The Western, that most American of movie genres, figures prominently in the film offerings of Amazon Prime in May, as do the works of some of cinema’s greatest and most influential directors. (On Amazon and elsewhere, here are some of the best movie classics you’ve never seen available to stream right now.)
To determine the best movies to stream on Amazon Prime this month, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of early May 2023, weighting all ratings equally. We considered only movies with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes, and ruled out documentaries. Data on streaming availability, also current as of early May, comes from the streaming guide Reelgood. Directorial credits are from IMDb.
Among the Westerns on this list are the William Wyler classic “The Westerner,” Don Siegel’s “The Shootist,” the Coen brothers remake of “True Grit,” and the quintessential “spaghetti Western,” Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West.” (These are the 30 best Westerns of all time.)
It’s hard to think of Westerns without thinking of John Wayne, who appears here as the star of “El Dorado” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” The latter movie was one of The Duke’s 14 collaborations with director John Ford, with whom he also partnered on the non-Western “The Quiet Man,” No. 18 on the list. Other actors with more than one movie represented here include Dustin Hoffman (“The Graduate” and “Little Big Man”) and Robert Mitchum (“El Dorado” and “Night of the Hunter”).
Click here for a list of the 50 best movies to stream on Amazon Prime this month
Ford is one of a pantheon of distinguished directors from Hollywood’s Golden Age who have films on the list. Among them are William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Fritz Lang, William Wellman, Frank Capra, and Howard Hawks. Among the more contemporary film helmsmen here are Ron Howard and Joel and Ethan Coen, who each have two films on the list, as well as Ang Lee, Wes Anderson, Gus Van Sant, and Quentin Tarantino.
50. Captain Fantastic (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (205,102 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (22,458 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (229 reviews)
> Directed by: Matt Ross
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49. The Westerner (1940)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (5,548 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (744 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (6 reviews)
> Directed by: William Wyler
48. Fighting with My Family (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (82,697 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (5,034 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (241 reviews)
> Directed by: Stephen Merchant
47. Detour (1945)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (16,429 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (5,395 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (41 reviews)
> Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer
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46. The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (55,754 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (35,818 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (144 reviews)
> Directed by: Roger Donaldson
45. Life of Pi (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (600,070 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (169,345 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (253 reviews)
> Directed by: Ang Lee
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44. Meet John Doe (1941)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (12,873 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (4,584 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (22 reviews)
> Directed by: Frank Capra
43. A Star Is Born (1937)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (9,343 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (2,697 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (20 reviews)
> Directed by: William A. Wellman
42. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (936,399 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (491,108 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 74% (213 reviews)
> Directed by: Ron Howard
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41. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (119,047 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (56,598 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (53 reviews)
> Directed by: Mike Figgis
40. The Shootist (1976)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (23,342 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (9,640 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (23 reviews)
> Directed by: Don Siegel
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39. Intolerance (1916)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (14,954 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (4,923 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (38 reviews)
> Directed by: D.W. Griffith
38. Funny Girl (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (21,324 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (19,909 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: William Wyler
37. Cinderella Man (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (189,703 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (282,263 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (215 reviews)
> Directed by: Ron Howard
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36. Hoosiers (1986)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (47,992 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (50,777 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: David Anspaugh
35. To Catch a Thief (1955)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (69,121 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (52,106 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
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34. Lilies of the Field (1963)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (9,809 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (6,155 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (24 reviews)
> Directed by: Ralph Nelson
33. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (91,371 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (54,058 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: John Sturges
32. Ordinary People (1980)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (49,514 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (23,252 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (55 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Redford
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31. Dodsworth (1936)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (8,708 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (1,474 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (21 reviews)
> Directed by: William Wyler
30. Passion Fish (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (5,410 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (2,874 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (25 reviews)
> Directed by: John Sayles
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29. Moneyball (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (428,352 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (92,018 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (267 reviews)
> Directed by: Bennett Miller
28. True Grit (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (323,355 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (158,421 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (275 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen
27. Philomena (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (101,025 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (52,457 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (200 reviews)
> Directed by: Stephen Frears
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26. Wuthering Heights (1939)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (16,674 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (8,793 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (23 reviews)
> Directed by: William Wyler
25. Forrest Gump (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 8.8/10 (1,905,676 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (1,244,237 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 71% (104 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
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24. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (331,368 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (139,848 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (265 reviews)
> Directed by: Wes Anderson
23. The Graduate (1967)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (262,940 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (183,691 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (83 reviews)
> Directed by: Mike Nichols
22. Dazed and Confused (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (174,013 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (236,467 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (62 reviews)
> Directed by: Richard Linklater
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21. Honey Boy (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (32,827 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (560 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (231 reviews)
> Directed by: Alma Har’el
20. The Big Lebowski (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (766,228 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (356,600 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (109 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen
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19. Little Big Man (1970)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (34,080 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (17,453 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (26 reviews)
> Directed by: Arthur Penn
18. The Quiet Man (1952)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (36,647 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (30,453 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: John Ford
17. The Big Sick (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (137,232 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (32,924 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (303 reviews)
> Directed by: Michael Showalter
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16. El Dorado (1966)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (25,687 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (12,709 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (23 reviews)
> Directed by: Howard Hawks
15. Charade (1963)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (72,875 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (42,943 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Donen
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14. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (85,564 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (24,773 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (77 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Laughton
13. Scarlet Street (1945)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (15,674 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (3,697 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (16 reviews)
> Directed by: Fritz Lang
12. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (82,141 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (4,708 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (220 reviews)
> Directed by: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
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11. My Man Godfrey (1936)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (22,597 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (7,668 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (37 reviews)
> Directed by: Gregory La Cava
10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (72,528 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (23,742 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (48 reviews)
> Directed by: John Ford
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9. His Girl Friday (1940)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (56,106 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (24,333 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (67 reviews)
> Directed by: Howard Hawks
8. The Killing (1956)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (85,754 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (22,285 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (42 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
7. Whiplash (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (763,755 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (70,602 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (297 reviews)
> Directed by: Damien Chazelle
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6. The Gold Rush (1925)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (106,473 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (20,591 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
5. Good Will Hunting (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (900,884 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (365,042 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (83 reviews)
> Directed by: Gus Van Sant
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4. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (314,446 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (65,906 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (65 reviews)
> Directed by: Sergio Leone
3. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
> IMDb user rating: 8.6/10 (422,428 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (219,179 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (87 reviews)
> Directed by: Frank Capra
2. The Pianist (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (836,046 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (253,429 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (184 reviews)
> Directed by: Roman Polanski
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1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 8.9/10 (1,909,111 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (1,128,444 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (108 reviews)
> Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
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