With a selection of over 1,200 movies, trying to find the perfect film to watch on Hulu may be a daunting task. Movie fans can spend hours scrolling through Hulu's collection, which includes a variety of genres across both American and International cinema. Instead of wasting time, it's important to find the films to watch right away.
Hulu's expansive catalog ranges from big-budget blockbusters like Blade Runner 2049 and Dunkirk to internationally renowned world cinema installments such as I Saw the Devil and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. No matter the audience's tastes, Hulu is full of essential films that no one should miss.
10 Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
The long-awaited sequel to Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049 is set 30 years after the original film and follows K, a replicant whose discovery of a major secret leads him on a journey to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard. Despite an underwhelming performance at the box office, Blade Runner 2049 emerged as one of 2017's best films, earning nearly 270 award nominations.
Blade Runner 2049's standout aspects are its breathtaking Oscar-winning cinematography from the legendary Roger Deakins and its Oscar-winning visual effects. Blade Runner 2049 also expands upon Blade Runner's existential themes pertaining to mortality, artificial intelligence, and humanity's metaphysical nature. Blade Runner 2049 will be leaving Hulu towards the end of June.
9 I Saw The Devil (2010)
Leaving Hulu at the end of June, Kim Jee-woon's controversial revenge thriller I Saw the Devil tells the gruesome story of a secret agent seeking vengeance on a serial killer. The film stars two of South Korea's biggest actors, Lee Byung-hun as the agent, and Choi Min-sik as the murderer.
I Saw the Devil's extreme violence made it controversial, particularly during its many torture scenes. However, I Saw the Devil is much more than a simple gore fest. The film explores the nature of revenge and how good people can quickly become villains themselves when they're consumed by retribution.
8 Dunkirk (2017)
Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is a historical war film that depicts the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II from the parallel perspectives of soldiers fighting by land, air, and sea. It surpassed Saving Private Ryan as the highest-grossing World War II movie worldwide.
Dunkirk received ample praise for its historical accuracy, majestic 70mm IMAX cinematography, use of practical effects, and intense, fast-paced score. To minimize the use of CGI, Nolan employed real World War II-era military vehicles, remote-controlled aircraft, and cardboard cut-outs to mimic the scale of a large army. Dunkirk is leaving Hulu in mid-June.
7 Broker (2022)
Following a lull in international acclaim throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Hirokazu Kore-eda helped reinvigorate Japanese cinema in the 1990s, with many critics comparing him to Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse. Kore-eda has continued his dominance of Japanese cinema through his 2022 film Broker, made outside his native Japan in South Korea.
Broker's plot concerns a young mother who becomes involved in a baby-selling adoption scheme. The film won Best Actor for Song Kang-ho and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Kore-eda just released another film, Monster, which yet again has earned considerable admiration following Cannes.
6 Best In Show (2000)
Co-written, directed by, and starring Christopher Guest, Best in Show is arguably Guest's greatest mockumentary. The film is a satire of dog shows and owners who devote themselves entirely to their pets. Best in Show features an all-star cast that includes Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, and Jane Lynch.
Best in Show is most remembered for its quirky premise, farcical improvisational dialogue, and zany antics. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Best in Show the greatest comedy of the twenty-first century.
5 Once (2007)
Made on a microscopic budget of $150,000, Once is an irresistibly charming musical that Rotten Tomatoes described as setting the standard for the modern movie musical. Once centers on two struggling musicians in Dublin who, over the course of a week, write music together and fall in love.
Due to its minuscule budget, Once more closely resembles a work of the Nouvelle Vague rather than an elaborate Hollywood musical. The film features real locations, natural lighting, non-professional actors, improvised dialogue, and scenes shot without permits. Once's principal song, "Falling Slowly," won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
4 Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
Summer of Soul (...Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. The film combines performances from the festival with stock news footage and interviews with attendees, musicians, and activists.
Overshadowed by Woodstock, the 40 hours of footage from the Harlem Cultural Festival went unseen by audiences for over 50 years. Summer of Soul is essential viewing, with performances by Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, and the 5th Dimension. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the National Film Registry should induct Summer of Soul in its first year of eligibility in 2031.
3 Memories Of Murder (2003)
Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder is a crime thriller loosely based on the Lee Choon-jae murders. Lee Choon-Jae was a South Korean serial killer who murdered 15 women and young girls between 1986 and 1994. The film stars Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-Kyung, and Kim Roi-ha as the three detectives bent on tracking down the murderer.
Bong astutely blends crime drama with dark comedy and social satire to depict the turbulent transition of South Korean institutions trying to adapt to a democratic society in the late 1980s. Sight & Sound, Film Comment, and Slant Magazine have all named Memories of Murder one of the best films of the twenty-first century.
2 Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)
Directed by French auteur Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an emotionally devastating romantic drama about an affair between an aristocrat and the painter commissioned to paint her portrait. A period film set during the late 18th century, Portrait of a Lady on Fire examines women's pursuits of career ambitions and personal freedoms.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire features unforgettable performances from Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, immaculate cinematography, and extraordinarily detailed period production design. Despite being only four years old, Sight & Sound named Portrait of a Lady on Fire the 30th greatest film of all time in its 2022 critics' poll.
1 Blue Velvet (1986)
Blue Velvet is an all-time great neo-noir that has remained one of the most controversial films of the 1980s. The backlash again David Lynch's surrealist mystery thriller was immense, stemming from its extremely violent and sexual content. Blue Velvet focuses on a college student who, after discovering a severed ear, becomes entangled with a troubled nightclub singer and a group of truly disturbing criminals.
Like many of Lynch's best works, Blue Velvet analyzes the American Dream through the prism of the darkness that lurks underneath the facade of an idealized reality. Although divisive upon its initial release, Total Film, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, Film Four, and Sight & Sound have all listed Blue Velvet among cinema's greatest films.