movies not available

Posted by KLE on March 31, 2008 at 9:44am in Complaints, Gripes & Unfocused Rage

I'm frustrated to read the Netflix supplied bio of an actor, only to find out that a movie noted as a breakthrough or career-making role for that actor is not even available on Netflix.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on March 31, 2008 at 10:03am: You gotta give us a little more there, KLE...Which actor and what movie?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on March 31, 2008 at 10:18am: yea, it could be that the movie is not available on DVD. Or is no longer in production. But of course, without more info, we can't help 'ya.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by KLE on March 31, 2008 at 10:48am: Sorry, my first post in this area. It's not the first time this has happened, but today's example is Jonathan Rhys Meyers. In the Netflix bio, they note an Albert Finney film A Man of No Importance he was in which led to his being cast in Michael Collins. There are also a few films on my saved list that are "unknown" for availability. I'll admit one or two might be more obscure Brit fare, but others surprised me for not being available. It didn't occur to me about the films just not being available on DVD yet, or ever. I'm sometimes able to find a VHS through our local library system; in this case it seems they had the Finney film but it is now lost.

Something else I've noticed is that the cast lists on Netflix are not always complete (sorry, no examples spring to mind right now, but probably period British lit things with a cast of many), so when searching for a certain actor, not all their films come up (usually earlier, smaller roles) even when Netflix does actually have the movie. I often cross-reference with IMDB to find who/what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the responses. I was mostly just checking to see if this thing is on.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on March 31, 2008 at 10:55am: Looks like that one is only available on VHS (according to IMDB and Amazon). Believe me, I am also dismayed at how many great movies haven't gotten a DVD release. Kindred spirits here

And yup, IMDB is a good supplement to the NF website.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Baff on March 31, 2008 at 11:16am: "Something else I've noticed is that the cast lists on Netflix are not always complete"

Yeah, I see that now and then. Most recently I noticed it with most of the Miss Marple movies starring Margaret Rutherford. She is mentioned in the movie description, but not listed in the cast. I reported it to them, but they haven't fixed it yet. Odd that they would leave out the lead character.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by The Professor on March 31, 2008 at 10:23am: Yes, if it isn't available on Netflix, it likely isn't available anywhere....unless you can get it on VHS.....; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bruce on March 31, 2008 at 11:10am: There are a handful of movies that are "Blockbuster Exclusives" but I don't know how long that exclusive contract lasts. Also BB routinely lists a number of movies on their "releasing this week page" that don't appear on NF. Of course 99% of the time, these movies are permanently "coming soon," a status that describes about 2/3 of my BB queue. Very rarely a movie will be available on BB that isn't on NF, but this never happens with a movie anyone is likely to care about.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by forest design on April 22, 2008 at 9:11pm: uh, this isn't true at all; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rascal on March 31, 2008 at 11:17am: This is one feature that I wish Netflix would change. If you search the filmography section of an actor on the BB site it will list every movie that the actor appeared in. If the film is not available the art work next to the description of the movie is grayed out with the letters "NA" instead of "save".

It would be nice to be able to add some of these "not avaliable" films to our lists but maybe that is not the point of Netflix's lists?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ColdOne on March 31, 2008 at 5:25pm: It would indeed be nice if those titles were listed, but I'd want them to be "save"able as well. This gives good feedback to Netflix on which discs they should purchase or license (which can be used as leverage with studios, or whoever holds the current rights to those titles).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ewd76 on April 29, 2008 at 11:22am: Does anyone know the criteria for why a particular actor gets a bio and others don't? I understand some are more famous, or considered more important, but I have seen some relatively unknown actors with bios.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by UncleBob on April 29, 2008 at 11:47am: For every film release, there is a press kit containing bios of the actors; these are very detailed when the cast has "stars," and the same content is often repurposed for video releases.

In all likelihood, Netflix cannibalized a bunch of these kits for their bios, and who was included is most likely a matter of the material available, and its quality.; ▶ Reply to This