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Some of the most critically-acclaimed movies of all time are available on Netflix US, but many remain sadly absent from Netflix's Australian library.
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Movies like The Godfather, Schindler's List and Forrest Gump have remained on top of countless best-movie lists for decades now, and for good reason. Classic titles like these transcend the time in which they were made, embodying a timelessness that ensures they're just as relevant and entertaining today as they were back when they first hit the movie theatres.
Unsurprisingly, the evergreen appeal of these movies makes them prime material for streaming services like Netflix. As the top dogs in their respective markets, both Netflix US and Netflix Australia are jam-packed with some of the most lauded titles from the last few decades, boasting dozens of titles with Internet Movie Database (IMDb) ratings in the 8.0 and above range. Thanks to licensing issues, however, a lot of these movies are only available on one of the services rather than both.
How do you access US Netflix from Australia? Find out here
To illustrate this, we've compared the top-rated movies on both Netflix Australia and Netflix US in the tables below, indicating their availability along with their IMDb ratings:
Top-rated movies available on Netflix US
| Ranking | Movie Title | On Netflix Australia? | Director(s) | IMDb Rating | Runtime (minutes) | Year Released | Genres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Godfather |  | Francis Ford Coppola | 9.2 | 175 | 1972 | Crime, Drama |
| 2 | The Godfather: Part II | | Francis Ford Coppola | 9 | 202 | 1974 | Crime, Drama |
| 3 | Schindler's List |  | Steven Spielberg | 8.9 | 195 | 1993 | Biography, Drama |
| 4 | Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | | Peter Jackson | 8.8 | 178 | 2001 | Adventure, Fantasy |
| 5 | Goodfellas | | Martin Scorsese | 8.7 | 146 | 1990 | Crime, Drama |
| 6 | City of God | | Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund | 8.6 | 130 | 2002 | Crime, Drama |
| 7 | Se7en | | David Fincher | 8.6 | 127 | 1995 | Crime, Drama |
| 8 | Life is Beautiful | | Roberto Benigni | 8.6 | 116 | 1997 | Comedy, Drama |
| 9 | Cinema Paradiso | | Giuseppe Tornatore | 8.5 | 155 | 1988 | Drama |
| 10 | The Prestige | | Christopher Nolan | 8.5 | 130 | 2006 | Drama, Mystery |
| 11 | Oldboy | | Chan-wook Park | 8.4 | 120 | 2003 | Action, Drama |
| 12 | Scarface | | Brian De Palma | 8.3 | 170 | 1983 | Crime, Drama |
| 13 | Full Metal Jacket | | Stanley Kubrick | 8.3 | 116 | 1987 | Drama, War |
| 14 | L.A. Confidential | | Curtis Hanson | 8.3 | 138 | 1997 | Crime, Drama |
| 15 | To Kill a Mockingbird | | Robert Mulligan | 8.3 | 129 | 1962 | Crime, Drama |
| 16 | Metropolis | | Fritz Lang | 8.3 | 153 | 1927 | Drama, Sci-Fi |
| 17 | Inglourious Basterds | | Quentin Tarantino | 8.3 | 155 | 2009 | Adventure, Drama |
| 18 | Heat | | Michael Mann | 8.2 | 170 | 1995 | Crime, Drama |
| 19 | V for Vendetta | | James McTeigue | 8.2 | 132 | 2005 | Action, Drama |
| 20 | The Sixth Sense | | M. Night Shyamalan | 8.1 | 107 | 1999 | Drama, Mystery |
| 21 | The Truman Show | | Peter Weir | 8.1 | 103 | 1998 | Comedy, Drama |
| 22 | Donnie Darko | | Richard Kelly | 8.1 | 113 | 2001 | Drama, Thriller |
| 23 | Kill Bill Vol. 1 | | Quentin Tarantino | 8.1 | 111 | 2003 | Action, Thriller |
| 24 | Dead Poets Society | | Peter Weir | 8.1 | 128 | 1989 | Comedy, Drama |
| 25 | Spotlight | | Tom McCarthy | 8.1 | 128 | 2015 | Crime, Drama |
| 26 | Into The Wild | | Sean Penn | 8.1 | 148 | 2007 | Adventure, Drama |
| 27 | Lion | | Garth Davis | 8.1 | 118 | 2016 | Biography, Drama |
| 28 | The Invisible Guest | | Oriol Paulo | 8.1 | 106 | 2016 | Crime, Thriller |
| 29 | The Farthest | | Emer Reynolds | 8.1 | 121 | 2017 | Documentary |
| 30 | Blackfish | | Gabriela Cowperthwaite | 8.1 | 83 | 2013 | Documentary |
| 31 | The Imitation Game | | Morten Tyldum | 8 | 116 | 2014 | Biography, Drama |
| 32 | The Iron Giant | | Brad Bird | 8 | 86 | 1999 | Animation, Adventure |
| 33 | Sin City | | Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez | 8 | 124 | 2005 | Crime, Thriller |
| 34 | Dallas Buyers Club | | Jean-Marc Vallee | 8 | 117 | 2013 | Biography, Drama |
| 35 | Blood Diamond | | Edward Zwick | 8 | 143 | 2006 | Adventure, Drama |
| 36 | Sing Street | | John Carney | 8 | 106 | 2016 | Comedy, Drama |
| 37 | Moon | | Duncan Jones | 7.9 | 97 | 2009 | Drama, Sci-Fi |
| 38 | Hot Fuzz | | Edgar Wright | 7.9 | 121 | 2007 | Action, Comedy |
| 39 | Boyhood | | Richard Linklater | 7.9 | 165 | 2014 | Drama |
| 40 | Boogie Nights | | Paul Thomas Anderson | 7.9 | 155 | 1997 | Drama |
| 41 | Mr. Nobody | | Jaco Van Dormael | 7.9 | 141 | 2009 | Drama, Romance |
| 42 | Jiro Dreams of Sushi | | David Gelb | 7.9 | 81 | 2011 | Documentary |
| 43 | Before Midnight | | Richard Linklater | 7.9 | 109 | 2013 | Drama, Romance |
Top-rated movies available on Netflix Australia
| Ranking | Movie Title | On Netflix US? | Director(s) | IMDb Rating | Runtime (minutes) | Year Released | Genres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Shawshank Redemption | | Frank Darabont | 9.3 | 142 | 1994 | Crime, Drama |
| 2 | The Dark Knight | | Christopher Nolan | 9 | 152 | 2008 | Crime, Drama |
| 3 | Schindler's List | | Steven Spielberg | 8.9 | 195 | 1993 | Biography, Drama |
| 4 | Pulp Fiction | | Quentin Tarantino | 8.9 | 154 | 1994 | Crime, Drama |
| 5 | 12 Angry Men | | Sidney Lumet | 8.9 | 96 | 1957 | Crime, Drama |
| 6 | Inception | | Christopher Nolan | 8.8 | 148 | 2010 | Action, Sci-Fi |
| 7 | City of God | | Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund | 8.6 | 130 | 2002 | Crime, Drama |
| 8 | Life is Beautiful | | Roberto Benigni | 8.6 | 116 | 1997 | Comedy, Drama |
| 9 | Interstellar | | Christopher Nolan | 8.6 | 169 | 2014 | Adventure, Sci-Fi |
| 10 | It's a Wonderful Life | | Frank Capra | 8.6 | 130 | 1946 | Drama, Family |
| 11 | The Prestige | | Christopher Nolan | 8.5 | 130 | 2006 | Drama, Mystery |
| 12 | Psycho | | Alfred Hitchcock | 8.5 | 109 | 1960 | Horror, Thriller |
| 13 | American History X | | Tony Kaye | 8.5 | 119 | 1998 | Crime, Drama |
| 14 | The Intouchables | | Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano | 8.5 | 112 | 2011 | Biography, Drama |
| 15 | The Pianist | | Roman Polanski | 8.5 | 150 | 2002 | Biography, Drama |
| 16 | The Dark Knight Rises | | Christopher Nolan | 8.4 | 164 | 2012 | Action, Thriller |
| 17 | Braveheart | | Mel Gibson | 8.4 | 178 | 1995 | Drama, Biography |
| 18 | Das Boot | | Wolfgang Petersen | 8.4 | 149 | 1981 | Adventure, Drama |
| 19 | To Kill A Mockingbird | | Robert Mulligan | 8.3 | 129 | 1962 | Crime, Drama |
| 20 | Full Metal Jacket | | Stanley Kubrick | 8.3 | 116 | 1987 | Drama, War |
| 21 | Good Will Hunting | | Gus Van Sant | 8.3 | 126 | 1997 | Drama |
| 22 | For a Few Dollars More | | Sergio Leone | 8.3 | 132 | 1965 | Western |
| 23 | Snatch | | Guy Ritchie | 8.3 | 104 | 2000 | Comedy, Crime |
| 24 | The Wolf of Wall Street | | Martin Scorsese | 8.2 | 180 | 2013 | Biography, Crime |
| 25 | Trainspotting | | Danny Boyle | 8.2 | 94 | 1996 | Drama |
| 26 | Unforgiven | | Clint Eastwood | 8.2 | 130 | 1992 | Drama, Western |
| 27 | The Invisible Guest | | Oriol Paulo | 8.1 | 106 | 2016 | Crime, Thriller |
| 28 | Into The Wild | | Sean Penn | 8.1 | 148 | 2007 | Adventure, Drama |
| 29 | Spotlight | | Tom McCarthy | 8.1 | 128 | 2015 | Crime, Drama |
| 30 | Kill Bill Vol. 1 | | Quentin Tarantino | 8.1 | 111 | 2003 | Action, Thriller |
| 31 | Donnie Darko | | Richard Kelly | 8.1 | 113 | 2001 | Drama, Thriller |
| 32 | Mad Max: Fury Road | | George Miller | 8.1 | 120 | 2015 | Action, Adventure |
| 33 | The Imitation Game | | Morten Tyldum | 8 | 116 | 2014 | Biography, Drama |
| 34 | Blood Diamond | | Edward Zwick | 8 | 143 | 2006 | Adventure, Drama |
| 35 | Sin City | | Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez | 8 | 124 | 2005 | Crime, Thriller |
| 36 | Jaws | | Steven Spielberg | 8 | 124 | 1975 | Adventure, Drama |
| 37 | Groundhog Day | | Harold Ramis | 8 | 101 | 1993 | Comedy, Romance |
| 38 | The Revenant | | Alejandro G. Inarritu | 8 | 156 | 2015 | Adventure, Drama |
| 39 | Big Fish | | Tim Burton | 8 | 125 | 2003 | Adventure, Drama |
| 40 | Jiro Dreams of Sushi | | David Gelb | 7.9 | 81 | 2011 | Documentary |
| 41 | Hot Fuzz | | Edgar Wright | 7.9 | 121 | 2007 | Action, Comedy |
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Matt Sayer
Matt is a writer covering the latest tech, telco and video game news at finder.com.au. In his downtime from helping Aussies make informed decisions on their broadband, mobile phone, and streaming video plans, he likes exploring rich video game worlds and kicking back with a good book.
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Ask an Expert
Why are the show seasons not up to date?
Hi Alicia,
Thanks for your question.
To see an update to list of shows on Netflix AU, please see this page. Similarly for the US, please see this page.
Cheers,
Shirley
are there any uhd programs available
Hi Ala,
The premium Netflix Australia plan does offer Ultra HD streaming for selected programs. The UHD shows currently available are the Moving Art series, Marvel’s Daredevil, House of Cards, Sense8 and Blacklist.
Hope that helps,
Brodie
Will Netflix Australia be as poplar as Netflix U.S
Hi B,
Please note that finder.com.au is an online comparison service and does not represent Netflix Australia.
Netflix have yet to release any official numbers, so it’s hard to say whether Australia’s version will be as popular as the US version. It wax estimated that there were over 200,000 Australians signed up to the US Netflix through a VPN before the service launched in AUS. So, Netflix is certainly popular here. At the same time, the Australian version has been criticised for having not enough content, which has deterred some from signing up. Hopefully, Netflix will release some numbers soon, It would be interesting to see how it stacks up against the US version and even our own local streaming services like Stan and Presto.
Thanks,
Brodie
Why is there different content on Netflix Australia compared to Netflix US?
Hey Alicia,
While it’s unfortunate that we don’t have the same amount of content as Netflix US, they are working towards filling the library with more TV shows and movies every month. Netflix has to obtain the rights to stream each of their shows in Australia. It’s a pretty lengthy process, but hopefully we’ll begin to see big name shows like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad on our screens soon.
Thanks,
Brodie