Stream These 10 Movies Before They Leave Netflix in August

Two recent (and worthy) Oscar winners lead the list of titles exiting Netflix in the United States this month, alongside two horror favorites, two action extravaganzas and one of the most beloved romantic comedies of its time. (Dates indicate the final day a title is available.)

‘Les Misérables’ (Aug. 15)

Anne Hathaway won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her turn in this adaptation of the musical theater sensation, itself adapted from the novel by Victor Hugo. The director, Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”), shot live performances of the song on set — most movie musicals feature actors lip-syncing to studio recordings — and the unconventional technique made for some remarkably raw and vulnerable performances, especially in the case of Hathaway’s show stopper “I Dreamed a Dream.” Some of Hooper’s other risks don’t pay off as handsomely (casting Russell Crowe in a role requiring a strong singer was … a choice), but this one is worth streaming for Hathaway’s electric work alone.

Stream it here.

‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ (Aug. 31)

Barry Jenkins followed up the triumph of “Moonlight” with this emotionally resonant adaptation of the novel by James Baldwin. Preserving the novel’s original setting, Jenkins beautifully recreates the Harlem of the 1970s, in which Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne) fall in love and begin to make a life, only to have it interrupted by the systemic forces around them. Regina King won an Oscar for best supporting actress, summoning her considerable force and sensitivity as Tish’s mother, who takes on a doomed mission to clear Fonny’s name; Brian Tyree Henry is unforgettable as an old friend who becomes a cautionary tale.

Stream it here.

‘The Italian Job’ (Aug. 31)

So much of the original “Italian Job” is so delightfully but specifically of its late-60s Swinging London moment that it would seem a fool’s errand not only to remake it but also to update it. F. Gary Gray’s 2003 version pulls it off by taking a minimalist approach, choosing simply to adopt the original film’s most memorable elements (big heist, colorful crew, Mini-Coopers) and otherwise basically start from scratch. The cast — including Yasiin Bey, Seth Green, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg — is charismatic, the set pieces are crisply executed, and the big climax is an all-timer.

Stream it here.

‘A Knight’s Tale’ (Aug. 31)

Another period musical, this one from the writer and director Brian Helgeland (an Oscar winner for co-writing the “L.A. Confidential” screenplay), takes a similar swing-for-the-fences approach, scoring its story of jousting and romance in 14th century England with ’70s rock hits like “We Will Rock You” and “Takin’ Care of Business.” It’s wildly anachronistic but joyfully so, as Helgeland and his attractive cast — including the charismatic golden boy Heath Ledger, the striking ingénue Shannyn Sossamon and the sneeringly villainous scene-stealer Rufus Sewell — strike just the right balance of good humor and old-fashioned earnestness.

Stream it here.

‘Mean Girls’ (Aug. 31)

Tina Fey was still known only as a writer and an occasional on-camera performer at “Saturday Night Live” when she penned this inventively loose adaptation of the nonfiction study “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” by Rosalind Wiseman. Fey dramatizes Wiseman’s anthropological survey of teenage clique culture by telling the tale of Cady (Lindsay Lohan), a longtime home-schooler entering the hellscape of high school life for the first time. The director Mark Waters, who deftly directed Lohan in the previous year’s “Freaky Friday” remake, confidently orchestrates the curricular chaos, which includes brief but hilarious appearances by Fey and her “S.N.L.” castmates Ana Gasteyer, Tim Meadows and Amy Poehler, and by then-up-and-comers like Lizzy Caplan, Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried.

Stream it here.

‘Paranormal Activity’ (Aug. 31)

The beauty of horror, for the low-budget filmmaker attempting to break into the biz, is that it doesn’t require stars, expensive locations or even (if you do it right) elaborate special effects. The genre is the star, and if a filmmaker can create tension and suspense with minimal resources, the cash can roll in. That’s certainly what happened with this 2009 shocker, put together on a shoestring budget of $10,000 and grossing just shy of $200 million worldwide. The movie’s writer, director and editor, Oren Peli, cleverly turns his technological shortcomings into bonuses, crafting a found-footage story of things going bump in the night with gooseflesh raising inventiveness.

Stream it here.

‘The Ring’ (Aug. 31)

Hideo Nakata’s 1998 Japanese horror thriller “Ringu” had such a beautifully simple but arresting premise — a videotape is so disturbing that anyone who watches it will die within days — that it was probably only a matter of time before it was remade for American audiences. Gore Verbinski’s 2002 variation can’t quite pack the novelty punch of the original, but it is deliciously unnerving all the same, collecting heavy helpings of dread and perturbing imagery and seasoning them with a light touch of meta-commentary. (Are we, the horror movie audience, any wiser than those poor souls onscreen?) Naomi Watts provides a rooting interest as the cynical reporter investigating the tape’s mysterious origins and the spell it casts.

Stream it here.

‘Salt’ (Aug. 31)

Angelina Jolie fronted her fair share of action movies, but she never really seemed to find the right vehicle for her particular talents. Except this once. In Evelyn Salt — a clever super spy who may be a Russian mole, or a C.I.A. operative, or both, or something else entirely — Jolie lands on the perfect role for her distinctive blend of butt-kicking athleticism, sensuality and intelligence. She also has the right director for the job in Phillip Noyce, the spy movie specialist (his filmography includes “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger”) who can navigate breathless action sequences and espionage exposition with equal aplomb.

Stream it here.

‘She’s Gotta Have It’ (Aug. 31)

Spike Lee helped launch the ’90s indie movement and a renewed interest in Black cinema, to say nothing of his own durable career, with this, his 1986 feature debut. Lee writes, directs, edits and memorably co-stars as Mars Blackmon, one of the three men vying for the physical and emotional attention of Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns), a Brooklyn graphic artist who has decided not to settle for any one suitor. The picture’s low-budget seams occasionally show, and its sexual politics are occasionally out of date (particularly in the third act). But the cinematic energy, fierce comic spirit and unflinching realism of Lee’s best work is already on display in this formative effort, which also inspired a recent Netflix series adaptation.

Stream it here.

‘Sleepless in Seattle’ (Aug. 31)

The writer and director Nora Ephron recaptured the box office magic of “When Harry Met Sally” (which she wrote for the director Rob Reiner) with this sparklingly romantic and sweetly funny riff on “An Affair to Remember” (and its own various remakes and iterations). Tom Hanks stars as a single father and recent widower whose searching call to a late-night radio talk show goes the mid-90s equivalent of viral; Meg Ryan is a soon-to-be-wed journalist who falls for this voice in the night and pursues his affections, against all odds (and her better judgment).

Stream it here.