While Netflix has started to emphasize its original content over its back catalog, it hasn’t completely forgotten its origins as an impressive library of films. In June, Netflix will add a new collection of movies honoring one of the greatest filmmakers ever, as well as works that showcase his vast legacy.
According to Variety, Netflix will add a collection of classic films directed by British master Alfred Hitchcock. The movies will include Vertigo, Rear Window, Frenzy, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Family Plot, and The Birds. Psycho, arguably Hitchcock’s most iconic movie, is already streaming for American viewers.
The Hitchcock collection will also include modern thrillers that cite Hitchcock as a major inspiration, including Jordan Peele’s Us and Zach Cregger’s Barbarian. The 2012 biopic Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins as the director and Helen Mirren as his wife Alma Reville, will be available too.
The collection will be paired with a screening series at New York’s Paris Theater, which Netflix has owned since 2019. “HITCH! The Original Cinema Influencer” will run from mid-May to late June and will feature more than 50 movies. Thirty-six will be by Hitchcock himself, with the rest being films influenced by his filmography.
This is a surprising move for Netflix; its “Classic Films” category currently only contains 24 titles in the United States, including, inexplicably, 2023’s Barbie. A Hitchcock collection will significantly expand this overlooked section, and suggests that Netflix is trying to restore its reputation as the host of a notable back catalog.
These days, your best options for classic movies are Max’s TCM collection or Amazon Prime Video’s expansive MGM catalog. But Netflix started as a way to watch movies from days gone by, and now, at least a small facet of that is returning. Let’s hope it’s not just a novel one-off, but the first step in a bigger plan to revive the classics.
