The Top 25 Must-Watch Movies on Amazon Prime (July 2025) | Vanity Fair
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.
Director: Charles CrichtonGenre: ComedyNotable cast: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin, Kevin KlineMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 96%Metacritic: 80
One of the zanier heist comedies ever made—and something of a Monty Python reunion—was also a surprise international hit in the late 1980s, perfectly pitting John Cleese in peak exasperation mode against Kevin Kline as a blockhead would-be criminal. (Kline won a best supporting Oscar for the role.) Michael Palin as a stuttering animal rights activist who keeps accidentally killing animals doesn’t sound like a funny concept, but the way the screenplay teases it out makes for one of the best running gags of all time. Jamie Lee Curtis is also marvelous as a femme fatale with a resuscitated heart of gold.
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.
Director: John LandisGenre: Horror-comedyNotable cast: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny AgutterMPA rating: RRotten 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!
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.
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.
Director: Fred ZinnemannGenre: SuspenseNotable cast: Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Derek JacobiMPA rating: PGRotten Tomatoes: 91%Metacritic: 80
Back in the old days, when you wanted to assassinate a head of state, you had to do it without Google Maps, cell phones, or those guns that put a little red spot on the guy before you shoot. This is the world of Fred Zinnemann’s The Day of the Jackal, which is based on a tiny speck of truth (in as much as French nationalists wanted to bump off Charles de Gaulle, and there was a real assassin codenamed the Jackal) and is a flat-out masterpiece of no-nonsense spycraft. Roger Ebert summed it up perfectly by writing that the movie “is two and a half hours long and seems over in about 15 minutes.”
Director: Spike LeeGenre: Drama (but also comedy)Notable cast: Spike Lee, Rosie Perez, John TurturroMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 92%Metacritic: 93
“20 D Energizers!” Spike Lee’s heat-soaked masterpiece is among the most insightful and socially relevant films of all time, but let’s not forget something: It’s also incredibly funny, and includes a tidal wave of great performances and zingers that also make this an uncommonly quotable movie. I can personally attest that, for more than 30 years, I’ve been repeating Sal’s “Extra cheese is $2!” and Sweet Dick Willie’s “It ain’t never too hot or never too cold!” whenever the opportunity presents itself.
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.
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.
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.
Director: Terry ZwigoffGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve BuscemiMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 93%Metacritic: 90
Arguably the finest ode to nonconformity on film, Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World, based on Daniel Clowes’s comic books, is a painfully funny look at the transition into adulthood, and measuring just how many of society’s rules one can accept without giving up their identity. Putting it in such clinical terms would surely make Enid roll her eyes and Seymour mutter “ugh,” but that’s why they are forever cooler than we will ever be.
Director: Mike NicholsGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine RossMPA rating: PG (rated upon rerelease)Rotten Tomatoes: 87%Metacritic: 83
Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft saw to it that there was no physical generation gap in this counterculture epic by, um, meeting discreetly in hotel rooms. Despite the passage of time, there’s a universality to young Benjamin Braddock’s conundrum of not knowing what the hell he wants to do with his life now that he’s graduated college. (“Plastics” isn’t the answer.) Mike Nichols’s legendary film, with its Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack, had considerably fewer overt political moments in it than many other movies of the era, which is probably why it has lasted so long.
Director: Michael GraceyGenre: Circus MusicalNotable cast: Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Zac EfronMPA rating: PGRotten Tomatoes: 56%Metacritic: 48
Previous generations could have only dreamt of being able to pick up a remote control, point it at a television, and instantly summon Hugh Jackman on an elephant. But this (meaning our lives right now, in an age of miracles and wonder) is the greatest show! Anyhow: Jackman is marvelous as P.T. Barnum, and the cast includes Zendaya (who does a lot of spinning around on a trapeze) and Zac Efron (who watches her spin around on a trapeze).
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.
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.
Director: Sofia CoppolaGenre: DramaNotable cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni RibisiMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 95%Metacritic: 91
I dunno about you, but whenever I’m bored at a hotel, it’s never as glamorous as this. (I’m usually trying to figure out how the thermostat works.) Sofia Coppola famously conceived of her breakout film not by creating a typical screenplay, but by writing short paragraphs reflecting on time spent in Tokyo, envisioning Bill Murray in the main role. It then took her a year to get him to agree to be in the film—opposite a 17-year-old Scarlett Johansson.
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.
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.
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.
Director: Martin BrestGenre: ComedyNotable cast: Al Pacino, Chris O’Donnell, WomenMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 85%Metacritic: 57
“Hoo-ah!” Al Pacino made the full transformation into “Loud Al” with this sleeper success from director Martin Brest. In it, he plays an ornery, blind, retired army colonel who starts palling around with a prep school student (Chris O’Donnell), teaching him how to live, how to truly live. (Unlike Zorba the Greek, it does not involve dancing on the sand, but there are other commonalities.) This is definitely a movie from another time, but if you ignore the occasionally creaky sexual politics and instead focus on the outstanding New York City location photography, you may find yourself having a good time. It won Pacino his first acting Oscar after seven nominations.
Director: Ang LeeGenre: DramaNotable cast: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh GrantMPA rating: PGRotten Tomatoes: 97%Metacritic: 84
The first of Jane Austen’s six major novels, adapted at a time when the author’s work had finally been freed from soporific Masterpiece Theatre associations. Director Ang Lee and screenwriter Emma Thompson, who also stars in the film, deliver a fast-paced, funny, and juicy version with a whole lot of romping around the countryside, getting caught in the rain, swooning, weeping, and making ever so many witty remarks.
Director: David FincherGenre: DramaNotable cast: Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin TimberlakeMPA rating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes: 96%Metacritic: 95
Director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s ballad of the tech bro is arguably the quintessential film of its era, detailing the Wild West of new internet wealth. Yes, Facebook got people back in touch with their lost high school chums, but was it worth making these immature, hoodie-wearing dweebs zillionaires? Hit “like” if you have thoughts.
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.
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.
Director: Seth MacFarlaneGenre: Action-AdventureNotable cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, TedMPA rating: RRotten Tomatoes: 69%Metacritic: 62
What’s funnier than a Boston dirtbag? A Boston dirtbag that’s also a teddy bear. Ted, from the frequently annoying Seth MacFarlane, is a cavalcade of inappropriate jokes that, in the safety of your own home, you can respond to as your heart desires, with no fear of shame. (There’s a bit in here about the stuffed animal’s tag that is simultaneously adorable and shocking.) The ending may drag on a little long, and all the stuff about Flash Gordon overstays its welcome, but just because you start streaming Ted while cracking a brewski doesn’t mean you need to finish it. It’s still pretty damn funny.
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.
The most-viewed movie on Amazon Prime is the remake of Road House, believe it or not.
Right now, with Die Hard is doing big numbers, probably because we just made it through Christmas. I didn't include on the list just because I want to give that movie a rest for a little while.
Based on information from IMDb, the top 10 series on Prime Video include 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.
