We have reached the final weeks of the Netflix DVD service. After serving as the initial calling card of Netflix and providing subscribers with DVDs directly through the mail, Netflix's DVD service officially ends on September 29. But while the business model has been deemed irrelevant by Netflix, that doesn't mean its library of DVDs is.
There are hundreds of DVDs available through the service that are worth trying to watch before the final red envelope is sent; and if you optioned to have as many as 10 DVDs sent to you on September 29, then you can watch more than a few of them.
It's a lot to sort through, so I thought I'd be of assistance, letting you know some of the best movies available through Netflix's DVD service to move to the top of your queue. I made sure to pick titles that you'd get your money's worth on, as none of these are currently available to stream on Netflix or any other major platform without paying a rental fee.
Here are the 12 movies you need to add to your Netflix DVD queue:
56 Up (2012)
In 1964, British documentarian Michael Apted made a movie chronicling the lives of a group of 7-year-olds. He turned it into a series by checking in on the same people every seven years to see how they and their lives changed. 56 Up is the second-to-last entry in the series (Michael Apted passed away in 2021). While it certainly makes for a special experience to have watched the people in the movie grow up, you don't need to have seen every entry for it to be an enlightening viewing experience to hear these people talk about how their lives have played out.
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Billy Wilder may be best known for comedies Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, but he was an incredible writer and director of dark dramas as well. Ace in the Hole is a great example of that, as an exceptional Kirk Douglas plays a journalist who exploits a man stuck in a cave for the story. It's an underrated Wilder movie, perhaps because it came just a year after his masterpiece Sunset Blvd, but Ace in the Hole is an incredible movie you need to watch as well.
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
We all love a good crime drama and Anatomy of a Murder may be one of the best ever made. Jimmy Stewart stars as a lawyer tasked with defending a soldier who claims he killed a man due to temporary insanity after he assaulted the soldier's wife. The tension of watching Stewart figure out and try and convince the jury of this is a riveting experience.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
I still believe no one should be actively watching Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving, but in the case of Netflix's DVD service I'll make an exception for Anna and the Apocalypse. This oddball musical sees Scottish teen Anna and her friends have to survive a zombie apocalypse that breaks out on the last day before Christmas vacation. It's a great watch if you're a fan of musicals or zombie movies.
BlackKklansman (2018)
Even if Spike Lee had not been inconceivably snubbed for an Oscar prior to BlackKklansman, his telling of real-life police officer Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington), successfully infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan with the help of his Jewish partner (Adam Driver) is worthy of bringing the seminal filmmaker a statue. Lee and company successfully play up some of the funny moments from this story, but they also perfectly hit on many of the issues of race that are sadly still relevant.
Brooklyn (2015)
Sometimes you just need a good romance/crying movie, and Brooklyn is a great recent example of that. Saoirse Ronan plays an Irish immigrant who comes to America in 1950s New York. After falling in love with a local, life throws a wrench and she must make a choice between her new life in America or one in Ireland. Ronan is phenomenal, carrying the picture that will hit you in all the right spots.
Das Boot (1981)
Wolfgang Petersen directed a number of fan-favorite action movies like Air Force One, In the Line of Fire and Outbreak, but Das Boot is by far his best work. The movie is a claustrophobic war thriller, following a German U-boat as it stalks the waters of the North Atlantic during World War II. For my money, it is one of the best World War II movies ever made.
The Father (2020)
The Father honestly is the scariest movie I've ever seen, and it's not even a horror movie. Anthony Hopkins, in an Oscar-winning turn, stars as a man who is starting to suffer from dementia, but wants to be able to stay in his apartment. The way that the movie portrays his dementia is terrifyingly brilliant and will shake you to your core, but you'll also be enthralled the entire time.
The Green Knight (2021)
I'm not entirely sure how this is the case, but David Lowery remains one of the most underrated directors working today. The Green Knight is just one of his brilliant and daring movies, as he adapts the Arthurian legend of Gawain and the Green Knight. But not in a straightforward Hollywood way with an epic sword fight, rather with an ethereal and thought-provoking story of what truly stands for bravery and honor. He caps it all off with one of the best endings to a movie in some time.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
It would be easy to remember Sean Connery for just James Bond, or The Rock for many millennials, but outside of those performances he truly was an incredible actor with a number of memorable performances. Perhaps few better than in The Man Who Would Be King. Connery stars alongside Michael Caine as British soldiers in 1880 India, who decide to make themselves king in a land where no white man has been since Alexander the Great. If you want to deepen your knowledge of Connery's filmography, there's no better place to start than this.
Minari (2020)
The first year of the pandemic may have seemed short on movies, but incredible watches like Minari were there if you knew where to look. Minari is about a Korean American family that moves to Arkansas in search of their portion of the American dream. The unfamiliar surroundings and the arrival of the children's grandmother (an Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung) combine for an effectively beautiful story of family.
Parallel Mothers (2021)
Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz are frequent collaborators, with Parallel Mothers the fourth time the pair have worked together. Cruz gives an Oscar-nominated performance (which should have won in my opinion) as a new mother who bonds with a young woman she meets while giving birth at the same time. Without them knowing it, their lives become tragically entwined. Almodovar and Cruz proved once again that they are a match made in Heaven.
