They don’t make ’em like they used to. Older generations often harp on the inadequacies of modern filmmaking, from an overreliance on special effects to Hollywood’s capitalist-driven quest to make seven sequels to every original movie. Whatever the reasoning is for hating 21st-century cinema, people who prefer old pictures have plenty of options when they tune in to streaming services like Netflix.
With a rotating selection of films that changes monthly, subscribers should always look for what’s leaving and what’s entering the service when logging into Netflix. For folks more interested in the glory of the 20th century, we have plenty of pre-2000 movies to pick from right here!
American Graffiti (1973)
American Graffiti is George Lucas’s biggest pre-Star Wars and Indiana Jones film. With a young Harrison Ford and Ron Howard appearing in the cast list, the movie leans heavily on nostalgia for a time long gone but remains eerily contemporary. The feelings of excitement, nervousness, and confusion that come with graduating high school remain universal among every generation of teenagers. Watching the characters in Amercian Graffiti grapples with those emotions makes the story a timeless classic! Car fans will also enjoy all of the legendary rides that appear in the film!
Out of Africa (1985)
Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in their primes? Sign me up! Out of Africa is a cozy yet progressive feminist romantic romp that discusses women’s empowerment in a novel way during the 1980s. Streep’s character comes to grips with her husband’s infidelity while traveling to Africa, and the ensuing love story with Robert Redford’s male lead helps place viewers vicariously into the head of a woman who wants to modernize her life’s story.
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
The Guns of Navarone presents one of Hollywood’s most impenetrable plots: a group of Allied soldiers fighting against all odds to complete a rescue mission against Nazis. Although there’s nothing special about the plot of this World War II classic, the movie has great subtext, wartime themes, and plenty of acting talent from lead man Gregory Peck. War film fans should enjoy this one to the fullest!
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Very few films deal with the psychological fallout of war better than Born on the Fourth of July. Tom Cruise perfectly depicts the mental and physical toll of the Vietnam War as traumatized soldier Ron Kovic. The plotting features several different times in Kovic’s life to display the entire scope of hardship that came with serving in the military in the 1960s and 1970s. Willem Dafoe and Kyrie Sedgwick played supporting roles in the film.
A Passage to India (1984)
One of director David Lean’s most underrated movies, A Passage to India examines the relationships between Indian natives and British imperialists during the 1920s. Judy Davis plays the lead role, a white woman who becomes embroiled in a sexual assault trial when she visits India and comes into contact with a doctor she believes forced himself on her. The movie gives insight into the heated tensions and racial components of the United Kingdom’s colonialism in the 20th century.
Léon: The Professional (1994)
Crime thrillers are a dime a dozen, but Léon: The Professional implements several techniques to separate it from contemporary works of the 1990s. Jean Reno and Natalie Portman display impressive chemistry as a fully grown man and a pre-adolescent girl who fight together. Portman’s debut certainly gave her credence in Hollywood and might have helped lead to her casting in Star Wars. Gary Oldman is also in fine form as the antagonistic Norman Stansfield.
Repo Man (1984)
Repo Man is a mashup of several different genres, but one undeniable claim it possesses is a keen understanding of the 1980s. The story follows an amateur musician played by Emilio Estevez who must think on his feet when aliens and government conspiracies get in the way of his rocker lifestyle. A legendary soundtrack and a more controversial science fiction plot than its peers makes the film a classic four decades later.
Amadeus (1984)
F. Murray Abraham may be better known to young viewers for his role on The White Lotus, but older movie fans will fondly remember his portrayal as composer Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. The movie captivates by fictionalizing the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri for musical supremacy in the 18th century. Composers and other historical figures from this time period are often misunderstood. The movie excels at simplifying the events and personalities from the era and entertaining the masses simultaneously.
Footloose (1984)
Footloose represents film music as one of the most indelible, everlasting parts of the cultural zeitgeist. Kevin Bacon dancing along to Kenny Loggins and Deniece Williams was a little corny at the time and even more so now, but the film’s tunes ingrained it into the 1980s pop pantheon. John Lithgow is his always-excellent self in the supporting role.
The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix is one of those landmark movies that every person has seen, or at least watched clips of on YouTube. A thoughtful analysis of the simulated reality theory of the world, the Wachowskis use carefully crafted sci-fi tropes to lead viewers through a computer-generated world of fighting and human liberation. Keanu Reeves exploded onto the scene in this film as one of the all-time action heroes ever.
