The best movies on BBC iPlayer you can watch right now

BBC iPlayer is home to some incredible movies, whether it’s Paul Mescal’s Oscar-nominated masterpiece or a divisive age-gap romance from 2021.

For most viewers, iPlayer is where you go to catch up on The Apprentice and other shows you forgot to watch live, or to binge a box set before it finishes airing on TV.

However, it has also built up a surprisingly strong movie catalogue, packed with critically acclaimed titles, cult favourites, and genuinely excellent one-off watches.

So, if you’ve already exhausted the best films on Netflix and Amazon Prime, we’ve rounded up everything you should watch on iPlayer.

Best films on BBC iPlayer

The End We Start From premieres in March (Credit: Signature Entertainment)

Licorice Pizza

Genre: Comedy, Drama Year: 2021 Cast: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Runtime: 2 hours 13 minutes

What it’s about: In 1970s California, Gary Valentine (a 15-year-old wannabe actor) falls in love with Alana Kane, a 25-year-old woman. They strike up a friendship and get up to mischief together, but could there be something more?

Why to watch: Licorice Pizza is one of the decade’s true masterpieces; a joyous, life-affirming story that freewheels through its impeccably realised world with two pitch-perfect performances. For someone whose filmography is near-untouchable, Paul Thomas Anderson has rarely been better than this.

Matt Damon needs rescued again (Credit: 20th Century Studios)

The Martian

Genre: Sci-fi, Drama Year: 2015 Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig Director: Ridley Scott Runtime: 2 hours 22 minutes

What it’s about: When Astronaut Mark Watney is left stranded on Mars, he tries to figure out a way to contact Earth in the hope that scientists can devise a plan to bring him home.

Why to watch: If you liked Project Hail Mary, there’s a good chance you’ll love (or have already seen) The Martian, also based on an Andy Weir novel. This is a brainer, more affecting movie that translates hefty jargon into a sci-fi adventure for the ages. It’s a film literally anybody could enjoy.

Master and Commander is one of the best films on BBC iPlayer (Credit: 20th Century Fox)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Genre: Action, Drama Year: 2003 Cast: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D’Arcy, Chris Larkin Director: Peter Weir Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes

What it’s about: In 1805, Royal Navy captain Jack Aubrey’s dogged pursuit of a superior French frigate strains his ship, his crew and his friendship with surgeon Stephen Maturin as the chase takes them around South America.

Why to watch: Master and Commander may be the ‘dudes rock’ movie of all time: a swashbuckling, high-seas actioner all about strategy, brotherhood, and the desire to see beyond the horizon. Peter Weir should be worshipped as a god of cinema. Or, as one Redditor succinctly put it, “it rules”.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… (Credit: Sony Pictures)

The Shallows

Genre: Thriller, Horror Year: 2016 Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Brett Cullen Director: Jaume Collet-Serra Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes

What it’s about: While paying tribute to her late mother at her favourite beach, Nancy becomes stranded just 200 yards from the shore… with a great white shark stalking the water around her.

Why to watch: Shark movies, more often than not, fall victim to bargain-bin, VOD slop. However, The Shallows occupies the same league as Deep Blue Sea (but certainly not Jaws): a genuinely tense, gorgeously shot nightmare with a movie star performance from Blake Lively. Plus, it’s less than 90 minutes long!

The Proposal asks: would you marry your boss? (Credit: Disney)

The Proposal

Genre: Comedy, Romance Year: 2009 Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson Director: Anne Fletcher Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

What it’s about: In a desperate bid to avoid deportation back to Canada, Margaret convinces her assistant to marry her. However, when they travel to his hometown to meet his family, things don’t go to plan.

Why to watch: The Proposal delivers on three fronts: it has huge laughs (including a wet, naked clash), game performances from two mega-watt movie stars, and despite its best, sarky efforts, you’ll still root for Reynolds and Bullock’s characters.

The Mask is one of Jim Carrey’s greatest roles (Credit: New Line Cinema)

The Mask

Genre: Action, Comedy Year: 1994 Cast: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Greene Director: Chuck Russell Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes

What it’s about: Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered bank clerk, finds an ancient mask that transforms him into a green-faced, ultra-charismatic superhero, changing his life forever.

Why to watch: Jim Carrey went on an unprecedented comedic run in 1994: Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. There’s an argument for The Mask being the best of the three. It’s an accomplished, quirky superhero movie that stands alone among its ancestors, contemporaries, and everything that followed, and it was the perfect vehicle for Carrey’s most unhinged, cartoony sensibilities. Smmmokin!

The End We Start From is a must-watch (Credit: Signature Entertainment)

The End We Start From

Genre: Thriller Year: 2023 Cast: Jodie Comer, Katherine Waterston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong Director: Mahalia Belo Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes

What it’s about: When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters, a young family is torn apart in the chaos.

Why to watch: The End We Start From is an especially haunting companion piece to 28 Years Later: an anxious, nightmarish movie about what happens when our world collapses… that also features Jodie Comer in a similarly towering performance.

Malcolm X is Denzel Washington’s best performance (Credit: Warner Bros)

Malcolm X

Genre: Drama Year: 1992 Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Delroy Lindo Director: Spike Lee Runtime: 3 hours 22 minutes

What it’s about: The story of Malcolm X, an influential and controversial black nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.

Why to watch: Malcolm X could be the greatest biopic in all of cinema. It’s a movie that fundamentally understands, challenges, and enriches its subject, portrayed on an epic, bygone scale that only Spike Lee could come up with. Denzel Washington should have won the Oscar.

Queer was one of 2024’s most underrated movies (Credit: A24)

Queer

Genre: Drama Year: 2024 Cast: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman Director: Luca Guadagnino Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes

What it’s about: In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee, an American ex-pat in his late forties, leads a solitary life. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

Why to watch: Queer, a surreal, psychedelic love story that’s as beautiful as it is crushing, won’t be a movie for everyone (particularly compared to Luca Guadagnino’s poppier Challengers). However, it boasts a tremendous performance from Daniel Craig, and you won’t forget it in a hurry.

Katniss Everdeen is Jennifer Lawrence’s most iconic role (Credit: Lionsgate)

The Hunger Games movies

Genre: Action Year: 2012 – 2015 Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banls Director: Gary Ross, Francis Lawrence Runtime: 9 hours 8 minutes

What it’s about: Katniss volunteers to compete in The Hunger Games, a nationwide tournament that pits “tributes” from 12 districts against each other in a fight to the death.

Why to watch: The Hunger Games elevated a hit series of novels into one of the most popular and fandom-focused franchises in the world. That doesn’t happen off the back of a bad film, and the first remains a triumph of young adult moviemaking.

Not only that, but it spawned even better films; Catching Fire should be in the conversation as one of the best blockbusters of the 2010s.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Katniss, either: Jennifer Lawrence is to her what Sigourney Weaver is to Ripley.

Fall will make you have sweaty palms (Credit: Signature Entertainment)

Fall

Genre: Thriller Year: 2022 Cast: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan Director: Scott Mann Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes

What it’s about: A year after losing her boyfriend in a mountaineering accident, Becky joins her best friend to climb a 2,000ft TV broadcasting tower… and they get stuck at the top.

Why to watch: Fall can be corny, but those moments are a reprieve from its white-knuckle, barf-bag-flooding thrills. Seriously, it doesn’t matter if you’re unafraid of heights: this thing will make you feel vertigo. In this film’s case, hell is on top of the world, not below.

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead is a dark, festive drama (Credit: BBC Films)

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead

Genre: Drama, Comedy Year: 2018 Cast: Neil Maskell, Sam Riley, Hayley Squires Director: Ben Wheatley Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes

What it’s about: When Colin organises a lavish get-together at a country estate to celebrate New Year, plans go awry with the arrival of his estranged brother, David.

Why to watch: Happy New Year is an affirmation of Neil Maskell’s position as one of Britain’s sharpest and spikiest dramatic talents, always best utilised by Ben Wheatley. Unlike other holiday-set efforts, it never gives into the yuletide smiles and cheer; like a Bailey’s bottle filled with acid.

Starter for 10 is a University Challenge rom-com (Credit: Icon Film Distribution)

Starter for 10

Genre: Comedy, Romance Year: 2006 Cast: James McAvoy, Alice Eve, Rebecca Hall Director: Tom Vaughan Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes

What it’s about: A working-class teen in 1980s England arrives at Bristol University, keen to join its University Challenge team and win over a female classmate.

Why to watch: Starter for 10 is the perfect charity shop DVD. That may not sound like a compliment, but it’s a lovely, funny, unassuming rom-com you’ll be happy to watch over and over again.

Rye Lane is BBC iPlayer’s best film (Credit: Searchlight Pictures)

Rye Lane

Genre: Romance, Comedy Year: 2023 Cast: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Poppy Allen-Quarmby, Simon Manyonda Director: Raine Allen-Miller Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes

What it’s about: Yas and Dom, two newly single twenty-somethings reeling from bad break-ups, have a chance encounter and end up spending an unusual day walking around South London.

Why to watch: Rye Lane is the best rom-com of the past 10 years; grin-inducing, achingly earnest, and wonderfully performed by two perfect leads. It’s indebted to the Before trilogy’s walk-and-talk format, but still feels original and vividly alive.

Aftersun is one of the best movies of the 21st century so far (Credit: MUBI)

Aftersun

Genre: Drama Year: 2022 Cast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio Director: Charlotte Wells Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes

What it’s about: At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving (but struggling) father, Calum.

Why to watch: “Masterpiece” is a word that’s thrown around willy-nilly, but Aftersun is truly deserving of that status.

This is a textured, tender, and painful drama that marries the glow of a memory with the nip of reality, and it boasts two pitch-perfect performances from Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio.

Watching it out of context isn’t advised, but its use of ‘Under Pressure’ may be the best movie scene of the decade to date.

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