Netflix UK adds treasure trove of Wes Anderson movies – including his ‘magnum opus’

Wes Anderson fans have been left with a delightful treat just ahead of the weekend – four of his best-known films have quietly been added to Netflix.

In recent years the legendary filmmakers’ flicks have come and gone from the streaming service – with the only mainstay being his 2024 anthology film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More.

But for those wanting more, this week Netflix has released 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited and 2021’s The French Dispatch. They’ve also readded 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums.

For those not across the 56-year-old American filmmakers’ catalogue, he rose to fame with 1996’s Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, which was released two years later.

Both featured his early collaborators – brothers Luke and Owen Wilson – the latter of whom Wes met while they were roommates at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums set his career off to new heights after it was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay.

In the years after that he went on to release The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, in 2004, The Darjeeling Limited and his first stop-motion film, Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009 – which was nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature.

Other films that followed were Moonrise Kingdom, which earned Anderson his second best original screenplay nomination, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, for which he was nominated for best picture, best director, and best original screenplay.

The rest of his filmography includes the stop-motion film Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, Asteroid City and The Phoenician Scheme.

What Wes Anderson movies have been added to Netflix?

For old fans of his work – or those who have been meaning to tune into some of his best-known works – Netflix dropping The Darjeeling Limited and The French Dispatch has come at the perfect time.

The first – which starred Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman – followed three brothers who agree to meet in India a year after their father’s funeral for a ‘spiritual journey’ aboard a luxury train.

Featuring cameos from Natalie Portman, Irrfan Khan, and Bill Murray, the film earnt $35million (£25million) against a budget of $17.5million (£12million).

Although reviews were mix, Rolling Stone wrote: ‘The magically compelling Darjeeling Limited strikes me as the fullest blossoming yet of Anderson’s talents as a total filmmaker.’

‘The Darjeeling Limited has its charms, chief of which is watching three terrific actors evince with unforced ease the rewards and resentments of brotherhood,’ The Washington Post added.

Meanwhile The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun featured an huge ensemble cast and follows three different storylines as the French news bureau of the fictional Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun newspaper publishes its final issue.

Some of the stars included Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, and Bill Murray.

It grossed $46million (£33million) worldwide against its budget of $25million (£18million).

The Hollywood Reporter wrote of the film: ‘While The French Dispatch might seem like an anthology of vignettes without a strong overarching theme, every moment is graced by Anderson’s love for the written word and the oddball characters who dedicate their professional lives to it.’

Meanwhile The Guardian said: ‘It might not be at the very zenith of what he can achieve but for sheer moment-by-moment pleasure, and for laughs, this is a treat.’

Reviews for The Grand Budapest Hotel called it his ‘magnum opus’, while The Royal Tenenbaums was called ‘funny, poignant and laced with flawed characters’.

The French Dispatch, The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Royal Tenenbaums are now streaming on Netflix.

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