If you’re a frequent user of Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature, you might have noticed that a big chunk of movies went offline at the beginning of this month (probably because the digital distribution rights expired).

And now, a month later, another batch of righteous rights are expiring. And unfortunately, a long list of Herzog films are on the chopping block for February 1st (2009). The list includes: Even Dwarfs Started Small, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Woyzeck, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Lessons of Darkness, Fitzcarraldo, Cobra Verde, Stroszek and Land of Silence and Darkness.

Bummer. Looks like I’ll have to have some kind of Herzog-a-thon this month, before they disappear. (I’m being dramatic, of course–they’ll still be available via DVD.)

It’s also worth noting that Sam Peckinpah’s brilliant 1971 thriller Straw Dogs will become unavailable on the same day. Watch it while you can. Don’t worry though, Peckinpah’s other 70s masterwork, Convoy, is safe for now.