The Pianist is now available to stream on Netflix
The start of April has brought a whole heap of new movies to Netflix, including some fantastic academy award-winning and nominated features.
Here are the best new movies on Netflix this week:
The Pianist (2002)
Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Biography, Drama, War | Runtime: 150 Minutes
Cast: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Michael Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman
Adrien Brody gave an incredible performance as Jewish musician Władysław Szpilman, earning himself the Academy Award for Best Actor, and becoming the youngest to do so.
Before the German’s invasion of Poland, Władysław Szpilman worked at the Warsaw radio station playing the piano. When the German’s occupy his country, Szpilman goes on a harrowing journey of survival in the city of Warsaw as he bears witness to the persecution of his people and the destruction of his city.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Drama, War | Runtime: 169 Minutes
Cast: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper
1998 was an incredibly strong year for films, but the one to stand out amongst the crowd was Steven Speilberg’s Saving Private Ryan. The war-drama cleaned up at the box office and at the Oscars, earning $482.3 million worldwide, and winning five out of eleven academy awards it was nominated for.
After successfully capturing Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy, Captain John H. Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion and seven of his men are enlisted to help find Private James Ryan and bring him home after three of his brothers were killed in action.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Director: Ang Lee
Genre: Drama, Romance | Runtime: 134 Minutes
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid, Marty Antonini
Brokeback Mountain was one of the most controversial films of the mid-2000s and was deserving of the Oscar it lost out to Crash. The cultural and significant impact of the film has been acknowledged by the Library of Congress, earning its place on the National Film Registry.
Ennis and Jack, two cowboy sheepherders engage in a physical and emotional relationship but are forced to hide it from their deeply conservative town.
Fighting (2009)
Director: Dito Montiel
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama | Runtime:
Cast: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Luis Guzmán, Zulay Henao, Michael Rivera
The late 2000s was when the world saw Channing Tatum become one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. In 2009 alone, he starred in Fighting, Public Enemies and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Shawn, a New York City street counterfeiter just about makes a living selling fake goods. But when he is introduced to the world of underground street fighting, he begins to make a small fortune as a bare-knuckle brawler.
Milk (2008)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Biography, Drama | Runtime: 128 Minutes
Cast: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, James Franco
Another academy award-winning movie to add to the list, Sean Penn earned the Oscar for Best Actor while Dustin Lance Black earned a well-deserved Best Writing for an Original Screenplay.
The story of Harvey Milk and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California’s first openly gay elected official.
What new movie are you going to be watching on Netflix this week? Let us know in the comments below!
