Close To 2,000 Netflix Movies To Disappear May 1


Close to 2,000 Netflix movies are set to disappear from the company’s stable of films on May 1, leaving fans of classic cinema in the lurch.

A total of 1,794 movies from Warner Bros., MGM, and Universal are going away at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, including classics like Dr. No and Abbott Costello Meet Frankenstein.

The disappearances were reportedly the result of a new classic film repository, Warner Archive Instant. But spokesman for Warner Brothers later disputed that report, however, and Netflix had not yet responded to a reporter’s request for clarification.

Some of the nearly 2,000 Netflix films that will disappear include two classic Billy Wilder films, Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) and One, Two, Three(1961). These movies, and many of the ones that will disappear on May 1, are hard to find elsewhere and not generally carried by other video rental and streaming outlets.

Slate reporter Sam Adams made a list of 12 films worthy of watching, ones like the Billy Wilder pair that are hard to pick up elsewhere.

At the same time as the movies disappear, Netflix is making some changes to its movie queue interface, with a small number of users testing out the new look. That means some people will be given very limited sorting options while others may only be able to see Netflix-recommended titles.

So far critics have panned the proposed changes, and the customers who have been given them are reportedly unhappy.

Netflix is doing what spokesman Joris Evers said is “A/B testing to see which version of a particular feature/experience results in increased Netflix viewing and better retention of our members.” But as Slate points out, many customers on internet forums have discussed dropping Netflix as a result of the changes, meaning they could be unlikely to stick.

A list of the 2,000 Netflix movies set to disappear can be found here.

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