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As Netflix pours more of its resources into original content, Amazon Prime Video is picking up the slack, adding new movies for its subscribers each month. Its catalog has grown so impressive, in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming — and at the same time, movies that are included with a Prime subscription regularly change status, becoming available only for rental or purchase. It’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve plucked out 100 of the absolute best movies included with a Prime subscription right now, to be updated as new information is made available.
Here are our lists of the best TV shows and movies on Netflix, and the best of both on Hulu and Disney+.
‘Nickel Boys’ (2024)
The documentarian RaMell Ross (“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”) makes his narrative feature debut with this heart-wrenching, lyrical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead. Ross’s direction is thrillingly unconventional, with delicate camerawork that tells the story through the eyes of his protagonist, a promising young man who is unjustly placed in a reform school. Ross’s storytelling style is elliptical but efficient; the narrative spans decades, yet he just grabs an image or an impression, capturing the way we think back on a second of a memory, until that second becomes that memory. Even standard narrative events feel fresh, thanks to each scene’s sense of being overheard, glimpsed in the periphery, without ever softening what we see and hear. Our critic called it “a stunning achievement.”
‘Night Comes On’ (2018)
This Sundance sensation is a heart-wrenching story of grief, pain, regret and struggle. The director and co-writer Jordana Spiro tells the story of Angel (Dominique Fishback, of “The Deuce” and “Judas and the Black Messiah”), released from jail on the eve of her 18th birthday and torn between getting her life together and finishing the crime that put her there. Spiro adopts a no-nonsense approach, digging into the nuts and bolts of the probationary process and the various ways in which the deck is already stacked against her protagonist. Fishback takes a similar tack, eschewing showy moments for a lived-in authenticity. It’s an unforgettable performance in a quietly powerful movie.
‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners’ (2024)
This dramatic thriller from the director Robert Lorenz is the best Liam Neeson vehicle in years, deftly merging the current, action-heavy thread of his career with his earlier, heftier work. Neeson stars as Finbar Murphy, a contract killer whose plans to hang up his gun are waylaid by a nasty bit of business with an I.R.A. faction. Neeson is excellent, finding the character’s modest moments of melancholy, and Lorenz surrounds him with stellar Irish character actors like Colm Meaney and Ciarán Hinds. But the showcase turn here comes from Kerry Condon (an Oscar nominee for “The Banshees of Inisherin”), who is utterly ferocious as Neeson’s primary antagonist.
‘Her’ (2013)
The idea of falling in love with a virtual assistant might have seemed like science fiction when Spike Jonze wrote and directed this comedy-drama over a decade ago; today, the growing sophistication of Siri, Alexa and ChatGPT are making it possible. The assistant here is voiced by Scarlett Johansson; her “user” is Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), who is particularly wounded because of a pending divorce. Jonze’s touching script bypasses the easy, cheap jokes for an exploration of loneliness and companionship, and Phoenix’s performance is an astonishing symphony of vulnerability and pain.
‘Saint Maud’ (2021)
This feature debut from the director Rose Glass is the kind of piercing examination of faith in a cynical world that we’ve come to expect from the likes of Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese. Morfydd Clark is stunning in the title role as a nurse who believes she is a vessel of God, and must personally save the soul of her dying patient (a prickly, terrific Jennifer Ehle) — whether her patient likes it or not. It’s the kind of film that burrows under your skin and settles there, and its shocking conclusion does not take any easy exits. Our critic praised the picture’s “dark, spoiled beauty” and “mesmerizing” lead actor. (“Patty Hearst” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” are similarly tense dramas.)
‘A Single Man’ (2009)
The designer Tom Ford made his feature directorial debut with this moving, melancholy (and, unsurprisingly, aesthetically stunning) adaptation of the novel by Christopher Isherwood. An Oscar-nominated Colin Firth stars as George, a college professor in Los Angeles in the 1960s who is a “bachelor,” as gay men were so often euphemistically known. Accompanying George through the anniversary of his boyfriend’s death, Ford burrows deep into the tortured psyche of his protagonist. Firth is up to the challenge, playing the role with what our critic called “a magnificent depth of feeling.” (For more award-worthy drama, stream “The Immigrant” and “Till.”)
‘Titanic’ (1997)
Few expected James Cameron’s dramatization (and fictionalization) of the 1912 sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic to become a nearly unmatched commercial success and Oscar winner; most of its prerelease publicity concerned its over-budget and over-schedule production. But in retrospect, we should have known — it was the kind of something-for-everyone entertainment that deftly combines historical drama, wide-screen adventure and heartfelt romance. And its stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, became one of the great onscreen pairings of the 1990s. Our critic called it “a huge, thrilling three-and-a-quarter-hour experience.”
‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ (1991)
Fannie Flagg’s best-selling book “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” got the big-screen treatment from director Jon Avnet (“Up Close and Personal”). It tells two stories: Kathy Bates is a housewife who finds escape from her unsatisfying life in the stories a nursing home resident (Jessica Tandy) tells her about her hometown; Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker and Cicely Tyson are among the residents whose yarns she spins. Some of the edges of Flagg’s book have been sanded down to make this cozy sweater of an adaptation, which is regrettable — but as it stands, it’s a lovely film, capably crafted and poignant.
‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)
When Joel and Ethan Coen followed up the Oscar-winning triumph of “Fargo” with a broad comedy about a shambling stoner, a botched kidnapping and a case of mistaken identity, audiences and critics scratched their heads in bafflement. It was only when the film hit home video and cable that it began to find its cult audience, which tuned in to its idiosyncratic dialogue, memorable characters and unique comic rhythms. Jeff Bridges is perfect as Jeff Lebowski, an easy-breezy, good-time guy who is mistaken for “the Big Lebowski,” a millionaire with a missing trophy wife. John Goodman and Steve Buscemi are uproarious as his bowling buddies, a yin-yang combination of blowhard and wallflower. It is one of the Coens’ stranger movies (which is saying something), yet fully deserving of the dedication it has inspired. (“Fargo” is also streaming on Prime, as is the thematically similar Bridges vehicle “Cutter’s Way.”)
‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’ (2016)
The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) produced digital shorts for “Saturday Night Live” that in the early 2000s hit a sweet spot of broad-appeal comedy, pop-culture savvy and musical ingenuity. They draw from that same mixture with “Popstar, which, at its best, reaches that same rarefied air as “This Is Spinal Tap” while also adding a surprisingly effective dash of genuine heart. The songs are often uproariously funny, and Samberg’s satirical performance as a Justin Bieber-esque star achieves just the right combination of hubris and cluelessness.
‘Animal House’ (1978)
This anarchic blockbuster launched the film career of John Belushi, the “slobs vs. snobs” comedy subgenre and the mainstream aspirations of the subversive humor magazine National Lampoon. A randy screenplay by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller follows a pair of misfit fraternity pledges (Tom Hulce and Stephen Furst) through their first semester at Faber College in 1962. A deliriously funny rampage of food fights, toga parties, horse abductions and wrecked parades ensues, with the director John Landis engagingly orchestrating the chaos and Belushi stealing every possible scene as the frat’s resident party animal.
‘Jerry Maguire’ (1996)
The writer and director Cameron Crowe nabbed five Oscar nominations for this wise, charming romantic comedy about a slick sports agent (Tom Cruise) whose crisis of conscience changes the way he conducts his work — and by extension, his life. Cuba Gooding Jr. won an Oscar for his top-notch turn as Jerry’s star client, Regina King is magnificent as that client’s no-nonsense wife, and Renée Zellweger’s heart-on-her-sleeve performance as his unlikely romantic interest turned the ingénue into a major star. (For a demonstration of Cruise’s range, check out his Oscar-nominated work in “Born on the Fourth of July.”)
‘Mission: Impossible’ (1996)
You couldn’t throw a stone in a multiplex in the 1990s without hitting a big-screen adaptation of a Boomer-era TV series, but Tom Cruise’s take on the ’60s spy show ended up with a bigger cultural footprint than its inspiration. The reason was simple: The bigger-is-better ethos of the franchise resulted in movies that felt like movies (not just overblown TV episodes), and that’s very much the case in this first installment, with the baroque genre stylist Brian De Palma imposing his trademark trick photography, Dutch angles and sure hand for suspenseful set pieces. (The third and arguably best sequel, “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” is also on Prime.)
‘Gattaca’ (1997)
A thoughtful film that emphasizes the “science” in science fiction, offering up possibilities and procedures of the testing and engineering that have only become more plausible, posing urgent questions regarding predetermination and discrimination. “Gattaca” is unapologetically brainy in a manner reminiscent of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “THX 1138,” daring to imagine that provocative ideas are just as thrilling as chases and shootouts. But it’s not just a think piece; the writer and director Andrew Niccol works playfully within the conventions of not only dystopian sci-fi but also mystery and film noir, throwing in a dash of other-side-of-the-tracks romance for extra spice.
‘Cinderella Man’ (2005)
After teaming up for “A Beautiful Mind,” the actor Russell Crowe and the director Ron Howard reunited for this (frankly superior) biographical drama. Crowe stars as James J. Braddock, the heavyweight boxing champion whose rags-to-riches story inspired the nickname of the title. Braddock’s story is inspiring, but the real strength of Howard’s film is how vividly it brings its Great Depression setting to life. Renée Zellweger is reliably sturdy as Braddock’s loving wife, while an Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti steals the show as the boxer’s manager and pal, Joe Gould.
‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
Very few films can be said to have “changed everything,” but William Friedkin’s adaptation of the novel by William Peter Blatty is certainly one of them — a box office smash, a critical success and a certified cultural phenomenon. A haunted Ellen Burstyn stars as a Georgetown actress whose daughter (a powerful Linda Blair) seems controlled by evil forces. Once a sensitive priest (Jason Miller) determines she has been possessed by the devil, a specialist (Max von Sydow) is brought in to rescue her soul. So many of the film’s big moments — the green vomit, the devil voice, the incantations of the exorcism — have been recycled and satirized that you’d think the film would lose its bite, but “The Exorcist” still has the ability to scare and shock.
‘The Aviator’ (2004)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s second collaboration (after “Gangs of New York”) was this uncommonly nuanced biopic of the notoriously reclusive and eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes. DiCaprio ages several decades as Hughes, who goes from the boy genius of a Texas tool company to a celebrated film producer, pilot and tycoon — all while fighting various maladies. Scorsese’s stylish direction vividly captures the 20th-century settings, while DiCaprio ably conveys both the brilliance and madness of the man.
‘The Conversation’ (1974)
Between the first two “Godfather” epics, Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed this modest character study, in which the proudly impersonal surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), becomes unexpectedly invested in the subjects of his work and then decides he must step in to save their lives. Like its protagonist, “The Conversation” is most riveting in its quietest moments, though its bold opening sequence — in which Caul attempts to eavesdrop on a whispered conversation in a crowded park — is both brilliant filmmaking and a riveting snapshot of the Watergate era. Our critic praised Hackman’s “superb performance.” (Fans of ’70s thrillers will also enjoy Clint Eastwood’s “Play Misty for Me.”)
‘The Deer Hunter’ (1978)
The writer and director Michael Cimino won best picture and best director for this harrowing drama, one of the first American films to deal with the ramifications of the Vietnam War on those who fought it. Robert De Niro, John Savage and (in an Oscar-winning turn) Christopher Walken, star as friends from a Pennsylvania steel town who head off to do their patriotic duty, though their experiences during the war and beyond it are far more complicated. Meryl Streep is marvelous in her big-screen breakthrough role, while John Cazale (“The Godfather”) makes his final film appearance as a pal back home. Our critic wrote, “its vision is that of an original, major new filmmaker.” (The similarly stirring war movies “Dunkirk” and “The Thin Red Line” are also on Prime.)
‘The Game’ (1997)
David Fincher followed up the smash success of his breakthrough feature “Seven” with this puzzle movie, which begin as yet another sleek, Micheal Douglas-fronted valentine to yuppie extravagance before taking a hard turn in to the province of jittery conspiracy thrillers. Douglas is spot-on as Nicholas Van Orton, a grim investment banker whose ne’er-do-well brother (Sean Penn) gives him the birthday gift of a role-playing game that slowly, methodically strips away his money and power. Our critic wrote that Fincher shows “real finesse in playing to the paranoia of these times.” (If you love neo-noir thrillers, check out “The Last Seduction” or “Deep Cover.”)
‘Out of Sight’ (1998)
This deliciously entertaining adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s crackling crime novel made movie stars out of George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, and returned Steven Soderbergh to the movie mainstream, after years of experimentation following his splashy debut picture “sex, lies, and videotape.” Yet his cockeyed sensibility is what makes “Out of Sight” so special: the film’s playful narrative and stylish visual template elevates what could have been yet another “Pulp Fiction” riff into something distinctive and pleasurable. And the casting is genius, not only in the two leads (who generate enough sparks to power a small country) but a jaw-dropping ensemble that includes Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Catherine Keener, Steve Zahn, Isaiah Washington, Viola Davis and Albert Brooks. (Soderbergh’s next film, “The Limey,” is also on Prime.)
‘Pineapple Express’ (2008)
The “Freaks and Geeks” stars Seth Rogen and James Franco reunited for this uproariously funny stoner action comedy, penned by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and directed by David Gordon Green, then best known for modest indie dramas like “George Washington.” Rogen and Goldberg’s script is wry and witty, Green’s direction is sure-handed, and Rogen and Franco are a pitch-perfect team, their opposites-attract chemistry recalling ’80s buddy movies like “48 HRS” and “Midnight Run.” Our critic praised the film’s “waves of playful nonsense.” (For more wild comedy, stream “Dazed and Confused” and “Bottoms.”)
‘Legally Blonde’ (2001)
When this Reese Witherspoon vehicle hit theaters, a fair number of critics dismissed it as lightweight, disposable fluff — a reaction strangely appropriate to this story of a young woman whose peers underestimate her based on looks and first impressions. But just as Elle Woods thrived, against all odds, at Harvard Law School, this summer comedy has become a cultural touchstone thanks to its quotable dialogue, modulated lead performance and timeless message about self-determination in the face of adversity.
‘Hoosiers’ (1987)
Gene Hackman stars as Norman Dale, an Indiana high school basketball coach with a checkered past in this sleeper from David Anspaugh — an underdog sports story with the expected early setbacks and dramatic victories. What makes it special is Hackman, crafting the kind of performance that reveals nothing while also seeming to hide nothing; it’s only as we spend more time with the character that he reveals the goodness under his gruff exterior — and the darkness beyond that. Our critic called it “a small film, and a very admirable one.” (Hackman is also excellent in “Get Shorty” and “Cisco Pike.”)
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‘Hundreds of Beavers’ (2024)
The current media ecosystem isn’t conducive to cult movies anymore, but occasionally one breaks through, an out-of-nowhere slice of outsider cinema that astounds and baffles viewers in equal measure. That’s the case with this refreshingly unconventional frontier comedy from the director Mike Cheslik, a black-and-white, dialogue-free romp filled with surrealist slapstick and actors in oversized animal costumes. Ryland Brickson Cole Tews stars as a fumbling fur trapper who must catch and kill the beavers to win the hand of his lady love, but that’s just a clothesline on which to hang a seemingly inexhaustible supply of clever comic bits. Its low-budget chintziness becomes its charm, with Cheslik drawing inspiration from everything, whether it’s Chaplin or Nintendo. It’s just the darnedest thing — and that’s a compliment. (For more fast-paced comedy, stream “Noises Off.”)
‘Challengers’ (2024)
The first of the director Luca Guadagnino’s two 2024 releases is this “fizzy, lightly sexy, enjoyable tease of a movie,” detailing every ill-advised kiss and every strategic volley of a love triangle in the world of professional tennis. Zendaya is Tashi, a rising star who becomes the simultaneous object of desire for best friends and fellow tennis prodigies Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) — though desire is a messy emotion, easily diverted and manipulated. Guadagnino shoots the tennis matches with thrilling, electric style, but the real fireworks happen off the court.
‘My Old Ass’ (2024)
It sounds like the plot of a high-concept ’80s comedy: The teenage Elliot (the charismatic Maisy Stella), while tripping on mushrooms, meets the 39-year-old version of herself (a delightfully dry Aubrey Plaza). But wacky high jinks do not ensue; the writer and director Megan Park instead uses this premise to craft a firmly grounded serio-comic drama about life, love and regret. Her smart script has a great ear for dialogue (she’s particularly adept at understanding how young adults who are ready to take on the world talk) and a keen understanding of young love, and the closing passages are tender and touching. And then it’s wildly funny, on top of all of that. Our critic called it “a buoyant comedy with a big heart.” (For more coming-of-age comedy-drama, try “Party Girl” or “Cooley High.”)
‘Sense and Sensibility’ (1995)
The actor-turned-screenwriter Emma Thompson won an Academy Award for her witty script of Jane Austen’s classic novel in this “grandly entertaining” adaptation from the director Ang Lee. Thompson also stars as Elinor, the eldest of the Dashwood sisters, who find their fortunes (both economic and romantic) in a state of turmoil after the death of their father; Kate Winslet is wonderful as the younger Marianne, while Hugh Grant finds both the charm and melancholy of Edward Ferrars. Thompson plays the full dramatic value of Austen’s romantic entanglements, love triangles, slights and snubs, and Lee dramatizes them with verve, but never at the expense of the characters; it’s a lovely, loving piece of work. (Thompson is similarly bewitching in “Much Ado About Nothing.”)
‘West Side Story’ (1961)
This ingenious musical adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” which updated its setting and story to the streets and gangs of New York, remains one of the towering achievements of the Broadway stage. So it’s no surprise that it spawned one of the great movie musicals. The original stage director and choreographer Jerome Robbins and the filmmaker Robert Wise shared directorial duties, thrillingly placing the show’s songs and dances on the streets of New York City while using the proximity and intimacy of the camera to render the longing and loss of the story even more poignant. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer perform admirably in the leads, but Rita Moreno and George Chakiris steal the show — and won Oscars for their efforts, two of the film’s astonishing 10-statue haul, which included prizes for best picture and best director.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ (2005)
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s first onscreen pairing prompted a flurry of tabloid coverage. Such gossipy productions rarely yield worthwhile final products, but this jazzy, funny, sexy thriller is a notable exception to the rule. The premise is high concept: Pitt and Jolie star as a married couple who have, for years, kept their double lives as paid assassins a secret from each other. The ensuing complications aren’t hard to predict (guess who each killer’s next target is?), but it is all done in high style by the director Doug Liman, who stages his action sequences with wit and ingenuity, and the screenwriter Simon Kinberg, who injects the potentially formulaic story with a heavy dose of screwball zing.
‘Thelma & Louise’ (1991)
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are dangerously good in this Ridley Scott road movie, which became the center of a national conversation for its unapologetic portrait of two women who reject toxic masculinity. Sarandon and Davis play friends whose weekend getaway is derailed by an attempted rape; when they strike back, they find themselves on the run. Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her screenplay. “It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new,” our critic wrote.
‘Submarine’ (2011)
The British comic actor Richard Ayoade (“The IT Crowd”) made his feature directorial debut with this clever, witty and ultimately tender coming-of-age story. Adapting the novel by Joe Dunthorne, Ayoade introduces us to Oliver (Craig Roberts), a 15-year-old Welsh schoolboy, as he navigates his first love and a schism in his parents’ marriage. Critics compared Ayoade’s style to Wes Anderson (not always favorably), but the influences and ideas run deeper than such simple homage, and the director proves himself an adroit chronicler of a certain kind of outcast.
‘Something Wild’ (1986)
This thrillingly unpredictable romantic comedy and crime movie mash-up from the director Jonathan Demme (“The Silence of the Lambs”) begins as a boy-meets-girl movie with a slightly psychosexual edge, seeming to tell the story of how a wild girl (Melanie Griffith) and a straight guy (Jeff Daniels) meet in the middle. Then Ray (a sensational Ray Liotta) turns up and hijacks the entire movie, turning into something much darker and more dangerous. Throughout, Demme keeps the focus on his colorful characters and sharp dialogue. (If you like quirky comedies, try “Bubba Ho-Tep.”)
‘In the Heat of the Night’ (1967)
This blistering entertainment won the Oscar for best picture over such stiff competition as “The Graduate” and “Bonnie and Clyde.” It might not have been as formally groundbreaking as those films, but it was just as much of its era, a murder mystery and police procedural that was deeply entrenched in the civil rights struggle of the time. Sidney Poitier is magnificent as a Northern police detective who is caught up in a crime when passing through a small Southern town; Rod Steiger is well-matched as the casually bigoted sheriff whose assumptions are quickly and frequently upended. Our critic called it “a film that has the look and sound of actuality and the pounding pulse of truth.” (Poitier is also marvelous in “The Defiant Ones.”)Watch it on Amazon
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‘Moonstruck’ (1987)
Norman Jewison helms this seductive blend of cynicism and schmaltz from the screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, in which several seemingly hardened New Yorkers discover they’re hopeless romantics. Cher has never been more glorious as the widow Loretta, especially when she reacts to Nicolas Cage’s morning-after declaration of love with “Snap out of it!” and a sharp slap in the face. Olympia Dukakis is frisky and funny as Loretta’s world-weary mother, who turns out to have man troubles of her own; both women won Oscars for their work in this joyous, swoony treat. (Cage is also weird and wonderful in “Valley Girl.”)
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‘Fast Color’ (2019)
Most superhero movies clobber the viewer with special effects; Julia Hart’s indie drama is barely a superhero movie at all, but a rich, tender character study of three women who just so happen to move objects with their minds. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is remarkable as Ruth, who has smothered her “abilities” in addiction and irresponsibility, returning home to join her mother (Lorraine Toussaint) and daughter (Saniyya Sidney) in an attempt to, well, save the world. Hart’s rich screenplay (written with Jordan Horowitz) vibrates with authenticity and hard-earned emotion; our critic called it “a small, intimate story that hints at much bigger things.”
‘Bull Durham’ (1988)
Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins were all propelled to the next level of stardom by this 1988 sleeper hit from the writer-director Ron Shelton, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a laid-back charmer, endlessly funny and casually sexy, and it gives all of them the opportunity to do what they do best: it features Costner shooting straight, Sarandon smoldering, and Robbins playing an amiable goofball. Our critic praised its “spirit and sex appeal.” (If you’re looking for a more serious baseball movie, try “Eight Men Out.”)
‘Modern Times’ (1936)
Charles Chaplin made this, his final silent feature, nearly a decade after the talking picture “The Jazz Singer” turned the movie business upside down. The great director-star’s argued that there were some stories that were simply better told, more effective and affecting, in pantomime; this deft mixture of slapstick and social commentary makes that case beautifully. Chaplin plays a factory worker whose resistance to the mechanical age makes him unemployed and desperate. The picture’s Great Depression setting makes it more than a mere comic folly, but a pointed examination of how society treats its haves and have-nots. Our critic wrote, upon its initial release, “Time has not changed his genius.” (Chaplin’s “City Lights” and “The Gold Rush” are also on Prime.)
‘The Long Goodbye’ (1973)
Robert Altman adapted Raymond Chandler’s late-period Philip Marlowe novel as only he could: idiosyncratically, by updating the hard-boiled story’s setting to the feel-good California of the 1970s and casting one of the era’s most of-his-time actors, Elliot Gould, in the role made famous by Humphrey Bogart. Purists resisted, and some critics scratched their heads. But Gould is brilliant, Altman’s direction is brash and confident, and this “tough, funny, hugely entertaining movie” homes in on the character’s essential, outsider nature, while ingeniously rethinking the conventions of the genre. (Mystery lovers can also stream “Deathtrap” and “Knives Out” on Prime.)
‘Lost in Translation’ (2003)
Sofia Coppola won her first Oscar for her sophomore feature, a dreamily evocative tale of a young, somewhat aimless woman (Scarlett Johansson), all but abandoned by her husband in a Tokyo hotel, who crosses paths with an American movie star (Bill Murray) and finds a partner in international ennui. Murray has never been better onscreen, finding just the right note of reserved bemusement (our critic praised this “vodka-and-bitters version of himself and the persona that made him famous”), while Johansson proves herself a movie star of uncommon confidence. (If you like indie dramas, try “Morvern Callar” or “The Bikeriders.”)
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)
The director Frank Capra and the actor James Stewart took a marvelously simple premise — a suicidal man is given the opportunity to see what his world would have been like without him — and turned it into a holiday perennial. But “It’s a Wonderful Life” is too rich and complex to brand with a label as simple as “Christmas movie”; it is ultimately a story about overcoming darkness and finding light around you, a tricky transition achieved primarily through the peerless work of Stewart as a good man with big dreams who can’t walk away from the place where he’s needed most. Our critic called it a “quaint and engaging modern parable.” (For more classic drama, stream “Bicycle Thieves.”)
‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ (1935)
This Alfred Hitchcock hit — which he would later remake with James Stewart and Doris Day — features an irresistible setup (a dying man whispers a clue about his killer to a near-stranger, but she can’t act on the information or it will endanger her child), “fascinating staccato violence” and one of Hitchcock’s most memorable set pieces: an assassination attempt during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The early passages are playful and dapper, almost comic in tone, before Hitchcock gets around to some of our most primal fears: child peril, random violence, hypnosis, even dentistry. And it has a first-rate villain in the great Peter Lorre, a marvel of purring menace in his first English-speaking role. (Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps” and “The Lady Vanishes” are also on Prime.)
‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three’ (1974)
One of the greatest of all “gritty Gotham” tales — our critic called it “a movie that really catches the mood of New York and New Yorkers” — this darkly funny, white-knuckle thriller from the director Joseph Sargent concerns four armed men who take a subway car hostage, demanding a million-dollar ransom for the lives of the passengers aboard. Robert Shaw is coolly ruthless as the leader of the gang while Walter Matthau is at his hangdog best as the cynical transit cop hot on their trail.
‘Traffic’ (2000)
This tough, wise and somewhat cynical take on the war on drugs is told from the separate perspectives of a street-smart Mexican cop, a newly appointed American drug czar and a pair of D.E.A. agents. The director and cinematographer Steven Soderbergh gives each section its own look, tempo and attitude, all captured with the energy of a ground-level documentary. The result is a panorama of a film, its variety of styles and aesthetics a masterly match for the geopolitical complexity of its subject. The performances are stunning, with standout turns by Benicio Del Toro (who won an Oscar for the role) as a good cop trying to play both sides of the fence, Catherine Zeta-Jones as a California housewife whose husband’s arrest brings out her inner kingpin and Michael Douglas as the political expert who discovers exactly how much he doesn’t know. (For more Oscar-winning acting, stream “Poor Things” or “The Best Years of Our Lives.”)
‘Inherit the Wind’ (1960)
Our critic deemed Stanley Kramer’s adaptation of Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s stage play (based on the notorious Scopes “monkey trial”) to be “triumphant,” its climax “one of the most brilliant and engrossing displays of acting ever witnessed on the screen.” The actors Fredric March and Spencer Tracy are in career-best form as the Bible-pounding orator and the agnostic defense attorney on opposite theological and philosophical sides of the evolution debate. Kramer cranks up the carnival atmosphere, to great effect, and pulls a rare (and entertaining) nonmusical supporting turn from Gene Kelly as an H.L. Mencken-esque newspaper reporter. (For more ’60s drama, stream “The Miracle Worker” and “The Fugitive Kind.”)
‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ (1968)
The first two collaborations between Clint Eastwood and director Sergio Leone, “A Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More” (also each on Prime) did nothing less than reinvent a genre, diverting popular attention from the increasingly stodgy traditional Western to the so-called “Spaghetti Western,” which ramped up the bloodshed, self-awareness and stylistic exuberance. Those films were modest, low-budget affairs, but Leone and Eastwood broke the mold with this trilogy-ending masterpiece in 1966, which runs nearly three hours and elevates its antiheroes to near-mythic status. Our critic called it “luridly intoxicating.”
‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ (1966)
The actor Zero Mostel is an absolute gas in this leading role of this “leering clown of a movie,” adapted from the Broadway smash with energy and verve by the director Richard Lester (“A Hard Day’s Night”). Mostel stars as Pseudolus, a fast-talking and faster-thinking slave in ancient Rome who cooks up a plot to win his freedom, with uproarious complications blocking his path at every turn. Lester keeps things moving at a healthy clip, smoothly weaving in slapstick set pieces and songs from the great Stephen Sondheim. Keep an eye out for Buster Keaton in one of his final feature film roles. (For more classic comedy, stream “Ball of Fire” or “Harvey.”)
‘Across 110th Street’ (1972)
One of the most hard-edge and thought-provoking pictures of the so-called blaxploitation cycle, this New York action drama pairs Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto as detectives investigating the blood-spilling robbery of a mob-controlled numbers bank in Harlem. The case is a dangerous intersection of organized crime interests, a conflict exacerbated by the contrasts between these two cops — Black and white, young and old, idealistic and corrupted — resulting in an explosive and decidedly un-Hollywood conclusion. (If you love crime movies, try “Romeo Is Bleeding” or “King of New York.”)
‘The Thief Collector’ (2022)
In 1985, Willem de Kooning’s painting “Woman-Ochre” was stolen, in broad daylight, from the University of Arizona Museum of Art, a clumsy caper that was nevertheless successful; the painting was not recovered until 2017, when it was found in the home of a pair of retired schoolteachers. In this delightful documentary, the director Allison Otto makes the case that those retirees, Jerry and Rita Alter, pulled the heist as part of a double life of crime — hilariously dramatized in sequences with Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Sarah Minnich (“Better Call Saul”) as the Alters. It makes for a pleasurable combination of art documentary and heist comedy, but the closing passages, detailing the painting’s recovery and restoration, are surprisingly and effectively poignant.
‘Professor Marston and the Wonder Women’ (2017)
The life that William Moulton Marston shared with two women — his wife and their lover — and their mutual experimentation with polyamory and bondage helped inspire the popular comic book character Wonder Woman, as well as some of her more controversial early imagery. Angela Robinson, the writer and director, draws parallels from their lives to the character’s, showing frames from the comic book with the precision and wit of a good documentary, and thus providing welcome context for the recent resurgence in her popularity. But “Wonder Women” is most remarkable for the nuance it gives to its central relationship, treating what could’ve been a giggly sexcapade with genuine complexity and sensitivity. In the end, it’s not just another biopic; this is a lovely story about not only finding love, but understanding and accepting it, on its own terms.
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