A laid-back mix of comedies, dramas, and horror staples show Peacock’s library has more personality (and history) than many other streamers.

10 classic movies on Peacock for a dose of nostalgia

A laid-back mix of comedies, dramas, and horror staples show Peacock’s library has more personality (and history) than many other streamers.

By Declan Gallagher

May 6, 2026 5:00 p.m. ET

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'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' 'Night of the Living Dead,' 'Eve's Bayou'. Credit:

everett (2); peacock

Peacock’s movie selection has the kind of easy, unforced charm that sneaks up on you. Unlike other streaming services that bury you in algorithms, Peacock functions closer to a cool neighborhood video store where the staff picks are always a bit sharper than expected.

One moment you’re laughing at the deadpan absurdity of *Airplane!*, or settling into the mellow vibe of *Dazed and Confused*. But then you’ll shift gears and find something new that sticks with you, such as *Eve’s Bayou*, an atmospheric drama that lingers like a half-remembered dream, or the sweaty, visceral horror of *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*.

Peacock boasts a lineup that feels curated rather than crowded, and that’s part of its appeal. These are **’s picks for the 10 best classic movies you can stream right now on Peacock.

Airplane! (1980)

Roger Murdock (he's an airline pilot; he's NOT Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Frank Ashmore, and Peter Graves.

*Airplane!* helped to establish the spoof genre, setting the template for both the creators’ own *The Naked Gun* (1988) and later favorites like *Scary Movie* (2000).

The collective brainchild of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, *Airplane!* follows washed-up ex–fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays), who begrudgingly returns to the cockpit for emergency duty after food poisoning, bad weather, and even singing nuns turn an ordinary flight into a life-or-death proposition.

A parody of then-trendy disaster flicks like *Airport 1975* (1974), in which everything goes awry for an all-star cast, this classic set the standard for the rat-a-tat rhythm of spoofs to come. Its inspired sight gags and joke-a-second format land with a tremendously high hit rate.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

That's what I love about Matthew McConaughey movies...

GramercyPictures/Courtesy Everett

As a class of outgoing seniors celebrate the last day of school circa 1976 and plot their future, the incoming freshmen gird themselves for the four years ahead over the course of one melancholy, memorable summer night.

Richard Linklater's iconic coming-of-age dramedy is a rambling hangout movie in which every character feels pulled from real homes, real classrooms, real pasts. *Dazed and Confused* is perhaps most memorable for introducing audiences to a new generation of stars, among them Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, and Milla Jovovich. But the film continues to influence (and get discovered by) new generations of filmmakers and movie fans.

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Dead Poets Society (1989)

Robin Williams reads poetry, probably, in 'Dead Poets Society'.

Arriving at the all-male Welton Academy, a boarding school known for its strict rules, English teacher (and Welton alum) John Keating (Robin Williams) inspires his class of teenagers to politely question authority and “seize the day.”

Peter Weir’s seminal inspirational teacher flick boasts one of Williams’ finest dramatic performances, providing the hyperactive star with a grounded character to channel his energy into. That he was surrounded by a cast of supremely talented up-and-coming actors (including Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles, and Ethan Hawke) didn’t hurt, either. O captain, my captain, you’d better get your tissues ready.

Eve’s Bayou (1997)

Lynn Whitfield and Debbi Morgan in 'Eve's Bayou'.

Chris Halcermanas-Benge / Trimark Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Kasi Lemmons helmed this thrilling, kaleidoscopic coming-of-age tale, which takes place over a sweltering summer in Louisiana when 10-year-old Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett, staggeringly good here) realizes the picture-perfect image she had of her dad (Samuel L. Jackson) and mom (Lynn Whitfield) is a complete lie.

Playing out like a haunting, foreboding memory, *Eve’s Bayou* is an authentic slice of Southern Gothic melodrama that sits snugly alongside signature examples of the form from eras long past. It’s a sensual, mysterious, witty, and heartfelt piece of filmmaking, and still probably one of the most underseen classics of the ’90s.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Knights of the Round Table, having abandoned Camelot, realizing they've been outsmarted by the French.

This essential midnight movie is a manic deconstruction of quest movies and the horror that was the Middle Ages.

When King Arthur (Graham Chapman) recruits some of the bravest knights in the land — Sir Lancelot the Brave (John Cleese), Sir Galahad the Pure (Michael Palin), and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot (Eric Idle) — on a foolhardy quest for the Holy Grail, they encounter murderous hares, blood-spewing torsos, and (most dreaded of all) Frenchmen.

*Monty Python and the Holy Grail* is in a similar vein to the manic spoofery of *Airplane!*, but inflected with a distinctly British flavor that leans more appreciatively into the absurd and outright insane.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Ghouls (not zombies) in George A. Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead'.

George A. Romero’s groundbreaking debut feature is not just a great horror movie but a subversive social commentary, unequivocally the work of a young, angry filmmaker with much on his mind. *Night of the Living Dead* finds Barbara (Judith O’Dea) beset by the undead (referred to here as “ghouls”) and taking shelter in an isolated farmhouse with a group of fellow survivors led by Ben (Duane Jones).

Romero’s picture isn’t just a high-water mark in the zombie subgenre, it essentially invented the version of it that endures in the zeitgeist to this day. On a budget of just over $1 million in today’s money, Romero was able to capture some of the most raw and haunting images ever put to film.

On Golden Pond (1981)

Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in 'On Golden Pond'.

Universal Pictures/Everett

Jane Fonda stars alongside her father, Henry Fonda, and Katharine Hepburn in a moving drama about a woman trying to repair her fractious paternal relationship before it’s too late. It's the only onscreen collaboration between Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, both of whom won Oscars for their performances.

This is the sort of firm, unshowy domestic drama that flourished in the wake of *Ordinary People* (1980) but rarely gets made now, and even less frequently made well. What sets it apart is its unfussy portrayal of domestic life and the honest way it earns its emotional catharsis.

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

Meryl Streep in her second Oscar-winning performance, 'Sophie's Choice'. Universal/courtesy Everett Collection

Meryl Streep gives one of her most lived-in performances in Alan J. Pakula’s unimaginably tragic tale of love, loss, and rebirth, based on William Styron’s 1979 novel.

Set in post-WWII Brooklyn, the film revolves around a Polish immigrant, Sophie Zawistowska (Streep), who has been in an unstable, abusive relationship with Nathan (Kevin Kline, in his theatrical film debut) since her arrival in the U.S.

Sophie befriends her neighbor, an aspiring writer Stingo (Peter MacNicol), and recounts the details of her life leading up to and including her time imprisoned at Auschwitz. The moment from which the film gets its title lives up to its devastating reputation.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Leatherface, in his finest suit and favorite chainsaw.

Courtesy Everett

Tobe Hooper’s startling slasher pic is just as grimy, visceral, and horrifying as it ever was. On a road trip through the sparsely populated outskirts of Texas, a group of teens (among them Marilyn Burns’ Sally Hardesty) picks up a hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) — just their luck, a demented one — who sneakily directs them toward an isolated country house of horrors presided over by a family of lunatics.

Doing the dirty work for this grotesque clan is, of course, Leatherface, who wears human skin for a mask, wields a nifty chainsaw, and plans on having the teens for dinner. *Massacre *has been followed by generations of successors and imitators, but its uniquely unnerving rhythms and raw, sickly imagery are impossible to replicate.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Paul Dano gets ready to baptize Daniel Day-Lewis in 'There Will Be Blood'.

Paramount Vantage/Courtesy Everett

Ruthless oil prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) takes his operation to California with the intention of striking it rich, using his young son H.W. to convince communities he’s a family-minded businessman — rather than a clever opportunist fleecing them of their land’s value. The one thorn in his side is a young priest (Paul Dano), who is well aware of said value and has his own ruthless (and passive-aggressive) form of ambition.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful dissection of power, violence, and masculinity through the prism of the oil industry is one of the unassailable classics of the last two decades. And like a few other titles on this list, its potency and relevance has only grown since its release.

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