Home › Dramas based on contemporary literatureDramas based on contemporary literature on Netflix
The Dramas based on contemporary literature category on Netflix is identified by the secret code 12994 . Below are 100 Dramas based on contemporary literature titles currently traceable on Netflix, sorted by rating. Top picks include The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974).
How to open this category: on a web browser, sign in to Netflix and visit netflix.com/browse/genre/12994. On the mobile app or a TV, use the title search below or open the code in a browser. What you see depends on your country and Netflix plan, so some titles may not appear for you.
Last updated: 28 Sep 2021. Independent reference, not affiliated with Netflix.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Framed for murder, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison and gradually forms a close bond with older inmate Red.
Year: 199470005379 · IMDb
The Godfather (1972) When an organized-crime family patriarch barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son steps in to take care of the would-be killers.
Year: 197260011152 · IMDb
The Godfather: Part II (1974) This second film in the trilogy explores the Corleone family roots, tracing Don Vito's journey from Sicily to a life of organized crime in New York.
Year: 197460011663 · IMDb
Schindler's List (1993) Oskar Schindler becomes an unlikely humanitarian, spending his entire fortune to help save 1,100 Jews from Auschwitz during World War II.
Year: 199360036359 · IMDb
Forrest Gump (1994) Forrest Gump, a friendly, simpleminded man, finds himself in the middle of nearly every major event of the 1960s and '70s.
Year: 199460000724 · IMDb
The Prestige (2006) Desperate to reveal each other's secrets, two rival magicians begin to perform increasingly risky tricks -- which soon turn deadly.
Year: 200670047095 · IMDb
Black Friday (2004) This docudrama based on the same-titled book tracks the aftermath of a 1993 bombing in Bombay through the eyes of a journalist covering the story.
Year: 200470077720 · IMDb
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Director Sergio Leone's sprawling crime epic follows a group of Jewish mobsters who rise in the ranks of organized crime in 1920s New York City.
Year: 198460028306 · IMDb
Trainspotting (1996) Renton and his mates cope with the gritty realities of heroin addiction. But when Renton gets clean, he can't get away from his friends' nasty habits.
Year: 199660037022 · IMDb
No Country for Old Men (2007) While hunting, Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and takes off with $2 million in cash, but a psychotic hit man is hot on his trail.
Year: 200770071613 · IMDb
Into the Wild (2007) A young man gives up everything -- including his trust fund and ties to a seemingly stable family -- to lead a solitary life in the wild.
Year: 200770075064 · IMDb
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) A shy freshman struggling with depression deals with his best friend's suicide and his first love in this engaging coming-of-age tale.
Year: 201270243461 · IMDb
Big Fish (2003) A reporter attempts to learn more about his dying father by finding the truth behind a lifetime of his tall tales and legends of epic proportions.
Year: 200360031268 · IMDb
Scent of a Woman (1992) Hoping to earn some cash during the Thanksgiving holiday, a poor prep-school student agrees to look after a blind and cantankerous retired colonel.
Year: 1992937499 · IMDb
Life of Pi (2012) Based on Yann Martel's best-selling novel, this coming-of-age tale recounts the journey of Pi, an Indian boy who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck.
Year: 201270213509 · IMDb
Carlito's Way (1993) Sprung from prison, Carlito Brigante vows to use his unexpected second chance to go straight. But as hard as he tries, the bad guys pull him back in.
Year: 1993351701 · IMDb
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) When his family moves from Berlin to Poland, a young boy befriends a boy who lives on the other side of the fence, unaware he's a Jewish prisoner.
Year: 200870101375 · IMDb
The Notebook (2004) Two young lovers are torn apart by war and class differences in the 1940s in this adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's best-selling novel.
Year: 200460036227 · IMDb
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) When a young computer hacker is tasked with investigating a prying journalist, their separate missions become entangled amid a decades-old conspiracy.
Year: 201170207663 · IMDb
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) In a backwater Iowa town, young Gilbert is torn between taking care of his troubled family and a girl who shows him new possibilities for his life.
Year: 199360011552 · IMDb
Atonement (2007) Young Briony fingers a young man for a crime after she discovers a lustful letter and witnesses a sexual encounter between him and her sister.
Year: 200770059993 · IMDb
The Color Purple (1985) A Southern woman's correspondence with her sister in Africa and friendship with a singer help her escape an abusive husband and a hardscrabble life.
Year: 198560026621 · IMDb
The Remains of the Day (1993) In this Merchant-Ivory period drama, a dutiful butler dedicates himself to tending his lord's house, turning a blind eye to his Nazi sympathies.
Year: 199360011325 · IMDb
The Fault in Our Stars (2014) Two teens meet at a cancer support group, and together they face the challenge of building a relationship under the shadow of terminal illness.
Year: 201470298734 · IMDb
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) Flashbacks reveal the remarkable story of soul mates Idgie and Ruth, whose antics cause an uproar in their rural Southern town in the 1920s.
Year: 1991525209 · IMDb
Blow (2001) Cocaine smuggler George rises from poverty to become one of the biggest drug dealers in America before his eventual downfall.
Year: 200160020891 · IMDb
Legends of the Fall (1994) The Ludlow clan -- father William and brothers Alfred, Tristan and Sam -- splinters when Sam leaves to fight in World War I against his dad's wishes.
Year: 1994693960 · IMDb
The Kite Runner (2007) A privileged Afghan man living in the United States returns to his war-ravaged homeland to try to repay a debt to a loyal childhood friend.
Year: 200770065118 · IMDb
Philomena (2013) An aging Irishwoman teams with a floundering journalist to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years ago.
Year: 201370293789 · IMDb
Sleepers (1996) Four boys from Hell's Kitchen enter a reformatory where a cruel guard abuses them. Years later, two of them avenge their tormenter and stand trial.
Year: 1996973057 · IMDb
The Bridges of Madison County (1995) When a vaguely discontented Iowa housewife meets a National Geographic shutterbug, what begins as a guarded friendship erupts into an intense affair.
Year: 199570150462 · IMDb
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) Born with an acute sense of smell, Jean-Baptiste resorts to dark deeds in creating a perfume that captures the essence of a woman.
Year: 200670052701 · IMDb
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) After her triumph in the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen travels through the districts on a 'Victor's Tour' while a rebellion gathers steam around her.
Year: 201370278934 · IMDb
Jackie Brown (1997) When an aging flight attendant's caught smuggling cash and forced to help with an investigation, she hatches a clever plan to make off with the dough.
Year: 199760010514 · IMDb
My Life Without Me (2003) When a young mother of two stuck in a dead-end job learns she's dying, she makes a list of important things she wants to accomplish in her short life.
Year: 200360031223 · IMDb
The Natural (1984) A gifted baseball player whose life has taken some startling turns becomes a 35-year-old rookie who helps a cellar-dwelling team get back in the game.
Year: 1984793907 · IMDb
Frida (2002) This Oscar-winning biopic focuses on painter Frida Kahlo's relationship with her husband and her controversial political and sexual reputation.
Year: 200260024997 · IMDb
My Sister's Keeper (2009) A former defense attorney finds herself back in court when she and her husband are sued for medical emancipation by their 11-year-old daughter.
Year: 200970113003 · IMDb
Up in the Air (2009) Ryan Bingham flies around the country firing employees on behalf of companies, but he faces losing the job he savors to recent college grad Natalie.
Year: 200970117902 · IMDb
Den 12. mann (2018) Based on true events, this story follows a Norwegian saboteur’s harrowing struggle to reach safety after escaping a Nazi attack during World War II.
Year: 201880245074 · IMDb
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) Visciously abused by her parents, Harlem teen Precious has an unexpected chance at a different life when she enrolls in an alternative school.
Year: 200970112456 · IMDb
Girl, Interrupted (1999) Diagnosed with a disorder, Susanna Kaysen is sent to a mental institution, where she enters the skewed world of people who truly belong on the inside.
Year: 199960000428 · IMDb
Revolutionary Road (2008) April and Frank's marriage unravels when a plan to change their 'perfect' lives becomes their last hope to escape lives engulfed in emptiness.
Year: 200870100383 · IMDb
The Descendants (2011) With his wife on life support, an affluent landowner reevaluates his marriage and tries to mend his broken relationships with his daughters.
Year: 201170142819 · IMDb
Seabiscuit (2003) A knobble-kneed colt becomes a winning thoroughbred in this Depression-era drama based on the true story of champion racehorse Seabiscuit.
Year: 200360029177 · IMDb
Lincoln (2012) Director Steven Spielberg takes on the towering legacy of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on his stewardship of the Union during the Civil War years.
Year: 201270251896 · IMDb
Chocolat (2000) A single mother and her young daughter move into a peaceful French village and open an unusual chocolate shop during the height of Lent.
Year: 200060003116 · IMDb
Tengo Ganas De Ti (2012) In this sequel to Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo, Hache slowly begins to get over his ex-girlfriend Babi when he meets the vivacious Gin.
Year: 201270267459 · IMDb
Defiance (2008) In this action-packed drama based on an extraordinary true story, four brothers protect more than 1,000 Jewish refugees during World War II.
Year: 200870101696 · IMDb
The Hunger Games (2012) In a dystopian future, teens Katniss and Peeta are drafted for a televised event pitting young competitors against each other in a fight to the death.
Year: 201270206672 · IMDb
My Afternoons with Margueritte (2010) A handyman named Germaine befriends 95-year-old Margueritte and finds himself bewildered by the literature that gives Margueritte such pleasure.
Year: 201070165459 · IMDb
Tsotsi (2005) After shooting a woman and driving off in her car, a ruthless thug is surprised to discover a crying infant in the back seat.
Year: 200570041142 · IMDb
The Rainmaker (1997) A young attorney and a scrappy paralegal work to help the parents of a terminally ill boy in their suit against an insurance company.
Year: 19971181661 · IMDb
Pay It Forward (2000) A young, thoughtful boy responds to a school assignment with a plan to help three people who will, in turn, help three more, and so on.
Year: 200060002965 · IMDb
The Physician (2013) A medical apprentice in 11th-century Persia disguises himself as a Jew to study at a school that does not admit Christians.
Year: 201380014996 · IMDb
Silence (2016) Two Portuguese priests go to Japan to look for their missing mentor, but their search is hindered by a regime that's hostile to Western culture.
Year: 201680146803 · IMDb
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) This gripping thriller about Cold War espionage follows an English spy as he returns to MI-6 under suspicion that he's become a Soviet operative.
Year: 201170202128 · IMDb
What Dreams May Come (1998) Deceased physician Chris Nielson risks eternal damnation by leaving heaven to save his distraught wife after she commits suicide and ends up in hell.
Year: 199818164546 · IMDb
The Attack (2012) An Arab Israeli physician offers assistance at the scene of a gruesome suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and then learns that the bomber was his own wife.
Year: 201270257410 · IMDb
The Railway Man (2013) Decades after World War II, a still-shattered soldier unexpectedly falls in love and sees a bizarre coincidence bring his past back into focus.
Year: 201370293617 · IMDb
The Longest Ride (2015) A young woman caring for an elderly widower finds parallels to her own budding romance as she reads the man's letters to and from his late wife.
Year: 201580020963 · IMDb
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) This riveting World War II drama recounts the story of six U.S. soldiers who raised the American flag atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi.
Year: 200670044687 · IMDb
Soylent Green (1973) Charlton Heston stars as a gumshoe investigating the murder of an executive whose company makes a nutritious synthetic food called Soylent Green.
Year: 197360029267 · IMDb
Julie and Julia (2009) In this heartwarming tale, Julie Powell decides to spice up her uneventful life by cooking all 524 recipes outlined in Julia Child's classic cookbook.
Year: 200970112732 · IMDb
Tres Metros Sobre El Cielo (2010) Rebellious biker Hache sees his life falling apart, but things start to look up when he meets Babi, a sweet girl from a good family.
Year: 201070267460 · IMDb
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) This biopic traces the short life of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, who overcame racism and adversity to triumph as an international film star.
Year: 1993459378 · IMDb
About a Boy (2002) Hip, irresponsible Londoner Will invents an imaginary son and starts attending single-parent meetings to find available women.
Year: 200260022998 · IMDb
Charlie Wilson's War (2007) A Texas congressman sets a series of events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviets.
Year: 200770060021 · IMDb
Out of Sight (1998) Bank robber Jack plays a genteel game of cat-and-mouse with Karen, the stunning federal marshal he meets in the trunk of a getaway car.
Year: 199818769558 · IMDb
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) In this adaptation of the best-selling novel, a young housemaid with a hidden appreciation for art becomes the muse of Dutch master painter Vermeer.
Year: 200360031282 · IMDb
The House of the Spirits (1993) Esteban vows to marry Rosa, a rich man's daughter. But when Rosa dies before he can save enough money to do so, he instead marries her younger sister.
Year: 199360020345 · IMDb
The Duchess (2008) To compensate for her unhappy marriage, young duchess Georgiana Spencer begins a scandalous affair with politician Charles Grey.
Year: 200870099610 · IMDb
A Cry in the Dark (1988) An Australian woman finds herself under suspicion of murder after her infant daughter is carried off by a dingo during a family camping trip.
Year: 1988409892 · IMDb
21 (2008) A brilliant group of students become card-counting experts with the intent of swindling millions out of Las Vegas casinos by playing blackjack.
Year: 200870084788 · IMDb
The Firm (1993) When a Harvard Law School grad joins a prestigious firm, he ignores the warning of his wife, who fears the lucrative deal sounds too good to be true.
Year: 199360000210 · IMDb
The Lovely Bones (2009) When 14-year-old Susie is murdered, she watches from above as her family deals with her tragic death -- and as her killer prepares to strike again.
Year: 200970112367 · IMDb
The Beach (2000) A traveler learns of a secret beach that purportedly exemplifies paradise, and discovers a bohemian community intent on keeping its refuge a secret.
Year: 200060000199 · IMDb
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) Ambitious Boleyn sisters Anne and Mary compete for the heart of powerful but intemperate King Henry VIII in this opulent historical drama.
Year: 200870083114 · IMDb
Denial (2016) In this fact-based drama, an American historian accused of libel by a notorious Holocaust denier must prove in court that the Holocaust did occur.
Year: 201680115017 · IMDb
The Leisure Seeker (2017) On the run from kids and obligations, a couple hits the road in an old Leisure Seeker RV and sets out for the Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West.
Year: 201780189169 · IMDb
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) Back in District 13 after demolishing the Hunger Games, Katniss reluctantly becomes the icon of a groundswell rebellion against the Capitol.
Year: 201470305908 · IMDb
December Boys (2006) After living together for years at a Catholic orphanage, four teenage boys must face the likelihood that they'll never be adopted.
Year: 200670075062 · IMDb
The Lion Woman (2016) A girl born with a condition that causes abnormal hair growth across her body tries to cope with the challenges of being different.
Year: 201680106036 · IMDb
Letters to Juliet (2010) By responding to a letter addressed to Shakespeare's tragic heroine Juliet Capulet, an American woman in Verona, Italy, is led in search of romance.
Year: 201070123197 · IMDb
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) After sleeping with a boy she barely knows, a pregnant teen gets married and discovers her newborn isn't the only one with a lot of growing up to do.
Year: 200160021641 · IMDb
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) Katniss Everdeen and her allies bring their fight to the Capitol, as they aim to liberate all of Panem by assassinating the dictator President Snow.
Year: 201580057972 · IMDb
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999) A mother grows desperate when her 3-year-old son disappears, but he turns up -- nine years later in the town where the family has just relocated.
Year: 199918962448 · IMDb
A Long Way Down (2014) When a faded TV personality decides to jump off a London skyscraper on New Year's Eve, he meets three lost souls who had the exact same plan.
Year: 201470299914 · IMDb
Charlie St. Cloud (2010) Ben Sherwood's intriguing novel is the basis of this ghost story about Charlie, who is devoted to his brother, Sam, even after Sam's death.
Year: 201070130443 · IMDb
The Man with the Iron Heart (2017) A pair of Czechoslovakian resistance fighters sets out to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Final Solution.
Year: 201780198987 · IMDb
Cruising (1980) In late '70s New York, a rookie policeman goes deep undercover in the city's gay leather-bar subculture to search for a sadistic serial killer.
Year: 198060035951 · IMDb
The General's Daughter (1999) Respected Army Gen. Joe Campbell is headed for a hero's retirement -- until his daughter is raped and murdered on his military base.
Year: 199922469006 · IMDb
How to Make an American Quilt (1995) A conflicted young woman spends the summer with her grandmother, her great-aunt and their quilting circle, whose life stories captivate her.
Year: 1995607931 · IMDb
Så vit som en snö (2001) This riveting drama chronicles the life of Elsa Andersson, who defies her father in a quest to realize her dream of becoming Sweden's first aviatrix.
Year: 200170254978 · IMDb
Adore (2013) When lifelong friends Roz and Lil fall in love with each other's teenage sons, they must carry out their affairs in relative secrecy.
Year: 201370267398 · IMDb
Winter's Tale (2014) Mark Helprin's novel provides the basis for this film starring Colin Farrell as a thief who breaks into an ill girl's home and then falls for her.
Year: 201470291841 · IMDb
The Fifth Estate (2013) This fact-based drama recounts the early days of the controversial but revolutionary WikiLeaks website and the inevitable conflict it wrought.
Year: 201370276712 · IMDb
Not Easily Broken (2009) This faith-based drama follows the trials and tribulations of a couple forced to reevaluate their bond after one of them is injured in a car accident.
Year: 200970109684 · IMDb
Beautiful Creatures (2013) Based on the best-selling novel, this supernatural drama focuses on the romance between Ethan and Lena, the enigmatic new girl in his Southern town.
Year: 201370252879 · IMDb
A Hologram for the King (2015) A broke American businessman trying to sell an IT contract to Saudi Arabia's king finds himself changed by an unfamiliar culture and a new romance.
Year: 201580081506 · IMDb
