There’s something satisfying about awards, even if you
aren’t the one winning them. At the very least, they can indicate what movies
are worth seeing! My thanks to entertainmenthappenings.com for featuring this
post; if you’re into the Tony Awards, they’ve got a great list of
who won for 2016.
As you're no doubt aware,
Netflix has a ton of movies. But quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality. A
huge selection of bad movies would be little more than basic cable. Thankfully
that isn't the case; Netflix hosts a large variety of award-winning films, both
old and new.
Before we delve into our
list, a word of caution about Netflix: its library varies based on where
viewers are physically located presently. If you're interested in these movies
but live outside the country where these movies are offered, you'll need a
service known as a Virtual Private Network (VPN), as described in this how-to article by Secure Thoughts.
Forrest Gump (1994)
“Forrest Gump” rightly
deserves to be on this list, as it is both a fantastic film and has a very
impressive list of awards to go along with it. The film itself follows the
entire life of Forrest Gump, a man with a learning disability that lives
through the very real challenges of the 20th century, emerging
triumphantly but not without his share of wounds.
Robert Zemeckis (known
for films such as “Back to the Future” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”) was
awarded Best Director for his excellent work throughout the movie, and Tom
Hanks (an actor of many, many awards including four Golden Globes and two
Oscars, this included) was given Best Actor for his incredible performance of a
mentally handicapped character.
The fantastic filming,
amazing sets (Vietnam was very convincing) and awesome writing also awarded the
film with Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Writing
Adapted Screenplay for a total of six awards!
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
For a great mix of humor
and Nazi destroying action, we have “Inglourious Basterds.” Being a Tarantino
film, it was bound to win some award, but it wasn't Brad Pitt who came out
ahead.
Instead, “Inglourious
Basterds” received the Best Supporting Actor award (from several different
groups) for Christoph Waltz’s performance as Hanz Landa, a German SS officer.
This was Christoph’s first reward, but certainly not his last. He plays a superb German villain.
The English Patient (1996)
If ever a film has
managed to clean house, “The English Patient” is it. Set in the World War II
era, the film is an inspiring romantic drama that takes us through the tragic
memories of a burn patient (later revealed to be named Almásy) in an Italian
monastery. The film’s powerful telling drew an impressive nine Academy Awards.
Best Picture went to Saul
Zaentz, bringing him to three following his wins for ”One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Amadeus.” Though several performers were nominated, only
Juliette Binoche managed to take home an acting award, which she received for
Best Actress in a Supporting Role, after commenting about how unexpected her
win was over “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”
With its incredible
soundtrack and effects, "The English Patient” brought in the award for
Best Original Score for Gabriel Yared (no songs, just music)
and Best Sound Mixing for the team of Walter Murch, Mark Berger, David Parker
and Christopher Newman. Walter Murch also pulled off a second award for Best
Film Editing, giving him awards in two areas he is extraordinarily well
respected for (the guy also did extensive work on the “Godfather Trilogy” and
“Ghost”).
On the visual end,
several winners were named; Best Costume Design went to Ann Roth for the
realistic period outfits, Best Film Editing went to Walter Murch and Best Art
Direction to the team of Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan. Best
Cinematography was awarded to John Seale for his spot on camera direction.
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Although the tale of Romeo
and Juliet has been done to death from grade school to Hollywood, “Shakespeare
in Love” still manages to portray things in a unique and interesting way by
painting things (albeit with major historical liberties) from Shakespeare’s
perspective as he writes the play.
Its reception went over
quite well, as it was awarded Best Picture and a slew of other awards. Both
Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench were awarded for their acting with
(respectively) Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for their roles as Viola
de Lesseps (Shakespeare’s love interest) and Elizabeth I of England.
Accompanying these
greater actors’ characters are awards for Best Costume Design (Sandy Powell;
check out Elizabeth’s costume in the link above) and Best Art Direction (Martin
Childs for Art and Jill Quertier for Set Decoration). Stephen Warbeck won the
award for Best Original Music or Comedy Score, which you can find here.
As the film was an
original screenplay, it also won Best Original Screenplay, given to Marc Norman
and Tom Stoppard, the latter who has written dozens of plays and won awards for
them.
Tarzan (1999)
Disney isn’t necessarily
known for its originality, but their depictions of popular myths and fairy
tales often eclipse the originals, as was nearly the case in “Tarzan.” In this
depiction, Tarzan must save the gorillas from the diabolical Clayton.
While the film didn’t net
quite as many accolades as “Shakespeare in Love,” it did win Best Music,
Original Song for "You’ll
Be in My Heart,” by Phil Collins.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Between “Forrest Gump”
and “Pulp Fiction,” ’94 gave us some incredible films that have become cult
favorites with time. “Pulp Fiction” is difficult to describe; it follows three
separate storylines in no particular order timeline wise but is just filled
with witty dialogue, tasteful violence and amazing acting.
Unfortunately “Pulp
Fiction” went up against “Forrest Gump” and only came out with a single award
for Best Writing Original Screenplay, an award shared by Quentin Tarantino and
Roger Avary, heavily recurring names in the world of film for movies such as
“Django Unchained” and “Silent Hill” respectively.
Ghost (1990)
Back when Patrick Swayze
and Whoopi Goldberg were hot stuff, “Ghost” decided to combine the two for a
fantastic film about a man that was murdered over money (Patrick Swayze) but
manages to save his surviving lover (Demi Moore) through the help of a psychic
(Whoopi Goldberg). The special effects are somewhat cheesy, but it's a great
movie.
Hollywood seems to have
agreed by awarding Bruce Joel Rubin, the film’s writer, with Best Original
Screenplay. Whoopi also succeeded in taking home the award for Best Supporting
Actress, ultimately completing her rare collection composed of an Oscar, a
Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy. She certainly deserved it, as her psychic fraud
was spot on.
Batman (1989)
Despite meeting with some
mixed reviews, Tim Burton’s rendition of “Batman” is generally viewed
favorably. In this iteration, Batman (Michael Keaton) faces off with his
comically insane arch-nemesis, the Joker (Jack Nicholson). Quite the difference
from the more recent Joker depictions seen in “The Dark Knight” and soon enough
in “Suicide Squad.”
“Batman” managed to take
home the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, given to Anton Furst and Peter
Young for their excellent set design throughout the film. It was nominated for
quite a few other awards, but only managed to bring home the one.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
As historically accurate
films go, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is most certainly one of the most recognizable.
It details and recreates the attack on Pearl Harbor in a way that hasn’t been
equaled since the film’s first run all the way back in 1970.
Though the movie is a tad
slow-paced at times, its special effects afforded it the Best Special Effects
award, given to L.B. Abbott and A.D. Flowers. As computers weren’t really a
thing yet, all of the sets had to be created or borrowed, as was the case with
the aircraft carrier used in the film.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
There are precious few
films that mix animated characters with real actors, but the most well-known is
most certainly "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and not without good
reason. Despite the film's title, the movie is more about Eddie Valiant (Bob
Hoskins) and his investigation to exonerate Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer)
and save Toontown from being destroyed.
In addition to its
stellar reviews (a whopping 97 percent on modern day Rotten Tomatoes),
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was party to a number of awards, including
Best Effects, Sound Editing to Charles L. Campbell and Louis Edemann.
Arthur Schmidt was given
the Oscar for Best Film Editing for his fantastic work, and a hefty list
including Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Ed Jones, and George Gibbs all
received the combined award for Best Effects, Visual Effects, not an unexpected
reward for an excellent film featuring both real and animated characters
occupying the same spaces.
These awards also made
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” to be the first animated film since “Mary Poppins” to
win several Academy Awards.
Interested in other
award-winning movies on Netflix? Leave us a comment about some of your
favorites!
About the Author: Isa
is an entertainment blogger by day and Netflix addict by night. As an
entertainment blogger, she also enjoys keeping up with the latest news out of
Hollywood.
