# Great Films Available To "Watch Instantly" On Netflix **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426 "2008-11-25T14:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/1 "2008-11-25T14:40:14Z")
Looking for recommendations. What great films (either _great cinema_ or _really good flicks_ count here) do you know of that are available to “watch instantly” at netflix? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/2 "2008-11-25T16:01:25Z")
Off the top of my head and in no particular order: **No Country for Old Men Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Vertigo The Hudsucker Proxy** No longer off the top of my head: **Horse Feathers** as well as several other Marx Bros. movies. \*\*Apocalypto \*\*(I haven’t seen it yet, but it seems high profile enough for this list.) **The Brothers Solomon** (Doesn’t fit your criteria. It’s a Dumb and Dumber type comedy. But with more heart. And Will Arnett. And Will Forte.) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/3 "2008-11-25T16:53:16Z")
I haven’t gotten around to it yet but I know **Pan’s Labyrinth** is on there. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/4 "2008-11-25T16:59:24Z")
I watched “Fiddler on the Roof” (for the first time) a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/5 "2008-11-25T17:08:57Z")
Movies I know are available on Watch Instantly that I’d rate very good to great: _Tootsie Victor Victoria Casablanca Young Frankenstein Glory 1776 Dangerous Liaisons Emma Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mine Gentlemen’s Agreement Four Weddings and a Funeral Groundhog Day Kramer vs. Kramer L.A. Confidential Little Shop of Horrors (musical version) Midnight Run Ratatouille To Kill a Mockingbird When Harry Met Sally Barry Lyndon Desk Set Crossing Delancy A Fish Called Wanda Ghostbusters The Music Man Ordinary People Remains of the Day Roxanne sex, lies and videotape Silence of the Lambs Caberet The Way We Were Philadelphia Singin’ in the Rain A Streetcar Named Desire Vertigo A Clockwork Orange Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Empire of the Sun Absence of Malice Chariots of Fire Julia Network Avalon Judgment at Nuremberg Mississippi Burning Biloxi Blues Radio Days Crimes and Misdemeanors The Piano The Caine Mutiny Inherit the Wind Meet John Doe Oliver 84 Charing Cross Road Gilda_ Watch Instantly is _awesome_. Great TV shows too (_Yes Minister, Good Neighbors/Life, 30 Rock, The Office_ etc. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/6 "2008-11-25T17:09:24Z")
Checking my netflix queue (in no particular order): Aguirre: The Wrath of God March of the Penguins Bringing up Baby The Lost Weekend Tootsie All Quiet on the Western Front It Happened One Night Ma Vie en Rose Mad Max The Road Warrior Escape From New York Dial M for Murder His Girl Friday Harvey In Cold Blood Straw Dogs The Lady From Shanghi Being There Evil Dead The Black Cat There ya go. Not a clunker in the bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/7 "2008-11-25T17:46:24Z")
This reminds me, my wife watched Disney’s **Enchanted** on the Instant thingie the other weekend. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/8 "2008-11-25T17:48:47Z")
When it was announced that Netflix was going to stream Watch Instantly to the Xbox 360 I was excited… After finishing all the seasons of 30 Rock and getting caught-up to the present and attempting to find something else to watch, I quickly realized 90% of the WI content is utter crap. I really hope they get some better content in there (and more movies released this decade). ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/9 "2008-11-25T17:52:59Z")
How does this watching instantly thing work? Can you watch the movie as many times as you want in a certain amount of time? Do you have to do this while your movies are returned? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/10 "2008-11-25T18:06:35Z")
In order to directly contradict **BrandonR** as much as possible: In addition to what has already been listed you also have Bullit Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room My Darling Clementne The Lady Eve Pickup on South Street The Barefoot Contessa The Palm Beach Story A Man for All Seasons The Naked Spur Caramel Gone Baby Gone Perfect Blue Michael Collins Red Dawn Crimson Tide Holiday Inn Firestarter Boiler Room The Brothers McMullen 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea All of which are good movies too, just not as good as the ones on my original list. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/11 "2008-11-25T18:22:21Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > How does this watching instantly thing work? Can you watch the movie as many times as you want in a certain amount of time? Do you have to do this while your movies are returned? Basically, if you have a Netflix subscription (I think any sub – my wife can use it and she’s on the 1 movie at a time plan) then you can choose to watch any films in the Watch Instantly catalog on your computer. No limits to how many films or how many times. You do need to use IE to watch though since their viewer isn’t compatible with Firefox. When they first announced it was available to subscribers, most of the films were real dogs – skin-romps from the 1970’s, barely popular TV shows and crap like that. Now they’re adding a lot more classic stuff and recent hits (as seen in this thread). ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/12 "2008-11-25T18:27:36Z")
If you like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage is also available on Watch Instantly. One question, though. I haven’t tried to watch a foreign language film this way. Is it in its native tongue with English subtitles? (I don’t watch foreign films with translated voice acting; I want the native language and subtitles). ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/13 "2008-11-25T18:44:35Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > One question, though. I haven’t tried to watch a foreign language film this way. Is it in its native tongue with English subtitles? (I don’t watch foreign films with translated voice acting; I want the native language and subtitles). I can only speak for one movie that I watched (“Paris, Je t’aime”) but that had subtitles. It might be a special case, though, as parts of it were in English, as well. Another great View Instantly title is “The King of Kong”. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/14 "2008-11-25T19:08:28Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > You do need to use IE to watch though since their viewer isn’t compatible with Firefox. Actually, there’s a beta available that lets you use Firefox, and even watch on a Mac. I’ve been using the Beta for a few weeks. The biggest benefit is not having to use IE/Windows (obviously). The interface is slightly better. For example, when you click on the position bar and drag it, you see a series of static screenshot images that scroll as you move. Very handy for finding the right place. However, the video quality is not quite as good as it was, in my opinion. I notice more compression artifacts, especially in fast-motion scenes, and the colors aren’t as rich. There may be a way to adjust that, but I don’t know what it is. It’s a net positive for me because I don’t have to run Windows on my Mac anymore, but it’s not an improvement across the board. Note that, as far as I can tell, you can’t go back to the old system once you’ve signed up for the beta. [Beta Opt-In Link](http://www.netflix.com/silverlightoptin) ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/15 "2008-11-25T19:12:35Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > When it was announced that Netflix was going to stream Watch Instantly to the Xbox 360 I was excited… After finishing all the seasons of 30 Rock and getting caught-up to the present and attempting to find something else to watch, I quickly realized 90% of the WI content is utter crap. I really hope they get some better content in there (and more movies released this decade). After reading the titles on this thread, I think **BrandonR** easily wins the title of Dope’s Harshest Critic. Dude, what _do_ you like? ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/16 "2008-11-25T20:29:14Z")
The also have Alien, and The Thing. ---
**Author:** ![beowulf573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@beowulf573](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulf573)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/17 "2008-11-25T21:11:28Z")
I use the Roku Netflix [Player](http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/), works like a champ. I wished it also supported playing movies from a USB drive or shared network path though. They’re talking of open sourcing parts of the player, perhaps it will get added. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/18 "2008-11-26T16:53:09Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > After reading the titles on this thread, I think **BrandonR** easily wins the title of Dope’s Harshest Critic. Dude, what _do_ you like? I think this part is the key: > [@](#): > > I really hope they get some better content in there (and more movies released this decade). Someone unable to enjoy older films would probably find WI frustrating. Although I’d think several films (like _No Country…_, _Pan’s Labyrinth_ and _Gone Baby Gone_) would meet his standards. Personally the lists above have only made me love the service even more. Recently they got a huge influx of content thanks to a partnerhsip with the Starz network, which seems to have added hundreds and hundreds of formerly unavailable movies. The one downside is that these Starz films have a noticeably lousy quality. When watching _Biloxi Blues_ I was surprised at how out-of-focus the film was. Not sure why this should be, but in any event, I’m not complaining much – they’re _free_ and available on demand. Good stuff either way. Plus there’s all the TV available: _L&O: SVU, Coupling, Poirot, Campion, Dr. Who_, documentaries, and so on. For those who don’t like to (or can’t) use IE, I’ll give you the same tip I was given, which made me a very very happy camper: If you use Firefox, go download the extension [IE Tab](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419). It lets you emulate IE and, as a result, watch Netflix on your Firefox. This was a lifesaver to me, 'cause for some reason I _can’t_ watch Netflix movies in my IE – I used to be able to, but about nine months ago the films started freezing up my IE7 browser whenever I tried to launch them. Maybe they updated their player and for some reason it became incompatible with my setup. Anyway, some very kind doper pointed me to IE Tab and I’ve been able to watch on FF ever since. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/19 "2008-11-26T19:22:19Z")
For the crushing grip of nature you have to go _Aguirre, the Wrath of God_ that is if you can get over reading subtitles of Germans acting as Spanish Conquistadors. If you have some time _Once Upon a Time in America_ is worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426/20 "2008-11-26T19:28:38Z")
And of course, [Cannibal, The Musical](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115819/) (or _Alfred Packer: The Musical_, as originally titled). The Netflix insta-watch chops have been greatly improved with their little deal with Starz. It’s like having an extra cable channel for free. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-films-available-to-watch-instantly-on-netflix/474426.md?page=2)