Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have released their respective lists of movies to begin streaming in December. As always, these lists include numerous Oscar winners and nominees, though it is becoming increasingly clear that one streaming service is falling behind the others in delivering quality films of the past.
It is no secret that Netflix has become very focused on the here and now when it comes to their streaming offers, particularly when it comes to movies. It has sadly become a reality that finding movies before 1980 on Netflix is incredibly difficult. Luckily, Amazon and Hulu have picked up the slack for award-winning movies of the past, as seen by the new December titles streaming on their services.
Numerous Best Picture winners are now available to stream on Amazon and Hulu, including Titanic, The Silence of the Lambs, Rocky, Chicago and Rain Man. There are also many beloved favorites of the past now streaming in December, such as Moonstruck, Apocalypse Now, RoboCop and Total Recall, plus newer films like Nightcrawler, Searching for Sugar Man and Silence.
All of the movies listed below are available starting December 1, unless indicated otherwise. Happy watching!
The Young Victoria (2009)
“A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria’s rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.”
–Won Best Costume Design, Nominated for Art Direction and Makeup
8 Mile (2002)
“A young rapper, struggling with every aspect of his life, wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.”
-Won Best Original Song (for “Lose Yourself”)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
“A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.”
-Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay
August Rush (2007)
“A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.”
-Nominated for Best Original Song (for “Raise It Up”)
Titanic (1997)
“A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.”
–Won Best Picture, Director for James Cameron, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Original Score and Original Song (for “My Heart Will Go On”), Nominated for Actress for Kate Winslet, Supporting Actress for Gloria Stuart and Makeup
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
“A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.”
–Won Best Picture, Director for Jonathan Demme, Actor for Anthony Hopkins, Actress for Jodie Foster and Adapted Screenplay, Nominated for Film Editing and Sound
Rocky (1976)
“Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer, gets a supremely rare chance to fight heavy-weight champion Apollo Creed in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.”
–Won Best Picture, Director for John G. Avildsen and Film Editing, Nominated for Actor for Sylvester Stallone, Actress for Talia Shire, Supporting Actor for Burgess Meredith and Burt Young, Original Screenplay, Sound and Original Song (for “Gonna Fly Now”)
Moonstruck (1987)
“Loretta Castorini, a book keeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.”
–Won Best Actress for Cher, Supporting Actress for Olympia Dukakis and Adapted Screenplay, Nominated for Picture, Director for Norman Jewison and Supporting Actor for Vincent Gardenia
Apocalypse Now (1979)
–Won Best Cinematography and Sound, Nominated for Picture, Director for Francis Ford Coppola, Supporting Actor for Robert Duvall, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction and Film Editing
In & Out (1997)
“A midwestern teacher questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards.”
-Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Joan Cusack
Nightcrawler (2014)
“When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.”
-Nominated for Best Original Screenplay — available 12/10
Silence (2016)
“In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.”
-Nominated for Best Cinematography
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
-Nominated for Best Cinematography
Rocky III (1982)
“After winning the ultimate title and being the world champion, Rocky falls into a hole and finds himself picked up by a former enemy.”
-Nominated for Best Original Song (for “Eye of the Tiger”)
Titanic (1997)
“A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.”
–Won Best Picture, Director for James Cameron, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Original Score and Original Song (for “My Heart Will Go On”), Nominated for Actress for Kate Winslet, Supporting Actress for Gloria Stuart and Makeup
Chicago (2002)
“Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.”
–Won Best Picture, Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing and Sound Mixing, Nominated for Director for Rob Marshall, Actress for Renée Zellweger, Supporting Actor for John C. Reilly, Supporting Actress for Queen Latifah, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Original Song (for “Gonna Fly Now”)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
“A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.”
–Won Best Picture, Director for Jonathan Demme, Actor for Anthony Hopkins, Actress for Jodie Foster and Adapted Screenplay, Nominated for Film Editing and Sound
Rocky (1976)
“Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer, gets a supremely rare chance to fight heavy-weight champion Apollo Creed in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.”
–Won Best Picture, Director for John G. Avildsen and Film Editing, Nominated for Actor for Sylvester Stallone, Actress for Talia Shire, Supporting Actor for Burgess Meredith and Burt Young, Original Screenplay, Sound and Original Song (for “Gonna Fly Now”)
Moonstruck (1987)
“Loretta Castorini, a book keeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.”
–Won Best Actress for Cher, Supporting Actress for Olympia Dukakis and Adapted Screenplay, Nominated for Picture, Director for Norman Jewison and Supporting Actor for Vincent Gardenia
Apocalypse Now (1979)
–Won Best Cinematography and Sound, Nominated for Picture, Director for Francis Ford Coppola, Supporting Actor for Robert Duvall, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction and Film Editing
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Evita (1996)
“The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, a B-picture Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.”
–Won Best Original Song (for “You Must Love Me”), Nominated for Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing and Sound
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
“A debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist, only to match wits with a sexy insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man.”
–Won Best Original Song (for “The Windmills of Your Mind”), Nominated for Original Score
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
“Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.”
-Won Best Documentary Feature
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)
“A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who’s engaged to be married, but who falls in love with outcast Sarah, whose melancholy makes her leave him after a short, but passionate affair. Anna and Mike, who play the characters of Sarah and Charles, go, during the shooting of the film, through a relationship that runs parallel to that of their characters.”
-Nominated for Best Actress for Meryl Streep, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Costume Design and Film Editing
Serpico (1973)
“An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.”
-Nominated for Best Actor for Al Pacino and Adapted Screenplay
In the Line of Fire (1993)
“Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn’t save Kennedy, but he’s determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president.”
-Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for John Malkovich, Original Screenplay and Film Editing
RoboCop (1987)
“In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.”
-Nominated for Best Film Editing and Sound
Total Recall (1990)
“When a man goes for virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real – or does he?”
-Nominated for Best Sound Editing and Sound Mixing
Primal Fear (1996)
“An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.”
-Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Edward Norton
In & Out (1997)
“A midwestern teacher questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards.”
-Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Joan Cusack
Silence (2016)
“In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.”
-Nominated for Best Cinematography
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
-Nominated for Best Cinematography
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
“A dramatization of the real-life Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, in which a Sheriff born into wealth, attempts to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.”
-Nominated for Best Art Direction
One from the Heart (1982)
“Hank and Frannie don’t seem to be able to live together anymore. After a five-year relationship, lustful and dreamy Fanny leaves down-to-earth Hank on the anniversary of their relationship.”
-Nominated for Best Original Song or Adaptation Score
Rocky III (1982)
“After winning the ultimate title and being the world champion, Rocky falls into a hole and finds himself picked up by a former enemy.”
-Nominated for Best Original Song (for “Eye of the Tiger”)
Kate & Leopold (2001)
“An English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.”
-Nominated for Best Original Song (for “Until…”) — available Dec. 15