I honestly can’t stop myself from watching 20th-century classic movies, and as long as Amazon Prime Video keeps adding so many good ones to their library, my habit will continue. To help you ease through the week, I’ve selected five favorites from the streamer’s April lineup.
My top pick is a 1990s Western masterpiece, followed closely by one of the best examples of cerebral cinema and a groundbreaking road-trip movie with empowering female leads. Rounding out the list are two 1980s favorites that I’ll never stop watching.
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Over the Top (1987)
An arm-wrestling classic
As a kid born in 19-none-of-your-business, one of my favorite movies to watch on TV during the weekend was Over the Top. I guess I’m just a sucker for Sylvester Stallone, especially when he’s a badass arm wrestler and estranged father seeking to reconnect with his son.
Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a long-haul truck driver with two desires—to win back his estranged son and to become a champion arm wrestler. In the wake of his mother’s illness, Hawk takes their son on the road with him to the arm-wrestling world championships in Las Vegas. What Hawk doesn’t know is that his son’s wealthy, unfeeling grandfather has sent people to bring Michael home, breaking the boy’s newfound bond with his father. I think we all know that Tulsa King’s Dwight “The General” Manfredi isn’t going to let that happen, but it was fun seeing these thugs try.
Over the Top became a quick cult classic thanks to its quintessential 1980s charm and cheese, combining a sincere father-son redemption story with high-stakes drama full of sweat and action. Of course, Stallone’s blue-collar charisma and the movie’s rockin’ Giorgio Moroder soundtrack didn’t hurt either, but the true appeal lies in its sincere underdog story.
4
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
The teen comedy that created a genre
During the 1978-79 school year, filmmaker Cameron Crowe went undercover as a 22-year-old student at a San Diego high school to research and chronicle real teen life. That experience became the basis for his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which was later adapted as a movie on year later.
As one of the Top 100 American Comedies, the school-set coming-of-age dramedy follows high school students Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) as she navigates teen love and her brother Brad’s (Judge Reinhold) school and work struggles, and he navigates his laid-back, stoner-surfer lifestyle, which includes engaging in constant conflict with his history.
The classic movie provides one of the most humorous, authentic looks at early 1980s teen life, with a heavy focus on relationships and insecurities, mall culture, part-time jobs, and California social scenes. It established the teen comedy genre, launched massive careers, and remains iconic for its cast, quotes, and cultural nostalgia. Nicolas Cage, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, Anthony Edwards, and Robert Romanus also star.
3
Thelma & Louise (1991)
The open road is calling
Grab your snacks, because we’re heading on a road trip with Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in the Oscar-winning flick Thelma & Louise. The two leading ladies give stellar performances as friends looking to escape their mundane lives for a weekend but wind up as fugitives after one of them commits a murder.
Thelma (Davis) is an abused, meek housewife trapped in a stifling, controlling marriage. Louise (Sarandon) is an independent, no-nonsense kind of woman who does what she wants. When Thelma joins her on a weekend fishing trip, things take a turn when Louise shoots and kills a man trying to rape Thelma at a bar. The two decide to flee to Mexico and, in the process, pick up a sexy, young thief (Brad Pitt). As the law closes in on them, the women make the biggest decision of their lives, and it’s a breath-holding moment that’ll have you covered in chills.
A groundbreaking exploration of female rage and empowerment, the movie was a major critical and commercial success, grossing over $45 million domestically and becoming a cultural touchstone in the process. The rare, female-centric story became a seminal, trailblazing road movie that sanctioned female leads in cinema and secured its status as a classic.
2
Being John Malkovich (1999)
A secret portal to cerebral cinema
A quirky, surrealist fantasy comedy, Being John Malkovich isn’t a tale about the actor’s life; rather, it’s about the complexities of human identity and the desire to be someone else. In this case, that someone happens to be Malkovich. The actor plays a fictionalized version of himself and deals with the invasion of his mind.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a frustrated puppeteer who stumbles upon a hidden portal in an office building with seven-and-a-half floors. Upon further investigation, he discovers it leads directly into the mind of John Malkovich. There, users can experience life from inside Malkovich’s mind in 15-minute increments before being ejected onto the New Jersey Turnpike. So, Craig, his wife Lotte (There’s Something About Mary’s Cameron Diaz), and his co-worker Maxine (The 40-Year-Old Virgin’s Catherine Keener) start selling 15-minute experiences, leading to bizarre romantic entanglements and existential crises.
The movie is considered a classic due to its groundbreaking script by Charlie Kaufman and its inventive style from director Spike Jonze. As a film highlighting the absurdity of fame and self-obsession, it is darkly humorous, deeply original, and piercingly poignant, with an original premise, memorable performances, and a lasting impact on cerebral cinema.
1
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Discover a new kind of frontier with John Dutton
Long before he made waves as Yellowstone’s John Dutton, Kevin Costner made a giant splash as Lieutenant Dunbar in the multi-Oscar-Award-winning Western Dances with Wolves. As its lead star, producer, and director, Costner knocked the ball clean out the park with his directorial debut.
After he’s assigned to a remote Civil War outpost, Lt. Dunbar starts questioning his purpose after making contact with a neighboring Sioux settlement of Lakota Natives. Attracted by the simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind and join them. Having observed him in the wild, the tribe endows him with the name Dances with Wolves. Now a welcomed member, he falls madly in love with a white woman who was raised within the tribe. When Union soldiers arrive, tragedy strikes and unleashes fury in its wake.
The hit Western saw massive commercial and critical success, defying industry expectations to become the fourth highest-grossing film of 1990 with over $424 million in worldwide box office revenue. It won 7 Academy Awards and was praised for revitalizing the Western genre through a revisionist lens, offering a respectful, nuanced portrayal of Lakota Sioux culture rather than relying on outdated stereotypes. It truly is a Western masterpiece.
Good classic movies never disappoint, which is why they remain classics, and you can find plenty of them all over Prime Video.
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