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Tired of FX-heavy blockbusters? You can travel back to a simpler film era via Amazon Prime’s extensive library of classic movies. Whether you’re in the mood for a laugh-out-loud screwball comedy, a thoughtful drama, a snappy musical, or a thrilling Western, the streamer carries many great features from decades past.
Here’s Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 24 best classic movies on Amazon Prime Video right now.
Ball of Fire (1941)
John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via GettyWith a name like Katherine “Sugarpuss” O’Shea, how can you not be intrigued? Such is the case for the group of professors living together in Ball of Fire, a screwball comedy classic from one of the genre’s masters, Howard Hawks. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Sugarpuss, who works as a nightclub performer and meets one of the group’s younger professors, the handsome Bertram (Gary Cooper). Sugarpuss is also involved with a powerful mob boss, so she uses the professors’ house as a hideout while trying to evade the police and teaches them a thing or two about the real world. Stanwyck deservedly earned an Oscar nomination for her effervescent performance. —Kevin Jacobsen
Where to watch Ball of Fire: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Everett Collection
Released in the aftermath of World War II, The Best Years of Our Lives is one of the very best films about American veterans’ postwar experience. The film tracks the lives of three vets who return to their hometown, bonded over the traumas of war. One suffers from debilitating PTSD, another turns to alcohol to cope, while the third has to readjust to everyday life after losing both of his hands. The sensitively crafted epic won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. —K.J.
Where to watch The Best Years of Our Lives: Amazon Prime Video
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Harold Russell
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
ullstein bild/ullstein bild via GettyThis profoundly affecting Italian neorealist classic conveys so much even with a relatively simple premise. Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) hopes to provide for his family by getting a job that requires a bicycle. Scraping together the money to purchase a bike at a pawn shop, Antonio is mortified when a thief steals his bike on his first day on the job, leading him and his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) down an increasingly hopeless path to get it back. Casting then-nonprofessional actors Maggiorani and Staiola brings an inherent authenticity to the film, which starkly depicts life on the poverty line in postwar Italy. —K.J.
Where to watch Bicycle Thieves: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
EverettWhen bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) prays for heavenly guidance, his prayers are answered by the prompt arrival of Dudley (Cary Grant), a smooth-tongued angel who installs himself as the bishop’s assistant. However, Dudley’s plan to help the spiritually needy takes a turn when he develops feelings for Julia (Loretta Young), Henry’s wife. A bishop/bishop’s wife/angel love triangle is an unusual premise, but the film, held together by Grant’s effortless charm, manages to be both a romantic comedy and a careful fable about charity. —Danny Horn
Where to watch The Bishop’s Wife: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Henry Koster
Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
The Blue Gardenia (1953)
EverettNorah (Anne Baxter) doesn’t remember everything that happened last night, but she’s got a splitting hangover, and her date is found dead in his apartment after getting clubbed with a fireplace poker. Convinced that she’s killed a man, Norah turns to a handsome newspaper columnist (Richard Conte) for help, who falls for her without realizing she’s the one the police are looking for. It’s a noir film with a straightforward mystery, but Baxter is convincing as the woman in distress. As a bonus, the movie includes a nightclub performance by Nat King Cole, cooing the title song. —D.H.
Where to watch The Blue Gardenia: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr
Charade (1963)
EverettA thrilling comedy romp through Paris, Charade sizzles with wit and hectic suspense. After Regina (Audrey Hepburn) learns that her estranged husband died mysteriously, she’s threatened by several menacing men who demand an explanation for a cache of stolen money that she knows nothing about. The only person Regina can trust is a handsome stranger she meets by chance (a deliciously arch Cary Grant), although his name and motivations keep changing as she learns more about him. Hepburn and Grant play to their respective strengths, while the film transitions from silly to serious and back again. —D.H.
Where to watch Charade: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Stanley Donen
Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau
City Lights (1931)
Courtesy EverettAmazon Prime has numerous Charlie Chaplin classics among its streaming collection, but this 1931 romantic dramedy is the cream of the crop. Chaplin stars as his signature Little Tramp character, who falls in love with a young blind woman who mistakes him for a millionaire. After he befriends an actual millionaire, the Tramp hopes to secure the funds to help restore the woman’s sight. EW’s critic calls City Lights a “consummate weeper,” a touching tale that’s sure to make you dissolve into happy tears by its conclusion. —K.J.
Where to watch City Lights: Amazon Prime Video
EW grade: A+
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Al Ernest Garcia
The Conversation (1974)
Courtesy Everett CollectionIn an era filled with paranoia thrillers that reflected the growing distrust of institutions (largely stemming from the Watergate scandal), The Conversation stands above the rest. Gene Hackman stars as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert tasked by a client with monitoring a couple in San Francisco’s Union Square. After he hears them discussing the threat of murder, Harry becomes troubled — especially after his recordings are stolen. With first-rate sound work and a committed performance by Hackman, The Conversation is a gripping time capsule that also resonates in today’s surveillance-heavy world. —K.J.
Where to watch The Conversation: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Gene Hackman, Harrison Ford, John Cazale, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest
Funny Girl (1968)
EverettThis stage-to-screen adaptation is a showcase for Barbra Streisand, who sings, acts, and roller-skates through the film with unstoppable energy. Funny Girl is based on the life of vaudeville artist Fanny Brice, tracking the rise of her career and her rocky relationship with professional gambler Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif). EW’s critic praises Streisand’s transition from the Broadway role, writing, “It’s amazing how cinematic her screen performance is, as she acts through standards like ‘People’ and ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ rather than just belting them out.” —D.H.
Where to watch Funny Girl: Amazon Prime Video
EW grade: B+
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford
Guys and Dolls (1955)
EverettA high-class musical comedy about low-rent gamblers and seedy gangsters, Guys and Dolls transports the viewer to a colorful fantasy version of the New York underworld, where guys in flashy suits follow a single rule: no welshing on a bet. Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) is trying to earn some dough, so he bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando, in his only musical) that he can’t make a date with the pious sister from the Save-a-Soul Mission (Jean Simmons). The showstopper is Brando’s “Luck Be a Lady,” delivered during a craps game in New York’s cleanest sewer. —D.H.
Where to watch Guys and Dolls: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
EverettUsually considered a Christmas viewing tradition, the endearing and enduring It’s a Wonderful Life is a joy to watch during any season. Jimmy Stewart stars as George Bailey, a man on the brink of suicide after giving up his dreams to support his family and his community. Upon wishing that he was never born, he attracts the attention of guardian angel Clarence Odbody, who listens to George’s story and shows him what the world would be like without him. Director Frank Capra injects optimism and warmth into the dark premise, expressing the always-timely message that everyone is connected and everybody matters. —D.H.
Where to watch It’s a Wonderful Life: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers
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