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.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Drama
Notable cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden
MPA rating: Not rated
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 97
This is a great movie for people who like to say, “Oh yes, I would be the righteous, thorough juror like Henry Fonda—not like Jack Warden, who just wants to get the hell out of there and watch a baseball game.” You know, people who lie to themselves. A trial by jury is still probably the best system we’ve got, but it ain’t flawless, as this extremely juicy and watchable drama proves. It’s one of the best free movies on Prime Video that you may have been meaning to see but never have.
Air (2023)
Director: Ben Affleck
Genre: Comedy-drama
Notable cast: Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 73
No one makes a movie when you do well at work, but your work doesn’t involve clinching a decades-spanning pop-culture moment, does it? Matt Damon plays the real-life genius at Nike who convinced Michael Jordan to stick his name on a new shoe, which sounds like the dumbest idea for a feature film ever. But the way director Ben Affleck puts Air together, it’s almost like a heist picture, with Viola Davis’s Deloris Jordan as the final obstacle. It’s pure rah-rah capitalism, but one of the top movies on Amazon Prime Video to guarantee a smile.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Director: John Landis
Genre: Horror-comedy
Notable cast: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 55
“Beware the moon, lads!” The OG horror-comedy, An American Werewolf in London remains fur-raisingly scary, genuinely funny, and still a little shocking. David Naughton’s transformation sequence is the gold standard for practical special effects, but don’t forget that little piece of flappy skin on Griffin Dunne’s face in the hospital scene—yeeeeach! The big finish at Piccadilly Circus is a warning to all us Yanks: Never go to England!
Captain Phillips (2013)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Genre: Action-drama
Notable cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, the sea
MPA rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 82
Tom Hanks gives one of the best performances of his career (and yet somehow didn’t get an Oscar nom) as the titular Captain Phillips, though social media users are well aware that he is not the captain for the entire duration of this film. (Yes, Paul Greengrass’s nail-biter of a piracy drama is the origin of this meme.) This terrifying film will have you thinking twice before you order cheap goods that require international shipping.
Challengers (2024)
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Genre: Romantic drama
Notable cast: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist
MPA rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 82
