We hear your cries of indecision as you look for the perfect film to watch on Netflix this weekend, and we are happy to throw our hats into the ring to try and make your weekends easier. One of the great things about Netflix is the plethora of brand new and original content. When you add this to the extensive range of classic films and series it holds within its cyber shelves, then the act of choosing a particular movie is nigh-on impossible to complete.
Of course, you could use the many cheat codes the platform provides as a guiding hand, but, in reality, they just offer more choice. Instead, we’re committing to bringing you five classic films you can stream on Netflix every single week.
This is the cream of the crop. We’re not wasting your time with anything below four golden stars here as we bring only the very best of the Best of Netflix. Of course, you may be a little restricted to some of the titles in our list by your geographical location, but there’s enough awesome content here to sink your teeth into.
Below, we’ve got five of the finest titles available on Netflix right now. Of course, we have some classics from the big names in Hollywood too. Expect to see two entries from icons like Tom Hanks, an iconic picture from Liam Neeson and Steven Spielberg, as well as a few chuckles from Will Ferrell and perhaps the most iconic line in all of cinema from Robert De Niro.
So, while the world around us feels ever more oppressive and the need for a bit of entertainment grows once more, below we’ve got five must-see movies available on Netflix.
5 must-see movies to watch on Netflix this week:
5. Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008)
When the term ‘must-see’ is bandied around, it usually concerns gritty and thrilling pieces of cinematic expression. However, in dark times, we often need to lose ourselves in the comfort of comedy. So, this weekend, why not sink your teeth into this Will Ferell classic, directed by the stupendous Adam McKay, Step Brothers.
Two years after Ferrell and John C. Reilly teamed up on the racetrack for Talladega nights, they were in action as the titular stepbrothers, the comedy duo providing one of the stand out films of the year and another endlessly quotable movie for college kids to lose their shit to. Centred around two full-grown mean living at home after their parents get married, the film provides the perfect vehicle for Ferrell’s larger than life persona to bleed in the role.
As happy making a fool of himself as a strong character, Ferrell’s performance is truly memorable and will likely go down as one of his best. The film also provided scene after scene of iconic moments, which slip naturally into the public lexicon. “Did we just become best friends?”
4. The Green Mile (Frank Darabont, 1999)
This haunting and thought-provoking film is an engrossing adaptation of an eponymous Stephen King novel with Michael Duncan, Tom Hanks, David Morse, and others in prominent roles. With four Academy Award nominations, the film is an emotional tear-jerker that sees some of the best acting performances of the decade.
Hanks is in charge at a penitentiary in Louisana and oversees death row sentences in 1935. He encounters a Black man accused of horrendous crimes, including rape and murder. However, the man seems to possess some unbelievable powers that leave the correctional officer awed and distressed.
3. Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, 2019)
It may not necessarily be a film to curl up and watch with your new partner, but there’s something utterly riveting about Noah Baumbach’s brilliant Marriage Story. Captivating and cutting in equal measure, it has consistently delivered for viewers over the years. Noah Baumbach’s Oscar-nominated Marriage Story, whilst undeniably fantastic, is an emotional leech of a two-hour epic.
Chronicling the rise and explosive fall of two passionate lovers, Marriage Story is only worth recommending if you’re in an extremely stable marriage, and even then it’s a questionable choice. If you’re thinking about getting married, don’t watch Marriage Story, it may destroy your ambitions of marriage forever; that said, it might also breed a newfound love for Adam Driver.
2. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
As a Holocaust survivor and a Schindlerjuden, Poldek Pfefferberg persevered to tell the world about Schindler’s act of compassion towards countless Jews. He motivated Thomas Keneally to write Schindler’s Ark following which he persuaded Steven Spielberg to direct the adaptation. Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German, travels to Krakow amidst the Second World War to make a fortune for himself. He ends up acquiring a factory for enamelware production and hires cheap labour in the form of Jewish workers while enlisting the help of Itzhak Stern, making a lot of profit. However, as the ruthless Göth arrives, the Jews are mercilessly exterminated. Moved by their suffering, Schindler decides to help them and exhausts his fortune by bribing the officials to prevent them from slaughtering the Jews. With Stern, he forges an elaborate plan following which they successfully rescue the Jews.
Schindler’s List is undoubtedly one of the best historical dramas that mirror the unthinkable horrors of the wars as well as the subsequent Holocaust. It witnesses the atrocities meted out by the Nazi Germans to the Jews and contains gruesome scenes that petrify the audience. Amidst the atmospheric madness and mayhem, the motif of the girl in the red coat looms large in the monochromatic movie. Spielberg’s every move is deliberate and stands for a particular thing in the film. The girl, like the Jews, is the innocent sacrificial lamb. Spielberg adds a touch of tender humanism to his protagonist. As Oskar breaks down about not saving more Jews, one cannot help but lament with him. Schindler’s List is a dark and emotionally heavy masterpiece that goes down in history as one of the greatest war films of all time.
1. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Probably Martin Scorsese’s most well-known masterpiece, Taxi Driver is the perfect crystallisation of a psychological and political state of being. Starring the consistently brilliant Robert De Niro as a disillusioned cab driver who drifts along the wasteland of New York, the film is a visual translation of widespread nihilism and societal malaise.
Scorsese praised DeNiro, saying: “Bob (DeNiro) was very instrumental because he pointed out to me that the first line of dialogue was ‘Turn off the meter.’ And I did one take, and he said to me, ‘When you say – Turn off the meter – make me turn it off. Just make me turn it off.
“I’m not going to turn it off until you convince me that you want me to turn off that meter.’ So, I learned a lot. He sort of acted with the back of his head, but he encouraged me by not responding to me. And using that tension of the inherent violence, I was able to able to take off and riff some dialogue.”
