What’s a masterpiece? Different people have different definitions, but here at What With Us, it’s something that stands the test of time, regardless of its imperfections.
Amazon Prime Video has its fair share of movie masterpieces, but we‘ve whittled down to three essential films you should stream this August.
From the Oscar-nominated 1974 thriller, The Conversation, to the all-star crime epic Heat with the late Val Kilmer, these three films may be wildly different, but are each unforgettable in their distinct way.
‘Heat’ (1995)
Some movies aren’t recognized as masterpieces when they are first released, but gradually attain that status through a combination of time, availability and common sense. Heat’s one of those movies. Thirty years after its premiere, it’s now recognized as one of the best modern cops and robbers movies ever made. And with good reason — it’s a terrific action movie that also doubles as a fascinating portrait of two men obsessed with their work — and each other.
The men in question, Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), would be friends in another life, but in this one, they’re mutual enemies on opposite sides of the law. Neil is a bank robber intent on pulling one last job with his crew before fleeing Los Angeles, while Vincent devotes all of his time trying to prevent Neil from leaving. Their paths will inevitably cross at some point, but who’s smart and lucky enough to emerge victorious?
It’s not hard to argue that Heat is a great movie. From its excellent use of L.A. as a playground for law and disorder to Dante Spinotti’s moody, blue-tinged cinematography, the film looks and feels like a ‘90s crime picture that’s both classic and modern at the same time. The all-star cast, from Pacino and De Niro to Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman and Danny Trejo, is top-notch, and the direction by Michael Mann is so smooth and faultless, you forget you’re watching a movie instead of real life.
‘The Strangers’ (2008)
There’s nothing creepier than staying in an isolated house in the woods at night. That’s what The Strangers uses as both a location and a foundation for one of the scariest modern horror movies ever made.
Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are in a long-term relationship that might be coming to an end after Kristen rejects James’ marriage proposal. Already distant from each other, they spend the night at James’ childhood home. But things go from awkward to horrific when three masked strangers begin terrorizing them for seemingly no reason or purpose. Can Kristen and James survive the worst night of their lives?
From its now-iconic image of three strangers wearing child-like masks standing motionless in a house to its unforgettable climactic dialogue, The Strangers is an effective horror movie that knows it’s scarier the less you know about the killers. We never really find out why these strangers are killers — instead, all we see is the result of their carnage. The ending is so unforgettably chilling, it almost makes up for the mediocre 2024 remake — almost.
‘The Conversation’ (1974)
From the moment it was shown at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, The Conversation was hailed as a great film. (It won the Palme d’Or and would go on to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation stars the late Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, an intensely private San Francisco surveillance expert hired to eavesdrop and record an adulterous couple who meet in public to avoid suspicion. Harry soon suspects that these tapes will result in their deaths, but the people who hired him will stop at nothing to retrieve the tapes — and eliminate Harry as a potential obstacle. Is Harry right? Or is his paranoia the result of lingering guilt over a past job that resulted in three deaths that he blames himself for?
Made at the height of the Watergate scandal, The Conversation is seeped in paranoia and anxiety. That may not sound like fun, but watching The Conversation is pure pleasure simply because it’s Coppola, Hackman and editor/sound designer Walter Murch firing on all cylinders. Utilizing all the tools in his filmmaker’s toolbox, Coppola crafted a then-topical thriller that continues to impress — and haunt — audiences over half a century after its debut.
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