Sometimes it feels like a new streaming service hits the airwaves every day, but Peacock, the new service from NBCUniversal, is one that we are excited about. Choose between a free, ad-supported option or two premium tiers to get access to over 600 back-catalog films and more than 10,000 hours of NBC TV.
This is our list of what we think are the 20 best movies currently available to stream via Peacock. Take a look and see how it compares to similar offerings from Netflix and Hulu.
The Abbot and Costello Movies (1940s)
Abbot and Costello represent one of the most popular comedy duos of all time, and their special brand of physical humor has a timeless effect that still appeals to audiences today. Peacock is offering access to a variety of their gems, so there has never been a better way to get in touch with the kind of comedy your grandparents might have enjoyed.
Atonement (2007)
James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan star in this period drama that starts in the 1930s and covers a period of more than 60 years. It focuses on a crime, and the devastating consequences for a group of English people during a time when the world is changing dramatically.
Charade (1963)
This film starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn has a bit of everything, romance, action, a mystery to solve, and some true laugh out loud moments. It starts when an American woman in Paris is pursued by a series of men who are all after her fortune.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
A young Robert De Niro stars in this and Christopher Walken star in this grueling exploration of the impact of the Vietnam War on the veterans that survived. The drama plays out in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania. But how much of their humanity did these men leave behind.
Eastern Promises (2007)
Viggo Mortensen and Naimo Watts star in this David Cronenberg gangster film. Watts plays a Russian-British midwife who learns of young Russian girls being sold into prostitution by the Russian mafia in London. As she tries to help these girls, she finds herself walking into their world.
Gosford Park (2001)
Before there was Downtown Abbey, Julian Fellowes brought us Gosford Park. Starring one of those big ensemble casts that features most of the British actors that you know, it is a closed-door mystery set on a shooting weekend on an early 20th-century British estate. It makes good use of upstairs-downstairs issues.
The Harry Potter Movies (2001-2011)
You can now watch all the Harry Potter movies back to back in their original magic of Peacock. Remind yourself how the boy who lived comes to be at Hogwarts, watch Harry, Hermoine, and Ron develop their friendship, and repeatedly ask yourself how these kids keep outsmarting the adult wizards around them.
Hitchcock Movies
Peacock has brought together an impressive selection of the best Hitchcock thrillers of all time including Rear Window, Vertigo, Strangers on a Train, and The Birds. The psychological thrills that he uses to tell his stories mean that these scary movies are just timeless.
Jurassic Park (1993)
We should never forget just how groundbreaking this Spielberg movie was when it first came out, both in terms of concept and special effects. It still holds its own today, and is one of those movies you can watch again and again. And unlike the reboot movies, there is no woman running away from dinosaurs in high heels for 90 minutes.
Man on the Moon (1999)
Jim Carrey stars in this comedy biopic about the American entertainer Andy Kaufman. We watch his rise to fame through the comedy clubs and later TV shows like Saturday Night Live, but we also see his personal struggles that made him a terror to work with.
The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
There is no denying that the first Matrix film, starring Keanu Reeves, was fascinating and mind-bending, though the franchise lost its way with the two sequels. With yet another Matrix film coming in 2021, now is a time to get your head back around exactly how this world works.
The Mummy (1999)
Brendan Fraiser and Rachel Weisz star in this incredibly well-made comedy action flick. Competing with American treasure hunters to find an ancient Egyptian city, they inadvertently awaken a mummy determined to take over the world and bring back his dead love.
Pitch Black (2000)
Still probably the best movie that Vin Diesel has ever made, and certainly the best in the Riddick series this is a sci-fi horror flick that sees a group stranded on a hostile planet trying to survive both the monsters that live there and each other.
Play Misty For Me (1971)
Clint Eastwood stars in this film that was also his directorial debut. A slow-burn thriller with a few jump out of your skin moment, Eastwood plays a radio DJ that is staked by an obsessed female fan, expertly delivered by Jessica Walker.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
This is the debut feature film from Quentin Tarantino, and still counted among his best by many fans. It stars many Tarantino favorites including Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen. They are a group of thieves that come together for a big score, but things don’t go according to plan, and they all suspect one another.
Short Term 12 (2013)
Brie Larson stars in this independent drama as the young supervisor of a group of troubled teens. She is the lynchpin that holds together the stories of these troubled youths. Written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, it is based on his own experiences working at a group facility for teenagers.
Shrek (2001)
While the franchise might have been done to death, the original movie that introduced us to Shrek, Princess Fiona, and Donkey is still a modern-day classic. Revisit where the modern phenomenon started with its careful use of in-jokes and just enough heart.
Sinister (2012)
Fans of the haunted house horror genre will be pleased to see this on the list, as one of the best recent examples of these movies. Ethan Hawke stars as a father and writer who finds movies of grizzly murders in his new home. But by watching, is he also unleashing an evil force?
Spellbound (2002)
This documentary follows eight contestants through the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee. We learn about the lives of the individuals and their aspirations, but also the pressure of the competition and what it might mean for their individual futures.
The Sting (1973)
Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as two professional grifters who find themselves up against a mob boss in 1930s America. As they team up to pull off the ultimate con, they quickly discover that they are in much hotter water than they imagined.
What To Watch Next?
Fans of the classics will be pleased by this Peacock offering, which features some of the next movies of the last 80 years.
If you are looking for more timeless films to watch, check out our list of classic Science-Fiction movies that are currently available to stream, or the best Kung Fu movies of all time.