The 30 best BBC iPlayer films you can watch now
From classic horrors to underrated rom-coms, BBC iPlayer has some amazing movies
BBC iPlayer isn’t just for catching up on TV: it has some of the best films available to stream right now.
That’s not to say you should have known better. Most people use iPlayer to watch shows they’ve missed, such as Strictly Come Dancing, or binge box sets before they’ve aired in full on normal telly, like Wild Cherry.
When they’re done, they’ll pivot to some of the best shows on Netflix or rummage through Amazon Prime’s films.
Trust us: whether you’re into horror films, action, or comedies, there are amazing movies on BBC iPlayer.
Contents
30. Coriolanus
- Genre: War, Drama
- Year: 2011
- Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave
- Director: Ralph Fiennes
- Runtime: 2 hours 3 minutes
What it’s about: Coriolanus, a formidable and fearsome general, is banished from Rome despite protecting the city from its enemies. So, he decides to team up with a sworn enemy to take his revenge.
Why to watch: Coriolanus follows Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet playbook, modernising the story with visual flair and timely resonance while retaining the original text. It’s the best possible version of Shakespeare; a bloody, furious poem about violence.
29. The War Game
- Genre: War, Drama
- Year: 1966
- Cast: Michael Aspel, Peter Graham, Kathy Staff
- Director: Peter Watkins
- Runtime: 47 minutes
What it’s about: In 1960s Britain, Soviet forces launch a nuclear warhead that explodes near the south of England, causing enormous damage and changing the lives of the survivors forever.
Why to watch: Nearly 20 years before the BBC inflicted undreamt-of trauma on Britain with Threads, The War Game achieved similarly disturbing results. It’s a thorough warning; educational and horrifying.
28. The Mercy
- Genre: Biography, Drama
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis
- Director: James Marsh
- Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
What it’s about: Amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst decides to complete the Golden Globe Race, attempting to circumnavigate the world on his own – with disastrous consequences.
Why to watch: Not unlike the plight of Icarus, The Mercy is a moving, starkly brutal portrait of a man who couldn’t face the consequences of flying too close to the sun. Colin Firth nails the tragedy of Crowhurst’s arrogance and desperation, and it’s a fascinating story.
27. Green Book
- Genre: Biography, Drama
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
- Director: Peter Farrelly
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: Dr Don Shirley, a world-class Black pianist, hires bouncer Tony Lip to drive him on his tour through southern America.
Why to watch: Two things can be true. Green Book is a schmaltzy, overly palatable inverse of Driving Miss Daisy that shouldn’t have won Best Picture. However, it’s also incredibly lovely and well-intentioned, especially with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali’s priceless chemistry.
26. Indecent Proposal
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 1993
- Cast: Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson
- Director: Adrian Lyne
- Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
What it’s about: A young married couple desperate for money travels to Las Vegas to gamble their savings. There, they meet John Gage, a rich stranger who offers them $1 million… for a night with the wife.
Why to watch: It’s laughable to think that Indecent Proposal caused controversy when it came out. It’s a simple erotic thriller with three movie stars and an unshakable proposition you’ll ponder in your head. Don’t take it too seriously.
25. The Others
- Genre: Horror
- Year: 2001
- Cast: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston
- Director: Alejandro Amenábar
- Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
What it’s about: Grace, a devout Christian mother of children with a sensitivity to daylight, starts to experience supernatural phenomena as she awaits her husband’s return from World War II.
Why to watch: The Others is a stately, spooky ghost story that’ll breathe new life into the seemingly corporeal forces lurking in your dark corners. Nicole Kidman is fantastic; high-strung, but vulnerable and true to the film’s horrors.
24. Man on the Moon
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 1999
- Cast: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love
- Director: Miloš Forman
- Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
What it’s about: Andy Kaufman, a struggling, unconventional comedian, lands a major television role that catapults him to fame, but some of his biggest hurdles are yet to come.
Why to watch: Jim Carrey is the only actor who could appropriately portray Andy Kaufman’s irreverent comedic style. The film is a fair, emotional representation of a comedian who made himself unknowable – don’t expect a run-of-the-mill biopic.
23. 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.
22. Nativity
- Genre: Family, Comedy
- Year: 2009
- Cast: Martin Freeman, Marc Wootton, Ashley Jensen
- Director: Debbie Isitt
- Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
What it’s about: When Paul Maddens is charged with leading his primary school’s Nativity play, he boasts that a Hollywood producer will come to see the show. There’s just one problem: they haven’t spoken in years.
Why to watch: Nativity was clearly made on a shoestring budget, but that’s part of its charm. It feels like Martin Freeman stumbled into a school and decided to make a movie off the cuff, complete with bewildered interactions with the cast of children. They’re the true stars – it’s no wonder they made three sequels.
21. The Woman in Black
- Genre: Horror
- Year: 2012
- Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer
- Director: James Watkins
- Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
What it’s about: In a remote coastal community, a widowed lawyer settling an estate discovers a supernatural presence endangering the town’s youngest residents.
Why to watch: The Woman in Black traumatised teens when it was released in cinemas with a 12A certificate. Over a decade later, it’s worth revisiting for the nostalgia alone – just don’t blame us if your kids get a taste for horror (or they get nightmares… or both).
20. Triangle of Sadness
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2022
- Cast: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson
- Director: Ruben Östlund
- Runtime: 2 hours 27 minutes
What it’s about: A celebrity couple find themselves stranded on an island after their cruise sinks under frightening circumstances, leaving them to squabble with the other survivors.
Why to watch: Triangle of Sadness is a post-Parasite eat-the-rich parable that’s a little too on the nose. But, for the most part, it’s an absolute hoot; a satire that obscenely skewers its feckless ensemble, and it’s armed with an extraordinarily disgusting set piece.
19. Blinded by the Light
- Genre: Drama, Music
- Year: 2019
- Cast: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Hayley Atwell
- Director: Gurinder Chadha
- Runtime: 1 hour 57 minutes
What it’s about: In 1980s England, a teenager in a Pakistani family finds himself drawn to Bruce Springsteen’s music, “the direct line to all that is true in this world”.
Why to watch: Jeremy Allen White’s Springsteen biopic effectively distils his pain, but Blinded by the Light has an advantage: it conveys how the Boss’ music becomes the life force of hungry hearts. That’s more moving; it speaks to a feeling we’ve all had when we hear a tune that flutters our heart for the first time.
18. Point Break
- Genre: Action, Crime
- Year: 1991
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty
- Director: Kathryn Bigelow
- Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
What it’s about: A rookie FBI agent investigates a string of unsolved bank robberies. He suspects a group of thrill-seeking surfers is responsible, so he goes undercover, but it isn’t long before he’s forced to choose between the law and their leader.
Why to watch: Testosterone: off the charts. There’s a reason Edgar Wright cited Point Break’s incredible “pointing a gun up in the air and going ‘ahh'” – they truly don’t make ’em like this anymore. It’s the pièce de résistance of pulp fiction; a glorious, careless escape of “100% pure adrenaline”.
17. World War Z
- Genre: Action, Horror
- Year: 2013
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz
- Director: Marc Forster
- Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
What it’s about: Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane is called upon to help stop a chaotic pandemic that has gripped populations around the world.
Why to watch: World War Z is a peculiar creation: a zombie movie that bridges the gap between the clinicalism of Contagion, the awesome horde effects of Days Gone, and the fear factor of 28 Days Later. It’s the most successful zombie movie ever made, too.
16. Edward Scissorhands
- Genre: Fantasy, Romance
- Year: 1990
- Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest
- Director: Tim Burton
- Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
What it’s about: Edward, a lonely synthetic man with scissors for hands, leaves his dark, desolate mansion to live with Peg and her family in a nearby town, where he befriends her daughter, Kim.
Why to watch: Edward Scissorhands is among the strangest pop culture phenomena, but its iconic stature is well-deserved. This is a filmmaker and actor working at the peak of their powers in a melancholic, swooning, and surreal fairytale for the ages.
15. The Holiday
- Genre: Romance, Comedy
- Year: 2006
- Cast: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
- Director: Nancy Meyers
- Runtime: 2 hours 16 minutes
What it’s about: Two unhappy women agree to swap homes for Christmas; one is from a quaint cottage in the UK, and the other lives in a lavish Los Angeles estate. However, they quickly make unexpected connections.
Why to watch: ‘Tis the season (almost) to be jolly, and The Holiday is the ideal Christmas movie to get you in the yuletide spirit… because it isn’t really about Christmas at all. There’s snow, there’s a festive vibe, but the main appeal is the irresistible romantic chemistry between its four leads.
14. 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.
13. In Fabric
- Genre: Horror, Comedy
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hayley Squires, Leo Bill
- Director: Peter Strickland
- Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
What it’s about: Sheila, a recently divorced single mother, wants to make a good impression on a blind date. She buys a beautiful red dress in a department store, unaware of the terrible effects it will have.
Why to watch: In Fabric may have a daft premise, but its uniquely off-kilter, delirious sense of humour and investment in the macabre sells it completely. Even though it’s a film about a killer dress, it never falls victim to how silly that sounds.
12. 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.
11. The Remains of the Day
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 1993
- Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox
- Director: James Ivory
- Runtime: 2 hours 14 minutes
What it’s about: Mr Stevens, a butler to Lord Darlington, begins to realise how misplaced his loyalty was to his Nazi-sympathising employer in the fallout of World War II.
Why to watch: As perfect as an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel could be, The Remains of the Day is a stately, riveting drama that’s perceptive about a myriad of big, weighty themes — and it has a powerhouse acting line-up.
10. Red Eye
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2005
- Cast: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox
- Director: Wes Craven
- Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes
What it’s about: Lisa boards a late-night flight home to Miami. She befriends Jackson, a handsome young man, in the airport, who ends up sitting next to her on the plane. Little does she know, he’s a terrorist – and she’s his target.
Why to watch: Red Eye, Wes Craven’s third film before his death, is a taut, nerve-wracking thriller with two big assets: Rachel McAdams as its lovable, smart heroine, and Cillian Murphy as the movie’s steely-eyed, menacing villain.
9. The Mask
- Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
- Year: 1994
- Cast: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert
- Director: Chuck Russell
- Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
What it’s about: Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered bank clerk unlucky in love, stumbles upon an ancient mask that transforms him into a green-faced superhero.
Why to watch: In 1994, Jim Carrey pulled off one of the greatest single-year runs of any Hollywood actor: Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. The Mask is arguably the best of the three: a zany, imaginatively bonkers vehicle for the star’s singular brand of on-screen chaos.
8. Citizen Kane
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 1941
- Cast: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore
- Director: Orson Welles
- Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
What it’s about: After newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane utters a mysterious word before his death, a journalist sets out to uncover its meaning.
Why to watch: Citizen Kane has topped all-time movie lists for decades. What else can we say to convince you to watch it, if you’re less inclined towards old black and white films?
Simply put, it is mesmerising – and it’s never boring, unfurling and propelling with more creativity than most movies today.
7. Gosford Park
- Genre: Drama, Comedy
- Year: 2001
- Cast: Maggie Smith, Clive Owen, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Helen Mirren
- Director: Robert Altman
- Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes
What it’s about: In 1930s England, Sir William McCordle gathers his friends and other rich and famous people for a shooting party at his country estate. However, they all become suspects when a murder takes place.
Why to watch: The idea of a new Robert Altman movie being a box office success in 2025 is (sadly) laughable. It’s a testament to Gosford Park, a wickedly funny, perceptive mystery that directly led to Downton Abbey, that it made nearly $90 million at the turn of the millennium.
6. Bridget Jones’s Diary
- Genre: Romance, Comedy
- Year: 2001
- Cast: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant
- Director: Sharon Maguire
- Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
What it’s about: Bridget, a 32-year-old singleton, notes in her diary that she wants to take control of her life. She ends up with two very different men vying for her affection: Mark Darcy, a posh barrister whom she knew as a child, and Daniel Cleaver, her womanising, brazen boss.
Why to watch: To think Renée Zellweger’s casting was a matter of controversy. Nearly 25 years later, thanks to her bubbly, hapless, and irresistible performance, her Bridget Jones is a British icon, and it all started here.
5. 1917
- Genre: War, Drama, Action
- Year: 2019
- Cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth
- Director: Sam Mendes
- Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
What it’s about: With the German army plotting a deadly attack, two British soldiers are sent across enemy lines to deliver a crucial message, racing against time and dodging death to save an entire battalion.
Why to watch: 1917 is a gimmick: a ‘single-take’ war movie that hides multiple cuts in the rubble-and-blood chaos of its action. This is something you’ll only think about long after the credits roll. In the moment, it’s a heart-pounding race against time that’s mind-bogglingly well-crafted; a technical accomplishment, but emotionally acute.
4. La La Land
- Genre: Romance, Musical
- Year: 2016
- Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend
- Director: Damien Chazelle
- Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes
What it’s about: Mia and Sebastian, two young artists chasing their dreams in Los Angeles, meet and quickly hit it off. But what matters more, success or love?
Why to watch: Cynics would have you believe La La Land is overrated. They’re wrong: it’s a near-immaculate, swooning, infectious love story that’s shamelessly in love with its technicolour, song-and-dance ancestors. It’ll make you cry, too. What a picture.
3. Scream
- Genre: Horror
- Year: 1996
- Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard
- Director: Wes Craven
- Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes
What it’s about: A year after her mother’s death, Sidney and her friends are targeted by a costumed serial killer: Ghostface, a horror movie-obsessed murderer who could be hiding in plain sight.
Why to watch: Ghostface is a horror icon. Even now, kids and adults alike don the mask (bonus points if you had the one that pumped blood) and run around with fake knives at Halloween.
Here’s something people should remember: Scream is still every bit as effective as it was in the late ’90s, whether it’s the kills (the opening murder is extremely distressing), the performances, or its airtight, meta screenplay. Try as it might, the series has never been better.
2. 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.
1. 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. Also, it’s the clear inspiration for this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert.
Read more: The best films on Netflix you can watch right now
