Les Artistes: How to Watch All the Best Picture Winners of the 2010s

Our Best Picture winners 2010s edition is vibrant and daring

The 98th Academy Awards are upon us, airing on March 15 in Los Angeles. That means it’s time to take stock of this year’s nominees and revisit favorites from the past.

In the 2010s, the Oscars featured some of the boldest Best Picture winners in show history, with stories about race, class, social justice, and aquatic love. Here’s our look on how to watch the Best Picture winners of the 2010s.

“The King’s Speech” (2010)

The American public has always had a hunger for movies and TV shows about the royal family, and “The King’s Speech” offers a unique take. Colin Firth plays the reluctant King George VI, who must overcome his stammer to lead the British Empire on the eve of World War II. Geoffrey Rush plays his unorthodox speech therapist, and while the movie follows a somewhat predictable “overcoming the odds” story arc, it’s memorable for the period details and formidable performances.

Where to watch “The King’s Speech”

You can stream “The King’s Speech” on Apple TV via Britbox, The Roku Channel, Kanopy or Hoopla. Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“The Artist” (2011)

There are a few too many Hollywood movies about Hollywood at this point, but what makes “The Artist” stand out is its embrace of classic Hollywood filmmaking tricks—and we mean classic quite literally. Set between 1927 and 1934, it’s a modern take on a silent film, with expressive faces and descriptive title cards carrying the drama in black-and-white to tell the story of a rising “it girl” of the early talkie era and her relationship with an aging silent-film star. Interestingly, the director and much of the starring cast are French—turns out Americans aren’t the only ones enchanted by American movie history.

Where to watch “The Artist”

“The Artist” is available to stream on The Roku Channel, Plex, Fandango at Home, Fawsome, or Hoopla. Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“Argo” (2012)

You would think a seasoned officer for the CIA would be better suited for Matt Damon rather than Ben Affleck, but Affleck pulls it off in spades on “Argo.” Affleck also directed and produced this historical spy flick, about an overlooked footnote of the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis. By turns whimsical and nail-biting, the movie is about a group of U.S. diplomats who Affleck trains to pose as a Canadian filmmaking team so they can safely leave the country. There aren’t any spectacular fights and funky gadgets like in James Bond movies, but there is a hilariously fake sci-fi movie and a lot of other engrossing details about real-deal spy tradecraft.

Where to watch “Argo”

It doesn’t look like “Argo” is available to stream on any platforms right now. However, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“12 Years a Slave” (2013)

Based on the 1853 memoir of a Black American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, “12 Years a Slave” provides an unflinching look at the horrors of slavery. The horrors are all the more stark as you see Solomon Northup’s sudden change in circumstances, from his pleasant life as a family man and professional violinist in upstate New York to that of a dehumanised laborer who get beaten, tortured, and traded between plantations. Chiwetel Ejiofor puts in a career-making performance as Northup in this sadly all-to-real chronicle of American history.

Where to watch “12 Years a Slave”

“12 Years a Slave” is available for streaming on Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, or FXNOW. Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“Birdman” (2014)

Michael Keaton is a master at outrageous and bizarre film roles; that much was clear all the way back in 1988 with his grotesquely comic starring turn in “Beetlejuice.” In “Birdman,” his manic side manifests in a more internal and reflective way, but there is still plenty of room for moments of unhinged beauty. Alejandro González Iñárritu directed the movie to look like it was all shot in one continuous take, adding an extra layer of intensity of this intriguing and engrossing, Raymond Carver-referencing meditation on performance, heroics, and fame.

Where to watch “Birdman”

“Birdman” isn’t available to stream on any platforms or channels at the moment, unfortunately. But you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“Spotlight” (2015)

There is something incredibly satisfying about watching a bunch of smart people work really hard on a project that does something good for society—and that’s exactly what you get on “Spotlight.” In a straightforward but still intense procedural style similar to “All the President’s Men,” “Spotlight” follows a group of investigative reporters at The Boston Globe as they knock on doors and dig through documents to meticulously unravel a decades-long coverup of child sexual abuse at Boston’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese. Thankfully we see justice finally get done at the end, in times like today it helps to see the value that journalism and other civic institutions can bring to society.

Where to watch “Spotlight”

You can find “Spotlight” available to stream on Kanopy (with a library card). Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“Moonlight” (2016)

The 89th Academy Awards made history when “La La Land” was mistakenly announced at first as the Best Picture winner, and thankfully “Moonlight” took the actual award. With expert subtlety and style, Barry Jenkins offers an elegiac chronicle of Black masculinity and sexuality, following three stages in the life of a young man growing up in a rough part of Miami. Mahershala Ali also took home an Oscar that night for his performance as a drug dealing father figure to the young Chiron.

Where to watch “Moonlight”

You can find “Moonlight” available to stream on HBO Max, Hulu, or Fandango at Home. Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“The Shape of Water” (2017)

An aquatic love story like no other, Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” is like a modern fairy tale in the way its plot unfolds and the characters reveal themselves. It centers around the unexpected romance that sparks between a mute woman and an amphibious creature who is being held captive at the government lab where she works as a janitor. With its noir-ish Cold War setting and splendid practical effects, “The Shape of Water” is a triumph for weirdos and outsiders of all stripes.

Where to watch “The Shape of Water”

You will find “The Shape of Water” available to stream on HBO Max and Hulu. Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“Green Book” (2018)

“Green Book” is basically the “Driving Miss Daisy” or “Crash” of the 2010s—a simplistic take on race relations full of tired cliches and contrived tropes that wins Best Picture even though there were much more relevant and thought provoking nominees for the Academy to recognize. But the film still has its moments thanks to solid performances from Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who won his second Academy Award in two years for his take on pianist Don Shirley.

Where to watch “Green Book”

At the time of writing, “Green Book” is not available to stream on any platform. Still, you can rent it from a video-on-demand (VOD) outlet like Prime Video or Apple TV.

“Parasite” (2019)

Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” marked the first time in Academy Award history that a non-English language film won Best Picture, and it’s no wonder why. About a lower-class family that schemes to get jobs inside the home of a wealthy couple in Seoul, it captures the zeitgeist of debates around global economic disparity and inequality and, just as importantly, it stands as a definitive cinematic achievement for its brilliant set design, production, and storytelling.

Where to watch “Parasite”

You can find “Parasite” available to stream on Kanopy and you should keep an eye out on other platforms too because it is sometimes available elsewhere. Alternatively, you can rent it from video-on-demand (VOD) outlets like Prime Video or Apple TV.

FAQ Best Picture winners 2010s