The 12 best classic movies on Netflix right now

Boyz N the Hood (1991)

John Singleton's seminal coming-of-age drama remains as impactful as it was in 1991. The film follows Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a young Black man growing up in South Central L.A. with college on his mind. Tre's childhood friend Doughboy (Ice Cube) is now a member of the Bloods gang, and after the rival Crips provoke Ricky (Morris Chestnut), the conflict between the gangs spirals out of control. But the film is well-balanced enough to also make room for joy, with EW's critic noting, "The movie is most enjoyable — and perceptive — when it's content to be a slice of urban life." With Boyz N the Hood, Singleton made history at the Oscars not only as the first Black director nominated for Best Director but also the youngest, at just 24 years of age. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch Boyz N the Hood: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: John Singleton

Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Angela Bassett, Regina King

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Just a few years after the end of the Vietnam War, director Michael Cimino helmed what would become known as one of the era's most defining films. This war drama tells the story of three close friends living in small-town America who enlist in the military, unaware of what horrors await them. From lost limbs to a dangerous game of Russian roulette, each man emerges forever changed by the experience, trying to move on from unimaginable trauma. Speaking directly to the American veteran's experience during turbulent times, the bracing epic — featuring standout turns from a young Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep — was showered with accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. —K.J.

Where to watch The Deer Hunter: Netflix

Director: Michael Cimino

Cast: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

In a decade largely remembered for John Hughes' contributions to coming-of-age teen comedies, Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High has proven just as indelible in the years since. The film, written by first-time screenwriter Cameron Crowe, chronicles the lives of teenagers attending high school in a San Fernando Valley town, budding with hormones and ready to enter the real world. It's plenty raunchy, but there's also a refreshing honesty to its depiction of growing up and figuring out who you want to be. EW's rated it one of the best teen movies of all time, claiming Fast Times "presents the 'glory days' with unvarnished awkwardness and a truth-first approach, setting the template for every great teen comedy that followed." —K.J.

Where to watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Netflix

Director: Amy Heckerling

Cast: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Ray Walston

Jaws (1975)

The plausibility of realistic carnage often makes it the most terrifying of all, with this OG summer horror blockbuster causing a mass fear of sharks — particularly those of the great white variety. A police chief (Roy Scheider), a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss), and a shark hunter (Robert Shaw) team up to track down an aquatic menace that's terrorizing the inhabitants of a New England beach town. Director Steven Spielberg's strategic decision to mostly keep the shark hidden from view combined with John Williams' suspenseful Oscar-winning score proved to be a winning formula, one that would help inspire future horror filmmakers to exploit this very human fear of the unknown. The film would spawn several sequels, but, as is often the case, none would compare to the original. —K.J.

Where to watch Jaws: Netflix

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

Matilda (1996)

Kids who grew up in the '90s will always have a soft spot for this vivid adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel of the same name. Precocious 6-year-old Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is a bookworm who witnesses — and soon experiences — abuse from her dictatorial elementary school principal, Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris). Thankfully, Matilda is blessed with telekinetic abilities, which she uses to help her fellow students and get back at Trunchbull. As EW's critic writes, "It may be that Matilda's most welcome notion that self-assurance can sometimes be armor enough." —K.J.

Where to watch Matilda: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Danny DeVito

Cast: Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris

Midnight Run (1988)

Before Martin Brest tanked his career with the atomic bomb Gigli, he helmed this quintessential buddy-comedy starring Charles Grodin and Robert De Niro as a mob accountant and a bounty hunter, respectively, who travel to L.A. for the former’s court trial. Along the way, they must avoid thugs and cops alike, and darn it if they don't develop a grudging admiration for each other. —Declan Gallagher

Where to watch Midnight Run: Netflix

Director: Martin Brest

Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, John Ashton

Oldboy (2003)

Park Chan-wook's twisted masterwork follows a man (Choi Min-sik) who, after being released from a mysterious, extended imprisonment, vows to track down his kidnappers and his long-lost daughter (Kang Hye-jung). If you’ve seen the movie — a fantasia of blood and bad taste that would give John Waters occasion to blush — you’ll know he should’ve stayed well enough away. —D.G.

Where to watch Oldboy: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Choi Min-sik, Kang Hye-jung, Yoo Ji-tae, Kim Byeong-ok, Yoon Jin-seo

Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock's seminal 1960 masterpiece is more than just its famous, oft-parodied shower scene. Psycho is as effective as it is because the director plays with audience expectations, setting up Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) as our protagonist only to switch perspectives in dramatic fashion a third of the way through. When the terrifying Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) enters the picture, we are no less than enthralled, more than 60 years after its release. —K.J.

Where to watch Psycho: Netflix

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Spike Lee established with this feature directorial debut that he was going to be one of his generation's signature voices. Shot in striking black and white, She's Gotta Have It centers on Nora Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), a Brooklyn artist who has relationships with three men, each of whom wants her to commit exclusively to them. But Nora is a free spirit who enjoys her liberation; of course, problems arise when the three men meet and decide to be more proactive about the situation. The depiction of the messy complications of polyamorous love was refreshing at the time and remains so today. Lee also adapted the story into a TV series for Netflix in the late-2010s. —K.J.

Where to watch She's Gotta Have It: Netflix

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Spike Lee 

Cast: Tracy Camilla Johns, Spike Lee, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell

Stand by Me (1986)

Based on one of Stephen King's most beloved non-horror stories, Stand by Me is an essential watch in the coming-of-age genre. The film centers on a quartet of preteens who, intent on becoming local heroes, go out in search of a missing boy's body. But their journey is far from straightforward as they encounter bullies and grapple with the complications of growing up. Featuring auspicious performances by Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell, the friendship among the group is instantly believable, and the film has just the right nostalgic glow without being overly sentimental. "The line between sappy and sweet is a razor-thin one," notes EW's critic, but Stand by Me "gets your tear ducts working honestly." —K.J.

Where to watch Stand by Me: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Rob Reiner

Cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland

The Thin Blue Line (1988)

With just a few clicks, you're bound to land on a true-crime documentary while scrolling through Netflix. The streamer has specialized in the format through film and TV shows that recount fascinating, grisly criminal cases, and this acclaimed documentary by Errol Morris is lauded as one of the most influential in the subgenre. The Thin Blue Line revolves around the wrongful conviction of Randall Dale Adams in the 1976 shooting of Robert W. Wood. Through reenactments and interview testimony, Morris tells a gripping story about the miscarriage of justice. —K.J.

Where to watch The Thin Blue Line: Netflix

Director: Errol Morris 

Cast: Randall Dale Adams, David Ray Harris

When We Were Kings (1996)

This Oscar-winning documentary chronicles the legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match of 1974 between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Filmmaker Leon Gast combed through hours upon hours of archival footage to show the narratives of both Ali and Foreman leading up to the fight and the buzzy energy surrounding the event, capturing a kinetic snapshot of Black culture. EW's critic praises the doc for bringing "the 'Rumble in the Jungle' alive with a vibrancy guaranteed to move the souls of even the most boxing illiterate." —K.J.

Where to watch When We Were Kings: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Leon Gast

Cast: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, James Brown, B.B. King, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Spike Lee