6 Best Oscar Best Picture Winners of the 1980s

By Vlad Zakh · June 16, 2026

The 1980s Best Picture winners mixed sweeping historical epics with intimate character dramas. Driving Miss Daisy has an elderly Southern woman and her patient chauffeur forming a friendship, Rain Man has a hustler discovering his autistic savant brother, and Platoon shatters a young soldier’s idealism in Vietnam. Amadeus, Gandhi and Chariots of Fire round out the six.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

TMDB ★ 7.4

An elderly Southern woman and her patient Black chauffeur slowly form an unlikely friendship over the years.

Directed by Bruce Beresford · 1h 39m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Rain Man (1988)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 88% Metacritic 65

A fast-talking hustler discovers his estranged brother is an autistic savant during a cross-country road trip.

Directed by Barry Levinson · 2h 14m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars27 wins & 26 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max Amazon Channel, MGM Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Platoon (1986)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 89% Metacritic 92

A young soldier caught between two conflicting sergeants experiences the brutal moral chaos of the Vietnam War.

Directed by Oliver Stone · 2h 00m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars24 wins & 16 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Amadeus (1984)

IMDb ★ 8.4 RT 90% Metacritic 87

A rival composer's consuming jealousy of Mozart's genius drives him towards obsession and ruin.

Directed by Miloš Forman · 2h 40m · Rated PG

Won 8 Oscars43 wins & 15 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Gandhi (1982)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A young lawyer becomes the spiritual and political leader of India's nonviolent independence movement.

Directed by Richard Attenborough · 3h 12m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Chariots of Fire (1981)

TMDB ★ 7.2

Two British sprinters race for very different reasons at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Directed by Hugh Hudson · 2h 03m · Rated PG

Where to watch

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Oscar Best Picture Winners of the 1980s

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Rain Man (1988)

Platoon (1986)

Amadeus (1984)

Gandhi (1982)

Chariots of Fire (1981)

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