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Streaming Video Guides

Use this guide to find streaming alternatives to Media Services DVDs.

Popular Films

Titles Available as of July 2022

This is a selective list of streaming video holdings in the American University Library. Streaming guides are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the library catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date streaming holdings, please refer to our streaming catalog.

Big

Tom Hanks plays Josh Baskin, a 12-year-old boy who has been transformed into a 35-year-old man by a carnival wishing machine. Elizabeth Perkins plays Susan, the sophisticated lady executive who falls in love with him. 

Black Swan

Nina is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica  who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily, who impresses Leroy as well. 

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

The most brilliant example of that dark and twisted film movement known as German expressionism, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. Director Robert Wiene and a team of designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetuate a series of murders in a small community. Featuring Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Lil Dagover, Von Tardowsky.

Cleopatra

The epic saga of legendary Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and her attempt to stabilize her power and gain control of the Roman Empire. 

The Crucible

The movie is centered around Salem Massachusetts witch trials of 1692. The movie is based on the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. He also wrote the screen play adaptation. 

The Day After Tomorrow

A Paleoclimatologist named Jack Hall is in Antartica, he discovers that a huge ice sheet has sheared off. But what he does not know is that this event will trigger a massive climate shift that will affect the world population.

Edward Scissorhands

In a castle high on top of a hill lives an inventor's greatest creation - Edward, a near-complete person. The creator died before he could finish Edward's hands; instead, Edward is left with metal scissors for hands. Edward has always lived alone, until a kind lady called Peg discovers Edward and welcomes him into her home. At first, everyone welcomes Edward into the community, but soon things begin to take a change for the worse.  

Fast Food Nation

Don Anderson is the Mickey's food restaurant chain's Marketing Director. He is the inventor of the "Big One" the hamburger best seller of Mickey's. An independent research reports the presence of cow's feces in the Big One. So Don is sent to Cody, Colorado, to verify if the slaughterhouse, main supplier of Mickey's, is efficient as it appears and the production process is regular. During his investigations he discovers the horrible truth behind a simple hamburger; the reality is not like we think it is. Don discovers what the mass production system involves, from the temp workers like Amber, to the exploitation of Mexican irregular immigrants. It is not only the meat that is crushed in the mincing machine, but all our society. 

The Fault in Our Stars

Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.

The Favourite

A bawdy, acerbic tale of royal intrigue, passion, envy and betrayal in the court of Queen Anne in early 18th century England. 

Fight Club 

When a ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a soap salesman channel their aggresion into therapeutic "fight clubs" an eccentric woman gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

500 Days of Summer

When Tom, a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer dumps him, he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days "together" to try to figure out where things went wrong. 

Gone Girl

On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble.

Grand Budapest Hotel

GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent. 

The Greatest Showman

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is an original musical inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, starring Hugh Jackman. Barnum was a visionary who rose from nothing to create the "Greatest Show on Earth," a spectacle and celebration of his larger-than-life imagination that captivated audiences around the globe. Also starring Michelle Williams, Zac Efron and Zendaya. 

The Happening

A paranoid thriller about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. 

The Hate U Give

Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. 

Hidden Figures

As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes. 

I, Robot

Will Smith stars in this action thriller inspired by the well-known short story collection by Isaac Asimov, and brought to the big screen by dynamic and visionary director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow). Smith plays a detective investigating a crime that might have been perpetrated by a robot - leading him to discover a far more frightening threat to the human race. 

Isle of Dogs

ISLE OF DOGS tells the story of ATARI KOBAYASHI, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture. 

Jackie

JACKIE is a searing and intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history, seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, then Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman). JACKIE places us in her world during the days immediately following her husband's assassination. Known for her extraordinary dignity and poise, here we see a psychological portrait of the First Lady as she struggles to maintain her husband's legacy and the world of "Camelot" that they created and loved so well. 

Joy

Joy  is the wild story of a family across four generations centered on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right.

Juno

JUNO stars Elliot Page as the title character, a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Cera). With the help of her hot best friend Leah, Juno finds her unborn child a perfect set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Venessa (Bateman and Garner), longing to adopt. 

Les Misérables

This 1958 French-German-Italian production is one of the finest film versions of Victor Hugo's classic novel about the escaped prisoner Jean Valjean and his implacable pursuer Javert. Said to be the most faithful adaptation of the novel.

Life of Pi

Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zookeeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.

Logan

Set in the future, Logan and Professor Charles Xavier must cope with the loss of the X-Men when a corporation lead by Nathaniel Essex is destroying the world leaving it to destruction, with Logan's healing abilities slowly fading away and Xavier's Alzheimer's forcing him to forget. Logan must defeat Nathaniel Essex with the help of a young girl named Laura Kinney, a female clone of Wolverine.

The Longest Ride

Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, this movie centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke, a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia, a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City's art world.

Love, Simon

Everyone deserves a great love story. But for Simon it's complicated: no-one knows he's gay and he doesn't know who the anonymous classmate is that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, scary and life-changing.

The Martian

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Minority Report

Based on a Philip K. Dick short story, Minority Report is about a cop in the future working in a division of the police department that arrests killers before they commit the crimes courtesy of some future viewing technology. Cruise's character has the tables turned on him when he is accused of a future crime and must find out what brought it about and stop it before it can happen. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers... and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jacob discovers that only his own special "peculiarity" can save his new friends. 

Mrs. Doubtfire

When unemployed dad Robin Williams loses custody of his three children, he transforms himself into an elderly British nanny so he can spend more time with them. As "Mrs. Doubtfire" Robin Williams becomes the perfect mate - until his ex-wife finds out. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

John and Jane Smith are a normal married couple, living a normal life in a normal suburb, working normal jobs...well, if you can call secretly being assassins "normal". But neither Jane nor John knows about their spouse's secret, until they are surprised to find each other as targets! But on their quest to kill each other, they learn a lot more about each other than they ever did in five (or six) years of marriage. 

My Cousin Vinny

Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein are a couple of 21-year-old college guys taking a cross-country road trek to UCLA via the back roads of the deep South. They should be having the time of their lives, except for one small mishap: They are wrongfully arrested in Wahzoo City, Alabama, for murdering a convenience store clerk. At best, they face long-term jail sentences; at worst...the electric chair. Their only hope is legal representation from Bill's cousin Vinny, a Brooklyn lawyer who took six years to pass the bar and only made it six weeks ago. 

Neerja

Neerja is the story of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. The flight was hijacked by a terrorist organization.

Never Been Kissed

From producer Drew Barrymore, comes a contemporary comedy featuring Drew Barrymore as a copy editor in her early 20s who yearns to be a reporter at a Chicago newspaper. She accepts an assignment to go undercover as a high school student, only to experience the horrors of being unpopular all over again - until she finds a way to turn it all around. 

Paper Towns

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life-dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge-he follows.

The Post

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.

Predator

Mighty Arnold Schwarzenegger battles a deadly alien Predator in this horrifying high-tech thriller.

The Princess Bride

A kindly grandfather sits down with his grandson and reads him a bedtime story. The story is one that has been passed down through from father to son for generations. As the grandfather reads the story, the action comes alive. The story is a classic tale of love and adventure as the beautiful Buttercup is kidnapped and held against her will in order to marry the odious Prince Humperdinck, and Westley (her childhood beau, now returned as the Dread Pirate Roberts) attempts to save her. On the way he meets an accomplished swordsman and a huge, super strong giant, both of whom become his companions in his quest to rescue Buttercup. 

Prometheus

This film is set in 2093 and takes place in the same universe as the 'Alien' movies. A group of explorers, including some archaeologists, are on an "undisclosed" mission. They arrive at a planet millions of miles away from Earth. The team spot what they believe to be signs of civilization.

The Revenant

Inspired by true events, the Revenant captures one man's epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.

The Sandlot

A comedy about a summer of friendship and adventure during which one boy becomes part of a team. Nine boys become best friends and their leader becomes a legend by confronting the terrifying mystery beyond the left field fence. Ruff! Ruff!

The Seven Year Itch

Like many other Manhattan husbands, Richard Sherman sends his wife and son to the country for the summer, while he stays behind to toil. Though reveling in temporary bachelor freedom of lifestyle, he's resolved not to carouse and philander like some others. But his overactive, over-vivid imagination goes into overdrive when a delightfully unconventional, voluptuous blonde moves in upstairs.

The Shape of Water

An otherworldly fairy tale set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Her life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.  

Speed

On the LAPD SWAT detail, Jack Traven is known as a cop with a reckless nature and a brilliant understanding of the criminal mind. He has some unfinished business with Howard Payne, a sociopath who nearly killed Traven and his partner Harry during a spectacular extortion attempt. Now Traven has been given the challenge of his career when a crowded bus - wired by a vengeful Payne to explode if it slows to under 50 mph - is set loose during Los Angeles' morning rush hour. 

Tolkien

Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the "fellowship" apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-Earth novels. 

12 Years a Slave

Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

The Verdict

Paul Newman stars as a down-and-out, ambulance-chasing attorney who becomes involved in a controversial lawsuit. Winning is Newman's last chance for personal and professional redemption. 

Water for Elephants

Based on the acclaimed bestseller, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS presents an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting. Veterinary school student Jacob meets and falls in love with Marlena, a star performer in a circus of a bygone era. They discover beauty amidst the world of the Big Top, and come together through their compassion for a special elephant. Against all odds -- including the wrath of Marlena's charismatic but dangerous husband, August -- Jacob and Marlena find lifelong love.