Last Updated: July 5th
The Netflix name has meant many things, including the best shows not on TV. And while there are some glaring omissions in their selection of good movies, there’s still plenty to peruse. Narrowing them down to just 30 of the best Netflix films wasn’t easy. Nonetheless, here’s a ranked list of the best movies on Netflix streaming no film lover should miss, all of them just a simple click away.
1. The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974): Francis Ford Coppola has made many remarkable movies, but there’s no doubt his obituary will lead with The Godfather films. In Mario Puzo’s bestselling story of a mafia family, Coppola found the perfect outlet for his filmmaking skills and thematic obsessions: family, morality the nature of America, and the Italian-American immigrant experience. Shot with a command of darkness and shadows that would make Rembrandt proud, they marry a propulsive narrative to memorable characters whose pursuit of the American dream leads them to do things they once couldn’t imagine doing. Released just two years apart, they’re extraordinary accomplishments, with Part II enriching and improving on the first installment. (There’s a third movie, released years later, that’s worth a look but falls well short of these originals.)
2. Boogie Nights (1997)
Wunderkind Paul Thomas Anderson synthesized all his greatest influences — Scorsese’s hyperkinetic camerawork, Altman’s profound empathy for human suffering, Tarantino’s flair for sleazy L.A. dialogue — into something completely original in his breakout film. Not even out of his twenties, and Anderson conducted a flawless ensemble cast including Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, and a headstrong kid named Mark Wahlberg in a sweeping statement on Hollywood, America, and cinema in general. In turns side-splittingly funny and unspeakably dark, teeming with life in every meticulously constructed frame, traversing two decades in the life of an industry at a pivotal moment of flux, Boogie Nights remains one of the greatest American films to come out of the ’90s.
3. Schindler’s List (1993)
In 1993, Steven Spielberg released two movies: The highly entertaining Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List, an adaptation of Thomas Keneally’s fact-based novel Schindler’s Ark, which tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi officer who actively works to save Jews from concentrations camps. The former again confirmed his reputation as the premier creator of crowd-pleasing Hollywood spectacles. The latter helped cement his status as a director whose artistry extended far beyond the ability to craft blockbusters. Liam Neeson stars as Schindler, and the film’s at once a depiction of his awakening conscience and an unsparing depiction of the Holocaust. Spielberg brings all his filmmaking power to bear on the film, which he was inspired to make in part by the rise of Holocaust deniers and a resurgence of interest in fascism at the time. Where some historical films feel stuck in their time, Schindler’s List remains an urgent act of remembrance that will remain timely as long as power and prejudice combine to make the world unsafe.
4. The Departed (2006)
A cop working for the mob (Matt Damon) and a gangster working for the cops (Leonardo DiCaprio) work opposing sides of a brutal battle between crime and law in Boston. With over three decades of filmmaking under his belt, director Martin Scorsese is at the top of his game with The Departed, packing the film with an all-star cast, score, and four Oscars including Best Picture (his only film to score that honor). Surprisingly, Scorsese was actually shocked at the movie’s Academy Awards, saying that the nasty, violent nature of the picture didn’t strike him as being for the awards while he was making it. Nevertheless, The Departed stands up as one of his best, thanks in part to stellar performances from Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg.
5. Y Tu Mama También (2002)
After a stint in Hollywood, Alfonso Cuarón returned to Mexico for this story of two privileged high school boys (Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal) who road trip with an older woman (Maribel Verdú) in search of an unspoiled stretch of beach. In the process, they discover freedom like they’d never imagined — and maybe more freedom than they can handle. Cuarón’s stylish film plays out against the backdrop of Mexican political upheaval and plays with notions of upturning the established order on scales both large and small, all the while suggesting that no paradise lasts forever.
6. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
If ever a fifth head were to be carved into Mount Rushmore, it would probably be Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch (at least until the publication of Go Set A Watchman, but let’s not talk about that). Peck’s performance as Harper Lee’s hero — who defends an innocent black man against accusations of rape — embodies everything that’s good and decent about American ideals in the middle of a film very much aware of how often the country fails to live up to those ideals.
7. Carol (2015)
Patricia Highsmith made her name with dark, misanthropic thrillers like The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. But her early work also included The Price of Salt, a novel about the relationship between a showgirl and an older married woman. With his typical graceful command, Todd Haynes turned into Carol, an emotionally rich story of a dangerous romance between characters played by Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett. A melancholy haze envelops the movie, suggestive of the world that wants to keep the two lovers apart. But it’s the passion between the protagonists and the hopefulness that fuels it, that gives the movie its fire.
8. Boyhood (2014)
A lot of films can claim to be one of a kind but few can back up that claim like Richard Linklatter’s Boyhood. Shot between 2002 and 2013, it follows the progress of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), a Texas kid being raised by a single mother (Patricia Arquette) and occasionally visited by his absent father (Ethan Hawke). With a few exceptions, the episodic film is short on big dramatic moments, letting a lot of major milestones play out offscreen. Instead it mostly just checks in on Ethan each year, watching as time passes, Ethan’s relationships shift, and the title starts to lose its meaning as adulthood looms. It’s a remarkable, deeply moving film made all the more amazing by how effortless Linklater makes it seem, as if we were just being given the privilege of watching a life take shape.
9. Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013)
When this French coming-of-age drama premiere in 2013 it sparked plenty of controversies. The film centers on a blooming romance between a naïve teenager named Adele and her free-spirited lover, Emma. Praised for painting an honest portrait of a lesbian romance on screen while also scrutinized for its sometimes graphic sexual content, the film marked a turning point in how the LGBTQ community was represented on film and gave people a heartbreaking look at a young woman discovering herself and her sexual identity in an unforgiving world.
10. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
What initially resembles puppy love between a pair of precocious children slowly, tenderly reveals itself to be something far more sophisticated and complex. Sam and Suzy (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, a pair of prodigies) both carry adult pain within their tiny hearts, and the solace they find in one another carries accordingly heavy emotional weight. As director Wes Anderson stages some of his most awe-inspiring sequences — the climactic flood like something out of F.W. Murnau’s wildest dreams, Suzy and Sam’s homemade Eden on the beach — a story about wayward adults and children grasping at their last chance for sanity expands until it fills the entire island.
11. Lincoln (2012)
Any historical drama with Daniel Day-Lewis starring is going to be worth a watch but Lincoln is Day-Lewis at his best. The actor’s eerily-accurate portrayal of one of the most famous presidents in the history of the United States is powerful and moving, even though everyone already knows the story of Lincoln’s terms in office and his eventual, tragic ending. The film touches on the Civil War, the fight for racial equality, the need to end slavery, and the president’s personal investment in the cause. Lincoln is a master-class in acting and an enthralling history lesson all in one.
12. Spotlight (2015)
Public scandal often makes for good drama, but that’s not why Todd McCarthy’s biographical re-telling of one of the most shocking cases of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church makes this list. Yes, the film has a famous list of names attached including Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Keaton. Yes, it’s a true story about a group of investigative journalists working at the Boston Globe who uncovered decades-worth of corruption and molestation accusations buried by leaders of the church. But with McCarthy’s restrained direction, the film rejects the trope of glorifying its heroes and sensationalizing its narrative to instead give us an accurate, detailed, and unbiased look at history.
13. Shrek (2001)
We know what you’re thinking. Shrek? Really? An animated comedy about an ugly green ogre who rescues a princess, befriends a donkey, and saves a kingdom. Look, it’s a common misconception that Shrek was only for kids. Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz all voiced characters in the film, and there were plenty of mature jokes that probably flew right over the kiddos’ heads. Torturing a sweet Gingerbread Man, interspecies hookups, and a show-stopping song and dance number to wrap things up makes this a family-friendly comedy that the adults won’t snooze through.
14. Jackie Brown (1997)
There was a lot riding on Quentin Tarantino’s third film. What do you do when your last movie, Pulp Fiction became a sensation that countless films had tried to imitate in the years since its release? For Tarantino the answer was to take a book from one of his favorite authors — Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch — retrofit it as a vehicle for two of his favorite underemployed stars — Pam Grier and Robert Forster — and slow the pace down to a mellow groove. The result is a great, in Tarantino’s words, “hang out” movie in which much of the pleasure comes from just spending the time in the company of the characters. Forster and Grier are especially great as characters on the opposite side of the law who find themselves attracted to each other as the world around them grows more dangerous. Though it’s another crime film set in Los Angeles, Jackie Brown doesn’t try to top Pulp Fiction. Yet in going its own way, it proves its match.
15. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Stanley Kubrick returned to the topic of war and what it does to those who fight it with this bifurcated story of the war in Vietnam. As with his great 1958 film Paths of Glory, Kubrick opted to take the long view and look at war as an enterprise in all its dehumanizing absurdity. It’s a film less about a particular conflict than what it means to prepare for war — the first half of the movie — and what it means to fight it — the film’s second half. Both keep returning to the notion that to become a soldier is to surrender some essential part of one conscience, and that war at its heart makes us lesser beings than we might be without it. It’s a tough film filled with black comedy that captures the dark heart of what it means to take up arms against others.
16. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Before Black Panther became one of the highest grossing films in the Marvel Universe, Chris Hemsworth’s hammer-loving hero gave the superhero franchise a much-needed dose of humor and fun with Thor: Ragnarok. Directed by Taika Waititi, the film follows the Asgardian warrior as he tries to save his home from the brutal reign of his long-lost sister Hela (a wickedly good Cate Blanchett) and fight his way out of off-planet gladiator pits with the help of the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and a Valkyrie played by Tessa Thompson.
17. Iron Giant (1999)
It’s a tale as old as time: Boy meets giant robot. Boy befriends giant robot. Government tries to find and destroy iron giant. Who didn’t face problems like that in their youth? Set in a post-Sputnik 1957, Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant centers on sci-fi obsessed Hogarth Hughes as he protects his new pet/BFF/unstoppable killing machine (voiced by a then-relatively unknown Vin Diesel). The story captures the fear and paranoia of the space race and makes it palatable for youths who’ve never heard “duck and cover” before. It was a truly scary time in U.S. history, and just imagine how worse it would be if a huge metal man showed up out of nowhere. Its a fun story, though, and is filled with genuinely funny moments and top-notch animation.
18. Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (2003-04)
A master assassin (Uma Thurman) is betrayed by her former associates and left for dead, only for her to awaken from her coma and vow to take uncompromising vengeance. Possible issues with director Quentin Tarantino aside, it’s impossible to say that watching his movies isn’t a distinct experience. Each piece of the Bride’s journey, while very different, fit together perfectly throughout the two films. Tarantino’s recognizable comedy, music, and slight self-indulgence come through in Kill Bill, which has just the right and an excessive amount of tongue-and-cheek and fake blood, respectively.
19. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
With the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker brain trust all dried up, Mel Brooks basking in his retirement, and the Friedberg-Seltzer menace threatening the sanctity of America’s cineplexes, longform parody was floating in the crapper. It was waiting to be flushed once and for all when along came David Wain to fish it out and clean it off with too-hip-for-school lunacy. The last day at Jewish summer program Camp Firewood spans everything from first love to heartbreak to broom-balancing contests to the threat of annihilation from space. The collected alumni of The State and a few welcome additions make for one of the greatest ensemble casts in recent comedy history, and every other line is a gem. When’s the perfect time to quote Wet Hot American Summer? Any time. Dinner. Literally, any time.
20. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Matthew McConaughey’s Dallas Buyer Club is a searing look at how the world failed the LGBTQ community during the devastating AIDS crisis. McConaughey stars as Ron Woodruff, a man diagnosed with the disease in the 80s during a time when the illness was still misunderstood and highly stigmatized. Woodruff went against the FDA and the law to smuggle in drugs to help those suffering from the disease, establishing a “Dallas Buyers Club” and fighting in court to the right to aid those in need. The story is all the more powerful because it’s true and McConaughey delivers one of the best performances of his career as Woodruff, a man who changes his entire outlook on life after being dealt a tragic blow.
21. Mudbound (2017)
Netflix spent much of 2017 trying to establish itself as an alternative to movie theaters as a place to find quality new films. The results were mostly strong, and none stronger than Mudbound, Dee Rees’ story of two families — one white and one black — sharing the same Mississippi land in the years before and after World War II. Rees combines stunning images, compelling storytelling, and the work of a fine cast (that includes Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, Garett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, and Mary J. Blige) to unspool a complex tale about the forces the connect black and white Americans and the slow-to-die injustices that keep them apart.
22. Coco (2017)
Disney continued its trend of spotlighting underserved communities and lesser-known cultures with Coco, a Pixar project that follows a young boy learning the importance of family during a traditional Mexican celebration, “Dia de Los Muertos.” The Day of the Dead is probably a holiday you’ve heard of before, but the film adds a rich history and vibrancy to a time held sacred by so many. Coco has dreams of becoming a singer but when he finds himself amongst the dead, he must rely on his courage and his ancestors to help him return to the living. Bring your tissues for this one.
23. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
There’s always going to be backlash when a studio decides to revive a beloved franchise and take it in a new direction but The Last Jedi continues to anger space fanboys everywhere and honestly, we’re not sure what their gripe is. Rian Johnson gave us a masterclass in how to take something old and make it new again with his interpretation, injecting a bit of fun and fantasy into the age-old story. Mindblowing Jedi fights, Force connections, Porg, and Artic Foxes, the movie has something for everyone and it challenges both old and new characters alike with interesting arcs and climactic moments. Plus, did we mention Porgs?
24. Dead Poets Society (1989)
Peter Weir’s beloved story of repression and rebellion at an elite prep school at the end of the 1950s features one of Robin Williams’ best dramatic performances and features a cast of ascending stars that includes Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Josh Charles. Though Weir occasionally lets Williams indulge a little too much, it’s a moving film that’s justifiably endured over the years.
25. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Who was Matt Damon before he was Jason Bourne? We’re really not sure. The actor reprised his leading man role in the third film of the action series, playing a psychogenic amnesiac still searching for clues about his true identity and his involvement in a secret assassin program. Of course, in this film, he’s also on the run from another group of similarly-trained killers. The Bourne series’ storyline isn’t revolutionary – Damon does a bunch of stunts but doesn’t feel any closer to figuring things out by the end of the film – but it’s his character’s daredevil antics and genetically-enhanced abilities to kick ass that are the real draw here.
26. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2002)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 surprised many with its stellar soundtrack and genuinely funny dialogue, and director James Gunn manages to live up to the original while still spinning a rather unique tale. The sequel finds the familiar rag-tag Guardians as they make enemies and wisecracks while exploring the origins of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his father, who happens to be a living planet (Kurt Russell). Focusing more on character development than overall MCU progression, the movie rounds out and humanizes some of its ridiculous characters, including Ravager Yondu. It’s a hilarious and emotional sci-fi adventure that doesn’t get too lost in its spectacular visual effects.
27. The Hateful Eight (2015)
It seems almost perverse to think about watching The Hateful Eight at home, given how big a deal Quentin Tarantino made of its 70mm format at the time of its release. And while it looks great on the big screen it’s not like that’s an option right now. And, in some ways, the film feels just at home on the small screen, since it’s at heart a chamber mystery that brings together a collection of unsavory characters (Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh among them) as mystery and murder unfold in their ranks.
28. The 40-Year-Old-Virgin (2005)
Steve Carrell plays a loveable schmuck who has yet to pop his cherry in The 40-Year-Old-Virgin. After his friends pressure him to do the deed, he meets a single mom that ticks off all the boxes. The problem: he’s got absolutely no game with the ladies. Add to that a disturbing amount of body hair and a lackluster job at an electronics store and you’ve got the recipe for a classic Judd Apatow comedy.
29. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Hijinks-y teen movies and all, 1999 was an impressive year for movies. Magnolia, Fight Club, The Green Mile, Being John Malkovich, The Matrix… The list goes on and on. Among those entries is M. Night Shyamalan’s first big release, and one of his best (behind Unbreakable, of course). This was a simpler time, before seeing his name in trailers garnered skepticism. Centered on a boy who can’t separate the dead from the living and his child psychologist with issues of his own, The Sixth Sense remains one of four horror movies to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. It’s endlessly tense, driven by strong performances from the two leads over jump scares. It’s held up well, even if it’s established a tough hurdle for the director’s future efforts to clear.
30. Trading Places (1982)
One of the quintessential ‘80s comedies, the John Landis-directed Trading Places contrasts the lives of the haves and the have-nots when a pair of billionaire brothers decide to conduct an experiment in the irresolvable nature-versus-nurture debate by forcing a wealthy doofus (Dan Aykroyd) and a low-level con man (Eddie Murphy) to swap positions. Both Aykroyd and Murphy are in top form here as they team up to unravel the scheme, an effort that eventually involves a prostitute played by Jamie Lee Curtis and a gorilla.
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