Given the incredibly large number of movies on Netflix, you might be surprised to learn that the streamer doesn’t have a lot of classic movies. Only a handful of Netflix’s cinematic lineup played in theaters during the ’70s, and only three of Netflix’s current movies are from the ’60s. Netflix does a better job with its selection of ’80s movies, but even those titles don’t have many options.
Regardless, we believe it’s high time we shine a light on the best classic movies from the 70s and 80s on Netflix. As you can see in the list below, many of these titles have already cemented their place in Hollywood history. The films have performed very well despite decades having passed between their theatrical releases and reemerged during the streaming era.
Jaws (1973)
When you felt it was safe to go back into the water, all four jaws The movies are on Netflix. But of course, the first film is clearly the best, and it’s also the film that made Steven Spielberg a superstar among directors nearly five decades ago. Off the coast of Amity Island, a great white shark has decided to hunt down and swallow anyone caught in the water. And it’s killing the local tourism industry.
When Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) refuses to close the beaches, Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) teams up with a professional shark hunter named Quint (Robert Shaw) to take on the responsibility of killing the sharks. Unfortunately for both men, the sharks have their own ideas about who is the hunter and who is the prey.
Watch jaws On Netflix.
The Jerk (1979)
Steve Martin made his debut as a movie star crazy, in which he co-starred with Naveen R. Played a complete idiot named Johnson. Naveen is so oblivious to reality that he does not initially realize that his black adoptive parents, mother (Mabel King) and father (Richard Ward), are not his biological parents. Or that he himself is not black.
When Naveen leaves home to find his fortune, he lags behind in money and success and loses everything. The only redeeming aspect of Naveen’s journey is his love for Mary Kimble (Bernadette Peters). But that relationship will also not be able to survive due to Naveen’s careless rantings.
Watch crazy On Netflix.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
the deer Hunter It was the 1978 Oscar winner for Best Picture, but it wasn’t always easy to accomplish. It is the story of three friends, Mike Vronsky (Robert De Niro), Nick Chevotarevich (Christopher Walken) and Steven Pushkov (John Savage), who go to war in Vietnam and never really come home the same people. Are. All three are captured and tortured while in Vietnam, and their collective PTSD is so intense that Nick can’t even bring himself to return to his wife Linda (Meryl Streep).
If you’re looking for a life-affirming message, you won’t find it here. the deer Hunter It’s about as bleak as movies get, but it remains a powerful film 45 years after its release.
Watch the deer Hunter On Netflix.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python is a group of comedy veterans, and their second film, monty python and the holy grail, may be one of the funniest movies ever made. It is the relentlessly silly tale of King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights, Lancelot (John Cleese), Robin (Eric Idle), Bedwere (Terry Jones), and Galahad (Michael Palin), as they stumble across the countryside in search of Are. Holy Grail.
On their journey, Arthur and his servant, Patsy (Terry Gilliam) encounter the Black Knight (Cleese) in a sequence that is still hilarious and quotable nearly five decades later. The rest of the movie is surprisingly funny, too, and it’s one of those rare movies that doesn’t get old as long as you’re willing to embrace the Pythons’ brand of quirky comedy.
Watch monty python and the holy grail On Netflix.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
That time Fast Times at Ridgemont High Upon its release, director Amy Heckerling had no idea that many of the film’s primary actors would reach major stardom. Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates rode that wave, while some of the supporting players like Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz and Forest Whitaker also went on to bigger things.
Ironically, none of these actors, except Leigh, are directly involved in the film’s most fascinating story. Her character, Stacey Hamilton, has a crush on Mark “Rat” Ratner (Brian Backer) from a distance. This doesn’t stop Rhett’s best friend, Mike Damon (Robert Romanus) from making a move on Leah and getting her pregnant. When the rat finds out, their friendship will not last.
Watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High On Netflix.
Stand By Me (1985)
There have been many terrible Stephen King adaptations over the past four decades, but sometimes, combining King’s story with the right director (in this case, Rob Reiner) and cast delivers an instant classic. this was the situation Stand with meA coming of age story set in 1959. After learning of the location of a missing boy’s body, 12-year-old Gordon “Gordy” LaChance (Wil Wheaton), and his friends Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and Vern Tessio (Jerry O. ‘Connell) decides to find the body in hopes of being recognized as a hero.
However, the boys’ journey to the body goes a long way, as they run afoul of a local gang leader, John “Ace” Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland). There are no supernatural elements found in this story. But it is a beautifully affecting film that ranks among the great films of all time.
Watch Stand with me On Netflix.
Scarface (1983)
In the movies of the 80’s, scarface Totally in a class by itself. Brian De Palma directs this remake from a script by Oliver Stone, starring Al Pacino in an unforgettable turn as the title character, Tony Montana. In the early 80’s, Tony and his friends arrive in the United States as refugees from Cuba. But Tony believes he is meant for bigger things, and he chooses to make money in the world of illegal drugs.
Tony succeeds in becoming a wealthy drug lord, but he has no shortage of enemies along the way. Tony’s self-destructive tendencies are so powerful that his downfall begins almost as soon as he gets the power he so desperately wants.
Watch scarface On Netflix.
