With a Netflix subscription comes a large variety of original movies and television shows made just for the streaming service. Because of the new offerings every month, sometimes classic selections can be overlooked. There are, however, many classic movies on Netflix available for subscribers to stream.
The following movies tell epic tales. Some are sweeping wartime biographies, others are gritty horror or crime dramas, or even satires meant to make the audience think, while others are black-and-white monoliths on which many in modern filmmaking have been influenced and found their own cinematic footing. These films are visual expressions at a high level, showing off what human beings can do creatively and with storytelling. All are critically acclaimed, some with prestigious awards, and others appearing on the "greatest movies" lists put out by film institutes or historical groups.
25 Animal House (1978)
Animal House might not have won any prestigious awards in its day (though the screenplay was nominated by the Writers Guild of America for Best Comedy), but the 1978 movie has become one of a few cult classics available on Netflix. Starring Jim Belushi, Karen Allen, and Kevin Bacon, the movie follows the least respected fraternity on a college campus as they fight for their place among the student body. Their fraternity is targeted by the dean for removal because he dislikes their hedonistic reputation. Belushi in particular is fantastic in the movie, improvising some of the most memorable scenes in the film, including his performance in the cafeteria. Animal House was added to the National Film Registry in 2001.
24 Cairo Station (1958)
Egypt’s Cairo Station earned director Youssef Chahine recognition among the film festival circuit in Europe after its 1958 release. It was also Egypt’s official submission to the Academy Awards that year to be considered for a Best Foreign Film nomination. Though it didn’t get the nomination from the Academy, it did leave a lasting impression on audiences. The movie follows Abu Sari (Farid Shawqi), who sells newspapers at the Cairo train station as he becomes obsessed with Hanuma (Hind Rustum), a woman who sells drinks in the station as well. The movie debuted only a few years after the Egyptian monarchy was overthrown, so beyond the drama of the relationships in the movie, it also featured storylines depicting the plight of workers and the attempt to unionize, capturing the cultural shift in the country at the time.
23 Saladin (1963)
Saladin is an Egyptian historical epic and one of many Egyptian classics that have been added to Netflix’s international catalog. The movie is inspired by the real-life Saladin, the first Sultan to rule over Egypt and Syria, and a leader during the Third Crusades. While the movie takes a lot of historical liberties with the story being told, it’s one that advocates for unity among Arab nations, and it’s highly regarded by Egyptian film enthusiasts. In fact, it’s been officially ranked in Egypt among the country’s Top 100 Films of all time.
22 Mobile Suit Gundam (1981)
Mobile Suit Gundam is one of Japan’s best-known classic animated franchises. The 1981 movie, available on Netflix, isn’t actually the first. 1981 marked a rerelease of the 1979 anime series. The anime was recut into three movies so that the story could be enjoyed in a shorter sitting. Set far in the future, two factions of humanity are at war over the colonized space between the planets and the moon. They fight using large mobile suits, and hope for humanity lies in a teenage mechanic who ends up piloting one of the suits. Since the debut of the Gundam movies, there have been dozens more Gundam projects: movies, television series, manga, video games, etc. A live-action movie has been in development for several years as well.
21 Legends Of The Fall (1994)
A western set during the early 20th century, Legends of the Fall is inspired by a novella by Jim Harrison and centers on a trio of brothers during World War I and the Prohibition Era. While it isn’t exactly a groundbreaking western, it’s a beautifully shot movie that earned an Academy Award for Best Cinematography as well as a handful of other Golden Globe nominations. What it’s best known for is making Brad Pitt a bona fide movie star. While Pitt had appeared in a handful of big movies before Legends of the Fall, it’s here that critics began to praise his performance. Pitt cemented himself as a leading man.
20 Out Of Africa (1985)
Out Of Africa, inspired by a memoir by Karen Blixen about her time owning a farm in Nairobi, is a dramatic showcase for Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. While liberties are taken with some of the historic context to tell the story, the movie has been described as an “epic romance.” Streep and Redford’s chemistry carries much of the movie, as does its sweeping cinematography. Streep was even nominated for an Oscar for her role, though she lost out that year. The movie picked up a total of 11 Oscar nominations though, winning seven of them, including Best Picture.
19 Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Among the classics on Netflix is Conan The Barbarian. Based on the pulp novels of the 1930s that centered on the titular character, Conan The Barbarian is a fantasy story that doesn’t shy away from violence. In fact, when initially released in theaters, those who were critical of the movie condemned the violent scenes because so many action heroes of the time cut through their enemies with abandon. Since then, however, the movie has become a classic known for bolstering Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career. The movie is also consistently lauded for its stellar soundtrack and started a trend of “sword and sorcery” projects being made in the years following its debut.
18 Airport (1970)
Airport was called corny and even overblown by critics at the time of its release. Despite that, it made its $10 million dollar budget back tenfold, and it earned 10 Oscar nominations, one of which the movie won: Best Supporting Actress for Helen Hayes. The movie’s bigger claim to fame, however, is that it ushered in the creation of disaster movies. Airport follows the goings-on at a fictional airport as it struggles to keep up day-to-day operations in the middle of a snowstorm. Adding to the trouble is that someone is intent on blowing up one of the planes. Movies like Airport are commonplace popcorn flicks today, but in 1970, it wasn’t something audiences had seen 100 times just yet.
17 White Christmas (1954)
The Irving Berlin song “White Christmas” was actually released a decade before Paramount made this classic holiday movie. The song featured in the movie, however, is a new version of the track, and Berlin himself suggested using the song to make a movie a few years earlier. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney, the movie follows a pair of soldiers who team up as performers when they meet a pair of struggling sisters looking to break into the entertainment industry as well. The foursome team up to stage a holiday musical at the Vermont Inn owned by a former General, but miscommunications threaten to ruin the show and their relationships. It’s become the blueprint for a lot of holiday romantic comedies, and the classic is consistently ranked among the best Christmas movies.
16 Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)
Classic movies on Netflix run the gamut from romance to drama to comedy, but there are few comedies that satirize stories quite like the Monty Python movies. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of the most beloved satires. In this case, the story satirizes the legend of King Arthur, a story that has been remade for movies, television, and books numerous times. Each time the legend is adapted, something new is brought to it. Here, that something new is John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Terry Gilliam bringing their very experienced comedy chops to the story. The movie has a lasting legacy, eventually being adapted into the Broadway musical Spamalot.
15 American Graffiti (1973)
Before George Lucas brought Star Wars to the screen, he directed this classic that’s now on Netflix: American Graffiti. He also cast his future Han Solo in the movie as Harrison Ford has a supporting role. The coming-of-age movie follows a group of teenagers and their adventures over the course of a single night. Much of the 1962 set story was inspired by Lucas’ own life as the movie recounted “cruising” for girls and drag racing among teenagers in the ‘60s. Following its release, the movie was nominated for five Oscars and four Golden Globes. It was also added to the National Film Registry in 1995.
14 Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994)
Some of the classic movies on Netflix are also Bollywood musicals. This Hindi-language movie is a romance that details the relationships between two families when a man and a woman marry. It features more than a dozen songs to tell the story. Hum Aapke Hain Koun is an incredibly popular film in India, one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of the ‘90s, and the winner of Best Popular Film at India’s National Film Awards during the year of its release. It also changed the course of Indian cinema since it was only released in a handful of theaters that had paid to upgrade their facilities when most of the country was relying on cable and home releases to view movies. As its popularity grew, more theaters had to upgrade their equipment in order to show the movie, creating a resurgence in Indian cinema.
13 Steel Magnolias (1989)
There are few tear-jerkers as beloved as Steel Magnolias. This classic movie on Netflix tells the story of a group of Southern women who bond, and then deal with the grief of losing a member of their group. It features superb performances by Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Shirley MacLaine. A remake was made in 2012 with Black actors in the leading roles with much success for Lifetime. The original movie earned an Oscar nomination for Julia Roberts as well as Golden Globe nominations for both Roberts and Field.
12 Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
One of the classic holiday movies on Netflix, Sleepless in Seattle tells the story of a lonely man during the holiday season whose sun calls into a radio station on his behalf. With direction from Nora Ephron and performances by Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, the movie is a near-perfect romance. In fact, it’s one of the most commercially successful romances as one of the top-grossing movies of 1993. The movie was nominated for two Oscars and three Golden Globes and was also eventually adapted to become a stage musical.
11 The Blazing Sun (1954)
Not to be confused with the 1950 Western that has the same name, The Blazing Sun is another of the Egyptian classics available on Netflix. The movie is an Egyptian take on star-crossed lovers like Romeo & Juliet. In this case, the two characters at the center of the romance are the son of a sugar cane farmer and the daughter of a wealthier landowner who also owns a sugar cane facility. The two keep their relationship a secret until a murder rocks their world and suddenly, everyone is a suspect. When Egypt celebrated 100 years of movies in the country in 1996, The Blazing Sun was officially named among the top 150 movies made in the country.
10 She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
She’s Gotta Have It is responsible for launching the career of Spike Lee. Not only did Lee direct the movie, but he also wrote, produced, and edited it himself. It was Lee’s first feature-length movie, and it was filmed on a shoestring budget, demonstrating that he could make a big splash with very little. The movie follows a young woman in New York as she juggles three different suitors in her life, and just how those different relationships shape her. It was a revolutionary movie at the time as the main character is depicted the same way men who have multiple partners are, and she advocated for sexual freedom. It’s one of the few classics on Netflix to also have a series inspired by the movie. Netflix actually ordered the series and produced two seasons of She’s Gotta Have It 30 years later.
9 Marnie (1964)
Alfred Hitchcock has a handful of his classics available to stream on Netflix. Marnie is perhaps one of his most problematic - both in front of and behind the camera - but it cements Tippi Hedren as a capable actress and Marnie is remembered as one of Hitchcock's best characters. It also allows Sean Connery to step out of the confines of the role of a spy while he was contracted to the James Bond franchise. The movie follows a young woman named Marnie as she steals from wealthy men to care for her ailing mother, and she struggles to understand certain fears she holds. The thriller gradually unravels each of these things until she’s confronted with the truth of her childhood trauma all at once. The story is effectively told and masterfully builds suspense. The downside to the story is that the heroine is blackmailed into a marriage she doesn’t want, and it’s implied that she’s forced to be intimate with her new husband offscreen. Critics and audience members alike continue to find those particular elements of Marnie in poor taste.
8 The Professional (1994)
Natalie Portman made her theatrical debut in this drama. She stars as a 12-year-old whose parents are murdered by a corrupt government official and is taken under the wing of an assassin. Gary Oldman is the corrupt official and Jean Reno is the assassin, making for some fantastic performances in the movie. A sequel to the movie was planned, but Luc Besson left the studio with which he initially worked to direct the film, so the movie never came to fruition.
7 Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)
Though Tom Cruise made his career in 1980s movies like Taps and Top Gun, it’s truly Born On The Fourth Of July that made people take him seriously as an actor. He had the box office draw from charming roles before it, but here, Cruise becomes a serious dramatic star, Born On The Fourth Of July is inspired by the biography of the same name, about a soldier who becomes paralyzed during the Vietnam War and then devotes his life to anti-war activism. The movie earned eight Oscar nominations, including one for Cruise.
6 Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979)
The Monty Python comedy troupe is known for their satire, but when Life Of Brian released in 1979, they were accused of everything from blasphemy to heresy. That’s because the story highlights a man named Brian who just happens to be born right next door to the Christian savior Jesus Christ. The movie sees Brian get mistaken for the Messiah again and again, and it uses Biblical stories to do so. Critics called the movie “cutting edge” at the time, even as it faced theatrical bans in many countries. Now, it’s a classic on Netflix that has actually prompted debates among religious scholars who have used the movie in their teachings.