Dramas based on classic literature on Netflix
Last updated April 19, 2024
The Great Gatsby
1974 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsMysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan in this 1974 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. Beyond Gatsby's grasp, Daisy is married to unfaithful Tom, making for a love triangle that ends with broken hearts.
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Catch-22
1970 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsCapt. Yossarian (Alan Arkin) tries to escape the travesties of World War II by convincing his Air Force commanders that he's crazy. Hilarity ensues -- but so does reality as he watches his close friends (Martin Sheen and Art Garfunkel) die in the ridiculousness of war. Mike Nichols directs this cinematic adaptation of Joseph Heller's scathing black comedy about a small group of flyers in the Mediterranean in 1944.
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Death of a Salesman
1985 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsDustin Hoffman won an Emmy for his first-rate performance as embittered traveling salesman Willy Loman, who's forced to dispense with delusions of success and come to grips with his failed career, encroaching senility and a disintegrating family.
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The Glass Menagerie
1973 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsKatharine Hepburn makes her television dramatic debut as overbearing matriarch Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams's poignant play. Amanda's unrealistic dreams for her children's futures threaten to smother her painfully shy daughter (Joanna Miles) and her aspiring writer son (Sam Waterston). Michael Moriarty plays the gentleman caller whose visit disrupts the family's precarious balance. Moriarty and Miles won Emmys for their performances.
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The Catherine Cookson Collection: The Fifteen Streets
1989 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsPart of a collection of small-screen epics based on the best-selling books of novelist Catherine Cookson, this turn-of-the-century British drama follows the romantic struggles of two star-crossed lovers. When factory worker John O'Brien (Owen Teale) falls in love with his sister's pretty teacher (Clare Holman), they know the liaison is doomed because of their social status difference. Can love conquer all, or are they destined to be just friends?
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Jane Eyre
1983 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsAdapted from Charlotte Brontë's gothic romance novel, this BBC miniseries tells the story of orphan Jane Eyre (Sian Pattenden and Zelah Clarke), whose early years are marked by mistreatment at the hands of her caretakers. Jane lands a governess job at Thornfield, the estate of the mysterious Mr. Rochester (Timothy Dalton), and is eventually drawn to the tortured man. But a terrible secret keeps Rochester from allowing himself to fall in love.
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Bleak House
1985 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis production of Charles Dickens's classic is set at the Court of Chancery, where the Jarndyce v. Jarndyce case has dragged on for years. As new evidence is brought to light, a long line of innocent victims are ground down by the legal process.
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Atlas Shrugged: Part 1
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsAyn Rand's controversial bestseller is the basis for this potent drama about Dagny Taggart, a fiercely independent railroad tycoon determined to use innovative technology and enterprising partners to revive her business, no matter the personal cost.
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Bleak House
1985 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsAs an inheritance battle over the Bleak House estate languishes in the high court, the lives of those involved gradually fall apart in this faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel based on his experiences covering the Chancery legal system.
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Jane Eyre
1983 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis expertly crafted miniseries adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic romantic novel vividly depicts the obstacles young Jane faces as an orphan. When she's hired as governess for the ward of Mr. Rochester, a long and complex courtship begins.
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War of the Buttons
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThe ongoing "war" between two rival groups of kids in neighboring French villages during the Nazi occupation mirrors the larger events of World War II in this drama adapted from the classic novel.
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Masterpiece Classic: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsCentering on a provincial choirmaster's fixation with a 17-year-old girl, this chilling adaptation of Charles Dickens's unfinished final novel spins a disturbing tale of obsession, addiction and the darkness that lurks in men.
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Atlas Shrugged: Part II
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThe second installment of the Atlas Shrugged trilogy finds the world's economy in dire straits, prompting corporate protagonist Dagny Taggart to search for a solution amid the rubble of a long-abandoned factory.
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Masterpiece Classic: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsCentering on a provincial choirmaster's fixation with a 17-year-old girl, this chilling adaptation of Charles Dickens's unfinished final novel spins a disturbing tale of obsession, addiction and the darkness that lurks in men.
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Midnight Cowboy
1969 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsTo earn cash as a freelance sex stud and work toward his dream of becoming a kept man, hayseed hustler Joe Buck heads to New York City, where an improbable friendship blossoms when he meets seedy con man Ratso Rizzo.
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The Hi-Lo Country
1998 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAn enduring friendship between two hard-living men is challenged by their passionate desire for the same woman in this drama set in the American West in the years following World War II.
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Emma
1996 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis adaptation of Jane Austen's novel about misguided matchmaking takes a comic look at the romantic meddling of Emma Woodhouse. Emma spends her time arranging friends' romances, never noticing that her own true love is right beneath her nose.
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The Talented Mr. Ripley
1999 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsCharming sociopath Tom Ripley maneuvers into the lush life of Dickie, a young heir vacationing in Italy. Hired to persuade Dickie to return to America, Tom embraces Dickie's posh lifestyle and takes extreme measures to hold onto it.
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Morituri
1965 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsA perilous game of cat and mouse ensues when a German defector -- employed by the British -- poses as a Nazi officer to gain entry onto a freighter to disarm explosives on the vessel, which is carrying a valuable load of crude rubber.
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A Room with a View
1986 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsIn this adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, Lucy travels to Florence with her chaperone in tow. There, she falls for a fellow countryman's moody son. But like any proper Englishwoman of that era, she must fight her feelings, and it's a losing battle.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsPublicly lashed for trying to abduct the lovely Esmeralda, grotesque bell ringer Quasimodo comes to love the gypsy girl after she takes pity on him. When Esmeralda is later unjustly sentenced to death, Quasimodo rushes to her rescue.
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An Ideal Husband
1999 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsWhen a member of Parliament (Jeremy Northam) learns that his career and marriage will suffer scandal unless he submits to a blackmailer (Julianne Moore), he turns his fate over to lifelong bachelor Lord Goring (Rupert Everett), "the idlest man in London." Brimming with witticisms and great performances (including those from Cate Blanchett and Minnie Driver), this big-screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's stage play sparkles like vintage champagne.
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He Knew He Was Right
2004 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsLouis Trevelyan's refusal to trust his wife, Emily, destroys their marriage and drives him to insanity. He forces her out of their house, hires a seedy private detective to spy on her and kidnaps their son -- with devastating consequences.
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The Gift of the Magi
2010 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis modernized adaptation of O. Henry's classic tale follows newlyweds Della and Jim as they search for the perfect Christmas gifts. Della wants to buy a vintage steering wheel for Jim's classic car, while he picks out a special lens for her camera.
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Middlemarch
1994 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAdapted from George Eliot's novel, this BBC miniseries tells the story of virtuous Dr. Lydgate (Douglas Hodge), who heads up Middlemarch's hospital, and well-do-to Dorothea (Juliet Aubrey), who's determined to help the needy. Along the way, the dreams of these two altruists are derailed by bad marriages and selfish people, yet they also play a part in their own demise. Will this deserving pair find happiness in the twisty-turny conclusion?
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