Is the first Netflix original movie still available to stream?
Netflix’s reputation as a streaming giant was not built overnight. It took years of blood, sweat, strategy, and bets to get where it stands right now in the contemporary streaming world. The company had its humble beginnings in 1997 and commenced its online operations a year later as a DVD rental business. It wasn’t until a decade later that Netflix pulled up its sleeves to double down on its streaming tactics.
As of now, the weekly Netflix charts brim with a number of original productions, whether it’s films, shows, or documentaries. KPop Demon Hunters, Madea’s Destination Wedding, Brick, and The Old Guard 2 are a few Netflix original movies that are making waves presently on the lists. While every week comes with its petri dish of streaming anticipation, the trendsetters make one curious about the first Netflix original movie.
In 2014, TIME reported that Netflix was moving into production for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel, Sword of Destiny. It was allegedly the first of many more feature movies Netflix was backing at the time. Despite the planning, things didn’t work out in the way expected. The film was ultimately released in February 2016, two years later.
So, instead, Netflix’s first original movie became Beasts of No Nation. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation had screenings at a few film festivals, including the 72nd Venice International Film Festival and the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, before landing on Netflix in October 2015. The war-drama film is based on Uzodinma Iweala’s 2005 novel and borrows the name from a Fela Kuti music album.
Beasts of No Nation follows Agu, a young boy from a small Western African village who joins the Native Defence Forces amid the unrest of civil war. For those curious about whether you can still stream the film on Netflix, the answer is yes. Although it encountered roadblocks from the four biggest theatre chains of the US back in the day, reducing it to a limited release, the film boasts a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Idris Elba starred as the commandant while Abraham Attah played the role of Agu. The former received BAFTA, Golden Globe, Spirit, and SAG Award nominations for his role, bagging the last two. Beasts of No Nation surpassed the Crouching Tiger sequel by a few months to become the first Netflix original movie.
The film conveys the traumas of war from the POV of a child soldier. And as is evident, the film did great in the critics’ circle as well as the award season. Although it’s regarded as largely underrated, Beasts of No Nation is indeed a work of art.