Discover what’s new for all tastes on Prime Video!
By Brian Tallerico
This list is regularly updated as movies rotate on and off of Amazon Prime
Video. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
Amazon has a little bit of everything on their streaming service, but they don’t have an interface that makes it particularly easy to find any of it. They also love to rotate out their selection with reckless abandon, making it hard to pin down what’s available when you want to watch a movie. It’s the kind of digital minefield that demands a guide. That’s where we come in! This regularly updated list will highlight the best films currently on Prime Video, free for anyone with an Amazon Prime account, including classics and recent hits. There’s truly something here for everyone, starting with our pick of the week.
This Week’s Critic’s Pick
*The Holdovers
Year: 2023
Runtime: 2h 13m
Director: Alexander Payne
Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph were Oscar-nominated for this phenomenal comedy (and Randolph won!), which was exclusive to Peacock but has now escaped out to Prime Video. The ‘70s-set story of a boarding school over holiday break already feels like a comedy classic, a movie that people will be watching, especially around the end of the year, for generations to come.
How We Pick Our Films
Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate this list, he dives into Prime Video’s catalogue to surface acclaimed, surprising, or otherwise noteworthy titles — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide, instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each, organizes them by category, then writes his recommendation. We highlight more than just Oscar winners or popcorn flicks: These films present interesting ideas, made an impact on cinema, and changed our culture. Read on to find something to watch.
12 Angry Men
Year: 1957
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet’s American classic impacted not just the courtroom dramas that would follow but the very judicial process. Who hasn’t gone into jury duty thinking they would be the “Juror 8” in their group, the one willing to really look at the case before rushing to justice? Henry Fonda gives one of his most iconic performances in a movie that holds up six decades after it was released.
*Call Me By Your Name
Year: 2018
Runtime: 2h 11m
Director: Luca Guadagnino
One of the best films of the 2010s, this drama stars Timothee Chalamet as a boy who discovers his own sexuality when he’s wooed by an older man, played by Armie Hammer. Delicate and moving, Call Me By Your Name is remarkable for how true it feels, anchored by great performances throughout, not just from the two leads but the amazing Michael Stuhlbarg too.
King of New York
Year: 1990
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: Abel Ferrara
The amazing Abel Ferrara directed this crime epic that oozes with style. Three decades after its release, it’s still one of the most cited films of this kind of its era. One of the main reasons for that is the cast. Christopher Walken leads the way as the legendary drug lord Frank White, but the whole ensemble here is amazing, including Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Steve Buscemi, and Giancarlo Esposito.
The Limey
Year: 1999
Runtime: 1h 28m
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh directs a searing performance by Terence Stamp in his thriller about a Brit who comes to California trying to find his missing daughter, and those who may be responsible for hurting her. Soderbergh rarely missteps and The Limey is one of his most underrated films, a perfectly paced angry shout of a movie that matches its captivating leading man.
Memento
Year: 2001
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan announced himself to the world with this Sundance thriller that really reshaped the indie and eventually the blockbuster landscape. Guy Pearce gives one of his best performances as a man with such severe memory loss that he has to use his body to remind himself of the details he needs to solve a mystery. It’s still so clever and riveting.
Out of Sight
Year: 1998
Runtime: 2h 2m
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh only makes good movies, and one of his best remains this crime dramedy that features George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez at the peak of their blinding star power. An ode to old-fashioned noir/crime films with a modern twist, Soderbergh’s adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name is one of the most purely entertaining films ever made.
Passion Fish
Year: 1992
Runtime: 2h 15m
Director: John Sayles
The brilliant writer/director John Sayles delivered one of his most beloved films in this 1992 drama about a soap opera star (Mary McDonnell) who has been paralyzed after being hit by a cab. She returns to her family home, where she crosses paths with a nurse (Alfre Woodard) who refuses to give up on her. It’s moving in a way that feels genuine, never manipulative.
Ran
Year: 1985
Runtime: 2h 34m
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Late in his career, Akira Kurosawa delivered one of his most epic films in this adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, blending that story with legends and history of Japan. The most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time, this 1985 war epic was a worldwide hit, bringing new viewers into the career of one of the best filmmakers of all time.
*Rear Window
Year: 1954
Runtime: 1h 52m
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rear Window is the gateway drug for young people learning about the Master of Suspense. It’s the perfect film to introduce someone in your family to Hitchcock. Jimmy Stewart stars as a man stuck in a wheelchair with the apartments across his courtyard as his only entertainment. When he thinks he witnesses a murder, movie history is made.
*Schindler’s List
Year: 1994
Runtime: 3h 15m
Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s personal masterpiece is the saga of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish refugees in Poland during the Holocaust. Spielberg is one of our greatest film historians, telling chapters of world history in a way that only he can, and this drama remains one of his most notable achievements, a reminder of the power of extreme good even in the face of extreme evil.
Sicario
Year: 2015
Runtime: 2h 1m
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve has become one of the biggest directors in the world on the back of beloved films like Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, but Sicario was really his breakthrough, a thriller about an FBI agent (Emily Blunt) who gets drawn into the war between the U.S. government and the Mexican drug cartels. Benicio Del Toro gives one of the best performances of his career here.
Take Shelter
Year: 2011
Runtime: 2h 1m
Director: Jeff Nichols
Jeff Nichols wrote and directed this film that features the best film work by his regular collaborator, Michael Shannon. The actor plays a young husband and father who starts to have visions of the end of the world that leads him to think he may be prophetic. An allegory for mental illness and acceptance, Take Shelter is a riveting drama with an unforgettable ending.
Titanic
Year: 1997
Runtime: 3h 14m
Director: James Cameron
More than just a blockbuster, this Best Picture winner was a legitimate cultural phenomenon, staying at the top of the box office charts for months. And the headline-grabbing story of the Titan submersible in Summer 2023 certainly gives this flick new relevance. There was a point when it felt like not only had everyone seen the story of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet), but most people had seen it twice. And they’re probably all going to watch it again now.
*Vertigo
Year: 1958
Runtime: 2h 8m
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
A common choice for the best film of all time, Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece works on multiple levels at the same time. On the surface, it’s a brilliant thriller about a detective (James Stewart) who becomes obsessed with a woman (Kim Novak) he’s been hired to follow, but it also reflects Hitch’s own life and career in the way it plays with perspective and image. It’s quite simply one of the best films ever made.
*Whiplash
Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Damien Chazelle
Damien Chazelle may still be startled by the divisive response to last year’s Babylon, but he can go back to the near-universal praise for the film that really broke him, earning one of its stars an Oscar and getting a nomination for Best Picture. Chazelle’s drama about a perfectionist drummer and his militaristic teacher thrilled viewers from the minute it premiered at Sundance. It was a major piece of pop culture, a film that feels like it’s being referenced more every year.
A Knock at the Cabin
Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
One of the most inventive directors of his era adapted a screenplay for the first time when he tackled Paul Tremblay’s stunning 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World. Shyalaman does some bad things to the final act, but this is still worth a look for its incredible craft and an excellent performance from Dave Bautista as the leader of a group of people who believe that a sacrifice must be made to stop a pending apocalypse.
High Tension
Year: 2005
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director: Alexandre Aja
This movie is bonkers. Directed by Alexandre Aja (and sometimes called Switchblade Romance) it stars Cecile de France and Maiwenn as two young woman who go to a secluded farmhouse, where they’re attached by a serial killer. The twist ending to this brutal film will likely either make it or break it for you. Note: Shudder also added a few other French Horror Wave films, including Inside and Martyrs—both essential for horror fans, neither for the faint of heart.
The Host
Year: 2007
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: Bong Joon-ho
The success of Parasite brought an entirely new, larger audience to the work of Bong Joon-ho, and they probably loved this riveting genre piece about a giant monster living in the Han River. Parasite star Song Kang-ho plays the patriarch of a family that’s forced into action when the creature kidnaps his daughter. When it was released, it became the highest-grossing South Korean film of all time.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Year: 1978
Runtime: 1h 55m
Director: Philip Kaufman
There’s a reason that Hollywood keeps returning to Jack Finney’s novel The Body Snatchers—it strikes at a common fear that our neighbors and loved ones aren’t who they were yesterday. The best film version of Finney’s tale is the ‘70s one with Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy. A riveting unpacking of ‘70s paranoia, this is a truly terrifying movie.
Phantasm
Year: 1979
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director: Don Coscarelli
Another low-budget flick that produced an empire, Don Coscarelli’s totally bonkers 1979 film isn’t as much an influential genre classic as it is kind of unlike anything before or since. Who can forget the first time they saw Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man, one of the best horror characters of his era? The crazy plot here is secondary to the unforgettable imagery and style. There’s a reason it spawned four sequels and has a very loyal cult following 40 years later.
*Psycho
Year: 1960
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Often on lists of the best movies ever made, Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller undeniably changed the genre forever. With its drastic POV shift and stunning mid-film murder, no one had ever seen a movie that played with structure like this one before. It’s still a riveting piece of work, a movie in which one can find new tricks and joys with every single viewing.
Red Eye
Year: 2005
Runtime: 1h 25m
Director: Wes Craven
With one of his last great movies, the master of horror Wes Craven proved he could also do thrills without supernatural monsters. Red Eye is a film that Alfred Hitchcock would have loved, the story of an average woman (Rachel McAdams) terrorized by the guy in the seat next to her on a red-eye flight to Miami. Cillian Murphy is chilling in this memorable, tight little genre movie.
Comedy
*Airplane!
Year: 1980
Runtime: 1h 27m
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Movies just don’t get much funnier than this classic from David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams. Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, and Leslie Nielsen star in a parody of the disaster flicks of the ‘70s but Airplane! has far transcended its roots to become one of the most quotable and beloved comedies of all time. It’s held up.
Clerks
Year: 1994
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith rocked the indie filmmaking world with his comedy that was shot for almost nothing and became a worldwide hit. Films at the convenience and video stores at which Smith worked in real life with his buddies, no one could have expected that this comedy would still be influencing writers a quarter-century later.
Heathers
Year: 1989
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: Michael Lehmann
Talk about a movie ahead of its time. Coming-of-age teen comedies were never quite as wonderfully cynical before this movie about four teenage girls whose lives are upended by the arrival of a new kid, played by Christian Slater. More than just seeking to destroy the damaging cliques at his new school, Slater’s character has plans for something a little more permanent in this comedy that really shaped the teen genre for years to come.
Action
Batman
Year: 1989
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Tim Burton
The modern superhero movie owes an incredible debt to what Tim Burton did in 1989 with Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger. It wasn’t the first superhero movie, but it felt darker and different from the candy-coated men in tights movies that came before, especially the superior sequel, also on Prime.
*Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Year: 2001
Runtime: 2h
Director: Ang Lee
One of the most successful foreign language films of all time, Ang Lee’s wuxia epic was so popular that it landed an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, along with nine other nominations (winning four). It’s a gorgeous epic based on the Chinese novel by Wang Dulu that stars the legendary Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen. It hasn’t aged a day in the over-two decades since its release.
The Great Escape
Year: 1963
Runtime: 2h 52m
Director: John Sturges
Classic action! The star power is blinding in this epic war film about prisoners of war who escape a German camp during World War II. It’s led by Steve McQueen, but also includes great turns from James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn, and many more.
Interstellar
Year: 2014
Runtime: 2h 49m
Director: Christopher Nolan
The most underrated film from the director of The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer remains this 2014 sci-fi epic, a film that’s better if you approach it as an emotional journey instead of a physical one. Matthew McConaughey gives one of the best performances of his career as an astronaut searching for a new home for mankind, and realizing all that he left behind to do so. It’s a technical marvel with some of the most striking visuals and best sound design of Nolan’s career.