Critically Acclaimed Dramas on Netflix

Oskar Schindler becomes an unlikely humanitarian, spending his entire fortune to help save 1,100 Jews from Auschwitz during World War II.

Year: 1993
IMDb: 8.9
Netflix rating: 4.4/5
Runtime: 03:15:04
Netflix ID: 60036359 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a prison guard discovers that a death row inmate possesses mysterious powers, he tries desperately to prevent the condemned man's execution.

Year: 1999
IMDb: 8.6
Netflix rating: 4.3/5
Runtime: 03:08:41
Netflix ID: 60000417 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Tapped for the throne after the death of the emperor, a Roman general instead finds himself condemned to die by the late ruler's power-hungry son.

Year: 2000
IMDb: 8.5
Netflix rating: 4.3/5
Runtime: 02:34:58
Netflix ID: 60000929 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When five unacquainted crooks are hauled into a police station to appear in a criminal lineup, they decide to pull off a heist together.

Year: 1995
IMDb: 8.5
Netflix rating: 4.3/5
Runtime: 01:46:08
Netflix ID: 1084379 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Famed Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman struggles to survive the onslaught of Nazi tyranny during World War II in this drama based on his memoirs.

Year: 2002
IMDb: 8.5
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Runtime: 02:28:58
Netflix ID: 60025061 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Al Pacino stars as Cuban refugee Tony Montana, who becomes a Florida drug kingpin but makes the fatal mistake of getting high on his own supply.

Year: 1983
IMDb: 8.3
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Runtime: 02:49:49
Netflix ID: 60029681 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Marine recruits endure the grueling ordeal of basic training and later face the unrelenting Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive in this grim drama.

Year: 1987
IMDb: 8.3
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Runtime: 01:56:30
Netflix ID: 528677 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Martin Scorcese's high-rolling Wall Street drama is based on the memoirs of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, whose giddy career ended in federal prison.

Year: 2013
IMDb: 8.2
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Runtime: 02:59:52
Netflix ID: 70266676 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Jilted just days before her wedding, a young woman goes on her honeymoon by herself and discovers a newfound zest for life.

Year: 2014
IMDb: 8.2
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Runtime: 02:23:29
Netflix ID: 80032081 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

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: 2007
IMDb: 8.1
Netflix rating: 3.8/5
Runtime: 02:02:15
Netflix ID: 70071613 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This dramatic portrayal of the intense 1970s rivalry between race drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt captures the contrasts between the two champions.

Year: 2013
IMDb: 8.1
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 02:02:41
Netflix ID: 70253165 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A young physician and his beautiful mistress get swept up in the danger and drama of the Bolshevik Revolution in this Oscar-winning epic.

Year: 1965
IMDb: 8
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 03:19:56
Netflix ID: 449931 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Ambitious New York City ballet dancer Nina lands the lead in 'Swan Lake' but soon thinks her dreams of stardom are threatened by a rival ballerina.

Year: 2010
IMDb: 8
Netflix rating: 3.6/5
Runtime: 01:48:06
Netflix ID: 60034390 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In May 1940, soldiers and civilians struggle by land, sea and air to evacuate the British army and their allies, Europe's last hope, from Dunkirk.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.9
Runtime: 01:46:34
Netflix ID: 80170278 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In 12th-century Spain, a philosopher and his profound teachings jeopardize the caliph he serves when political rivals threaten a government upheaval.

Year: 1997
IMDb: 7.9
Runtime: 02:15:56
Netflix ID: 81252543 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a neurologist tests an experimental drug on a catatonic patient, he must come to grips with life as an adult as he awakens from a 30-year coma.

Year: 1990
IMDb: 7.8
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 02:00:41
Netflix ID: 268371 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In Jane Austen's tale of 19th-century England, Mrs. Bennet hopes to marry her daughters to prosperous gentlemen, including new arrival Mr. Darcy.

Year: 2005
IMDb: 7.8
Netflix rating: 4/5
Runtime: 02:06:36
Netflix ID: 70032594 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

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: 2007
IMDb: 7.8
Netflix rating: 3.5/5
Runtime: 02:02:52
Netflix ID: 70059993 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Steven Spielberg's 1982 smash hit tells the heartwarming story of the special bond 10-year-old Elliot forges with an alien he names E.T.

Year: 1982
IMDb: 7.8
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 01:59:55
Netflix ID: 60022398 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a blood-spattered altar boy is found running from a murder scene, his conviction seems certain -- but his attorney is determined to win the case.

Year: 1996
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 02:10:25
Netflix ID: 873159 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star -- find solace in each other's company.

Year: 2003
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix rating: 3.3/5
Runtime: 01:41:39
Netflix ID: 60031214 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

With her father fighting in World War I, young Sara enrolls in boarding school and clashes with a headmistress who tries to stifle her self-worth.

Year: 1995
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix rating: 4/5
Runtime: 01:37:22
Netflix ID: 705734 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Based on real events, this chilling drama recounts the actions of a killer who stalked the streets of San Francisco and left clues in the newspaper.

Year: 2007
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix rating: 3.6/5
Runtime: 02:37:45
Netflix ID: 70044686 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

As his esteem grows in the world of physics, Stephen Hawking's body is ravaged by ALS, forcing his increasing dependence on his devoted wife, Jane.

Year: 2014
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 02:03:25
Netflix ID: 80000644 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A Cairo newsstand vendor's fantasies morph into a dangerous fixation with a lemonade seller as a serial killer begins terrorizing the city.

Year: 1958
IMDb: 7.7
Runtime: 01:13:29
Netflix ID: 70124714 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Barely making a living as pickpockets, a teenage couple in Manila resort to desperate measures when their one-month-old child is kidnapped.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 7.7
Runtime: 01:47:17
Netflix ID: 80141777 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Facing poverty after their father's death, three sisters are obliged to rely on the generosity of others in this adaptation of the Jane Austen novel.

Year: 1995
IMDb: 7.6
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 02:16:22
Netflix ID: 948002 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

After drifter Tom Chaney murders her father, 14-year-old Mattie Ross hires alcoholic U.S. Marshal Reuben 'Rooster' Cogburn to help her exact revenge.

Year: 2010
IMDb: 7.6
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 01:50:15
Netflix ID: 70142543 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Two privileged and bored French aristocrats make a bet focusing on the corruption of virginal Cécile de Volanges and the virtuous Madame de Tourvel.

Year: 1988
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 01:59:49
Netflix ID: 418224 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a vaguely discontented Iowa housewife meets a National Geographic shutterbug, what begins as a guarded friendship erupts into an intense affair.

Year: 1995
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 02:14:34
Netflix ID: 70150462 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, David traces her last digital steps using her laptop, social media and a detective to find her.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 01:42:21
Netflix ID: 81053209 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Despite being animated, this a serious, disturbing and often violent tale about a society of rabbits that flees its endangered home to start anew.

Year: 1978
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 01:31:49
Netflix ID: 60022175 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A fisherman returns home after a three-year absence only to find the woman he loves drifting away, the sailors feuding and his community unraveling.

Year: 1956
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 01:44:15
Netflix ID: 81252546 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The Sultan of Egypt and Syria launches a campaign to retake Jerusalem amid the Crusades.

Year: 1963
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 03:14:03
Netflix ID: 81252549 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This Oscar-nominated drama tells the story of Daniel Dareus, a small-town boy who escaped his tiny village to become a famous conductor.

Year: 2004
IMDb: 7.5
Netflix rating: 3.9/5
Runtime: 02:12:17
Netflix ID: 70023507 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A middle-aged wife and mother of two shocks her traditional, multigenerational Georgian household when she announces she's going to live by herself.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.5
Runtime: 01:59:12
Netflix ID: 80171247 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Sparks fly between a comedian and grad student, but his Muslim family’s expectations destroy their romance. When she falls ill, he must take a stand.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.5
Runtime: 01:59:56
Netflix ID: 80170989 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A fashion designer is drawn to a waitress, who becomes his model, muse and lover. With time, their relationship grows in intensity -- and strangeness.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.5
Runtime: 02:10:30
Netflix ID: 80195447 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.5
Runtime: 02:10:10
Netflix ID: 81043755 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Close friends Erik and Phillip each await news on their first novels. But when Phillip's book is published before Erik's, he's unprepared for fame.

Year: 2006
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix rating: 3.2/5
Runtime: 01:42:07
Netflix ID: 70066353 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

On the night before two of them leave for college, four high school pals cruise around town finding love and mischief in this coming-of-age classic.

Year: 1973
IMDb: 7.4
Runtime: 01:52:26
Netflix ID: 70019013 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Nearing the end of his probation, ex-convict Colin just wants to avoid prison -- but his best friend Miles and their city of Oakland don't make it easy.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.4
Runtime: 01:35:22
Netflix ID: 80240678 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

After a near-fatal fall, a cowboy is hesitant to walk away from his rodeo-riding days, even if it means risking his life.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.4
Runtime: 01:42:41
Netflix ID: 80194284 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Living in Alexandria during World War II, an Egyptian teen enamored with American films dreams of making it in Hollywood.

Year: 1979
IMDb: 7.4
Runtime: 02:11:07
Netflix ID: 60001801 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When emotionally scarred highway hooker Aileen Wuornos shoots a sadistic client, she begins a journey to become America's first female serial killer.

Year: 2003
IMDb: 7.3
Netflix rating: 3.5/5
Runtime: 01:44:20
Netflix ID: 60032559 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Four sisters and their mother battle life's vicissitudes in Civil War-era America after their father leaves to join the conflict.

Year: 1994
IMDb: 7.3
Runtime: 01:58:29
Netflix ID: 707114 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Astronaut Neil Armstrong spends a decade training for the flight of a lifetime, as he prepares to be the first man to walk on the moon.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.3
Runtime: 02:20:59
Netflix ID: 80991403 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A dying woman summons her three adult children to her country home and tasks them with deciding the fate of her extraordinary art collection.

Year: 2008
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix rating: 3.3/5
Runtime: 01:38:26
Netflix ID: 70095141 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

An Indian woman with cerebral palsy decides to study in New York, where she becomes involved in a life-changing affair with a blind female activist.

Year: 2014
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Runtime: 01:40:37
Netflix ID: 80018695 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Aspiring hip-hop artist Jimmy views his home, Detroit's 8 Mile district, as a psychological line that separates him from where and who he wants to be.

Year: 2002
IMDb: 7.1
Netflix rating: 3.7/5
Runtime: 01:50:26
Netflix ID: 60024922 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

New classmate Leslie unlocks a mesmerizing world of fantasy and imagination for fifth-grader Jesse in this adventure based on the best-selling novel.

Year: 2007
IMDb: 7.1
Netflix rating: 3.5/5
Runtime: 01:30:58
Netflix ID: 70053832 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A drug-running airline pilot turns informant, then uses his connections inside the government to start secretly smuggling cocaine for Pablo Escobar.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.1
Runtime: 01:54:56
Netflix ID: 80121192 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A duplicitous young man finds success in the dark world of social media smear tactics — but his virtual vitriol soon has violent real-life consequences.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.1
Runtime: 02:16:14
Netflix ID: 81270667 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0, struggling New York City playwright Radha finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.1
Runtime: 02:04:14
Netflix ID: 80231356 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Dreams of being a Navy pilot prompt Zack to enroll in officer training school, where he runs afoul of a drill instructor who aims to change his ways.

Year: 1982
IMDb: 7
Runtime: 02:04:15
Netflix ID: 60004564 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a Copenhagen cop winds up in the remote town of Skarrild, life there is anything but peaceful as he is drawn into the odd local happenings.

Year: 2008
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix rating: 3.2/5
Runtime: 01:39:23
Netflix ID: 70120524 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A dark-skinned girl born in the apartheid era to white Afrikaners struggles to find a sense of identity as she's rejected blacks and whites alike.

Year: 2008
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix rating: 4/5
Runtime: 01:42:33
Netflix ID: 70108552 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Exhausted by the demands of the music business, a rising pop star tries to end her life but is saved by a police officer who later becomes her lover.

Year: 2014
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix rating: 4.2/5
Runtime: 01:56:15
Netflix ID: 70295409 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A story of greed and corruption in the global quest for oil unfolds through the fates of a CIA operative, an energy analyst and other power players.

Year: 2005
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix rating: 3.3/5
Runtime: 02:07:40
Netflix ID: 70018715 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

While caring for her paralyzed husband in a nursing home, a woman yearning for excitement and intimacy develops an affair with a new resident.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 6.9
Runtime: 01:30:58
Netflix ID: 81045462 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

With his record store fading fast and daughter Sam preparing to leave for college, Frank holds out hope that music -- and love -- will save the day.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 6.9
Runtime: 01:37:10
Netflix ID: 80240679 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Cursed with immortality, skilled swordsman Manji agrees to become a young girl's bodyguard, swearing to avenge the slaying of her family.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.8
Runtime: 02:21:50
Netflix ID: 80191740 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

While turmoil engulfs Egypt, a Cairo detective tasked with a murder case is drawn into a sinister web of political agendas and business interests.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.8
Runtime: 01:50:36
Netflix ID: 80172008 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Thirsty for thrills, single mom Stephanie strikes up a friendship with the glamorous Emily, who asks for a small favor, then mysteriously vanishes.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 6.8
Runtime: 01:56:48
Netflix ID: 80988896 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 6.8
Runtime: 02:02:20
Netflix ID: 81000365 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Offering to let her park her van in his driveway, playwright Alan forms a curious but strong bond with agreeably grumpy vagabond Miss Shepherd.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 6.7
Netflix rating: 3.2/5
Runtime: 01:44:06
Netflix ID: 80062034 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Four tales directed by four of India's top filmmakers highlight the range of human emotions, including an actor's struggle after his father's death.

Year: 2013
IMDb: 6.7
Runtime: 02:02:58
Netflix ID: 70275753 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Rich teens Lily and Amanda rekindle a friendship and discover a common passion: They both hate Lily’s despicable stepfather. A killer plan is born.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.7
Runtime: 01:32:03
Netflix ID: 80172007 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In the early 20th century, British explorer Percy Fawcett becomes consumed with finding a mysterious ancient civilization in the Amazonian jungle.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 6.6
Runtime: 02:20:38
Netflix ID: 80022614 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Set up for an arranged marriage, a young couple enjoys an old-fashioned courtship, until an accident days before their wedding tests their nascent love.

Year: 2006
IMDb: 6.6
Runtime: 02:46:03
Netflix ID: 70059326 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A terrible misunderstanding with a local gang sends 17-year-old Ulises, leader of a group hooked on cumbia music, across the border to save his life.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.5
Runtime: 01:52:10
Netflix ID: 81025595 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 6.5
Runtime: 02:14:46
Netflix ID: 80211559 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A group of peasant farmers fights to protect their village against a corrupt landowner. Adapted from the popular novel by Abdel Rahman al-Sharqawi.

Year: 1970
IMDb: 6.4
Runtime: 02:09:30
Netflix ID: 81252548 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Competition between sugar cane producers turns deadly after a greedy landlord conspires against an agricultural engineer who falls for his daughter.

Year: 1954
IMDb: 6.2
Runtime: 01:56:17
Netflix ID: 81252547 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A disillusioned security guard transforms into a masquerade, channeling ancestral spirits as he roams the streets of Lagos.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.1
Runtime: 01:34:19
Netflix ID: 81103512 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A lesbian housewife, feeling trapped in a stale marriage, begins visiting female prostitutes and soon seeks excitement by becoming a sex worker.

Year: 2013
IMDb: 5.6
Netflix rating: 2.8/5
Runtime: 01:36:03
Netflix ID: 70267490 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A teen girl is drawn to her cousin’s hedonistic lifestyle when they spend the summer together in Cannes as she learns about herself and her own values.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 5.5
Runtime: 01:32:48
Netflix ID: 81081603 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a stubborn American teenager is sent to Nigeria by his mother, his cousin's scamming business becomes a viable option for securing a return flight.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 5.1
Runtime: 01:44:10
Netflix ID: 81014211 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A cheerfully naive clerk from India visits England to bestow a gift on Queen Victoria, then strikes up an unlikely friendship with the lonely monarch.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 01:51:33
Netflix ID: 80182116 · Watch on Netflix

At the peak of his career, Yehia joins a hunger strike, becomes smitten and reckons with a creative crisis — but finds a new muse.

Year: 1989
Runtime: 01:49:17
Netflix ID: 60001803 · Watch on Netflix

While undergoing heart surgery in London, Yehia reflects on his life as his heart chamber becomes a courtroom where he's tried for his mistakes.

Year: 1982
Runtime: 02:08:59
Netflix ID: 60001802 · Watch on Netflix

A former child singer, traumatized by his experiences, becomes a recluse, nurturing his hurt until a woman comes into his life and really hears him.

Year: 2020
Runtime: 01:31:46
Netflix ID: 81020106 · Watch on Netflix