Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
A recent financial report by a hoity-toity investment firm discovered that over a third of Amazon Prime subscribers have never used the free video streaming services. What!?!?! You’re paying $99 a year and you’re not indulging in the wealth of free streaming video content that comes with your Amazon Prime subscription? YOU FOOLS!
Taking a step back, though, we can see how Amazon Prime Instant Video might look like fluff if you already have a Netflix account and HBO GO password. The catch, though, is that there are myriad of amazing shows and films that are only available to stream on Amazon. Here are 10 amazing titles exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers.
Pushing Daisies might be the greatest television show of all time that was completely ignored when it was on air. It’s whimsical, romantic, dramatic, sweet, sumptuous to look at, and features a young Lee Pace serving up some serious 21st century Jimmy Stewart. In short, it’s as perfect as one of the pie-maker’s perfect pieces of pie.
Certain films will change you. They’ll expand your imagination and leave images that linger in your memory forever. The NeverEnding Story is one of those films. The epic West Germany fantasy film tells the story of a beleaguered boy named Bastian who escapes into a world of a mysterious book called The NeverEnding Story. It’s a gorgeous film filled with child-like empresses and luck dragons and the bold statement that the audience is as much a participant in a story as its fictional characters.
Veronica Mars has been enjoying a pop culture renaissance lately, so there’s no better time to indulge in the world of Neptune, California’s most pre-eminent teen detective. If you’re only just getting to the Kristen Bell series now, you’re in luck. After years of waiting, fans of the preemptively canceled series finally got closure with a movie made via Kickstarter. Once you’ve burned through the series, you can buy or rent the film on Amazon.
It would be easy to make some flaccid joke about how you should take your Amazon Prime subscription to 11 by watching This Is Spinal Tap. So, we won’t make it. We’ll just mention that we were thinking of making that joke. That’s all. It’s a dumb joke from us, but from Christopher Guest and company, it’s a brilliant joke in one of the most hilarious films of all time.
5) Orphan Black
By now, you’ve probably read at least 10 think pieces on how Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany is the most talented actress working on television today. Maslany has played at least 8 different clones on the provocative sci-fi drama and each comes with her own mannerisms, her own baggage and her own killer hairstyle. We won’t be surprised if Maslany gets an Emmy nomination this year, but we will be surprised if you have Amazon Prime and you’re still sleeping on Orphan Black.
Nostalgic for the Golden Age of Nick? Well, you’re in luck! A slew of ’90s Nickelodeon favorites from Rugrats to Rocko’s Modern Life, to All That and (this writer’s personal fav) Clarissa Explains It All, are all streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime.
7) Hannibal
We’ve already sung the praises of Bryan Fuller’s majestically macabre take on Hannibal Lector. Now that Game of Thrones is wrapped, there’s no better time to tackle this celebrated drama. If you’re itching to catch up on the show from the beginning, Amazon Prime is the only place to do it.
8) Pride & Prejudice (1995)
There have been many great adaptations of Pride & Prejudice, but the 1995 BBC mini-series is considered the absolute best by fans and critics alike. Colin Firth’s star-making turn as Mr. Darcy has been so culturally influential that it inspired the character of Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones’s Diary, a role which Firth later played onscreen in a stroke of meta-storytelling brilliance. Enough about Colin Firth, though. The real revelation you’ll have re-watching this version of Jane Austen’s masterpiece is just how criminal it is that Jennifer Ehle never became a mega star. Ehle almost did have a second turn at fame, though; she was originally cast as Catelyn Stark in the Game of Thrones pilot.
The Americans is yet another critically-acclaimed new drama that Amazon has snatched away from Netflix. Both of the show’s stars, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, have been lauded for presenting two of the best performances on television. They play Russian spies in the 1980s who have to choose between their old loyalties and their desire for happiness.
10) Blade Runner
When you think of Harrison Ford’s work in the early 1980s, you’ll probably immediately jump to him playing Han Solo or Indiana Jones. The words “dark,” “complicated,” or “artsy” probably won’t spring to your mind. That’s because you probably forgot about Blade Runner. Ridley Scott’s dystopian detective story broke ground in terms of its visual style and storytelling risks. Both the original theatrical version and official final director’s cut are streaming now on Amazon Prime. Compare! Contrast! Live the rest of your life in fear you are secretly a replicant!
