The best movies on Amazon UK Prime Video

One of the most comprehensive Netflix rivals around, Amazon Prime Video is packed with a varied selection of films to choose from including cult classics, documentaries and new releases. Here's our pick of the best films to watch for free with your Amazon Prime subscription.

See also: The best movies on Now TV and Netflix UK

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan's visually stunning 2014 sci-fi epic sees a team of astronauts blasting off into deep space in a desperate bid to ensure the survival of the human race. Unsurprisingly, Matthew McConaughey steals the show as former NASA pilot Cooper, and his intense ugly crying scene has even been immortalised as a meme.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Director Michel Gondry is famous for his dream-like films and this one doesn't disappoint. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play a former couple who have both undergone a procedure to erase each other from their minds, before a chance meeting rekindles their initial attraction. Bagging a couple of Oscars along the way, the film has become a cult classic.

Apocalypse Now

This 1979 masterpiece from Francis Ford Coppola borrows the plot of Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness, setting it during the Vietnam War, with the addition of Marlon Brando in an unforgettable turn as the rogue Colonel Kurtz. Not only is it the best 'Nam film by far - with the best soundtrack - it's one of the greatest films ever made.

Amy

From the maker of the outstanding Senna - which chronicles the tragic death of the Brazilian racing driver - this heartbreaking documentary tells the tale of Amy Winehouse's rise and fall. The ridiculously talented singer-songwriter was found dead from alcohol poisoning in 2011, joining the infamous '27 Club' alongside Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison.

Four Lions

The excellent Riz Ahmed stars in this razor-sharp satire about four comically incompetent jihadists planning a suicide attack. The setting is sometimes uncomfortable, and the humour is about as dark as it's possible to get but the directorial debut from Brass Eye genius Chris Morris is absolutely pitch perfect and still sadly topical.

The Deer Hunter

Everyone knows the scene where Robert De Niro plays Russian roulette in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp but there's so much more to this epic drama about three Pennsylvanian steel workers and how their service in 'Nam affects their lives back home. At 2.5 hours long, it's not an easy watch but it's well worth your time.

Paddington

Ben Whishaw provides the voice for the young Peruvian bear who travels to London and is taken in by the kindly Brown family while trying to avoid the clutches of a sadistic museum taxidermist. A great family film with enough wit to keep the grown-ups interested - the script-writers even managed to slip in a couple of timely quips about immigration.

Lost In Translation

Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson star is this incredibly self-indulgent yet endearing yarn about the unexpected friendship between an ageing actor and a young graduate stuck in a lonely marriage. But the real star of the show here is Tokyo - the gorgeous city panoramas will make you yearn for a stay at the Park Hyatt hotel, where most of the film's indoor shots were filmed.

'71

Set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, this exceptional thriller sees the superbly cast Jack O'Connell as a young British soldier who is accidentally left behind by his unit following a riot, leaving him to spend the night alone on the streets of Belfast. Not one for a relaxing afternoon.

Lego Movie

This daft but enjoyable animation sees an average Lego construction worker, voiced by the ever-awesome Chris Pratt, recruited to stop an evil tyrant from glueing everything in Lego World into a permanent state. The incredibly strong voice cast includes Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, and Will Arnett as Lego Batman.

Inglorious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino's bonkers war thriller, centres on an audacious plot to assassinate Hitler in Nazi-occupied World War II France. The assault is led on two fronts - by a young French Jewish woman whose family were murdered by the SS and a ragtag team of Jewish-American soldiers headed up by Brad Pitt.

They Live

Satirical sci-fi at its best, John Carpenter's cult hit from 1988 sees the late wrestler-turned-actor 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper as a drifter who chances upon a pair of sunglasses that enable him to see the world as its really is - with an alien government keeping its human subjects subdued with subliminal advertising.

The Imitation Game

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as legendary computer scientist Alan Turing who is tasked with cracking the Enigma code during World War II. The film plays a little fast and loose with the historical facts but it's a fitting tribute to Turing, who was prosecuted for his homosexuality in the 1950s and only posthumously pardoned in 2013.

Brighton Rock

It's hard to believe that psychopathic gangster Pinkie Brown is played by the same man that gave us the lovably deluded John Hammond from Jurassic Park, but this adaptation of Graham Greene's dark seaside novel is Richard Attenborough at his very best. This 1947 crime thriller (forget the 2010 remake) is essential viewing.

Gravity

This superb sci-fi thriller kicked off a new trend for space films and stars Sandra Bullock as a scientist who ends up stranded alone in space after disaster strikes on her first mission aboard the space shuttle. London-based effects firm Framestore won an Oscar for its special effects and it's not hard to see why. Watch it on as big a screen as possible.

Control

Shot in black and white by music video director Anton Corbijn, this 2007 biopic tells the tragic story of Ian Curtis, the singer of Joy Division who suffered from depression and took his own life at the age of 23. It's exactly as dark as it sounds but an absolute must-watch for any music fans.

Dallas Buyers Club

Another film marking Matthew McConaughey's epic comeback - or the McConaissance - this fascinating drama is based on a true story about a Texas man who sets up a drug-smuggling service to provide AIDS sufferers with vital meds after he himself is diagnosed with HIV.

Spotlight

This sensational movie tells the true story of how the Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' investigations team uncovered a pandemic of child molestation and systemic cover-ups within the city's Catholic Church, kicking off a wave of similarly disturbing revelations around the world. A timely lesson on the importance of investigative journalism.

Drive

Ryan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stuntman moonlighting as a getaway driver and manages to look cool AF despite wearing a preposterous satin jacket for most of the film. Boosted by a superb electropop soundtrack and a slick neo-noir look, this crime thriller is well worth taking for a spin.

The Raid

This low-budget Indonesian martial arts flick from Welsh director Gareth Evans sees a SWAT team trapped in a tenement building after a failed mission to eliminate a drug lord and his ruthless gang. Stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian took care of the incredible fight choreography resulting in some of the best fight scenes we've seen in years.