100 best films streaming on Netflix (May 2017)
At any given moment, Netflix has thousands of films in its streaming catalog. While it's among the most popular streaming services on the market, it's also one of the most unwieldy. The navigation is so clunky that it's almost easier just to wander the seemingly random slate of categories on the dashboard. Even the movies included within each category feels haphazardly placed.
As of May 1, Netflix had more than 3,800 feature-length films in its streaming inventory. Even if there was a easy way to peruse the entire library, just going through the comprehensive list combines the fun of reading the yellow pages with the joy of going to the DMV.
So I went through the entire list of 3,800 movies streaming on Netflix (as of May 1, 2017) and I picked out the 100 best films on Netflix. And I went one step further and created a list of 20 essential, under-the-radar movies (in the carousel below). The other 80 great films are listed below as well. You're welcome.
(Disclaimer: Netflix adds and drops movies all the time - so some of these movies may fall of Netflix. This list will be updated every few months as new titles become available and great films drop off Netflix.)
20 essential, under-the-radar films not to miss on Netflix:
The other 80 best films streaming on Netflix, in alphabetical order:
"Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" (2010)
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Watch the trailer
"Kubo and the Two Strings" (2016)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family
Watch the trailer
"The Last Five Years" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical
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"Magic Mike" (2012)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Watch the trailer
"Memento" (2000)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Watch the trailer
"Midnight in Paris" (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Watch the trailer
"Moonrise Kingdom" (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
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"Mustang" (2015)
Genre: Drama
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"Nightcrawler" (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
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"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)
Genre: Horror
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"No Country for Old Men" (2007)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
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"The Overnight" (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
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"Patton" (1970)
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
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"Philomena" (2013)
Genre: Biography, Drama
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"Phoenix" (2014)
Genre: Drama, History
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"Primer" (2004)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
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"Rams" (2015)
Genre: Drama
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"The Road" (2009)
Genre: Adventure, Drama
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"Schindler's List" (1993)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
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"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
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"Shadow Dancer" (2012)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
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"The Shining" (1980)
Genre: Drama, Horror
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"Sing Street" (2016)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
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"Sleepwalk with Me" (2012)
Genre: Comedy
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"Southside with You" (2016)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
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"Spotlight" (2015)
Genre: Crime, Drama, History
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"Tangerine" (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
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"Time Lapse" (2014)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)
Genre: Crime, Drama
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"The Trip" (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
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"The Trip to Italy" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
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"Tropic Thunder" (2008)
Genre: Action, Comedy
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"Two Days, One Night" (2014)
Genre: Drama
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"Under the Shadow" (2016)
Genre: Horror, War
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"Upstream Color" (2013)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
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"V for Vendetta" (2005)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
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"Victoria" (2015)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
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"A War" (2015)
Genre: Crime, Drama, War
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"World of Tomorrow" (2015)
Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy
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"World's Greatest Dad" (2009)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
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"(T)error" (2015)
Genre: Documentary
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"5 to 7" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
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"Ain't Them Bodies Saints" (2013)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
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"Amelie" (2001)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
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"Amores Perros" (2000)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
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"Atonement" (2007)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
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"The Babadook" (2014)
Genre: Drama, Horror
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"Beasts of No Nation" (2015)
Genre: Drama, War
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"Begin Again" (2014)
Genre: Drama, Music
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"Beginners" (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
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"The Big Short" (2015)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
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"The Blair Witch Project" (1999)
Genre: Horror, Mystery
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"Boyhood" (2014)
Genre: Drama
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"Bronson" (2008)
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime
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"Chef" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
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"Chevalier" (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
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"Clouds of Sils Maria" (2014)
Genre: Drama
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"The Confirmation" (2016)
Genre: Comedy
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"Coraline" (2009)
Genre: Animation, Family, Fantasy
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"Dead Snow" (2009)
Genre: Comedy, Horror
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"Dope" (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
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"The Duke of Burgundy" (2014)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
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"Encounters at the End of the World" (2007)
Genre: Documentary
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"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" (2005)
Genre: Documentary
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"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
Genre: Family, Sci-Fi
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"The Eyes of My Mother" (2016)
Genre: Drama, Horror
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"Faults" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
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"Finding Vivian Maier" (2013)
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Mystery
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"Following" (1998)
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
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"Forrest Gump" (1994)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
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"Frank" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
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"Fruitvale Station" (2013)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
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"Girl Asleep" (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
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"Güeros" (2014)
Genre: Comedy
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"The Host" (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror
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"Hot Fuzz" (2007)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Mystery
Watch the trailer
"Human Capital" (2013)
Genre: Drama
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"The Immigrant" (2013)
Genre: Drama, Romance
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"In Order of Disappearance" (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Watch the trailer
"It Follows" (2004)
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Watch the trailer
For a complete YouTube playlist of the 100 best films on Netflix, click here.