Dramas based on Books on Netflix
Last updated April 28, 2024
Terms of Endearment
1983 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsJames L. Brooks directs this Academy Award-winning drama that follows widowed Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), through the years as they support each other through relationships with various men -- and deal with heartbreaking tragedy. This warm, offbeat adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress (MacLaine), Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson).
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Catherine Cookson's The Moth
1997 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsBest-selling author Catherine Cookson's novel of cross-class romance comes to the small screen in this miniseries, which follows the turmoil that erupts when a lowly carpenter falls for the daughter of the aristocratic family he works for.
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Big Fish
2003 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn this disarming fantasy told largely through flashbacks, young reporter William Bloom attempts to learn more about his dying father by finding the truth behind a lifetime of his fanciful tall tales and legends of epic proportions.
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The Cider House Rules
1999 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsA surrogate son and protégé to a kindly physician who runs an orphanage in rural Maine, itchy Homer Wells sets off wide-eyed to see the world -- but cold reality soon intrudes on his youthful idealism and moral certitude.
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Catherine Cookson's The Glass Virgin
1995 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWhen wealthy socialite Annabella Lagrange learns that her real mother is a madam at the local brothel, she flees the family estate with a childhood friend, and the two begin a new life in the working-class world.
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What Maisie Knew
2013 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn this updated rendering of the timeless Henry James novel, a perceptive 6-year-old girl becomes a bargaining tool when she gets caught in the midst of a toxic custody fight between her self-seeking, childish parents.
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Paraiso Travel
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAfter a long journey from Colombia to a new life in New York City, Marlon (Aldemar Correa) is separated from his beloved, Reina (Angelica Blandon), and must fend for his own in the dangerous streets of Queens, where he gets a menial job in a restaurant. While flashbacks reveal details of the couple's trek to America, Marlon starts to fall for an aspiring singer (Margarita Rosa de Francisco) in this gripping drama that also stars John Leguizamo.
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Catherine Cookson's The Gambling Man
1995 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAmbitious rent collector Rory Connor hopes to parlay his skill at playing cards into bigger things: buying a shipyard with his brother. But a run-in with the criminal underworld complicates his plans.
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Somewhere in Time
1980 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn this unabashedly romantic film, a playwright obsessed with a picture of an early 1900s actress wills himself back in time to find the woman, and the two begin a love affair. But what does living in the past mean for their future?
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Coming Home
1998 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis miniseries stars Emily Mortimer as Judith Dunbar, a diffident teen shipped off to a boarding school on the English coast, where she finds love in a well-to-do surrogate family -- until World War II throws her life and the country into chaos.
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What Dreams May Come
1998 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen physician Chris Nielson dies in a car accident and goes to heaven, his distraught wife commits suicide and ends up in hell. Risking eternal damnation, Nielson leaves paradise and embarks on an epic journey to save his spouse from Hades.
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King of the Hill
1993 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn the depths of the Great Depression, young Aaron struggles to make it on his own after his mother is confined to a sanitarium. While his father is away on business, Aaron seeks a community among the residents of the ramshackle hotel where he lives.
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Pride and Prejudice
1980 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsPreoccupied with status, Mrs. Bennet (Priscilla Morgan) will do just about anything to make sure that her five daughters marry into well-to-do families in this BBC series based on Jane Austen's classic novel. The second eldest daughter, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Garvie), has complete distaste for her wealth-obsessed circle, especially the conceited and affluent Fitzwilliam Darcy (David Rintoul). But what she doesn't realize is that Darcy feels the same way she does.
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A Green Journey
1990 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAfter recent clashes with a new bishop (Robert Prosky), weary Catholic schoolteacher Agatha McGee (Angela Lansbury) ends her years of selfless service, leaving behind Minnesota for a getaway on the Emerald Isle -- and possibly a chance at love. Realizing she's let life pass her by, Agatha sets out to find James O'Hannon (Denholm Elliott), a longtime pen pal who might just be the man of her dreams.
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Twin Sisters
2002 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsTwins Anna and Lotte are orphaned in 1920s Germany and sent to live with two very different relatives. The sisters struggle to reconcile the differences of their youth when they meet as adults during World War II and again in their old age.
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Without a Trace
1983 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsA mother's worst nightmare becomes a reality for Susan Selky (Kate Nelligan) when her 6-year-old son, Alex (Danny Corkill), disappears one morning on his way to school. After an initial firestorm of attention from the police and the media, the case grows cold. But Susan and Lt. Al Menetti (Judd Hirsch) -- the lead detective on the case -- refuse to give up hope in this well-acted drama also starring David Dukes and Stockard Channing.
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Catherine Cookson's The Gambling Man
1995 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAmbitious rent collector Rory Connor hopes to parlay his skill at playing cards into bigger things: buying a shipyard with his brother. But a run-in with the criminal underworld complicates his plans.
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Bitter Harvest
1981 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen cows on their dairy farm suddenly begin dropping like flies, Kate and Ned De Vries (Tarah Nutter and Ron Howard) discover that their land has been contaminated with chemicals. Before long, their family begins to suffer the effects as well. But every effort they make to seek government assistance is met with red tape and rejection. This powerful made-for-television drama was nominated for four Emmy Awards.
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Peaceful Warrior
2006 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCollege gymnast Dan Millman had everything he could ever want, until an injury changed his life forever. During his recovery, fate presents Dan with a wife and a stranger named Socrates, who unlocks a world of wisdom and spiritual understanding.
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A Gang Story
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsEdmond and Serge became friends in prison, and formed a gang of infamous bank robbers in the 1970s that disbanded in 1974 with an arrest. Retired at 60, Edmond now tends to his family and has found peace -- but then Serge comes back into the picture.
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The Agony and the Ecstasy
1965 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCharlton Heston stars as Renaissance artist Michelangelo, who begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison) in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's novel directed by Carol Reed. While the novel covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the film focuses on the battle of wills between the perfectionist artist and the impatient Pope who commissions (and eventually commands) him to paint the famed chapel.
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The Book and the Rose
2001 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen handsome teacher John Barnes discovers an antique edition of Anna Karenina that's filled with scribbled notes of random thoughts and musings, he decides to begin a correspondence with the previous owner of the volume.
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Pride and Prejudice
1980 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsPreoccupied with status, Mrs. Bennet (Priscilla Morgan) will do just about anything to make sure that her five daughters marry into well-to-do families in this BBC series based on Jane Austen's classic novel. The second eldest daughter, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Garvie), has complete distaste for her wealth-obsessed circle, especially the conceited and affluent Fitzwilliam Darcy (David Rintoul). But what she doesn't realize is that Darcy feels the same way she does.
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Jackie Brown
1997 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsJackie Brown is an aging flight attendant who smuggles cash on the side. But when she's busted and pressured to help with an investigation, she plans to play the opposing forces against each other and walk away with the dough.
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Coming Home
1998 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsLiving a lonely existence at boarding school, 14-year-old Judith Dunbar (Emily Mortimer) finds emotional sanctuary at the estate of her best friend's family. For a time, Judith leads a charmed existence, until the gathering storm clouds of World War II bring change. Coastal England serves as the backdrop for this dramatic miniseries featuring Peter O'Toole that explores love, kinship and burgeoning womanhood.
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