Oscar-winning films don’t always stand the test of time – some disappear from memory almost instantly while others become classics celebrated for decades to come. But, for sure, they will always be the films that won that particularly coveted award.
Here are the Best Picture winners from 1976 to 1985 and where to stream them currently.
Enjoy!
The Sound of Music – 1966 winner
Film (1965). Robert Wise’s musical drama hardly needs an introduction, but if you’ve got this far in life without knowing much about it, it’s based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, and tells – and often sings – the story of Maria, a hapless would-be nun turned governess to seven children and her eventual marriage to their father, in Salzburg, Austria, against the backdrop of the surging Nazis.
On release, it broke box office records in dozens of countries and had a theatrical release spanning more than four years. From it, we learned not only that doe is a deer (a female deer) but that Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer had an onscreen chemistry that, for decades to come, would remain one of our favourite things.
Starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker and Richard Haydn. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Disney+ and Prime Video.
A Man for All Seasons – 1967 winner
Film (1966). Directed and produced by Fred Zinnemann, this historical drama focuses on the latter years of the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England, Sir Thomas More, and his resistance to attempts by Henry VIII to to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled.
Considered one of the best British films ever made, it won – in addition to Best Picture – another five Oscars in 1967, including Best Director for Zinnemann and Best Actor for Paul Scofield.
Starring Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller and Leo McKern. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Apple TV+ (rental).
In the Heat of the Night – 1968 winner
Film (1967). Norman Jewison’s mystery drama is an adaptation of John Ball’s novel of the same name. It tells the story of a Black detective from Philadelphia who finds himself investigating a murder in Mississippi.
It won five of the seven Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Actor (Rod Steiger).
Starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates and Lee Grant. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Prime Video.
Oliver! – 1969 winner
Film (1968). Carol Reed’s musical is an adaptation of the 1960 stage musical, which itself was an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel about Oliver Twist, an orphan who escapes the poor house only to find himself a new recruit for Fagin and his band of juvenile delinquents in grimy London.
Featuring songs such as Consider Yourself, You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two and As Long as He Needs Me, it manages to convey squalor, murder and theft with knee-slapping, enduring show tunes.
Starring Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Shani Wallis and Harry Secombe. Watch the trailer.
Midnight Cowboy – 1970 winner
Film (1969). Another adaptation – this time from James Leo Herligy’s novel of the same name – John Schlesinger’s drama, set in New York takes a close look at the budding friendship between a male sex worker and a con man who’s a little down on his luck.
It holds the distinction of being the first, and still only, X-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar, and also scooped Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Starring John Voight, Dustin Hoffman and Brenda Vaccaro. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Apple TV+ (rental).
Patton – 1971 winner
Film (1970). Franklin J Shaffner’s biographical war film focuses on the military career of the US General George S Patton during World War Two, with a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North.
As well as Best Picture, it won six other Oscars in 1971, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. George C Scott won Best Actor for his titular role but refused the award, describing the Oscars as a ‘two-hour meat parade‘.
Starring George C Scott and Karl Malden. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Disney+.
The French Connection – 1972 winner
Film (1971). This gritty neo-noir action thriller from William Friedkin, based on Robin Moore’s book of the same name, pits New York drug detectives Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle and Buddy ‘Cloudy’ Russo against a wealthy French heroin smuggler, with crime and spectacular car chases galore.
As well as Best Picture, it won four other Oscars, including Best Director and Best Actor (Gene Hackman).
Starring Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey and Roy Scheider. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Disney+.
The Godfather – 1973 winner
Film (1972). The first in what would become Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy of Godfather films, and co-written by Coppola and Mario Puzo, author of the bestselling novel of the same name, The Godfather remains definitive in the world of epic gangster movies.
The focus here is the Italian-American Corleone family, operating under the watchful eye, and soft-spoken voice, of Vito Corleone, and the move of his youngest son, Michael, from war hero to not-so-celebrated inheritor of the Godfather title.
Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Paramount+.
The Sting – 1974 winner
Film (1973). George Roy Hill’s American caper film follows two professional grifters and their convoluted attempt to con a mob boss.
A critical and commercial smash, with a memorable score and performances oozing charisma, it won seven Oscars from its ten nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Binge.
The Godfather Part II – 1975 winner
Film (1974). Part two of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy acts as both a prequel and sequel to part one, following the travails of the newly minted Godfather Michael Corleone in the 1950s as well as the backstory of his father Vito (a role played my Marlon Brando in the first film and picked up here with aplomb by Robert De Niro).
A rare case of a sequel that is considered even better than the film it follows, it was the first sequel to ever win Best Picture, as well as bagging a Best Supporting Oscar for De Niro.
Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, John Cazale and Robert Duvall. Watch the trailer.
Streaming on Paramount+.
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