In honor of the 98th Academy Awards last night, this week we’re focusing on movies that have claimed the golden statue. There’s a catch, though. Instead of looking at current nominees and winners, we’re exploring some of the 20th century’s Oscar winners streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The number one pick this week is a Best Picture masterpiece with so much quotable dialogue, it’s ridiculous; then, we’re diving into a psychological horror movie that will require some fava beans and a nice bottle of Chianti. Rounding out the list is a 1985 classic that has captured the hearts of viewers for decades. Enjoy these five movies this week on Prime Video.
5
Out of Africa (1985)
A love story for the ages
Easily one of the 1980s’ most acclaimed romance films, Out of Africa is an epic drama loosely adapted from Karen Blixen’s 1937 autobiography, among other sources, about her life in Kenya from 1913 to 1931. Produced and directed by Sydney Pollack, the movie is known for its sweeping, heartfelt portrayal of Blixen’s life.
Meryl Streep stars as Karen, a Danish aristocrat who moves to Africa to join her husband in running what she believes will be their dairy farm. However, when she arrives, she discovers he has invested their money in a coffee plantation. After he has an affair and leaves, Karen is left to run the farm. Seeking help, she turns to free-spirited big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton (the late Robert Redford) and quickly falls in love. However, in realizing he prefers a simpler life to her upper-class background, she has a decision to make—love or personal growth.
Out of Africa received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning seven in 1986—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Best Original Score.
Out of Africa
Release Date
December 20, 1985
Runtime
161 Minutes
Director
Sydney Pollack
4
The Pianist (2002)
Adrien Brody in his best performance
Boasting a 95% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Pianist is a biographical war drama telling the true story of a Polish-Jewish classical musician struggling to survive the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War 2.
Adrien Brody stars as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a radio station pianist who watches life change before his very eyes as the war begins. After being forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, he is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. As the situation worsens, he endures years of starvation, horror, and isolation while hiding in the ruins of Warsaw, relying on luck and sympathetic strangers to survive until the war ends. Just before it does, though, he’s discovered by a German officer who spares his life after hearing him play a piano. While the film is heart-wrenching, it ends in liberation.
The Pianist received seven Academy Award nominations, winning three in 2003—Best Actor (Brody), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Pianist
Release Date
March 28, 2003
Runtime
150 Minutes
Director
Roman Polanski
3
Rain Man (1988)
No umbrellas required
In 1988, Rain Man took audiences by storm. A-listers Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman star in the hit road-trip dramedy from Barry Levinson.
Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) is a selfish, abrasive collectible car dealer who finds out his estranged father left a $3 million fortune to an older brother he had no clue existed. Raymond (Hoffman) is an autistic savant with superb recall abilities in a mental institution who follows strict routines and is quite obsessed with watching The People’s Court featuring Judge Joseph Wapner. Motivated by money, Charlie kidnaps Raymond from the institution, and the two embark on a cross-country road trip that not only transforms their relationship as brothers but also as individuals understanding themselves in the world they’re in.
Rain Man received eight Academy Award nominations and won four in 1989— Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hoffman), and Best Screenplay. As of 2025, it is the only film to win both the Berlin International Film Festival’s Golden Bear award and the Academy Award for Best Picture in the same year.
Rain Man
Release Date
December 16, 1988
Runtime
134 Minutes
Director
Barry Levinson
2
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The most impressive horror movie of the 90s
While I think The Silence of the Lambs is deserving of a perfect critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, the hit film has held steady over the years at 95 percent. The gripping psychological horror flick is based on the 1988 novel of the same name and features iconic performances by Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in only 16 minutes of screen time.
To catch a serial killer who’s busy kidnapping, torturing, murdering, and skinning women, the FBI sends trainee Clarice Starling (Foster) to interview an imprisoned subject they believe can offer insight on Buffalo Bill, a composite character inspired by real-life serial killers. Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) is a grotesquely captivating and brilliant psychiatrist who’s also a violent psychopath and cannibal serving life behind bars at a hospital for the criminally insane. He’s enamored when Clarice arrives, and in exchange for personal details about her traumatic past, he chillingly agrees to provide cryptic clues on how to locate and apprehend Buffalo Bill.
The Silence of the Lambs won what’s known as the Big Five Academy Awards in 1992—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay. After three decades, the hit movie remains the only horror film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.
1
Forrest Gump (1994)
He can run like the wind blows
Forrest Gump is one of the greatest movies of the 1990s. This must-see Robert Zemeckis gem recounts the history of the United States from the 1950s through the 1970s from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Sally Field, and Gary Sinise deliver astonishing performances.
Forrest Gump (Hanks) might be simple and slow-witted, but he’s quick with unintended wit and has never seen himself as disadvantaged, thanks to his loving, supportive mother (Field). His childlike optimism is an inspiration everywhere he goes, whether he’s dominating on the gridiron as a college football star, fighting in Vietnam, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving survivors of his platoon, or captaining a shrimp boat. Aside from his mama, he cares most about his sweet but troubled childhood friend and only love, Jenny (Wright).
Forrest Gump received 13 Academy Award nominations and won six in 1995—Best Picture, Best Actor (Hanks), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing.
Forrest Gump
Release Date
July 6, 1994
Runtime
142 minutes
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Don’t let Prime Video’s latest price increase deter you from keeping your subscription. Its selection of award-winning movies alone is worth it!
Subscription with ads
Yes, via Prime membership or $9/month
Simultaneous streams
3
