Best Picture winners you can stream right now

When "Parasite" won Best Picture at the Oscars, it made history. Here was a film made in Korea, primarily in Korean, from director Bong Joon-Ho. People assumed that the more "traditional" Oscar bait of "1917" would win. Instead, the visceral, satirical, borderline nihilistic "Parasite" got the big win. Now, you can watch it on Hulu.

While many people were happy with "Parasite" winning, a similar number of people rolled their eyes at "Green Book" taking home Best Picture. We bet many of those people are the same. To some, "Green Book" is a pleasant, feel good story about people of different races finding common ground. Detractors found it overly simplistic. Decide for yourself with Showtime or Fubo.

We don’t know if “La La Land” is streaming, but it doesn’t matter because it famously didn’t win Best Picture. Instead, that award actually went to “Moonlight,” a smaller, more personal film. Should it have won over the candy-colored musical with the big stars? Watch it on Netflix and decide for yourself.

Speaking of great directors finally winning a much-deserved Oscar, “No Country For Old Men” got the Coen Brothers their first Best Picture. Unlike “The Departed,” it’s not unfair to call “No Country For Old Men” the brothers’ best film. It’s absolutely riveting, with a tremendous, terrifying performance from Javier Bardem as one of film’s iconic villains. Watch it on Starz.

The movie Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar for. It was a long time coming. This isn’t Scorsese’s best film. It probably isn’t even in his top five. However, “The Departed” is still a really good thriller with a great cast. Nobody is going to complain about that. You can see Scorsese’s Best Picture winner with CBS All-Access.

Remember, we said these are the Best Picture winners available to stream. We aren't necessarily recommending you watch all of these films. In fact, skipping "Crash" would be a smart choice. It's a bad film, and that was the feeling of many film fans and critics even when it won. Since then, its reputation has only gotten worse.

Obviously you can watch all three “Lord of the Rings” movies on Netflix. Maybe even the “Hobbit” movies as well, but we wouldn’t recommend those. However, if you have a lot of time to kill, “Lord of the Rings” will help you do that. All three movies have their merits, but only the final one, “Return of the King,” won Best Picture.

Musicals used to win Best Picture move often, but it's been a while since once took home the top prize on Oscar night. In fact, it hasn't happened since "Chicago" emerged victorious. Catherine Zeta-Jones also won an Academy Award for the film, which you can watch with Showtime, Hoopla, or DirecTV.

"Shakespeare in Love" pulled an upset on Oscar night by beating "Saving Private Ryan." Now, all these years later, most would likely agree the wrong film won. That's not to completely knock "Shakespeare in Love," a somewhat clever riff on Shakespeare that managed to feel fresh, which is no mean feat. You can check it out on Starz or Hoopla.

Few Best Picture winners are as polarizing as "Forrest Gump." Some think it is a sweet, fun trip through history. Others find it heavy handed, lame, and a weird love letter to Baby Boomers. Maybe whether or not you will like "Forrest Gump" is based on how old you are. Or how much you like Tom Hanks doing a Southern accent. Find out which side of the debate you're on after watching the movie on Starz.

It's pretty incredible that in the same year Steven Spielberg had both "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List" released. One is the ultimate blockbuster, a fun thrill ride that brought CGI to the mainstream. The other is a black-and-white Holocaust drama of supreme seriousness. "Schindler's List" is Spielberg's only Best Picture winner, and it's available on Netflix.

Should “Dances with Wolves” have beaten “Goodfellas” for Best Picture? No, but don’t hold it against this movie. Kevin Costner honestly did a good job with his directorial debut. It’s a good movie that would be remembered more fondly if it hadn’t bested what is possibly Martin Scorsese’s best movie. Give “Dances with Wolves” a fair shake if you have Starz.

When people complained about "Green Book," many basically called it a race-swapped "Driving Miss Daisy." In this film, a prim and proper older woman, the titular Miss Daisy, develops a relationship with her driver, played by Morgan Freeman. Hey, it's a talented cast at least, and the film is on HBO Max.

Well we have two iconic actors, Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, doing what is basically a two-hander, so that’s a good starting point. Hoffman’s portrayal of an autistic man is showy and chews all the scenery, but it won him an Oscar. You can watch it if you have Hoopla or Sling, but you can also watch it with ads on Tubi.

"The Last Emperor" was a weird choice for Best Picture. It was weird then, and it's only gotten weirder now. Not just because it isn't a terribly good film, though that plays into it. Perhaps they wanted to give director Bernardo Bertolucci some love. Hey, the movie has some pretty colors in it, at least. If you are still inclined to watch it despite this tepid writeup, "The Last Emperor" is on HBO.

For a movie starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, "Out of Africa" is pretty much a forgotten Best Picture winner. We aren't calling it an underrated gem, but you can't argue with those two big names leading the film. Streep stars as Danish writer Karen Blixen in an adapation of the author's autobiography. The movie is available on HBO Max.

Get your tissues ready. This melodramatic weepy has quite the cast, and it doesn't get too maudlin. This is from when James L. Brooks had a deft hand for threading the needle of heart and humor. Check out the all stars they collected for this film, including Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine, on Showtime.

Hey, we understand if maybe you don't feel comfortable watching this one. That's totally fair. Woody Allen movies don't exactly have the same standing they once did, but that's less about the movie and more about the man himself. "Annie Hall" is the rare comedy to win Best Picture, and judging strictly on the quality of the film that's totally justified. If you want, "Annie Hall" is available on Amazon Prime.

When talented filmmaking meets gripping action, you get “The French Connection.” How many Best Picture winners make time for perhaps the best car chase scene in movie history? Gene Hackman is excellent as “Popeye” Doyle, a cop looking to crack a drug ring. Get your chase on, thanks to Hulu.

A black police detective (Sidney Poitier) finds himself working to solve a murder in a small, racist Southern town alongside a fellow police officer (Rod Steiger) who isn't exactly progressive himself. Not everything holds up, but the movie has its positives, including the performance of Poitier. They call him Mr. Tibbs, and right now they are doing that over at Amazon Prime.

The hills are alive! If you like musicals, maybe you’ve already seen “The Sound of Music.” If you haven’t, you should give it a shot. Julie Andrews stars and sings many iconic ditties that you have likely heard over the years. This is also a movie to watch if you are looking to stream something on your Disney+ account.

Speaking of Spielberg, he has directed a remake of "West Side Story," a New York-based musical riff on "Romeo and Juliet" about love crossing racial, and gang, boundaries. He has a lot to live up to, given that the original won Best Picture. There are many places for this movie, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Epix.

Billy Wilder knew how to mix comedy and heart. He does it with aplomb in “The Apartment,” the rare movie that could be classified as a comedy to win Best Picture (even if we’ve had two of them already on this list). Jack Lemmon is wonderful as a man who lets the executives at his job use his apartment for their affairs. Check it out on Amazon Prime.

We’re starting really old school here. This comedy was considered a delightful romp from Frank Capra at the time. The movie was the first, and one of the few, films to win the “Big Five” Oscars: Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Director and Picture. You can find it on DirectTV, or the Watch TCM app.