Must-watch classics on Prime Video (Vol.1)
Prime Video has been doing a good job with their catalogue of classics from bygone eras, with numerous titles that aren't available elsewhere added recently. Starting today, THE WEEK will publish a series of lists recommending the best classics available on the streamer.
The Godfather | The Godfather-II
The entire Godfather trilogy, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is available on Prime Video. But, of course, it goes without saying that the first two films make the cut for essential viewing.
Schindler's List
Steven Spielberg's monochrome masterpiece of holocaust cinema is highly recommended owing to the filmmaker's superlative craft, especially with regard to the sensitive handling of numerous hard-hitting moments.
Citizen Kane
Orson Welles' directorial debut is impressive for many reasons, one of which is Welles' and cinematographer Gregg Toland's impressively firm grasp on the visual grammar, despite it being the duo's first-time effort.
The Big Country
William Wyler's gorgeous epic is populated with men who flaunt different views about masculinity. Gregory Peck plays an ego-less man who challenges the conventional, outdated notion of a 'real man'.
Judgment at Nuremberg
A stacked cast featuring acting heavyweights like Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Montgomery Clift, and Maximillian Schell powers this supremely effective, fictionalised courtroom drama based on the famous Nuremberg trials.
Pather Panchali
One is instantly smitten by the mastery in all departments of Satyajit Ray's (his first film!) extraordinary classic which boasts filmmaking quality of the highest order. Like 'Citizen Kane', it was shot by a first-time cinematographer (Subrata Mitra).
A Firstful of Dollars | For A Few Dollars More | The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Sergio Leone's iconic three-part Western saga, led by Clint Eastwood, is a storytelling marvel that boasts complex characters, clever twists, and memorable music from the great Ennio Morricone. (Poster: Tony Stella)
The Great Escape
Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn, and a host of colourful characters populate this immensely rewatchable and immersive prisoner-of-war that rightly deserves its classic status.