi (1958)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan

What it’s about: Winner of all nine Oscars it was nominated for, Gigi is a sweeping musical about a friendship between a rich playboy and a courtesan-in-training that blossoms into more.

How to watch Gigi

• Stream Gigi on Tubi
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Ben-Hur (1959)

Director: Willian Wyler

Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins

What it’s about: Charlton Heston won Best Actor for playing the title role of a Jewish prince wrongfully sold into slavery in Ben-Hur – a quintessential period epic that is also celebrated for its editing by experts of the craft.

How to watch Ben-Hur

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The 1960s

The Apartment (1960)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine

What it’s about: One of Billy Wilder’s most definitive achievements was The Apartment – an inventive comedy about an insurance clerk who allows his coworkers to have romantic encounters in his Manhattan home.

How to watch The Apartment

• Stream The Apartment on MGM+
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West Side Story (1961)

Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise

Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer

What it’s about: William Shakespeare’s seminal romantic tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, is given a modernized, musical update with West Side Story, which Steven Spielberg would later reimagine in 2021.

How to watch West Side Story

• Stream West Side Story on Amazon Prime
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Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

Director: David Lean

Starring: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness

What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Peter O’Toole never won an Oscar, even for his performance in the title role of Lawrence of Arabia, which is about how England’s T.E. Lawrence led Arab tribes against the Turks during World War I.

How to watch Lawrence of Arabia

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Tom Jones (1963)

Director: Tony Richardson

Starring: Albert Finney, Susannah York

What it’s about: Four Oscars went to this adaptation of Henry Fielding’s period novel, Tom Jones, which follows the romantic exploits of the chivalrous, titular lothario.

How to watch Tom Jones

• Stream Tom Jones on Max
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• Buy Tom Jones on Blu-ray from Walmart

My Fair Lady (1964)

Director: George Cukor

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison

What it’s about: Based on the stage musical of the same name, My Fair Lady is the largely influential story (it was the basis for She’s All That) of a phonetics professor who wagers he can make an upper-class citizen out of a working-class, Cockney woman.

How to watch My Fair Lady

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The Sound Of Music (1965)

Director: Robert Wise

Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer

What it’s about: Another iconic musical that earned the top prize at the Oscars in the 1960s is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews as a governess who teaches the children of her employer about the joys of song.

How to watch The Sound of Music

• Stream The Sound of Music on Disney+
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A Man For All Seasons (1966)

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Starring: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller

What it’s about: Sir Thomas More’s defiance of the Catholic Church’s prohibition of divorce inspired the play A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, who would win an Oscar for penning the screenplay of this enthralling adaptation.

How to watch A Man for All Seasons

• Rent or buy A Man for All Seasons on Amazon
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In The Heat Of The Night (1967)

Director: Norman Jewison

Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger

What it’s about: In one of Sidney Poitier’s best movies, In the Heat of the Night, he plays a Black detective asked by a Mississippi police chief to help solve a murder he was unjustly accused of.

How to watch In the Heat of the Night

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Oliver! (1968)

Director: Carol Reed

Starring: Ron Moody, Mark Lester

What it’s about: Based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver! is a musical that tells the story of a young orphan who adopts the art of pickpocketing in 1830s London.

How to watch Oliver!

• Stream Oliver! on The Roku Channel
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Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Director: John Schlesinger

Starring: Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman

What it’s about: The first and only Best Picture winner to receive an X rating is Midnight Cowboy, in which a Texas hustler in Brooklyn forms a deep bond with a rebuffed local.

How to watch Midnight Cowboy

• Stream Midnight Cowboy on Amazon Prime
• Stream Midnight Cowboy on Tubi
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The 1970s

Patton (1970)

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden

What it’s about: George C. Scott brilliantly embodied one of the most famous military figures in history to Oscar-winning acclaim in the monumental biopic, Patton.

How to watch Patton

• Rent or buy Patton on Amazon
• Buy Patton on Blu-ray on Amazon

The French Connection (1971)

Director: William Friedken

Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider

What it’s about: In addition to earning a Best Director Oscar, William Friedkin arguably redefined the cop thriller with The French Connection, starring Gene Hackman in a winning performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle.

How to watch The French Connection

• Rent or buy The French Connection on Amazon
• Buy The French Connection on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Godfather (1972)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino

What it’s about: The mafia thriller genre was inarguably redefined by one of the best ‘70s movies, The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando in an Oscar-winning performance as Don Vito Corleone.

How to watch The Godfather

• Stream The Godfather on Paramount+
• Rent or buy The Godfather on Amazon
• Buy The Godfather on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Sting (1973)

Director: George Roy Hill

Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford

What it’s about: In the classic heist thriller classic The Sting, a pair of grifters plan a huge con to avenge the murder of their mutual friend.

How to watch The Sting

• Stream The Sting on Netflix
• Rent or buy The Sting on Amazon
• Buy The Sting on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro

What it’s about: Francis Ford Coppola won Best Director after completing his adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel with the, arguably, more powerful follow-up, The Godfather Part II, starring Robert De Niro in an Oscar-winning performance as a young Don Vito Corleone.

How to watch The Godfather Part II

• Stream The Godfather Part II on Paramount+
• Rent or buy The Godfather Part II on Amazon
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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Director: Milos Forman

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher

What it’s about: A movie that gets real about mental health is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which features one of the greatest Jack Nicholson performances as a petty criminal who leads a rebellion against a sadistic nurse after an insanity plea gets him sent to a mental institution.

How to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

• Rent or buy One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Amazon
• Buy One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Blu-ray on Amazon

Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire

What it’s about: Sylvester Stallone was nominated for both writing and starring in the title role of Rocky – one of the best sports movies ever made, which inspired an ongoing franchise of beloved boxing films.

How to watch Rocky

• Stream Rocky on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy Rocky on Amazon
• Buy Rocky on Blu-ray on Amazon

Annie Hall (1977)

Director: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

What it’s about: A neurotic comedian looks back on his unique relationship with a free-spirited, aspiring singer in Annie Hall, which remains one of the best romantic comedy movies of all time.

How to watch Annie Hall

• Stream Annie Hall on Tubi
• Rent or buy Annie Hall on Amazon
• Buy Annie Hall on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Director: Michael Cimino

Starring: Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken

What it’s about: Less a war movie and more an analysis of post-war trauma, The Deer Hunter – one of the best Robert De Niro movies – is the harrowing and controversial story of a veteran and his struggles to find his friends after becoming separated in Vietnam.

How to watch The Deer Hunter

• Rent or buy The Deer Hunter on Amazon
• Buy The Deer Hunter on Blu-ray on Amazon

Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)

Director: Robert Benton

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep

What it’s about: Both Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep received Oscars for their performances in Kramer vs. Kramer as a separated couple embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their young son.

How to watch Kramer vs. Kramer

• Rent or buy Kramer vs. Kramer on Amazon
• Buy Kramer vs. Kramer on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 1980s

Ordinary People (1980)

Director: Robert Redford

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton

What it’s about: Dysfunctional family dynamics are also at the heart of the devastating drama, Ordinary People – one of Donald Sutherland's best movies – for which Robert Redford won his sole competitive Academy Award.

How to watch Ordinary People

• Stream Ordinary People on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy Ordinary People on Amazon
• Buy Ordinary People on Blu-ray on Amazon

Chariots Of Fire (1981)

Director: Hugh Hudson

Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson

What it’s about: Vangelis earned his sole Academy Award for his instantly recognizable score for Chariots of Fire, which follows two young, British track runners of differing backgrounds at the 1924 Olympics.

How to watch Chariots of Fire

• Rent or buy Chariots of Fire on Amazon
• Buy Chariots of Fire on Blu-ray on Amazon

Gandhi (1982)

Director: Richard Attenborough

Starring: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud

What it’s about: Sir Ben Kingsley, who is of Indian descent on his father’s side, disappears into the role of the titular, iconic proponent for non-violent resistance in the rousing historical biopic, Gandhi.

How to watch Gandhi

• Stream Gandhi on Tubi
• Rent or buy Gandhi on Amazon
• Buy Gandhi on Blu-ray on Amazon

Terms Of Endearment (1983)

Director: James L. Brooks

Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson

What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Shirley MacLaine has just one Oscar, for her performance in Terms of Endearment – a drama tracing the relationship between a woman and her daughter that is often funny, until it is devastating.

How to watch Terms of Endearment

• Stream Terms of Endearment on Paramount+
• Stream Terms of Endearment on MGM+
• Stream Terms of Endearment on Hoopla
• Rent or buy Terms of Endearment on Amazon
• Buy Terms of Endearment on Blu-ray on Amazon

Amadeus (1984)

Director: Milos Forman

Starring: Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham

What it’s about: Milos Forman earned his second Best Director Oscar for Amadeus – a retelling of the life of renowned composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as told by a fellow musician who claims to have enviously murdered him, Antonio Salieri.

How to watch Amadeus

• Rent or buy Amadeus on Amazon
• Buy Amadeus on Blu-ray on Amazon

Out Of Africa (1985)

Director: Sydney Pollack

Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep

What it’s about: A big game hunter and a Danish baroness fall in love in 20th-century Kenya in the tender, powerful romance, Out of Africa.

How to watch Out of Africa

• Stream Out of Africa on Netflix
• Rent or buy Out of Africa on Amazon
• Buy Out of Africa on Blu-ray on Amazon

Platoon (1986)

Director: Oliver Stone

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe

What it’s about: American soldiers are subjected to relentless, senseless brutality while serving in Vietnam in one of the greatest war movies to win Best Picture, Platoon.

How to watch Platoon

• Stream Platoon on Amazon Prime
• Stream Platoon on Tubi
• Buy Platoon on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Last Emperor (1987)

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen

What it’s about: The story of Pu Yi – who would become the last person to serve as the monarchical leader of China – is revealed in The Last Emperor, for which Bernardo Bertolucci earned Oscars for both writing and directing.

How to watch The Last Emperor

• Stream The Last Emperor on Max
• Buy The Last Emperor on Blu-ray on Amazon

Rain Man (1988)

Director: Barry Levinson

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise

What it’s about: Dustin Hoffman gives one of the most esteemed performances of his career as an autistic savant opposite a stellar Tom Cruise as his previously unwitting younger sibling in Rain Man – a beautiful story of redemption through brotherly love.

How to watch Rain Man

• Stream Rain Man on Tubi
• Rent or buy Rain Man on Amazon
• Buy Rain Man on Blu-ray on Amazon

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Director: Bruce Beresford

Starring: Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman

What it’s about: Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman make an irresistible pair as a disgruntled, elderly widow and her chauffeur in one of Freeman’s best movies, Driving Miss Daisy – an inspirational story about redemption through friendship set between the 1950s and 1970s.

How to watch Driving Miss Daisy

• Rent or buy Driving Miss Daisy on Amazon
• Buy Driving Miss Daisy on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 1990s

Dances With Wolves (1990)

Director: Kevin Costner

Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonell

What it’s about: Kevin Costner won a Best Director Oscar for Dances with Wolves – the first Western to win Best Picture since 1931’s Cimarron – in which the Yellowstone cast member also plays the title role of a Civil War-era soldier who learns the ways of a Native American tribe.

How to watch Dances with Wolves

• Stream Dances with Wolves on Amazon Prime
• Stream Dances with Wolves on Peacock
• Stream Dances with Wolves on MGM+
• Stream Dances with Wolves on Tubi
• Buy Dances with Wolves on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins

What it’s about: An FBI trainee seeks help from a cannibalistic former psychologist to catch a killer in The Silence of the Lambs – one of the best horror movies ever made and the only film out of a handful of horror movies nominated for Best Picture to win so far.

How to watch The Silence of the Lambs

• Rent or buy The Silence of the Lambs on Amazon
• Buy The Silence of the Lambs on Blu-ray on Amazon

Unforgiven (1992)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman

What it’s about: The Academy would show its taste for the Western again by giving the top prize to one of the best Clint Eastwood movies, Unforgiven, for which the star won his first Oscar as both director and producer.

How to watch Unforgiven

• Rent or buy Unforgiven on Amazon
• Buy Unforgiven on Blu-ray on Amazon

Schindler’s List (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes

What it’s about: Arguably the best Steven Spielberg movie is the film that made him an Academy Award-winning filmmaker as director and producer, Schindler’s List – a technically magnificent, emotionally distressing portrait of the Holocaust.

How to watch Schindler’s List

• Stream Schindler’s List on Netflix
• Rent or buy Schindler’s List on Amazon
• Buy Schindler’s List on Blu-ray on Amazon

Forrest Gump (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright

What it’s about: In one of Tom Hanks’ best movies, the actor gives his second Oscar-winning performance as the simple-minded title hero of Forrest Gump – an endearing revisionist history drama from director Robert Zemeckis.

How to watch Forrest Gump

• Stream Forrest Gump on Paramount+
• Rent or buy Forrest Gump on Amazon
• Buy Forrest Gump on Blu-ray on Amazon

Braveheart (1995)

Director: Mel Gibson

Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau

What it’s about: Mel Gibson became an Oscar-winning filmmaker as the director and producer of the historical epic Braveheart, in which he also stars as Scottish warrior William Wallace in a bid to free his people from England’s tyrannical rule.

How to watch Braveheart

• Stream Braveheart on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy Braveheart on Amazon
• Buy Braveheart on Blu-ray on Amazon

The English Patient (1996)

Director: Anthony Minghella

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche

What it’s about: A French-Canadian nurse indulges in an affair with a British, semi-amnesiac plane crash victim in the romantic World War II-era drama, The English Patient.

How to watch The English Patient

• Stream The English Patient on MGM+
• Stream The English Patient on Hoopla
• Rent or buy The English Patient on Amazon
• Buy The English Patient on Blu-ray on Amazon

Titanic (1997)

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

What it’s about: Sparks fly between a wealthy young woman and a poor young man while on an ill-fated luxury ship in Titanic – James Cameron’s heavily dramatized retelling of the 1912 tragedy that became the highest-grossing film ever for a time.

How to watch Titanic

• Stream Titanic on Paramount+
• Stream Titanic on MGM+
• Rent or buy Titanic on Amazon
• Buy Titanic on Blu-ray on Amazon

Shakespeare In Love (1998)

Director: John Madden

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench

What it’s about: A young William Shakespeare indulges in an affair with a woman who inspires some of his most iconic work in Shakespeare in Love, for which Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench also won Oscars for their performances.

How to watch Shakespeare in Love

• Stream Shakespeare in Love on Paramount+
• Rent or buy Shakespeare in Love on Amazon
• Buy Shakespeare in Love on Blu-ray on Amazon

American Beauty (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening

What it’s about: Following his own death, a forty-something suburban dad recalls the bizarre last few weeks of his life through overhead narration in American Beauty.

How to watch American Beauty

• Stream American Beauty on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy American Beauty on Amazon
• Buy American Beauty on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 2000s

Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix

What it’s about: Russell Crowe gives an Oscar-winning performance as the hero of Gladiator – a thrilling period piece that surely had audiences “entertained” and spawned the sequel, Gladiator II, in 2024.

How to watch Gladiator

• Stream Gladiator on Paramount+
• Stream Gladiator on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy Gladiator on Amazon
• Buy Gladiator on Blu-ray on Amazon

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly

What it’s about: Russell Crowe headlined back-to-back Best Picture winners in the early 2000s – the second being A Beautiful Mind, in which he plays real-life mathematician John Nash, whose struggles with mental illness almost threatened his career.

How to watch A Beautiful Mind

• Rent or buy A Beautiful Mind on Amazon
• Buy A Beautiful Mind on Blu-ray on Amazon

Chicago (2002)

Director: Rob Marshall

Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellwegger, Richard Gere

What it’s about: Catherine Zeta-Jones danced her way to Oscar glory in Chicago – the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical inspired by the infamous “Murderess Row” case of the late 1920s.

How to watch Chicago

• Stream Chicago on Paramount+
• Stream Chicago on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy Chicago on Amazon
• Buy Chicago on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen

What it’s about: Director Peter Jackson completed his trilogy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s influential fantasy books with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which also became the most acclaimed of the Lord of the Rings movies and earned him a Best Director Oscar.

How to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

• Stream The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Max
• Stream The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) on Max
• Rent or buy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Amazon
• Buy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Blu-ray on Amazon

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman

What it’s about: Clint Eastwood won his second Best Director Oscar for the tragic boxing drama Million Dollar Baby, which also saw Morgan Freeman win his first Academy Award and Hilary Swank her second.

How to watch Million Dollar Baby

• Rent or buy Million Dollar Baby on Amazon
• Buy Million Dollar Baby on Blu-ray on Amazon

Crash (2005)

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle

What it’s about: Paul Haggis earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for co-writing Crash – an analysis of modern racial tension as told from the point of view of various Los Angeleans in a 36-hour period.

How to watch Crash

• Stream Crash on Plex
• Rent or buy Crash on Amazon
• Buy Crash on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Departed (2006)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

What it’s about: Martin Scorsese received a long-overdue Oscar for directing The Departed – a gritty, bleak, twisty remake of the Chinese cop drama, Infernal Affairs, set in Boston’s criminal underground.

How to watch The Departed

• Rent or buy The Departed on Amazon
• Buy The Departed on Blu-ray on Amazon

No Country For Old Men (2007)

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin

What it’s about: One of Joel and Ethan Coen’s best movies and one of the all-time best Western movies, No Country for Old Men – based on Cormac McCarthy’s powerful commentary on violence as seen through the eyes of three men on different sides of the law – also earned the duo Oscars for both writing and directing.

How to watch No Country for Old Men

• Stream No Country for Old Men on Paramount+
• Stream No Country for Old Men on MGM+
• Rent or buy No Country for Old Men on Amazon
• Buy No Country for Old Men on Blu-ray on Amazon

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto

What it’s about: A young man reflects on his childhood in Mumbai while competing on a game show in the inspiring fairy tale, Slumdog Millionaire.

How to watch Slumdog Millionaire

• Rent or buy Slumdog Millionaire on Apple TV
• Buy Slumdog Millionaire on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie

What it’s about: Kathryn Bigelow became the first female Best Director winner for The Hurt Locker – one of the best war movies of all time, which stars Jeremy Renner as a military bomb defuser whose recklessness puts him at odds with his peers while serving in Iraq.

How to watch The Hurt Locker

• Rent or buy The Hurt Locker on Amazon
• Buy The Hurt Locker on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 2010s

The King's Speech (2010)

Director: Tom Hooper

Starring: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush

What it’s about: Colin Firth gives a brilliant performance as an heir to the British throne struggling to overcome his debilitating stammer in The King’s Speech, which also earned Tom Hooper an Oscar.

How to watch The King’s Speech

• Stream The King's Speech on The Roku Channel
• Rent or buy The King’s Speech on Amazon
• Buy The King’s Speech on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Artist (2011)

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo

What it’s about: The first “silent film” to win the Best Picture Oscar since the very first Best Picture Oscar winner (Wings) was The Artist, which, itself, is a rousing, visually stunning love letter to the silent era.

How to watch The Artist

• Stream The Artist on Tubi
• Rent or buy The Artist on Amazon
• Buy The Artist on Blu-ray on Amazon

Argo (2012)

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston

What it’s about: One of Ben Affleck’s best movies, the intense thriller Argo is based on the true story of a CIA agent who helped Americans escape an Iranian hostage situation by posing as a film crew in 1979.

How to watch Argo

• Rent or buy Argo on Amazon
• Buy Argo on Blu-ray on Amazon

12 Years A Slave (2013)

Director: Steve McQueen

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender

What it’s about: Lupita Nyong’o earned a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in her feature-length debut, 12 Years a Slave, which is based on Solomon Northrup’s experience as a free Black man abducted and sold into slavery.

How to watch 12 Years a Slave

• Stream 12 Years a Slave on Hulu
• Rent or buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon
• Buy 12 Years a Slave on Blu-ray on Amazon

Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014)

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone

What it’s about: One of the best Michael Keaton movies, Birdman is a masterclass in satire and surrealism that sees the Oscar nominee poking fun at his own career by starring as a former superhero movie actor seeking a comeback.

How to watch Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

• Stream Birdman on Hulu
• Rent or buy Birdman on Amazon
• Buy Birdman on Blu-ray on Amazon

Spotlight (2015)

Director: Tom McCarthy

Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams

What it’s about: Michael Keaton led back-to-back Oscar winners in the mid-2010s – the second being Spotlight, which tells the story behind the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé about child molestation cover-ups in the Catholic Church.

How to watch Spotlight

• Stream Spotlight on Starz
• Rent or buy Spotlight on Amazon
• Buy Spotlight on Blu-ray on Amazon

Moonlight (2016)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Starring: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris

What it’s about: Although an infamous mistake initially made it seem like La La Land won in 2017, the Best Picture Oscar really went to Moonlight – the harrowing story of a young Black man struggling with abuse and his sexual identity.

How to watch Moonlight

• Rent or buy Moonlight on Amazon
• Buy Moonlight on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Shape Of Water (2017)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones

What it’s about: Visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro won over the Academy with The Shape of Water – one of his many celebrated collaborations with Doug Jones – which sees him continue to indulge in his love of creature features but filtered through a powerful commentary on forbidden love.

How to watch The Shape of Water

• Rent or buy The Shape of Water on Amazon
• Buy The Shape of Water on Blu-ray on Amazon

Green Book (2018)

Director: Peter Farrelly

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali

What it’s about: Mahershala Ali won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for one of his best roles yet – a Black pianist who forms a strong bond with his white chauffeur while touring the Jim Crow era South – in Green Book, which takes its name from a real road guide used to locate safe areas for Black travelers at the time.

How to watch Green Book

• Rent or buy Green Book on Amazon
• Buy Green Book on Blu-ray on Amazon

Parasite (2019)

Director: Bong Joon-ho

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun

What it’s about: An impoverished, South Korean family infiltrates the lives of a wealthy family in the striking, brilliant, subversive thriller, Parasite – the first movie to win Oscars for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture.

How to watch Parasite

• Stream Parasite on Netflix
• Stream Parasite on Hulu
• Rent or buy Parasite on Amazon
• Buy Parasite on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 2020s

Nomadland (2020)

Director: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn

What it’s about: The Chinese-born Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win Best Director for Nomadland, which could almost count as a documentary on the post-Recession culture of middle-aged people living exclusively on the road for its casting of real “nomads” as themselves.

How to watch Nomadland

• Stream Nomadland on Hulu
• Rent or buy Nomadland on Amazon
• Buy Nomadland on Blu-ray on Amazon

CODA (2021)

Director: Sian Heder

Starring: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin

What it’s about: A young woman, who is the only hearing person in her family, struggles between following her musical aspirations and helping her parents when they fall on hard times in CODA, which also saw star Troy Kotsur make history as the first deaf person to win the Best Actor Oscar.

How to watch CODA

• Stream CODA on Apple TV+

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu

What it’s about: One of the best A24 movies, Everything Everywhere All At Once – a bizarre, emotional, and crowd-pleasing Multiverse movie – took home the top prize, while acting awards went to Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis and DANIELS earned Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.

How to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once

• Stream Everything Everywhere All At Once on Max
• Rent or buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on Amazon
• Buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on Blu-ray on Amazon

Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.

What it’s about: Robert Downey, Jr. became the first former SNL actor to win an Oscar for his supporting performance in Oppenheimer – a dramatization of the story of the Atomic Bomb's construction from the perspective of the project's leader, J. Robert Oppenheimer, that also won the top prize.

How to watch Oppenheimer

• Stream Oppenheimer on Amazon Prime
• Buy Oppenheimer on Blu-ray on Amazon

Anora (2024)

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov

What it’s about: At the 2025 Academy Awards, five went to Anora – in which a young, Brooklyn sex worker's impulsive marriage to a Russian oligarch's son creates issues in her life – including Best Editing, Original Screenplay, and Director for Baker; Best Actress for Madison; and top prize.

How to watch Anora

• Rent or buy Anora on Amazon
• Buy Anora on Blu-ray on Amazon

Now that you can say you have seen every Best Picture Oscar winner so far, would you say you agree with the Academy?