With the 2024 Oscars in the books, some cinephiles might be ready to move on to new films, but others may want to catch up with the winners they have yet to see. Fortunately, many of the winningest films from Hollywood’s biggest night are available to stream, so it’s easy to watch the best films of 2023.
The big winners of the night were Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” about the making — and political fallout — of the atomic bomb, and “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ fantastical and outré odyssey of a woman on a journey through the world to find herself.
Both films picked up several craft awards as well as acting prizes, though “Oppenheimer” walked away with the Academy’s top honors, for best director and best picture. Adapted from the book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the bombastic cinematic experience stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, and follows his life as a young student and professor, through the development of the atomic bomb, and the Senate hearings years later stripping him of his security clearance. Robert Downey Jr. won best supporting actor for his performance as Lewis Strauss, and Murphy won best actor. The film also won for best editing for Jennifer Lame, best cinematography for Hoyte van Hoytema, and best score for Ludwig Goransson. Stream “Oppenheimer” on Peacock or rent it on other platforms.
“Poor Things” started the night with a run of craft awards, taking home the Oscars for best costumes, makeup and hairstyling, and production design for the artisans who crafted the inventive, colorful and heightened Victorian world of the film. At the end of the night, Emma Stone’s win for best actress was a surprise upset over Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” though the race was neck-and-neck, as the two actresses traded top prizes back and forth all season. “Poor Things” is available to stream on Hulu, or for purchase on other platforms.