The 13 best classic movies on Netflix right now

American Graffiti (1973)

George Lucas' nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy is an earnest ode to his formative years growing up in Modesto, Calif., in the early-1960s. Centering on a group of friends hanging out on the last day of summer vacation, American Graffiti is a slice-of-life film that follows their exploits over the course of the night. Some deal with relationship problems, while others are more concerned with celebrating their last night in their hometown before the rest of their lives begin. Told in a series of dreamy vignettes (aided by a killer soundtrack), the film transports the viewer back to a specific time and place, a snapshot of life before it got messy and complicated. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch American Graffiti: Netflix

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Cindy Williams, Wolfman Jack

Related content: Why nostalgia movies leave us dazed (but not confused)

Back to the Future (1985)

A modern-day teenager travels back to 1955 via DeLorean, meets his parents as high schoolers, and nearly prevents them from falling in love, thus preventing him from ever existing. It's a concept that shouldn't have worked, but director Robert Zemeckis made it all come together with a resonant story about the complex relationship between a child and his parents. It also helps to have a killer soundtrack and a career-defining performance from star Michael J. Fox as the eager, highly relatable Marty McFly. —K.J.

Where to watch Back to the Future: Netflix

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover

Related content: Back to the Future cast: Where are they now?

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Based on the real-life story of war veteran Ron Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July is a gripping story of a man losing faith. Tom Cruise plays Kovic, whose experience in the Vietnam War left him paralyzed and disillusioned with his country's leadership. He channeled his anger into protest, becoming a prominent figure in the anti-war movement. Cruise delivers one of his best performances as he tracks Kovic's growing cynicism upon realizing how little support is being given to him and his fellow veterans. The film earned eight Academy Award nominations, with Oliver Stone winning his second Oscar for Best Director. —K.J.

Where to watch Born on the Fourth of July: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Oliver Stone

Cast: Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Jerry Levine, Frank Whaley, Willem Dafoe

Related content: 10 best movies about veterans' experience

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Five teenagers from different social cliques converge for a day of detention in this seminal John Hughes classic: "Brain" Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), "Athlete" Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), "Basket Case" Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), "Princess" Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), and "Criminal" John Bender (Judd Nelson). Despite their surface differences, the quintet gets to know each other over time and realize their shared commonality is difficult home lives. The Breakfast Club has endured as one of the most defining teen comedies of the '80s and tops EW's list of the 50 best high school movies of all time. As EW's writer claims, "If hell is other people — and high school is hell — then John Hughes is the genre's Sartre, and this is his No Exit." —K.J.

Where to watch The Breakfast Club: Netflix

Director: John Hughes

Cast: Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy

Related content: Molly Ringwald is against a Breakfast Club reboot

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. As the unstable Alex Forrest, Glenn Close became one of the all-time great movie antagonists with this iconic erotic thriller. When Alex meets Dan (Michael Douglas) at a business function, there is a charge between them that blossoms into a passionate affair. The problem is, Dan is married and has a kid, and after he coldly tries to end the affair, Alex retaliates with a series of increasingly dangerous actions. What sets Fatal Attraction above the many erotic thrillers released in the '80s and '90s is in how Close brings humanity to Alex, with an undercurrent of loneliness that prevents her from becoming a two-dimensional villain. —K.J.

Where to watch Fatal Attraction: Netflix

Director: Adrian Lyne

Cast: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer

Related content: Fatal Attraction at 30: Glenn Close on why the bunny-boiling Alex has endured

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Glengarry Glen Ross assembles some of the greatest male actors and sets them against each other in a fascinating story about power and ego. The action takes place at a real estate firm where a trainer reveals that only the top two salesmen will keep their jobs by the end of the week. As the salesmen use their leads, some resort to desperate tactics to get ahead, including a planned burglary that escalates the competition to a whole new level. The all-star cast features Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Kevin Spacey, who, as EW's critic writes, "achieve a true ensemble rhythm; at times, the entire office seems like a single, shouting organism." —K.J.

Where to watch Glengarry Glen Ross: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: James Foley

Cast: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce

Related content: Great performances: Jack Lemmon

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

Related content: The cast of Matilda: Where are they now?

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Netflix has a full Monty Python collection, but Holy Grail is, well, the holy grail of the comedy troupe's artistic output. This sendup of Arthurian legend finds King Arthur (Graham Chapman) traversing England in the hope of recruiting knights to his Round Table. After assembling his men, God commands him to find the Holy Grail, leading to a perilous adventure with plenty a memorable sequence (shout out to those pesky knights who say "Ni.") —K.J.

Where to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Directors: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

Related content: Monty Python and the Holy Grail deleted animation scenes surface online

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. —Declan Gallagher

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

Related content: How the iconic Oldboy hallway fight influenced a generation of Hollywood action

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

Related content: Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It Netflix series is 'crackling'

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Nancy Meyers' rom-com stars Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton as septuagenarians who, against their initial expectations, begin to fall in love whilst he recuperates from a health crisis at her opulent beachside estate. (Oh, and did we mention he’s dating her much-younger daughter?) This is Meyers’ best film, a well-observed character comedy that combines all of her directorial trademarks (aspirational real estate, mouth-watering food tableaus, extended running time) to a rather perfect effect. There isn’t a wrong note in the entire picture. —D.G.

Where to watch Something’s Gotta Give: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Nancy Meyers

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, Keanu Reeves

Related content: The best Jack Nicholson performances

Starship Troopers (1997)

Paul Verhoeven's gnarly futuristic action drama wasn't largely appreciated upon release, due to critics and audiences not quite getting the director's intentions. In the 23rd century, a militaristic government rules over Earth and wages war against giant, advanced arachnids. Casper Van Dien plays Johnny Rico, a teenage star athlete who idealistically joins up with the military to protect his planet, unaware that the culture in which he grew up is rooted in fascism. Operating as a satire of authoritarian patriotism, the film was mistaken in 1997 as just another junky gung-ho action flick, but time has been kind to Verhoeven's vision. —K.J.

Where to watch Starship Troopers: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Cast: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, Michael Ironside

Related content: Starship Troopers cast: Where are they now?

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

Related content: Errol Morris on the present and future of documentary filmmaking: 'Hopefully I can keep it up'