Apple TV has quietly built one of the stronger original movie libraries in streaming, and a new roundup makes the case for digging past the algorithm. The platform was the first streamer to win the Best Picture Oscar, and its catalog now spans Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and a handful of documentaries that deserve more attention than they get.
The list, published as a guide to the best original films on the service, runs alphabetically from a Deaf family drama to an animated Irish fable. It leans on big names and hidden gems alike, with a few notes on what actually works.
CODA and the Oscar milestone
The 2022 Best Picture winner stars Emilia Jones as a 17-year-old who is the only hearing member of her Deaf family. She has to choose between a music career and keeping the family fishing business alive. The film made history as the first Best Picture winner with a predominantly Deaf cast and the first distributed by a streaming service.
The September 11 story you may have missed
Come From Away is a filmed version of the Tony-winning Broadway musical. It follows roughly 7,000 airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland after 38 flights were grounded on September 11, 2001. The source calls it one of the more underrated films in Apple’s catalog.
Eternity and the afterlife rom-com
Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen lead this A24 romance about a world where the dead get a week to pick their afterlife. Olsen’s character Joan must choose between her first husband, who died young, and the man she spent her life with. The source notes that Wine World does sound like Paradise.
F1 and the popcorn blockbuster
Brad Pitt stars as a washed-up veteran who gets a second shot by mentoring a young upstart, played by Damson Idris. Joseph Kosinski directs. The source admits the plot beats are familiar but says the race sequences are genuinely thrilling.
Greyhound and the Dad Movie
Tom Hanks plays U.S. Navy commander Ernest Krause in this brisk 90-minute drama about the Battle of the Atlantic. He leads an Allied convoy hunted by German U-boats. Character development is thin, but the tactical tension carries it.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American woman nominated for Best Actress in this Martin Scorsese crime drama. It covers the 1920s murders of Osage Nation members after oil was found on their land, based on David Grann’s 2017 book.
Napoleon and Still
Ridley Scott’s epic gets a director’s cut that adds nearly an hour of footage, with more backstory for Vanessa Kirby’s Josephine. The source says the battles are impressive and Kirby steals the show. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie mixes interviews and archival clips to chart the actor’s rise and his struggles with Parkinson’s Disease.
The Tragedy of Macbeth and Wolfwalkers
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand anchor Joel Coen’s black-and-white adaptation, which the source describes as Macbeth through the lens of horror. Wolfwalkers is the third Celtic-inspired film from Cartoon Saloon, following The Book of Kells and Song of the Sea.
The list closes with a note that Apple has more hidden gems than most subscribers realize.
Key facts box
- CODA won Best Picture in 2022
- Come From Away: 7,000 passengers, 38 flights grounded
- Greyhound: 90 minutes
- Napoleon director’s cut: nearly an hour of added footage
- Killers of the Flower Moon based on David Grann’s 2017 book
Source: avclub.com
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