Netflix Top 25 in Classics

001- The Godfather

When organized crime family patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge. Francis Ford Coppola brings Mario Puzo's multigenerational crime saga to life in this Oscar-winning epic that also spawned Best Actor honors for Brando, who refused the prize for political reasons.

002- Casablanca

In this Oscar-winning classic, American expat Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) plays host to gamblers, thieves and refugees at his Moroccan nightclub during World War II … but he never expected Isla (Ingrid Bergman) -- the woman who broke his heart -- to walk through that door. Isla hopes that with Rick's help, she and her fugitive husband (Paul Henreid) can escape to America. But the spark that brought the lovers together still burns brightly.

003- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

While serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital, implacable rabble-rouser Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher). This Milos Forman masterpiece was the first film since It Happened One Night (1934) to take all five major Oscar prizes for picture, director, screenplay, actor (Nicholson) and actress (Fletcher).

004- Citizen Kane

Orson Welles reinvented movies at the age of 26 with this audacious biography of newspaper baron Charles Foster Kane, which, in essence, was a thinly veiled portrait of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. Welles's complex and technically stunning film chronicles Kane's rise from poverty to become one of America's most influential men -- and it's considered one of the best movies ever made.

005- Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Monty Python comedy clan skewers King Arthur and his knights of the round table as they quest far and wide for the Holy Grail in this inspired piece of lunacy that's utterly quotable -- particularly the bit involving knights who say "Ni." John Cleese stands out as the Black Knight, who suffers gory, slow dismemberment at the hands of the mighty king himself yet maintains that "It's just a scratch" after every whack.

006- Chinatown

With a suspicious, porcelain-skinned femme fatale (Faye Dunaway) bankrolling his snooping, private eye J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) uncovers intricate dirty dealings in the Los Angeles waterworks and gets his nose slashed for his trouble. Meanwhile, his financier harbors a nasty family secret. Director Roman Polanski reimagines 1930s Los Angeles with an onionlike story that reveals itself one complex layer at a time in this classic neonoir.

007- To Kill a Mockingbird

Southern comforts abound in this big-screen adaptation of Harper Lee's novel as lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck, in an Oscar-winning role) defends an innocent black man (Brock Peters) against rape charges but ends up in a maelstrom of hate and prejudice. Meanwhile, with help from a friend (John Megna), Finch's children, Jem (Phillip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham), set their sights on making contact with a reclusive neighbor (Robert Duvall).

008- The Godfather: Part II

The Corleone family roots are explored, tracing Don Vito's (Robert De Niro) journey from Sicily to a life of organized crime in New York. In a parallel story, his grown son, Michael (Al Pacino), extends operations to Cuba and contends with more betrayal and murder. The second film in The Godfather trilogy racked up Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola) and Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro). Robert Duvall co-stars.

009- The Graduate

Dustin Hoffman (in his first major film role) turns in a landmark performance as a naïve college graduate who is seduced by a middle-aged neighbor (Anne Bancroft) but ends up falling in love with her beautiful, young daughter (Katharine Ross). Mike Nichols won a Best Director Oscar for this 1960s classic, which boasts an immortal score from Simon and Garfunkel that includes the iconic "Mrs. Robinson."

010- The Third Man

After arriving in post-World War II Vienna, unemployed pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) learns that his friend Harry (Orson Welles) has died in an accident. Compelled to investigate the death, Holly slowly uncovers startling revelations about Harry's life. Based on a novel by Graham Greene, this classic film noir thriller earned an Academy Award nomination for director Carol Reed and won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

011- Lawrence of Arabia

Director David Lean's Oscar-winning epic tells the true-life story of British warrior-poet T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), who helped unite warring Arab tribes so they could strike back against the Turks in World War I. Lushly filmed and expertly acted, this timeless classic underscores the clash between cultures -- and within one man -- that changed the tide of war. Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn co-star.

012- Breakfast at Tiffany's

In this Blake Edwards-directed adaptation of Truman Capote's novel, fortune hunter Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) finds herself captivated by aspiring writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard), who's moved into her building on a wealthy woman's (Patricia Neal) dime. As romance blooms between Paul and Holly, Doc Golightly (Buddy Ebsen) shows up on the scene, revealing Holly's past. The film received Oscars for best song ("Moon River") and best score.

013- Dr. Strangelove

When a fanatical U.S. general (Sterling Hayden) launches an air strike against the Soviets, they raise the stakes by threatening to unleash a "doomsday device," setting the stage for Armageddon in this classic black comedy that brilliantly skewers the nuclear age. The film's star-studded cast includes George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones and Peter Sellers (who steals the show and copped an Oscar nod playing three roles).

014- Rear Window

As his broken leg heals, wheelchair-bound L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) becomes absorbed with the parade of life across the courtyard: A dancer, a lonely woman, a composer and a bedridden woman and her husband become like creatures in his voyeuristic zoo. But when one of them disappears, Jeffries suspects foul play -- and suddenly he finds himself in the center of the action with nowhere to run.

015- On the Waterfront

Winner of eight Oscars, director Elia Kazan's classic morality tale stars Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, a has-been boxer who experiences a crisis of conscience while working for mobbed-up union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). Terry turns a blind eye when Friendly's thugs kill a fellow dockworker to keep him from testifying in a corruption case, but he has second thoughts when the victim's sister (Eva Marie Saint) urges him to take a stand.

016- The Wizard of Oz

There's no place like home for young Dorothy (Judy Garland), who's been swept away from her farm in Kansas to a wonderland of munchkins, flying monkeys and different-colored horses. She must follow the Yellow Brick Road to the all-knowing Wizard of Oz to find her way home. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley) and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), who help her fend off the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

017- Blazing Saddles

Politically incorrect and relentlessly funny, Mel Brooks's take on Hollywood Westerns follows the tortured trail of freed slave Bart, who's elected sheriff of the racist town of Rock Ridge. He must foil a land-grabbing governor (Brooks) with help from a washed-up, pot-smoking gunslinger (Gene Wilder).

018- Harold and Maude

Death-obsessed teen Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) is being hassled by his domineering mother (Vivian Pickles) to play the dating game, but he'd much rather attend funerals, which is where he meets the feisty Maude (Ruth Gordon), a geriatric widow who's high on life. The seemingly mismatched pair forms a bond that turns into a highly unconventional -- but ultimately satisfying – romance in this comical cult favorite from director Hal Ashby.

019- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Legendary outlaws Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) display their gifts for perfect comedic timing and charisma as they pull off heist after heist in this Academy Award-winning film from director George Roy Hill. To evade a relentless posse, the boys flee to Bolivia, thinking they'll find easier pickings there. But trouble finds the charming desperadoes wherever they go, prompting yet another run.

020- Midnight Cowboy

When hayseed hustler Joe Buck (Jon Voight) comes to Manhattan to earn cash as a freelance sex stud and work toward his dream of becoming a kept man, he meets seedy gimp Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), and an improbable friendship blossoms. John Schlesinger's 1969 cinema classic won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, becoming the first X-rated film to win an Oscar in any category.

021- Deliverance

Four suburban friends take a canoeing trip down a Georgia river, but what starts as a lighthearted adventure becomes a voyage into the heart of darkness when redneck locals descend on the foursome and force them to kill or be killed. Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty star in this terrifying, enthralling, existential action epic that earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing.

022- A Streetcar Named Desire

After losing the family plantation to creditors, aging Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) travels to New Orleans seeking solace in her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter). Instead, she goes toe-to-toe with Stella's brute of a husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando). Leigh, Hunter and Karl Malden all took home Oscars for their work in this sizzling adaptation of Tennessee Williams's classic rumination on carnal attraction and faded gentility.

023- The Sting

After rookie grifter Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) tracks down veteran flim-flam man Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) in 1930s Chicago, the duo plans to fleece a homicidal racketeer (Robert Shaw) through a phony racetrack scam involving a string of double and triple crosses. The Sting picked up seven Academy Awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Directing (George Roy Hill) and Best Original Screenplay (David S. Ward).

024- The Producers

Rapacious but lovable producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) hasn't had a hit in years when, quite by accident, he and his meek, neurotic accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), come up with a plot to oversell shares in a surefire flop musical and make off with the profits. The catch is that their cash cow, "Springtime for Hitler," is the worst show ever written. Mel Brooks directs this comic gem that inspired the Broadway musical of the same name.

025- The Sound of Music

In Rodgers and Hammerstein's greatest collaboration, a feisty postulant named Maria (Julie Andrews) is sent to care for the unruly, motherless Von Trapp children. She soon tames them -- and finds herself falling for their stern father (Christopher Plummer). Oscar-winning director Robert Wise used stunning Austrian locations to transform the popular stage musical into a cinema classic in which the hills truly seemed to come alive.