Only one streaming service lives on a site that will sell you paper towels with no shipping costs: Amazon Prime Video. But while shopping for household goods, you may also wonder, What are the best movies on Amazon Prime Video? Vanity Fair is here to help.
Truly, there are countless films on Prime Video you can rent for a few bucks—but if you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get access to a ton of free, good movies. There are comedies, horror films, dramas, classics, sexy tennis movies with Zendaya (okay, only one sexy tennis movie with Zendaya), and a lot more. So don’t get stuck holding the remote like a schmuck while your spouse eats all the Häagen-Dazs. Take a look at this curated list and pick something out before you turn the television on.
All of Me (1984)
Director: Carl ReinerGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Richard LibertiniMPA rating: PGRotten Tomatoes: 85%Metacritic: 68
For those of us old enough to have seen this in theaters, we’ve been mumbling “put Edwina backinbowl” for 40 years. (It’s been a struggle.) This zany supernatural comedy is probably a little dated in its treatment of Eastern religions, but that hopefully won’t offend you too much when you see everyman Steve Martin’s physical antics after 50% of his body is overtaken by undead zillionaire Lily Tomlin. Though this is still a bananas picture, it was the first of Martin’s films that wasn’t just a joke parade like The Jerk or Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid—an important turn in the road for a great career.
City Lights (1931)
Director: Charlie ChaplinGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry MyersMPA rating: Not ratedRotten Tomatoes: 95%Metacritic: 99
If you only know Charlie Chaplin as some dude who twirls a cane in three-second clips about “the magic of the movies,” well, you are in luck. The guy is famous for a reason, and while much of his success came from slapstick moments in short films, he was more than adept at sustaining an entire feature-length narrative. City Lights strings together a number of memorable bits (the boxing match! The rich drunk!) but is also a winning romance in which Chaplin’s Tramp (yes, the cane-twirling guy) wins the heart of a blind flower salesgirl played by Virginia Cherrill.
Conclave (2024)
Director: Edward BergerGenre: DramaNotable cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John LithgowMPA rating: PGRotten Tomatoes: 93%Metacritic: 79
Intrigue! At the Vatican! Ralph Fiennes leads a group of crimson-robed holy men through a series of surprisingly dishy days and nights while determining who gets to be the next pope. The Holy See soon becomes the Holy I See What You Did, as past scandals are uncovered and men of the cloth maneuver to support their personal faves. Nominated for eight Oscars and winning one for best adapted screenplay, Conclave will, if nothing else, renew your faith in page-turning “airport novel” cinema.
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
Director: Susan SeidelmanGenre: Madcap adventureNotable cast: Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan QuinnMPA rating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes: 86%Metacritic: 71
Timing really is everything. Desperately Seeking Susan was released just two days after the start of Madonna’s first concert tour—The Virgin Tour, har har—which catapulted her to legendary status. This movie wasn’t written for her, though the costume department pulled from her style. The film positions Madonna as the ultimate aspirational free spirit, cavorting through a downtown New York scene that mixes high art, new wave, and just a splash of danger. Rosanna Arquette plays the New Jersey hausfrau who wants more out of life, and starts chasing her dreams in Madonna’s chaotic wake. While certainly a time capsule, the humor and emotion have stayed resonant after all these years. Also: keep a sharp eye out for several examples of Madonna eating Cheez Doodles.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan GoldsteinGenre: Action AdventureNotable cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice SmithMPA rating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes: 91%Metacritic: 72
The rare family-friendly action-adventure movie that doesn’t succumb to lowest common denominator gags, this exploration of fearsome fighters and mysterious magic users wears its love of nerdy lore on its cloak. Chris Pine is oozing charisma as a brave bard, with Michelle Rodriguez as the best-pal barbarian at his side. Those who know their way around a 20-sided die will pick up some extra references, but previous experience with tabletop gaming is not a requirement. For sheer enjoyment, this is one of the best movies on Prime right now.
Escape From New York (1981)
Director: John CarpenterGenre: Action-AdventureNotable cast: Kurt Russell, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne BarbeauMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 86%Metacritic: 76
As with RoboCop, it took me a long time to realize there was a satirical side to John Carpenter’s Escape From New York. As a kid, I was convinced that Manhattan Island might any day be transformed into a carceral oubliette, into which maniacal sociopaths would be dropped and left to fend for themselves. Due to some shenanigans in the film, the president of the United States ends up in this horrible place (and this was before congestion pricing!). Only one man can save him: Kurt Russell’s Snake Plisskin. What follows is an avalanche of nihilistic violence and WWE-style performances from a rogue’s gallery including Isaac Hayes, Ernest Borgnine, and Harry Dean Stanton.
Fear of a Black Hat (1994)
Director: Rusty CundieffGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Rusty Cundieff, Kasi Lemmons, Larry B. ScottMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 83%Metacritic: 62
One of the best Prime movies for 1990s nostalgia, this mockumentary is one of the great hip-hop comedies, poking fun at the rap trends of the time. (Indeed, it must be noted that there were several stars with “Ice” in their name.) This low-budget picture, inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, made its Sundance debut just before a bigger-budget rap mockumentary, CB4, hit theaters. While that film had bigger stars, this had (and still has) far more edge to it. Its director and star, Rusty Cundieff, later created the Tales From the Hood series and directed much of Chappelle’s Show.
From Russia With Love (1964)
Director: Terence YoungGenre: Action-AdventureNotable cast: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Daniela BianchiMPA rating: PG (rated upon rerelease)Rotten Tomatoes: 97%Metacritic: 83
There are 25 Eon-produced James Bond films, and this is the best one. If you don’t like that pick, I’ve got a poisoned spike in my shoe with your name on it! Join 007 as he races off to Istanbul to help Tatiana Romanova defect to the West, knowing full well that he’s walking into a trap. But if the handsome Sean Connery can’t woo the political beliefs out of a woman, then there’s truly nothing in the world we can believe in anymore. From Russia With Love features a fight on the Orient Express, a battle between dancing Roma women, prurient microfilm, chess metaphors, green figs, yogurt, coffee very black, and Matt Monro on the soundtrack. I wish I were watching this movie right now.
The Handmaiden (2016)
Director: Park Chan-wookGenre: Crime DramaNotable cast: Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-wooMPA rating: Not rated (but, uh, would probably be an NC-17 if it were!)Rotten Tomatoes: 96%Metacritic: 85
One of the racier movies on Amazon Prime, Park Chan-wook’s film was adapted from a British novel set in the Victorian era ported over to Korea during Japanese rule in the 1930s. The film involves scheming lesbian lovers, surprise twists, elegant set pieces, and no shortage of blood and prurience. It’s a little over-the-top, but compared to some of Park’s earlier films (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance), it’s positively sweet.
The Immigrant (2013)
Director: James GrayGenre: DramaNotable cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy RennerMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 85%Metacritic: 77
Assimilation is a magic act in James Gray’s marvelous period drama—one of the last films that was almost nuked by raving producer Harvey Weinstein prior to his dismissal from society. Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, and Marion Cotillard, who is fresh off the boat, form a love triangle in an early-1920s New York City involving con artists, killers, pimps, and other assorted low-lives,which, for better or worse, Gray and cinematographer Darius Khondji make look absolutely gorgeous.
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Director: Godfrey ReggioGenre: ExperimentalNotable cast: The planet EarthMPA rating: Not ratedRotten Tomatoes: 91%Metacritic: 72
This art house mainstay is still revolutionary in its craftsmanship and hesitancy to explain itself. Godfrey Reggio, a former monk/social activist/political advertising man, collaborated with tech-forward cinematographer Ron Fricke and celebrated composer Philip Glass to make Koyaanisqatsi, a portrait of the natural world and its human inhabitants living in a weirdly beautiful disharmony. (The title means “Life out of Balance” in the Hopi language.) No one had ever seen such a collection of images put to music quite like this before—and Reggio’s style was immediately seized upon by Madison Avenue, making this one of the most influential pictures of the late 20th century. It’s also never boring despite it having no dialogue or plot. A great one to stream during a late night.
Lovers Rock (2020)
Director: Steve McQueenGenre: DramaNotable cast: Dennis Bovel, Saffron Coomber, Frankie FoxMPA rating: Not ratedRotten Tomatoes: 97% (awarded to the five Small Axe films in aggregate)Metacritic: 95
One of the five films that make up Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, Lovers Rock has a purity and simplicity to it that, in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, would fall apart. Set over the course of one night (and a tiny bit into the morning), the film follows a group of young British people of Caribbean descent who organize a house party. Then they dance. We’ve got our eyes on one couple who have some sparks, but that’s about it in terms of plot. And yet it is one of the most energetic things you’ll ever see.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Director: Kenneth LonnerganGenre: DramaNotable cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas HedgesMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 96%Metacritic: 96
As they often say up on the Massachusetts cape: oy, such tsuris! Kenneth Lonnergan’s exquisitely observed drama doubles as a nice game you can play: see if you can make it all the way to the end without starting to cry. Casey Affleck, who won a best actor Oscar for this part, plays a man ripped to shreds by guilt after a horrible accident. He suddenly finds himself guardian to his nephew, Lucas Hedges. Conflicts ripple outward to a widening circle of troubled characters, all of whom are suffering, and few finding solace. As in life, there are no easy answers here, but the performances and the setting are strangely beautiful.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian… (1979)
Director: Terry Jones and Terry GilliamGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Biggus DickusMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 96%Metacritic: 77
The low budget Monty Python and the Holy Grail ended up being a substantial hit, earning a huge profit margin. You would think production companies would be itching to finance the comedy group’s follow-up, but there was something about this one’s subject matter that scared away the suits. Annoyed that he wouldn’t get to see a new Python picture, George Harrison of The Beatles said “okay, fine—I’ll start making movies, then.” (Which he continued to do with considerable success.) Would that we all had the discretionary dough to just bring some of our most anticipated projects to life! As far as Life of Brian is concerned, this send-up of Bible epics is the most narratively-driven of anything in the entire Python canon. There are parts of it that are almost like a real movie, unlike the absurdist sketches that tend to baffle newcomers. It tells the story of someone who is very much NOT Jesus of Nazareth, though that didn’t stop Ireland, Italy, and Norway from banning the movie fearing it was blasphemous. Anyway, if you like gags about Latin grammar, this is just the thing for you.
One Night in Miami… (2020)
Director: Regina KingGenre: DramaNotable cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Eli Goree, Aldis HodgeMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 98%Metacritic: 83
Four Black men on the verge of changing the world—Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali (still known as Cassius Clay)—meet in a hotel room in 1963 to examine the roads that lie ahead for them. Based on a speculative play by Kemp Powers that is in turn based on a true meetup, Regina King’s film adaptation offers the floor to four powerhouse performers. Leslie Odom Jr. is particularly effective as Sam Cooke in a musical sequence.
Passion Fish (1992)
Director: John SaylesGenre: DramaNotable cast: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David StrathairnMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 100%Metacritic: Not listed
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, John Sayles was pumping out brilliant, literate, funny, and emotional independent films at a regular clip—and Passion Fish might be the best of the bunch. It stars Mary McDonnell as a soap opera star who moves back to Louisiana after a traffic accident leaves her paralyzed. While wallowing in self-pity, she bonds with a nurse, Alfre Woodard, the only caregiver who doesn’t quit because she has no other options open to her. David Strathairn costars as a local fisherman. In a parallel universe, this is the most famous movie of the 1990s, because it’s absolutely fantastic.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Director: Billy WilderGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn MonroeMPA rating: Not ratedRotten Tomatoes: 95%Metacritic: 98
Billy Wilder’s mid-century classic is the quintessential zany, sexy comedy, with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as jazz musicians disguising themselves as women to hide from angry mobsters. Their adventures send them and Marilyn Monroe (at her comic apex) to Miami, where a series of escalating mishaps and misunderstandings provide future sitcoms with plenty of knockoff material. “Nobody’s perfect,” but this movie is.
Submarine (2011)
Director: Richard AyoadeGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, Paddy ConsidineMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 88%Metacritic: 76
One of the great, somewhat forgotten recent quirky teen romance films, Richard Ayoade’s Submarine could be reductively described as a “British Rushmore,” but…is that such a bad thing? It has a similar snappy style of editing and production design, as well as a delightful, youthful melancholy. The soundtrack includes six original songs by Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, which may give you a good idea of what you are in for here.
Sylvie’s Love (2020)
Director: Eugene AsheGenre: Romantic dramaNotable cast: Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Regé-Jean PageMPA rating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes: 94%Metacritic: 74
This terrific early-’60s-set Harlem melodrama is a tender and witty look at the worlds of jazz and, uh, early cooking shows, with lavish sets, costumes, and production design. It’s also just charming as hell to watch Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha flirt, fall in love, suffer setbacks, yearn for one another, and then…live happily ever after? Well, I’m not gonna spoil it; you need to watch for yourself.
Yentl (1983)
Director: Barbra StreisandGenre: Drama-musicalNotable cast: Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy IrvingMPA rating: PGRotten Tomatoes: 69%Metacritic: 68
“What kind of creature are you???” “I’m just a woman!!!” Barbra Streisand’s ahead-of-its-time masterpiece currently enjoys the critical respect it deserves, though it got something of a (sexist) cold shoulder upon its release. (Look at those middling critic scores: a shanda!) This marvelous film, in which a bright young woman must go undercover as a man to study religion, boasts romance, comedy, searing drama, and even some great musical numbers. There’s never been another movie quite like Yentl.
Which is the highest-viewed movie on Prime?
The most-viewed movie on Amazon Prime is the remake of Road House, believe it or not.
What are the 10 most popular original series on Prime?
According to IMDb, the 10 most popular series on Prime are The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Man in the High Castle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Grand Tour, Bosch, Carnival Row, Paatal Lok, Goliath, and Upload.
The post The 20 Best Movies on Amazon Prime to Watch Now (October 2025) appeared first on Vanity Fair.
