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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+.
‘Tár’ (2022)
Cate Blanchett is Lydia Tár, an acclaimed orchestral conductor, composer and instructor whose precariously balanced life and career begin to collapse around her in this “cruelly elegant, elegantly cruel” character study from the writer and director Todd Field (“In the Bedroom”). Blanchett was nominated for best actress at last year’s Oscars for her electrifying turn as a woman whose genius has long excused her considerable flaws; Nina Hoss is terrific as the longtime partner who can no longer look the other way. Field directs the story of Lydia’s fall from grace with chilly, riveting precision and welcome psychological nuance. (Hoss is also excellent in “A Most Wanted Man.”)
‘Jackie Brown’ (1997)
Quentin Tarantino followed up “Pulp Fiction” by reworking Elmore Leonard’s novel “Rum Punch” into a vehicle for the 1970s exploitation movie legend Pam Grier, and the result has all the hallmarks of a Tarantino picture: memorable and musical dialogue, playful construction, eccentric supporting characters and a throwback aesthetic. But Grier and Robert Forster (as a seen-it-all bail bondsman) lend the picture a maturity and gravitas that can elude even Tarantino’s best work. (Crime caper fans should also check out “Bound.”)
‘Night Moves’ (2014)
Many of Kelly Reichardt’s acolytes consider this eco-thriller to be among the director’s lesser efforts, and when placed against “Wendy and Lucy” or “First Cow,” perhaps that’s true. But Reichardt on her worst day surpasses most of her contemporaries on their best, and there’s much to recommend in this morally thorny story of a trio of radical environmentalists (Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard) as they meticulously plot and execute a dangerous act of protest. Reichardt hits the thriller beats, but casually and modestly; her emphasis, as ever, is on character, and she finds as much suspense in interactions as in the action itself.
‘Escape From New York’ (1981)
This sci-fi-action thriller from the director John Carpenter imagines the distant future, 1997, in which the island of Manhattan has become a giant, chaotic, maximum-security prison. (Considering the state of the city in the early ’80s, it wasn’t hard to imagine.) A grizzled Kurt Russell stars as Snake Plissken, a bank robber attempting to rescue the kidnapped president of the United States from the island. Carpenter manically orchestrates Plissken’s mission as a darkly funny free-for-all, loaded with slam-bang set pieces and memorable supporting turns by a rogues’ gallery of character actors. Our critic called it “by far Mr. Carpenter’s most ambitious, most riveting film to date.” (For more classic genre cinema, check out “The Bird With the Crystal Plumage.”)
‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)
Joel and Ethan Coen won their first Oscars for best picture and best director (and their second for best screenplay) for this gripping, moody, and darkly funny adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s dusty 2005 novel. Telling the stories of a ruthless killer (Javier Bardem, who took home an Oscar for best supporting actor), a morally flexible rancher (Josh Brolin) and a small-town sheriff whose paths cross when a border drug deal goes south, the Coens construct a Western contemporary in both its setting and style, setting the table for the standard standoffs and shootouts, then turning those expectations inside out. The result is a picture with genre trappings, but more on its mind than gunplay and drug money.
‘Selma’ (2014)
Ava DuVernay directs this “bold and bracingly self-assured” dramatization of the events surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1965 marches for voting rights in Selma, Ala. DuVernay is telling the story not of a man but of a movement; the picture bursts with the urgency of promises unkept. David Oyelowo is astonishing as King, capturing the unmistakable cadences but also the man — uncertain, jocular, determined. The stellar ensemble cast includes Dylan Baker, Carmen Ejogo, André Holland, Stephan James, Wendell Pierce, Tim Roth, Tessa Thompson, Lorraine Toussaint, Tom Wilkinson and Oprah Winfrey. (For more historical drama, try “12 Years a Slave” or “The French Lieutenant’s Woman.”)
‘Pariah’ (2011)
Dee Rees made her feature directorial debut with this heartfelt and thoughtful story about a Brooklyn teenager (the “incandescent” Adepero Oduye) named Alike, and her attempt to come out as a lesbian — fully aware of the resistance she will face from her controlling mother (Kim Wayans). Rees, who also wrote the screenplay, is well versed in the lives these characters live, the neighborhoods they inhabit and the lies they tell one another in order to coexist. But she also captures the seductiveness of the subcultures Alike begins to explore, and the alternative they present: the choice to live one’s truth, with no apologies. (If you like coming-of-age dramas, stream “Purple Rain.”)
‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)
Steven Spielberg won his second Academy Award for best director with this World War II epic that our critic called “soberly magnificent.” The film fuses the types and tropes of vintage war pictures with a more contemporary, less romanticized view of the horrors of combat. The latter are fully on display in the virtuosic, nearly dialogue-free recreation of the Omaha Beach landing at the start of the film, as vivid and visceral a demonstration that “war is hell” as has ever been put to celluloid. And while the story that follows — a no-nonsense captain (Tom Hanks) leads his shellshocked unit into Normandy in an attempt to find the sole surviving son (Matt Damon) of a battle-torn family — may be less intense, it’s no less powerful.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ (1994)
Two “lifers,” locked up together indefinitely in Shawshank prison, form a bond that transcends decades of their lives and, ultimately, their own incarcerations in this heart-wrenching adaptation of a novella by Stephen King. Tim Robbins is in fine form as Andy Dufresne, convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and dedicated to proving it. As Red, the guy who can get anything for anybody, Morgan Freeman (who also narrates) crafts the quintessential Morgan Freeman performance: folksy and friendly, but with a layer of steel underneath. Our critic called it “a slow, gentle story of camaraderie and growth.”
‘Legally Blonde’ (2001)
A fair number of critics initially dismissed this witty and wacky Reese Witherspoon vehicle as lightweight, disposable fluff — a reaction strangely appropriate to this story of a young woman whose peers underestimate her based on looks and 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, masterfully modulated lead performance and timeless message about self-determination in the face of adversity. (For more breezy, female-fronted comedy, check out “Earth Girls Are Easy” and “Valley Girl.”)
‘The Untouchables’ (1987)
This jazzy riff on the hit 1959 television series could have been just another in the endless series of color-by-number TV-to-movie adaptations. But the personnel involved made it something special. Directed with stylishness and wit by Brian De Palma, written with toughness by David Mamet and scored with operatic intensity by Ennio Morricone, the film featured memorable performances by Kevin Costner, an Oscar-winning Sean Connery and an appropriately scenery-chewing Robert De Niro. With so much firepower, “The Untouchables” transcends its spinoff roots to become one of the snazziest, sharpest crime pictures of the 1980s. (Crime film aficionados will also love “The Cotton Club Encore.”)
‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)
A young boy’s friendship with an alien robot in small-town America provides the spine for this charming animated adventure from director Brad Bird (who went on to direct the Pixar classics “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille”). Set amid the early years of the Cold War, the film is a throwback to cartoons of that era, not only in terms of its art direction and plotting but also in its more traditional style of animation. “The Iron Giant” is a good old-fashioned piece of full-family entertainment, providing thrills for the kids alongside wry humor and vintage references for their parents. (For more family-friendly entertainment, check out “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Paddington.”)
‘Men in Black’ (1997)
This smash sci-fi-comedy hybrid plays, in many ways, like a sly satire of star Will Smith’s “Independence Day” from the previous summer, treating an alien invasion not as doomsday event, but a fact of life — burdened mostly by the inconveniences of bureaucracy. Tommy Lee Jones stars as Agent K, a longtime member of the agency in charge of tracking and regulating extraterrestrial visitors, while Smith stars as Agent J, the new recruit who must learn the ropes. The screenplay knows that the old-pro-meets-young-hotshot setup is a chestnut and treats it with the proper irreverence, while Barry Sonnenfeld’s inventive direction gracefully amplifies the absurdity in every scenario. The result is a rarity: a big-budget tentpole that displays both jaw-dropping effects and a sense of humor.
‘Cool Hand Luke’ (1967)
Paul Newman turns in one of his most iconic performances as the former war hero Lucas Jackson, whose tenacious, rascally free spirit and refusal to submit to authority maddens his keepers on a Florida chain gang — and inspires his fellow prisoners. The director Stuart Rosenberg cranks up the sweaty atmosphere and high intensity, placing the viewer right alongside Luke as he fights, runs and bets his way through his sentence. Our critic praised its “intelligent contemplation of the ironies of life.”
‘Serpico’ (1973)
Al Pacino followed up the triumph of “The Godfather” with this gripping police drama, based on the true story of a New York Police Department whistle-blower. Pacino stars as Frank Serpico, the socially conscious “hippie” cop who rises quickly to become an undercover officer, only to discover rampant corruption and extortion among New York’s finest. Pacino’s bravura performance is a simmering cauldron of righteous indignation; the director Sidney Lumet grounds the film in documentary-style authenticity. Our critic called it “Lumet’s toughest, most provocative film in years.” (Check out Pacino on the other side of the law in “Scarface.”)
‘The Limey’ (1999)
The director Steven Soderbergh adroitly fused art-house experimentation and genre storytelling in this tale of a revenge-seeking ex-con (Terence Stamp, in a career-best performance). Soderbergh complicates the straight-ahead narrative by combining fractured timelines, stream-of-consciousness editing and even clips from an earlier Stamp performance (in Ken Loach’s “Poor Cow”). In doing so, he turns what could’ve been a “Death Wish” remake into a thoughtful, mournful, elegiac meditation — on family, on forgiveness, on the past in general and the ’60s in particular.
‘Arrival’ (2016)
So much of contemporary science fiction is merely action in sci-fi clothing that it’s refreshing to encounter a film that uses its big budget, name actors and special effects to imagine not how we would battle extraterrestrials, but how we would try to embrace and understand them. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner star as a linguist and a mathematician who attempt to establish a common language with the inhabitants of an alien ship — all while an impatient world and trigger-happy military clamor for answers and bend to paranoia. Our critic admired how it works in a “more idealistic hopeful key than most movies in this genre.”
‘The Color Purple’ (1985)
Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey made their unforgettable feature film debuts (and each picked up an Oscar nomination) in Steven Spielberg’s tender and sensitive adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel. Goldberg stars as Celie, a poor Black woman in the rural South, forced to marry the vile man she only knows as “Mister” (played, with haunting force, by Danny Glover); Spielberg gives equal weight to the grimness of her life and her power to imagine something better. Our critic praised the picture’s “momentum, warmth and staying power.” (For more ensemble drama, add “Soul Food” to your queue.)
‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ (2019)
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s biographical documentary was released less than two months before the Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist’s death, and it serves as a fitting tribute to her life and legacy. Drawing on interviews with not only Morrison but her famous friends and admirers (including Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz and Oprah Winfrey), Greenfield-Sanders meticulously documents Morrison’s background, influences and all but immeasurable impact on literature and culture, resulting in both a respectful obituary and a spirited celebration.
‘Appropriate Behavior’ (2015)
Desiree Akhavan writes, directs and stars in this devastatingly funny, breathtakingly candid and unexpectedly sexy comedy-drama. She’s is a singular comic voice, and since she’s playing a variation on herself (a bisexual Brooklynite filmmaker and daughter of immigrants), the picture boasts an offhand candor and casual approach to ethnicity, class and identity that makes it distinctive even among the indie set. Our critic praised the picture’s “clever and unpredictable turns of phrase.”
‘True Grit’ (2010)
The Coen Brothers “beautifully adapted” the 1969 John Wayne classic (and the Charles Portis novel that inspired it) in this, their first traditional western, and the genre proved a perfect fit for their grandiose characters, colloquial dialogue style and cockeyed worldview. Jeff Bridges is a hoot, situating his Marshal “Rooster” Cogburn as a hybrid of Wayne, the Dude from “The Big Lebowski” and your crotchety grandfather, but the show-stealer is the newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, an absolute firecracker as the young woman who hires him to track down her father’s killer. (Western fans will also enjoy “Open Range,” “El Dorado” and “One-Eyed Jacks.”)
‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)
Sidney Lumet was one of the great New York filmmakers, and he made several of the great New York movies — chief among them this drama, based on the true story of an ordinary guy who attempted to rob a bank in Brooklyn to pay for his lover’s transition surgery. Al Pacino is both searing and goofy as the would-be criminal, a clumsy amateur whose ineptitude turns what should be a quick job into public sensation over the course of one long, hot summer day. In support, John Cazale turns his accomplice role into a master class in underplaying. “Dog Day” is unpredictable and eye-opening, but embedded with the gritty realism that made Lumet so special.
‘Blazing Saddles’ (1974)
Mel Brooks concocted one of his rudest, brashest, funniest comedies with this Western spoof, in which railroad bosses try to clear out a tiny town by appointing a Black sheriff (Cleavon Little). Brooks and his team of ace comedy writers — including a young Richard Pryor — adopted an “everything but the kitchen sink” approach, throwing in broad slapstick, sophisticated social satire, cheerful vulgarity, witty wordplay and fourth-wall breaks. As a result, there’s something for everyone — and, most likely, something to offend everyone. Gene Wilder lends support as the hard-drinking, quick-drawing Waco Kid, but Madeline Kahn steals the show as vampy saloon performer Lili Von Shtupp. (For more wild comedy, try “Game Night” or “Fletch.”)
‘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 outlaws. Sarandon and Davis play friends whose weekend getaway is derailed by an attempted assault; 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 at the time.
‘Boyz N The Hood’ (1991)
John Singleton made a splashy feature directorial debut with this coming-of-age drama that adroitly mixes hope and despair. Cuba Gooding Jr. (in his breakthrough role) is Tre, a high school senior whose clearest paths are illustrated by his two oldest friends: good-natured, college-bound athlete Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and hard-as-nails gang member Doughboy (Ice Cube). Singleton’s sensitive screenplay mostly avoids outright didacticism, however, and his performers — especially Laurence Fishburne as Tre’s forceful father — are excellent. “He is saying something familiar with new dramatic force,” our critic wrote. (Singleton’s “Higher Learning” is also on Prime.)
‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005)
Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway turn in career-high performances in Ang Lee’s adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story of the same name about the 20-year romance between Ennis (Ledger) and Jack (Gyllenhaal), two rough-edged cowboys who first meet in 1963. The men are required, by the times and the expectations of those around them, to hide their love. The Oscar-winning screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana renders their passion, longing and loneliness with clarity and sensitivity; our critic called it a “moving and majestic film.” (For more Oscar winners, stream “Ordinary People,” “To Sir, With Love” and “Lillies of the Field.”)
‘Creed’ (2015)
The saga of Rocky Balboa, the club fighter plucked from obscurity to fight the heavyweight champ, seemed to have ended with Sylvester Stallone’s 2006 back-to-basics effort “Rocky Balboa.” But nearly a decade later, the filmmaker Ryan Coogler cast a fresh eye on the saga, recasting Stallone’s Rocky as the mentor to Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), the son of Rock’s old rival-turned-friend Apollo Creed. What sounds like a desperate attempt to revive a failing franchise is instead a powerful story of legacy, loss and love, thanks to the energetic direction of Coogler (who would next helm “Black Panther”) and the sensitive performances of Jordan, an Oscar-nominated Stallone and Tessa Thompson, who plays Bianca. Our critic called it “a dandy piece of entertainment, soothingly old-fashioned and bracingly up-to-date.” (“Creed II” is also on Prime; sport film fans should also check out “Air.”)
‘Devil in a Blue Dress’ (1995)
Denzel Washington is terrific — smolderingly sexy, offhandedly funny, endlessly engaging — as Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, a ’40s-era private detective, in this beautifully crafted adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel, from the director Carl Franklin (“One False Move”). Yet even with that great performance at its center, Don Cheadle steals the show as “Mouse,” Rawlins’s troublemaking best friend; this was Cheadle’s breakthrough role, and he makes every scene crackle with energy and unpredictability. “Devil” was based on the first of 14 Rawlins novels (to date), and in a just world, we’d have seen Washington play him 13 more times. But at least we got this one.
‘Hot Fuzz’ (2007)
The director Edgar Wright and the actor Simon Pegg co-wrote the screenplay to this wickedly entertaining and strikingly stylized riff on hyperkinetic action movies. Pegg stars as a London cop whose effectiveness is making the rest of the force look bad, so he’s sent to a rural village to spin his wheels alongside a movie-obsessed goofball of a partner (Nick Frost). But this quaint little hamlet may not be so sleepy after all. Manohla Dargis praised the picture’s “fusillade of film-geek jokes and charming nonsense.” (Wright, Pegg and Frost’s other collaborations, “Shaun of the Dead” and “The World’s End,” are also on Prime.)
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)
The director Frank Capra and the actor Jimmy 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 Stewart, check out “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”)
‘Black Bear’ (2020)
When Aubrey Plaza arrived on the scene over a decade ago, her bone-dry wit, acerbic delivery and supporting turns in comic films and television suggested the second coming of Janeane Garofalo. But her electrifying dramatic work over the past few years suggests something closer to Gena Rowlands. In “Black Bear,” the scorching portrait of psychosexual one-upmanship begins as a love triangle, with Plaza as an actor-turned-filmmaker on a remote retreat with a married couple (Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon, both excellent). Over the course of a long night, the trio flirt, hint and accuse, rearranging and regrouping their allegiances. And then it goes somewhere else entirely, grippingly blurring the lines between life, art and their respective commentaries. (Fans of character-driven indie fare should also check out “Zebrahead” or “Panic.”)
‘Philadelphia’ (1993)
Tom Hanks won his first Academy Award — and kick-started a second career as a dramatic actor — with this “forceful, impassioned and moving” drama from the acclaimed director Jonathan Demme. It was among the first major motion pictures to address the AIDS crisis, and it does so cautiously, wrapping its story in the familiar and comfortable conventions of the courtroom drama. But Hanks is astonishing in the leading role, deploying his Everyman warmth and good humor to humanize a struggle many people had ignored, and Denzel Washington is brilliant as the bigoted peer whose journey to tolerance and understanding mirrored much of the audience’s. (Hanks won the Oscar again the following year for “Forrest Gump,” also on Prime.)
‘Silver Linings Playbook’ (2012)
Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for best actress for her spectacularly sassy and unapologetically haunted performance in David O. Russell’s (somewhat loose) adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel. It’s a balancing act of seemingly contradictory tones and styles, slipping nimbly from serious mental-health drama to screwball comedy to romance thanks to the deceptive casualness of Russell’s approach and the skill of his cast — particularly Bradley Cooper as its unsteady protagonist and Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver (all also Oscar nominees) as his parents. Our critic called it “exuberant” and “a delight.” (The similarly emotionally complex “The Kids Are All Right” is also on Prime.)
‘The Apartment’ (1960)
You can see the DNA of “Mad Men” — not to mention pretty much every other sophisticated romantic comedy of the modern era — in this uproariously funny and deeply melancholic best picture winner from the writers Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond. Jack Lemmon is pitch-perfect as an office drone whose bachelor apartment becomes the go-to hideaway for his corporate superiors, and thus a tool for climbing to their ranks; Shirley MacLaine sparkles as the elevator operator who catches his fancy, and who has a secret or two of her own. Our critic dubbed it “a gleeful, tender and even sentimental film.”
‘Three Days of the Condor’ (1975)
The scandals of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate, coupled with a general post-’60s distrust of authority and institution, led to a miniboom of taut, paranoid conspiracy thrillers (“The Conversation,” “The Parallax View” and “Winter Kills” among them). One of the best is this spy scorcher from the director Sydney Pollack, inspired by the James Grady novel; Robert Redford stars as Joseph Turner, a mild-mannered researcher at a low-profile C.I.A. outpost in New York City, whose entire office is executed while he’s out to lunch. On the run, Turner must transform himself from an analyst into an agent and figure out who is trying to kill him (and why).
‘To Catch a Thief’ (1955)
This sun-drenched romp reunited the director Alfred Hitchcock with one of his favorite leading men, Cary Grant, as a retired cat burglar and Grace Kelly, the ultimate “Hitchcock Blonde,” as the wealthy woman Grant would love to romance or rob (or both). The two fall in love, and they trade witticisms, jabs and flirtations with aplomb against the beautiful backdrop of the South of France. Our critic wrote, “the script and the actors keep things popping, in a fast, slick, sophisticated vein.”
‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’ (2019)
The writing and directing duo of Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz created this gentle comedy-drama to showcase the talents of Zack Gottsagen, a young actor with Down syndrome, playing a character with the same condition. His is a journey of discovery and self-realization, a Huck Finn-style trip alongside a fisherman (Shia LaBeouf) with troubles of his own, rendered with charming humanity and picturesque beauty. The supporting cast is stuffed, but Dakota Johnson is the standout as the young man’s caretaker, and the fisherman’s potential romantic interest. Our critic praised the picture’s “relaxed and amiable vibe.” ((For more indie drama, check out “The Virgin Suicides.”)
‘The Graduate’ (1967)
This wryly funny drama from Mike Nichols, adapted from the novel by Charles Webb, has become such an entrenched piece of popular culture (50-plus years later, you still don’t have to explain what “Mrs. Robinson” means), it is easy to lose track of what great entertainment it is. But it is: Using Dustin Hoffman as his marvelously witty vessel, Nichols dramatizes youthful ennui with a skill rarely seen in American cinema. The soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel is as evocative as ever, and Anne Bancroft’s performance as Mrs. Robinson remains a marvel of empathy and complexity. Our critic called it “funny, outrageous, and touching.” (“New Hollywood” fans will also want to stream the similarly groundbreaking “Last Tango in Paris.”)
‘The Gospel According to André’ (2018)
When André Leon Talley died last year, accolades poured in from some of the most influential figures in the fashion world. Those not quite in the know couldn’t ask for a better summary of his life and achievements than this energetic and entertaining documentary from the director Kate Novack. Talley’s story is a fascinating one, of a child from the segregated South who used fashion magazines as a form of fantasy and escape, and went on to fill those pages with his distinctive words and inimitable style. The archival footage is delightful and the interviews with his contemporaries are insightful, but Talley’s own commentary is the real draw — he will always be trenchant, funny and fabulous. (Documentary fans will also enjoy “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”)
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)
Tom Cruise’s long-awaited sequel to his 1986 smash was a shockingly successful attempt to have it both ways. The filmmakers updated its events and characters for contemporary audiences, but it’s not an outright subversion, either. “Maverick” checks the boxes of the original — there’s thrilling action, sunglasses and leather jackets aplenty, and Cruise at his coolest — and its audience-pleasing conclusion feels like an honest-to-God throwback. (Miles Teller also shines in “Whiplash.”)
‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960)
Six years after Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” John Sturges produced and directed this remake, relocating Kurosawa’s epic from feudal Japan to the American West. But the bones of the story remain the same: a village is terrorized by outside forces, and hires a small band of outlaws to help them fight back. Sturges’s marvelous ensemble cast includes some of the toughest guys in the movies — including Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn and Eli Wallach — along with Yul Brynner, elegant yet credible, as the leader of the guns-for-hire. Elmer Bernstein contributes the iconic score.
‘The Villainess’ (2017)
The opening sequence of this South Korean action movie is such a stunner — a breathless, ultraviolent eight-minute one-killer-takes-on-an-army set piece — that you wonder how the director Jung Byung-gil can possibly top it. Improbably, the hyperkinetic climax, a bone-cracking sequence on a speeding city bus, does just that. But “The Villainess” offers more than empty thrills. Though best explained to Western audiences as a gender-flipped “John Wick,” the narrative that plays out between those memorable book ends has a potent emotional core and a complex dual timeline structure, explaining exactly how Sook-hee (Kim Ok-bin), the ruthless killing machine at the story’s center, became who (and what) she is.
‘The Cheap Detective’ (1978)
Columbo wasn’t the only famous detective brought to life by the one and only Peter Falk; he also brought back Humphrey Bogart (albeit as the private eye Lou Peckinpaugh) in this “funny, affectionate” spoof of Bogart’s classics “Casablanca,” “The Maltese Falcon,” “The Big Sleep,” and any number of others. Neil Simon penned the script, but this is a far cry from the character-driven, relationship-heavy likes of “The Odd Couple” or “Barefoot in the Park,” veering closer to the rapid-fire farce of Simon’s “Your Show of Shows” collaborator Mel Brooks. But he does it well, Falk is admirably game, and the talented supporting players (including Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Ann-Margret, Marsha Mason and Paul Williams) do their jobs with pizzaz. (Brennan and Kahn reunited for the similarly silly “Clue”; for a slightly more serious mystery, stream “Dead Again.”)
‘Train to Busan’ (2016)
This white-knuckle zombie-apocalypse thriller from the South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, set onboard train hurtling toward possible safety, is a fantastic entry in the “relentless action in a confined space” subgenre (recalling “Snowpiercer,” “The Raid,” “Dredd” and the granddaddy of them all, “Die Hard”). The set pieces are energetic, the makeup effects are convincing, and the storytelling is ruthless. (Don’t get too attached to anyone.) But it’s not all blood and bluster; there’s a patient, deliberate setup before the orgy of gore and mayhem, leading to a surprising outpouring of emotion at the story’s conclusion. Our critic deemed it “often chaotic but never disorienting,” and praised its “spirited set pieces.” (Action fans will also enjoy “True Lies” and “El Mariachi.”)
‘The Night of the Hunter’ (1955)
The esteemed character actor Charles Laughton made his one and only trip behind the camera for this haunting small-town thriller, which melds the conventions of film noir and Hitchcock-style suspense with a healthy taste of Southern Gothic. Robert Mitchum crafts a chilling, unforgettable performance as a mysterious stranger who romances a widowed mother (a superb Shelley Winters) whose children seem to be the only ones capable of seeing the evil within him. Our critic called it “clever and exceptionally effective.” (Fans of vintage genre films will also enjoy “The Killing,” “The Naked Kiss” and “The Bird With the Crystal Plumage.”)
‘Licorice Pizza’ (2021)
The writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson picked up nominations for best director, best original screenplay and best picture for this richly textured, quietly bittersweet and frequently funny story of growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. The actor Cooper Hoffman is charismatic and charming as a young would-be entrepreneur; the musician Alana Haim, in a star-making performance of astonishing depth, is the perpetually out-of-reach object of his affections. It’s the kind of movie that sneaks up on you with its warmth and insight. Manohla Dargis called it “a shaggy, fitfully brilliant romp.” (“Armageddon Time” is a similarly nuanced coming-of-age story.)
‘The Northman’ (2022)
Robert Eggers, the director of “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse,” goes big — very big — with this epic Viking adventure, based on the Scandinavian legend of Amleth. Alexander Skarsgard stars in the title role, a young prince who is ousted from his kingdom when his uncle (Claes Bang) kills his father (Ethan Hawke). He grows into a young man and fierce warrior, vowing to avenge his father and save his mother (Nicole Kidman). Eggers stages the medieval action with thrilling gusto.
‘Fences’ (2016)
August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an African American family’s struggles in 1950s Pittsburgh was first performed on Broadway in 1987; after Denzel Washington starred in its 2010 revival, he retained much of the original cast for this film adaptation. As a director, Washington does little to expand upon the play; he seems well aware that the film is carried by the lyricism of the words and the power of the performances, particularly his nuanced portrayal of the bitter Troy Maxson and Viola Davis’s heart-rending turn as his wife, Rose. (Washington fans can also stream “Man on Fire” on Prime.)
‘California Split’ (1974)
The director Robert Altman teamed up with his frequent collaborator Elliott Gould, and paired him up with George Segal, for this “fascinating, vivid” snapshot of two lovable losers. Gould and Segal play a pair of Los Angeles gamblers, floating from card table to racetrack to casino, in constant search of that one big score. Such a payday presents itself at the end of their journey, but Altman is too unconventional a filmmaker to put much stock in that destination. He’s more interested in the journey, and his film is propelled by the rowdy hum of those rooms and the colorful personalities of the people who inhabit them. (“Downhill Racer” and “Husbands” work a similarly shaggy vibe.)
‘Afternoon Delight’ (2013)
This “meticulously acted” serio-comic drama was the feature filmmaking debut of Joey Soloway, the creator of “Transparent” and “I Love Dick.” Kathryn Hahn is astonishing in the leading role, clearly conveying her dissatisfied housewife’s longings and nerves but keeping her intentions enigmatic, and Juno Temple is electrifying as a young woman who’s learned how to use her sexuality as a weapon without fully considering the carnage left in its wake. Their byplay is vibrant, and it gets messy in fascinating ways; this is a sly, smart sex comedy that plumbs unexpected depths of sadness and despair. (Indie comedy-drama fans should also check out “But I’m a Cheerleader” and “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”)
