Anyone who knows Amazon Prime knows that the subscription service is not primarily designed for movies. Prime Video is one of the great benefits of a subscription, though, and it features an array of great movies, some of which are decades old.
If you’re looking through the service for something to watch and find that you’re overwhelmed by the number of options, we’ve got you covered with three underrated movies available on the service that are all worth checking out.
The Birdcage (1996)
A brilliant comedy from director Mike Nichols featuring an incredible cast, The Birdcage tells the story of a gay father who plays straight in order to ingratiate himself with his son’s fiancee and her conservative family.
That could be a recipe for a movie that ages poorly, but thankfully, The Birdcage knows exactly who is in the wrong, and pokes as much fun at the stuffy conservatives as it does at the gay family trying their best to seem more “normal.” The Birdcage is not a perfect representation of the gay experience, but it’s a remarkably funny movie featuring one of the great ensembles (Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, and more) ever assembled.
You can watch The Birdcage on Prime Video.
Millennium Actress (2001)
Satoshi Kon is one of the most undersung directors of any kind from the past 30 years, and Millennium Actress is one of his masterpieces. The movie tells the story of an actress being interviewed about her life in old age, and explaining the mystery man who drove her through her decades of success.
Blending fiction and reality, the movie takes full advantage of the animated medium to tell the story of a woman who sees her acting career as secondary to the chase that has defined her life. A brilliant, bewitching movie that is also a reminder of life’s many mysteries, Millennium Actress simply demands to be seen. So what’s stopping you?
You can watch Millennium Actress on Prime Video.
Take This Waltz (2012)
One of the great movies about marriage ever made, Take This Waltz tells the story of a restless woman who is happily married, but finds her eye wandering to someone new. Thanks to a trio of great performances from Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Luke Kirby, each of the movie’s central characters feels entirely relatable, even as they begin to make terrible decisions that cause real pain for one another.
Take This Waltz is designed to be a slice-of-life movie, and its ambitions are relatively modest as a result. Its ending, though, will knock your socks off in ways you might not have expected.
You can watch Take This Waltz on Prime Video.
