5 Oscar Winners You Can Watch for Free Right Now
The list includes some old Oscars classics you’ve probably been missing lately.
Oscar-nominated movies or even some ceremony’s winners have long been wide audiences’ first target when it comes to searching for an acclaimed flick you can enjoy on a free evening.
Despite the Academy’s reputation being questionable these days, the voters’ top choices are also likely to become one of the biggest hits both in theatres and on streaming.
However, some of those big Oscar winners aren’t an exclusive deal on a paid digital platform anymore, and one can turn to it at any time now that these films have arrived on free streaming for good.
Fargo ( 1996) — Tubi
The Coen brothers’ hit black comedy crime movie that later on spawned a 2014 TV show of the same name, Fargo remains one of the most profound works delving into the matter of human evil nature.
Starring Francis McDormand who won her first Oscar for the role back in 1997, Fargo follows Marge Gunderson, a pregnant police chief in Minnesota investigating a gruesome triple homicide after a stranded car salesman hires two criminals to kidnap his own wife, expecting her wealthy father to pay a huge ransom for his daughter to get free.
The movie received 7 nods from the Academy and ultimately won two for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.
Raging Bull (1980) — Tubi
One of Martin Scorsese ’s finest movies that definitely should’ve earned him an Oscar for Best Director too, Raging Bull is a life chronicle of Robert De Niro’s aspiring middleweight boxer who fights his way to become the best at the middleweight crown.
Things start falling apart when he lets love enter his life, and all his attempts to learn how to express his true feelings properly eventually have their toll on him once he is back in the ring.
The movie secured 2 wins at the 1981 Oscars ceremony, surpassing everyone else in the Best Actor and Best Film Editing categories.
Rocky (1976) — Pluto TV
Written by and starring Sylvester Stallone who rose to stardom right afterwards, Rocky is still considered one of the greatest films ever made and probably one of the most deserving Oscar winners.
The movie follows Stallone’s eponymous character, a small-time boxer suddenly brought to the ring for a fight with world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed when the latter’s opponent has to skip due to a severe injury.
At the 1977 Oscars ceremony, Rocky took home 3 awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing.
Gladiator ( 2000) — Pluto TV
Ridley Scott ’s massive hit that eventually paved the way for a sequel released last year, Gladiator, despite some concerns about the director’s history knowledge, is probably one of the most epic historical dramas of the past several decades.
The movie stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, one of the Roman Empire’s most respected generals, also favored by Emperor Marcus Aurelius, but despised by the latter’s son who ultimately takes over the power and sends Maximus to a gladiator arena.
Gladiator swept the Oscars ceremony in 2001, winning the statuettes for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Costume Design.
West Side Story (1961) — Tubi
The movie came as an adaptation of a 1957 Broadway musical of the same name which, in its turn, took a lot of notes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Directed by Robert Wise, West Side Story stars Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as a modern day Romeo and Juliet falling in love in New York City when the tension rises between their rival street gangs.
The film had a record-breaking number of Oscar wins, taking home 11 awards, including for Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.
