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With the Venice and Toronto film festivals in full swing, the best time of the year for cinephiles has officially arrived. The next several months will see many of the films that will shape the coming awards race make their way to theaters, providing an embarrassment of riches for movie lovers of every persuasion.
But for anyone not making their way to the festivals — or even the multiplexes, for that matter — there is no shortage of excellent cinema that can be streamed from the comfort of our own homes. Netflix’s latest set of additions to its streaming library contains some of the most beloved films of the past half century, along with a few choice new releases that have already made waves on the festival circuit. There’s sure to be something to satisfy all of your entertainment cravings, no matter what mood you might be in.
Keep reading for our seven favorite films hitting Netflix in September 2024.
‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ (Streaming now)
Cameron Crowe has embarked on so many journalistic adventures — and turned so many of them into movies — that his year going undercover as a high school student in the 1980s to write a book barely cracks the list of his most exciting endeavors. But it’s a great thing that he did, because the experience produced one of the best teen movies of the 1980s and established Crowe as a screenwriter to watch. Crowe adapted his own book for Amy Heckerling’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” a quintessential hangout movie about the highs, lows, romances, heartbreaks, mall adventures, and classroom pizzas enjoyed by an ensemble of high school sophom*ores. It introduced the world to Sean Penn (in what’s still one of his best performances), Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nicolas Cage, so cinephiles of all stripes owe it a debt of gratitude. If the back-to-school season has you itching to relive high school, it’s a perfect time to rewatch it.
‘Jaws’ (Streaming now)
The 2024 summer blockbuster season might be over, but Netflix is giving you a chance to revisit the first blockbuster as you kiss summer goodbye. Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” changed the game in too many ways to count, from its brilliant use of perspective to its iconic John Williams score to ushering in a new era of event cinema. But beyond that, it’s a perfect creature feature that manages to be an entertaining watch no matter how many times you’ve seen it. If you’re looking for classics to counterprogram your diet of new releases, it’s never a bad time to watch the film that put Spielberg on the map.
‘Stand by Me’ (Streaming now)
Few films have ever captured the many shades of adolescence— the sense of adventure, the seamless friendships, the endless amounts of free time that allows days to melt into seasons, and the bittersweet moments when the real world shows itself and forces us to leave our innocence behind forever — as effectively as “Stand by Me.” Rob Reiner’s adaptation of the Stephen King story “The Body” is an iconic piece of pop culture for the cast of future stars that it assembled, but the haunting beauty of its final scene is enough to secure its place in the pantheon of great American cinema.
‘Edge of Tomorrow’ (Streaming September 7)
A blockbuster from Tom Cruise has been a summer tradition in the 2020s, with “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning” delighting action lovers over the past two summers. This year, the closest we got was a stunt performance from Cruise to close out the Paris Olympics and pass the torch to Los Angeles ahead of the 2028 Games. But if that still wasn’t enough for you, it’s a great time to revisit an underrated Cruise film that’s celebrating its 10th anniversary. Doug Liman’s “Edge of Tomorrow” applies the time loop formula made famous by “Groundhog Day” to the sci-fi genre, starring Cruise as a military officer fighting an alien invasion who is forced to execute the same suicide mission over and over again. It’s the kind of high concept blockbuster that feels all too rare these days, but never fails to entertain on a rewatch.
‘American Gangster’ (Streaming September 16)
“Gladiator 2” is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated movies of the fall season, thanks in no small part to the A-list pairing of Denzel Washington and Ridley Scott. As you wait for that film to hit theaters in November, Netflix is providing you the opportunity to revisit their first great collaboration. “American Gangster” stars Washington as Frank Lucas, the Harlem drug lord whose rise and fall provides the perfect canvas for both the actor’s Shakespearean ambitions and Scott’s endless genre versatility.
‘His Three Daughters’ (Streaming September 20)
If the prospect of Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne together on screen doesn’t catch your attention, it’s hard to think of a casting announcement that could. The three icons play the eponymous sisters caring for their dying father in Azazel Jacobs’ “His Three Daughters,” a grief drama about mourning, moving on, and celebrating life that premiered at TIFF 2023. The film finally makes its way to Netflix this month, and the streamer is likely hoping that it goes on to be an awards contender.
‘Will & Harper’
Will Ferrell and screenwriter Harper Steele have worked together on multiple projects over the years, from countless “Saturday Night Live” sketches (where Steele previously served as head writer) to films like “Casa de mi Padre” and “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.” But the new documentary “Will & Harper” is their most intimate collaboration to date. The film follows the lifelong friends on a 16-day cross-country road trip taken shortly after Steele came out as a trans woman to Ferrell. It documents their conversations as Ferrell makes an effort to understand his friend’s identity with the hopes of supporting her through the next chapter of her life. The feel-good film played at multiple festivals including Sundance and Telluride, and will likely be a conversation starter when it streams on Netflix at the end of the month.
