Next to Netflix and Prime Video, Hulu’s streaming service is perfect for providing a healthy dose of nostalgia to transport viewers back in time. Compared to the action-filled, effects-heavy blockbusters of the modern day, these classic gems from earlier eras possess a charming familiarity and timeless storytelling that cannot be matched.
Hulu offers a huge selection of movies from the '70s, '80s, and '90s that span a wide range of genres. Whether film fans crave the wit of screwball comedies, the sweeping nature of romances, or the infectious energy of kung fu action flicks, Hulu has an excellent older classic that will make them smile and sigh with nostalgia.
15 St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
Joel Schumacher co-wrote and directed 1985's St. Elmo’s Fire, his coming-of-age ‘80s classic. It follows a group of college friends – Alec, Billy, Jules, Kevin, Kirby, Leslie, and Wendy – who reunite after graduation in Georgetown and discover a bitter truth; Adulthood is more complicated than they imagined.
The group of friends is familiarly tight-knit, self-centered, and insecure. They bond through heartache, late-night talks, and euphoric laughter. Their friendship represents the myriad possibilities life has to offer after higher education and the eventual passing of innocence. The heart of St. Elmo’s Fire lies in the universal transition of adulthood and how it truly feels.
14 Last Action Hero (1993)
Last Action Hero is a cheesy but wonderfully self-aware satire that takes a happy hammer to the clichéd plots of typical action films and delivers a high-flying, nuanced spectacle of its own. A fan named Danny Madigan gets a special movie ticket that transports him to his favorite Hollywood action hero’s world, and he initially had a blast.
Danny encounters explosive car chases, slam-bang shootouts, and jaw-dropping stunts. The young and savvy Danny and the aging action hero Jack Slater team up to battle the ultimate villain. Last Action Hero explores a child’s imagination and touches on why it's so important to hold on to your humanity in the midst of the violence that appears in most action films.
13 The Mask (1994)
New Line Cinema
Following up on the success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Jim Carrey starred in 1994's live-action adaptation of Doug Mahnke and John Arcudi's hit Dark Horse comic series, The Mask. Carrey starred as Stanley Ipkiss, a timid bank teller who found the mystical mask of Loki. When he put it on, he transformed into the slapstick-loving titular anti-hero.
While The Mask tamed most of the graphic violence from the comic, Carrey's performance helps carry the sometimes ridiculous but always loveable film. Cameron Diaz also makes her feature film debut in The Mask, which only further catapulted the early '90s film to classic status.
12 Akira (1988)
Akira is a dark yet dazzling cyberpunk sci-fi set in a dystopian Tokyo following the catastrophic events of World War III. The iconic anime followed Tetsuo, a member of a bike gang who suddenly discovered that he had powerful psychic abilities. The film charts his explosive life as his friends try to help him while the government tries to quarantine him.
Tetsuo's newfound potential threatens the fragile balance of a city still recovering from nuclear devastation. Shoutarou Kaneda, leader of the rival biker gang known as “The Capsules,” fought back in a stunningly designed Neo-Tokyo. The cityscape served as the perfect backdrop for this morally complex story of individual freedom versus social control.
11 White Men Can't Jump (1992)
White Men Can’t Jump is a 1992 masterpiece that recently received a modern remake. The hilarious basketball buddy comedy finds its strength in overthrowing stereotypes. The film has two main characters – Sidney Deane, a hustler who scams people at basketball, and Billy Hoyle, who pretends he cannot play well and then dominates the court.
Unsuspecting of the other’s nature, the two find an unlikely partnership and begin making money from a basketball betting pool in LA. As their plans and schemes come together perfectly, the film serves up laughter in abundance. There is a cracking chemistry between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, which shows how true friendship rises above surface differences.
10 Alien (1979)
Known for introducing one of the scariest movie aliens, 1979's Alien is a sci-fi horror masterpiece that became an instant classic. Responding to a distress signal from a deserted spaceship, a mining ship crew encounters a nightmare in the form of a creature that defies any understanding. The alien Xenomorph represents the ultimate unknown as something humanity is unprepared for.
As members of the crew are picked off one by one in gruesome and inventive ways, the tension in the enclosed space and the dread of not knowing who’s next becomes unbearable. Alien’s true genius lies in the fact that it was shot on a shoestring budget. Ridley Scott uses a documentary-like style of filming to ground the horror and make it real. Which honestly, is quite clever.
9 Boogie Nights (1997)
The sexual revolution of the 1970s led to a staggering rise in the porn industry. Boogie Nights captured both the decadence and the heartbreak of the era. Set in San Fernando Valley, teenage busboy and aspiring porn star Eddie Adams joined a rebellious “family” of porn actors after being discovered by an authoritative director named Jack Horner.
Eddie becomes Dirk Diggler and rises from a nobody to a porn sensation while the industry grew with him. Success came at a cost for his misfit group, which had found acceptance only in a place that capitalized on exhibitionism. The grand drug-and-sex-fueled fantasy imploded under its own excess and Eddie and his fellow stars had to confront who they really were.
8 I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
I Know What You Did Last Summer is a twisted teen slasher flick about a group of friends who accidentally ran over a man on the street while drunk driving. It was the night of their high school graduation and they thought it better to deal with the situation instead of calling the police. They then covered up the tragedy, though their dark secret returned to torment them one year later.
When the group started to receive threats, they quickly discovered that someone wielding a hook for a hand was seeking vengeance. The young leads, catchy pop soundtrack, and witty one-liners match the overall vibe of the dread that builds throughout the film. I Know What You Did Last Summerupdated the well-known 1980s slasher genre much like Scream did a few years earlier.
7 The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Directed by Wayne Wang, The Joy Luck Club is a gorgeous multi-generational drama that examines the immigrant experience in America as well as the complex relationships between mothers and daughters. In the movie, four Chinese women, now living in San Francisco, form a club where they play mahjong, tell stories, and eat food.
The titular club is trying to recreate an active social life and find joy now that they have to live in their adopted country. Their hope is that their American-born daughters, the second generation of their family, can have more opportunities than they did. However, the daughters rebel against expectations while the mothers strive to extend their traditions and wisdom.
6 Speed (1994)
Jan de Bont directed 1994's Speed, an edge-of-your-seat blockbuster about a cop trying to stop a madman who wired an LA public transit bus with a bomb. In one of his highest-grossing movies, Keanu Reeves starred as Jack Traven, an LAPD officer who raced against the clock to both keep the bus moving above 50 MPH or defuse the bomb before the whole bus exploded.
The tension mounted with each passing second as Traven squared off against the ruthless bomber. Speed tapped into our collective fear of being stuck in the midst of a force beyond our control. It has pulsating action and jaw-clenching thrills that kept viewers riveted until the bus finally screeched to a halt at the end.
5 The Full Monty (1997)
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The Full Monty is a hilarious British comedy that followed a group of unemployed working-class fathers who formed a male striptease act. They desperately needed to earn some cash after the steel mill they worked at shuts down. From the brain of the group Gaz to the depressed Dave, every member has their own personality quirks that seem to work in their favor.
Chugging all their doubts and insecurities aside, the misfit group of dad-bods stumbled towards their debut performance. The Full Monty ridiculed male vanity while also giving weight to the restorative effects of living in the community. By baring all (literally and figuratively) these men rediscover their self-worth in this remarkable and unforgettable comedy.
4 Beetlejuice (1988)
Tim Burton directed Beetlejuice, a delightful horror comedy about a recently deceased couple who seek help from a scornful bio-exorcist named Betelgeuse. They want him to rid their home of its living occupants after they failed to scare them out as ghosts. The film defies expectations and familiar tropes with its riotous imagination, stunning visuals, and piercing black comedy.
Betelgeuse is part con man and part chaotic demon, and he spends his time rebelling against the prissy bureaucracy of the afterlife. As Beetlejuice advances in its story, the ghosts learn to unleash their inner weirdness and the living family remembers how to laugh again. The success of Burton's dark comic hit inspired an upcoming sequel that will continue the dark but beloved story.
3 Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Based on David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, Glengarry Glen Ross gets incredible big-screen treatment under James Foley’s meticulous direction. In the real estate workspace, four desperate salesmen are struggling to meet unreasonable quotas set by their managers. The dishonest system of authority threatens to fire everyone but the top two employees.
Lacking referrals or real leads and getting no help from their boss, two salesmen resort to theft, lies, and manipulation. But as the pressure and competition between them intensifies, the movie becomes a lesson on individual greed. This quintessential film about cutthroat capitalism serves as an important reminder that no amount of material gain can compensate for the loss of humanity.
2 Sophie's Choice (1982)
Hollywood legend Meryl Streep won her second Academy Award for 1982's Sophie’s Choice, which is an emotionally harrowing drama. Zofia "Sophie" Zawistowski is a Polish immigrant who begins a tempestuous romance with aspiring writer Stingo. But shadows of Sophie’s past haunt her, and in various flashes of memory, we see the unspeakable horrors she witnessed at Auschwitz.
Tasked with choosing which of her two children will live, Sophie made an impossible decision that forever changed her. As Stingo learns more about Sophie’s painful history, he begins to see the world through her wounded eyes and grows even more compassionate. Sophie's Choice explores the struggle of the human heart to find joy amidst the darkest atrocities.
1 Die Hard (1988)
1988's Die Hard has been called a quintessential Christmas flick an iconic action blockbuster and a thrilling roller coaster ride. It redefined every genre by putting its everyman hero up against impossible odds. In the movie, barefoot NYPD officer John McClane single-handedly takes on a team of heavily armed criminals who have held an L.A. skyscraper hostage on Christmas Eve.
Despite being badly outgunned, McClane uses his wit, grit, and every trick in the book to take down the merciless terrorists one by one. Die Hard infused gravity-defying action sequences with sarcasm and humor. Yet for all its spectacle, Die Hard finds little truths in several moments – a Christmas song on the radio, a kiss from a loved one – to remind us that there’s always hope.