The best films available with Amazon Prime UK
Mike Williams | On 24, Nov 2020
It’s not only during times of social distancing and self-quarantining that Amazon Prime Video can become an essential part of a person’s day. With its original movies and extensive library of classics, hidden gems, and modern masterpieces, we can all breathe a sigh of relief (no pun intended) that it’s readily available to us at the touch of a button.
From action thrillers and moving dramas to sci-fi horror and fantasy masterpieces, here’s your guide to the best films currently available with Amazon Prime in the UK:
Whiplash
Films about drummers have never been so unbearably gripping (no pun intended) or intense as 2014’s music drama from Damien Chazelle. With Miles Teller’s youthful naivety squaring off against the impenetrable force of JK Simmons as his teacher, the clash is both electric and, ultimately, disastrous.
Zombieland
Horror-comedies often work to varying levels of satisfaction, but Ruben Fleischer’s zombie apocalypse survival laugh-a-thon showcases Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin at their finest. There’s also a brilliant cameo from Bill Murray along the way.
The Hateful Eight
One of Quentin Tarantino’s more underrated features is this one-location screenplay that could quite easily translate to the stage, as a group of strangers find themselves trapped in a snowed-in cabin. Yet not everything is as it appears.
1917
One of the most visually stunning movies in recent memory, Sam Mendes’ intimate World War I drama, centred on two young lads tasked with delivering a vital, life-saving message, is inventive, immersive and staggeringly impressive to experience.
District 9
Arguably one of the best sci-fis of the past 20 years, D9 uses its mockumentary set-up and amateur-style footage to make us feel like we are there, as one man’s life changes while visiting the slum-like camps of a refugee alien race that crash-lands in Johannesburg.
Boyhood
Not only are Patricia Arquette (who won an Oscar for her role), Ethan Hawke (nominated) and child-to-teen star Ellar Coltrane captivating in Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age drama, we actually get to see our lead (and adults) grow up before our very eyes, having taken 12 years to complete.
Midsommar
Florence Pugh is scintillating in this paranoid horror of sorts, when a vacation to a Swedish village descends into what appears to be a strange and violent cult.
LA Confidential
An ensemble to rival any, Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe star as polar opposites of the corruption-heavy LAPD in the 1950s.
Cannibal Holocaust
The original – and infamous – found footage horror that saw a generation of movies follow in its footsteps, if you’re after gruesome, grizzly, and genuinely shocking then you’ve come to the right place.
Fight Club
This 1999 drama about an insomniac office worker played by Ed Norton sees his mundane life turned upside down when he meets Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden.
Booksmart
Olivia Wilde’s superb teen comedy about two besties on the eve of graduating high school is criminally underrated.
Room
Brie Larson’s harrowing depiction of a woman snatched as a teen and kept prisoner by her depraved abductee is extremely moving, alongside Jacob Tremblay as her born-in-captivity son.
Stan & Ollie
Who knew that Steve Coogan and John C Reilly would make such a blisteringly good on-screen double act as these legendary silent comedians?
The Founder
Far from just a film about Big Macs, Michael Keaton assumes the role of ruthlessly smart Ray Kroc in a biopic of burgers, business and bankruptcy.
Synecdoche, New York
The late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars alongside a stellar cast, including Samantha Morton and Michelle Williams, as a theatre director struggling to juggle his life with his next project.
Carol
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett form an electric and inseparable bond in Todd Haynes’ drama about two forbidden lovers in 1950s New York.
Pi
Darren Aronofsky. Paranoia. Anxiety. Need we say more?
Four Lions
This comedy about an incompetent terrorist cell is British satire at its very best – but wth Chris Morris at the helm, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Bronson
Tom Hardy’s portrayal of eccentric, crazy-as-a-bag-of-spiders Charles Bronson is a fascinating story of a man behind bars.
Heat
Michael Mann’s heart-racing thriller throws heavyweights Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together for the first time in a story where professional bank robbers and police collide. Unmissable.
Super Size Me
A scary tale about the horrors of too much fast food, Morgan Spurlock presents the doc that saw every kid around the world envious (at first), when he decided to eat McDonald’s three times a day for an entire month.
The Salesman
The Oscar-winner in 2016’s Best Foreign Film category, The Salesman is a gripping and harrowing account as a woman faces a dilemma of revenge or forgiveness.
Ernest and Celestine
One of the most beautifully animated films of recent years – that isn’t from Disney or Pixar – Ernest and Celestine is a sweet and admirable tale of friendship guaranteed to brighten your day.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, and Ciaran Hinds forge an impressive ensemble in this tense tale of Cold War espionage.
Apocalypto
Mel Gibson’s glorious story of the Mayan kingdom’s decline as a modernising world tries to invade their way of life has thrills, horror, and deft poignancy littered throughout.
The Hurt Locker
A vehicle for the then-unknown Jeremy Renner, his bolshy, arrogant bomb disposal expert in Kathryn Bigelow’s war flick is arguably his best role to date.
The Kings of Summer
A true gem of a coming-of-age story set to the backdrop of the summer holidays of three hapless boys, and decide to live off the land after building a treehouse, If you’re after something to inspire and pull on your heartstrings, these performances will succeed.
What We Do in the Shadows
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement team up to write and direct the lives of vampires who struggle to adapt to the modernity of society.
The Conversation
Francis Ford Coppola’s thriller, starring Gene Hackman, is a tense and nerve-shattering two hours about a surveillance expert suffering a crisis of conscience.
Green Book
Winner of three major Oscars, including Best Picture, Green Book hones in on the coming together of an rough-and-ready American-Italian bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) and an affluent black musician (Mahershala Ali) in the early 1960s.
Manchester by the Sea
Winner of Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Casey Affleck, Kenneth Lonergan’s drama follows an irritable, unsociable loner who finds himself looking after his nephew after his brother’s sudden passing.
Beautiful Boy
Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carrell come together in a deftly told account of a father and son’s struggle to process addiction.
The Imitation Game
The true and ultimately heart-wrenching story of WWII hero Alan Turing is a fascinating insight into the code breaking mathematicians that won WWII.
The Report
Adam Driver fronts this biographical movie about a man who’s tasked to investigate the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation techniques and uncovers something much bigger than anticipated.
Charade
This comedy-romance-thriller about trust and betrayal featuring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn is an undeniable classic.
To Catch a Thief
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and featuring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, 1955’s To Catch a Thief may be more than 60 years old but more than holds up as it follows a retired jewel thief trying to prove his innocence.
Zodiac
Another David Fincher classic, this lengthy exploration of the time when the infamous Zodiac Killer was at large sees a cartoonist become an amateur detective to track down the notorious murderer.
The Big Sick
A particularly sweet and tender tale of love, modern relationships and clashing cultures, sees Kumal (Kumal Nanjiani) left to deal with the family of a woman (Zoe Kazan), after he falls in love and she falls into a coma.
Hard Candy
This cat-and-mouse tale has more twists and turns than an Alton Towers ride, but the psychological misdirection and distribution of power between Patrick Wilson and Ellen Paige makes this a smart and satisfying flick.
Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter’s spine-tingling score to this bona fide classic really ramps up the tension, as mute psycho killer Michael Myers escapes a mental hospital 15 years after his killing rampage, only to return to his hometown to stalk and butcher a new generation of teens.
Ray
Jamie Fox enjoyed both critical acclaim and Oscar glory for his mesmerising performance in this biopic of legendary blues musician Ray Charles.
District 9
Not only does this offer a compelling and well-told story, the concept of its docu-style fabrication is perfectly balanced with its sci-fi narrative.
Shrek
Aside from industry innovator Toy Story, Shrek is one of the defining animations that began the CGI revolution. Witty, sweet, and inventive, it’s a mash-up of classic fairytale tropes with a devilishly modern twist.
21 Jump Street
Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s reimagining of the 1980s TV show is genuinely one of the smartest and funniest comedies to emerge in years – plus it marks a breakout role for Channing Tatum.