Get Your Oscar Fix on Your Roku TV or Roku Player

If you plan on watching The Academy Awards this coming Sunday, chances are you’ve got a penchant for Oscar nostalgia. Roku has just the cinematic selection to indulge your addiction for great Oscar moments. From big sweeps to shocking omissions, from passionate speeches to outrageous gaffes, your Oscar memories will be rustled awake by some of the pictures available right now on your Roku TV or Roku Player:

The Godfather (Available on Netflix)
The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppolla and based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, was the Best Picture winner in 1972. The story about the fictional Corleone family in New York is seen as one of the greatest films ever made.  Marlon Brando, who won the Oscar for Best Actor, stars as Don Corleone who hands control of the family business to his reluctant son Michael, played by Al Pacino.

Kramer vs Kramer (Available on Netflix)

It’s hard for a film starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep not to be good, and Kramer vs. Kramer turned out to be ground-breaking. The story about a couple’s divorce and its impact on their young son was the highest grossing film ($106.3 million) in 1979. In addition to being named Best Picture by The Academy, Hoffman and Streep each earned Oscars for their performances, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Searching for Sugar Man (Available for FREE on Tubi TV)
Searching for Sugar Man is the story of Detroit folksinger Sixto Rodriguez who had a short musical career releasing two albums which didn’t sell very well in the United States. What was unbeknownst to Rodriguez was that his work achieved great success in South Africa where his music inspired a generation of youth. Two fans decide to seek out what happened to their hero after it was rumoured that he took his own life. This unique story earned the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2013.

Forrest Gump (Available on Netflix)
Forrest Gump is the life story of a slow-witted but kind-hearted man whose path manages to weave directly through all the major American historical events of his time. Ultimately a love story between Gump, played by Tom Hanks, and his childhood love Jenny Curran, played by Robin Wright, Forrest Gump cleaned up at the Academy Awards in 1994, winning for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hanks), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing.

Titanic (Available on Netflix)
The highest grossing film of all-time until the release of Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, directed by James Cameron and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, reveals a tale of glamour and privilege on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the ship. The story revolves around the intense romance of an elite young woman (Kate Winslett) and a poor artist (DiCaprio) on the doomed ship. Titanic hauled in 11 Academy Awards in 1998, including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Cameron.

Gods and Monsters (Available for FREE on Tubi TV)
The winner for Best Screenplay in 1999, Gods and Monsters is set in 1957 and tells the story of James Whale, a famous director of films in the 1930s. The movie focuses on Whale’s relationship with his gardener as his health declines after he suffers a stroke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWsbUa39F3g

Gladiator (Available on Netflix)

Gladiator is the harrowing tale of General Maximus (Russell Crowe) who is denied his rightful place as leader of Rome by a power-hungry Commodus Aurelius (Joaquin Phoenix). Maximus looks to avenge the death of his family and his leader at the hands of Commodus. Gladiator claimed six Oscars in 2001, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.

Erin Brockovich (Available on Amazon Prime Video)
This is the role that finally earned Julia Roberts a long-awaited Oscar for Best Actress in 2001. The dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich-Ellis starts with her landing a desperately needed job as a legal assistant in a law firm.  While at the firm, she inadvertently discovers a cover-up involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company and water contamination that caused serious and debilitating illnesses among the residents of a local community.

The Departed (Available on Netflix)
The Departed is the nail-biting tale of two cops working different sides of the law. Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, is a police detective who is on the take for local crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).  Meanwhile, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an undercover cop who has infiltrated Costello’s organization. The Departed won five Academy Awards in 2007 including Best Director for Martin Scorcese and Best Picture.

The Shape of Water (Available on Netflix)
Set in the Cold War in early 1960’s Baltimore, The Shape of Water looks at the story of Elisa Esposito, a mute woman who works as a janitor in a classified underground research facility. Elisa’s lonely and mundane life changes when an unknown amphibian man comes to the facility. She forms a bond with the creature and ultimately, his very survival depends on this unlikely hero. The Shape of Water won four Oscars in 2018, including Best Picture and Best Director for Guillermo del Toro.

 

Happy Streaming!