Prime Video is streaming a lot of great movies right now.
Last year’s Oscar-winning Best Picture, One Battle After Another, is available to stream, and that Leonardo DiCaprio film should be at the top of your watchlist this month.
But there are other, older Oscar-winning movie masterpieces to watch on Prime Video in August.
The ‘90s black comedy Fargo, the heart-wrenching Casey Affleck drama Manchester by the Sea and the underrated character study Sound of Metal all won their fair share of acclaim when they were released and deserve to be watched in 2026 and beyond.
‘Manchester By the Sea’ (2016)
Lee Chandler (Affleck) is a broken man who does his best to hide away from the world. Something deeply tragic happened to him in the past that led to his current estrangement from others, including his ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams). When his older brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler), dies and unexpectedly leaves him to take care of his teenage son Patrick (Lucas Hedges), Lee is forced to come out of his shell and start caring for others. But is he strong enough to raise a teen who doesn’t really know him, let alone like him?
It’s not inaccurate to describe Manchester by the Sea as one of the most depressing American movies made in the last 15 years. Lee’s past tragedy is horrific, and his response to it is equally hard to watch. But the film also contains strains of humor and hope, even with characters who have to grapple with such weighty issues as death. Manchester by the Sea won well-deserved Oscars for Best Actor (Affleck) and Original Screenplay (Kenneth Lonergan), and it was named one of the 10 best movies of the year by The New York Times, Rolling Stone and the BBC.
‘Sound of Metal’ (2020)
Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a drummer in a punk rock band who tours the country in an old RV with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke), who is the lead singer. During a loud gig, Ruben experiences a loud ringing in his ears. A visit to the doctor confirms the worst — Ruben has lost most of his hearing, and he’ll lose the rest of it if he continues to play loud music. Ruben insists on resuming his old life, but how can he last when his hearing gets progressively worse, and he relies more on Lou for help?
Nominated for seven Oscars, Sound of Metal won for Best Editing and, appropriately, Best Sound, but stars Ahmed and Paul Raci, as a deaf Vietnam veteran who shows Ruben that life doesn’t end when his hearing stops, deserved some statuettes, too. The film itself is terrific — an intelligent and moving study of a man whose whole life was making noise and who now has to appreciate the sounds of silence. The film’s ending is pitch-perfect — affirming, sad, hopeful and filled with grace. You won’t forget it, and after watching it, you wouldn’t want to.
‘Fargo’ (1996)
Someone has kidnapped Jean Lundegaard (Kristin Rudrüd), and they want $80,000 to return her to her husband, car salesman Jerry (William H. Macy), in one piece. Meanwhile, pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) investigates the murders of three people on a desolate road outside Fargo, North Dakota. These two incidents seem unrelated, but as Marge digs deeper, she realizes there’s a deadly connection between them that could cause even more death — and endanger her and her unborn baby.
Her work in Fargo won McDormand the first of her three Best Actress Oscars, and she’s sensational as a perpetually positive cop who has to investigate some pretty grim crimes. Her innocence is both beguiling – you root for her right from the get-go – and sneakily effective as everyone in the film keeps underestimating her. Beneath her cheery exterior is a shrewd detective who instantly suspects Jerry has something to do with his wife’s kidnapping, and she won’t stop until she finds out what his role is in the plot and what happened to Mrs. Lundegaard. After watching Fargo, you’ll never look at a woodchipper quite the same way again.
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