16 Great Classic Movies to Stream on Netflix
Any true cinephile knows the importance of a classic. Not to go full movie snob on you, but they’ve stuck around for a reason. Most canonical films—whether you'd like to admit it or not—have influenced modern storytelling. Sure, some classics are flawed. Hell, a lot of them wouldn’t fly in this day and age—but if you’ve avoided the classics by assuming the worst, then you’re missing out.
If you’re eager to discover a new movie—or you’re ready to revisit a film you haven’t seen in a while—then look no further. Below, we’ve rounded up the best classic movies on Netflix. Their collection is vast, so we’ve narrowed things down to 16 can’t-miss movies. The following selections were handpicked by Esquire and chosen for a very special reason: They’re really fucking good. So take a seat, take a scroll, and prepare to step back in time. History awaits.
Training Day
In Training Day, a rookie cop's first day takes a dramatic turn when he’s paired with the LAPD's top narcotics officer. During his shift, he and his trainer encounter LA’s inner city—but as their day continues, lines blur and standard procedures morph into abuses of power. The Denzel Washington-starring film begs many questions about policing, both real and fictional.
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Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park needs no explanation, but alas, here we are. To sum it up, this action-thriller stars Laura Dern and Sam Neil as paleontologists who are hoping to learn more about dinosaurs. They travel to a theme park that claims to have created a safe way to engage with the prehistoric creatures. But when they arrive—and a league of dinosaurs escapes from captivity—everyone is forced to fend for themselves.
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Oldboy
Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is one of those films that will keep you guessing from start to finish. The story follows Dae-Su, an alcoholic who is bailed out of jail by a friend. On his way home, he’s abducted and wakes up back in prison, where he’s forced to live for 15 years. He doesn’t know what happened or why he has such a lengthy sentence, but he begins plotting his revenge. One day, when he’s suddenly released, Dae-Su sets out to find the man who locked him up.
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Beethoven
What’s better than a cute pup? In Beethoven, a dog-loving family decides to adopt a St. Bernard puppy. Eventually, the puppy grows into a large canine who often gets into trouble. Everyone seems to love him, except for the dad. One day, Beethoven is hunted by a vet who wants to use him for a nefarious experiment—and antics ensue.
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Legends of the Fall
In Legends of the Fall, Brad Pitt stars as Tristan, who is in a rather tough predicament. When World War I begins, Tristian and his brothers, Samuel and Alfred, are enlisted to fight. Samuel is killed during combat, but Tristan and Alfred survive. When the brothers return home, they both fall in love with Samuel’s fiancé, Susannah. Messy, right? It gets worse. Instead of, you know, not trying to marry their almost-sister-in-law, the brothers begin a bitter rivalry that tears the whole family apart.
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My Best Friend's Wedding
A rule about '90s rom-coms: If Julia Roberts is in it, it’s going to be good. This is absolutely the case with My Best Friend’s Wedding, a rom-com with a cheeky concept. In the film, Roberts stars as Julianne Potter, a 28-year-old woman who falls in love with her childhood friend, Michael O’Neil. Years earlier, they decided that if they were both single at 28, they’d marry each other. Now, as an almost 28-year-old, Julianne thinks it’s silly—but when Michael calls with news of his engagement to a younger woman, jealousy creeps in.
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Boyz in the Hood
You can’t think of the classics without mentioning the late John Singelton. Boyz in the Hood was his first feature film and still holds up as a masterclass in storytelling. The film follows Tre, a high school student sent to live with his father in South Central, Los Angeles. His dad is strict, but when Tre befriends Doughboy and Ricky, two neighborhood kids, he finds it hard to stay out of trouble. As gang culture intensifies in their neighborhood, the boys are sucked in and face devastating consequences.
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Meet the Parents
I’m sorry to say it, but early-aughts movies are classics now, too. Thankfully, Meet the Parents is the kind of movie you’ll want to share with younger generations. The film stars Robert De Niro as Jack Berns, a bullheaded father who runs a tight ship. When his daughter, Teri, brings her boyfriend, Greg, home, Jack is forced to play nice — but to his surprise, Greg wants to propose.
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The Great Gatsby (1974)
Before Jay-Z and Baz Luhrman teamed up for the 2013 Great Gatsby revival, there was the 1974 original. Hollywood legends Mia Farrow and Robert Redford star as Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, two young lovers whose whirlwind romance leads to a dire end. Even if you already know their story, The Great Gatsby is worth revisiting.
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Full Metal Jacket
Director Stanley Kubrick set out to show the horrors of the Vietnam War in the bloody, explosive Full Metal Jacket, which packed both wit and amazing cinematography. The film grossed $120 million against a budget of just $16 million, and it went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed films about the war.
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Awakenings
When fans think of Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, Awakenings might not be the first title that comes to mind. However, the two actors’ lead performances in this 1990 drama are uniquely profound. Based on Oliver Sacks’s memoir of the same name, the adaptation explores Sacks’s historic medical breakthrough while working with catatonic patients of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic. (Medical background not required.)
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Apocalypse Now
Lauded as one of the best war films of all time, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now is a vivid adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness set amidst the Vietnam War. Martin Sheen stars as an operative captive assigned to venture deep into Cambodia to track down an AWOL colonel, played by Martin Brando. (While the film offers commentary on the transparent violence and uselessness of the Vietnam War, it should be noted that its depiction of citizens in Vietnam and Cambodia is largely insensitive–as native citizens are often erased from the narrative or shown through racist stereotypes.)
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She's Gotta Have It
Spike Lee’s 1989 Do the Right Thing is often referred to as the director's magnum opus, but She's Gotta Have It, from three years prior, is equally essential viewing. A revolutionary portrayal of Black sexuality on screen, it's a comedy you won't soon forget.
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Authurian legend gets the parody treatment in this absurd—and endlessly quotable—1975 cult classic in which the Monty Python players star as the Knights of the Roundtable on the search for the legendary treasure.
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Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python (yes, more of them!) takes on Christ with this story of Brian of Nazareth, a man who was born on the same night as Jesus—just in the stable next door—and spends his entire life being mistaken for the messiah.
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Blade Runner
Ridley Scott's 1982 dystopian classic starring Harrison Ford as the replicant hunter is now streaming, if you haven't been able to shake the sci-fi fever since Dune hit the big screen. (This is the 2007 remastered Final Cut version, in which Scott retained artistic control.)
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