Oscar winners for movie night

Rick’s carefully guarded distance from other people becomes harder to maintain when a former lover arrives in Casablanca. Personal history meets the pressures of wartime, so even a conversation across a table can feel consequential. Start here if you want a compact classic with wit, longing and difficult choices. The appeal is in watching private feeling contend with obligations that extend beyond the couple.

Keep in mind: Won Outstanding Motion Picture, now known as Best Picture, at the 1944 Oscars. War, persecution, drinking and shootings. The displayed 1943 year follows FlickRot’s checked release record.

An office clerk lends his apartment to executives who want somewhere to conduct their affairs, hoping the arrangement will advance his career. The setup is comic, but the cost of making yourself useful to powerful people gives it an edge. Choose this when you want a winner that can be funny and uncomfortable in the same scene. Its warmth matters because the working world around it can be so cold.

Keep in mind: Won Best Motion Picture, now known as Best Picture, at the 1961 Oscars. Infidelity, workplace exploitation, alcohol use and a suicide attempt.

Chihiro becomes separated from ordinary life and must find her footing among spirits. The strange world is absorbing because she has to live and work within it, learning whom to trust and what small actions can accomplish. Choose it for a night when you want imaginative scale alongside a clear emotional anchor. Its quieter passages give the creatures and bustle room to settle into memory.

Keep in mind: Won Animated Feature Film at the 2003 Oscars. Frightening transformations, separation from parents and fantasy peril.

Three chapters follow Chiron as he grows up and works out what parts of himself he can share. The film gives glances, gestures and silences time to carry their meaning. Pick it when you can offer your full attention to something tender and difficult. Its place among the winners is a useful invitation, but the reason to stay is the closeness of its attention to one person.

Keep in mind: Won Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars. Homophobic bullying, violence, parental addiction, drug dealing and sexual content.

A struggling family sees an opportunity in the household of a wealthy one. Watching that opportunity develop is funny, tense and increasingly uncomfortable, with the spaces people occupy doing as much work as their words. Go in with as little plot information as possible. This is the choice for a group ready to pay attention and compare reactions afterward, especially to how quickly sympathy can shift.

Keep in mind: Won Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars. Strong violence, blood, sexual content and class-related humiliation.

An overwhelmed woman’s ordinary responsibilities collide with extraordinary possibilities across other lives. The rush of action, visual jokes and abrupt changes of register asks you to accept a lot of strangeness, then keeps returning to relationships close to home. Choose it when everyone wants a full, energetic evening and has patience for absurdity. At 140 minutes, it benefits from making room for the whole ride.

Keep in mind: Won Best Picture at the 2023 Oscars. Martial-arts violence, strong language, sexual humor and family conflict.