Amazon Prime Video isn’t quite at the same pace with Netflix when it comes to producing original content. However, the streaming service has also developed quite a few artful and risky productions.

Sure Netflix focuses on mainstream entertainment with big popular productions. But it’s fair to say that the amount of mediocre movies and shows equates to the most popular ones. 

If you take a few minutes to browse through the Amazon Prime Video catalog, you’ll find some pretty uncut gems.

Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Steve McQueen and many more acclaimed directors all have lent their vision to Jeff Bezos’ streaming service.

You can also find renowned actors like Adam Driver, Joaquin Phoenix and Riz Ahmed in more than one Amazon Prime Video feature. 

Do you want to check out what Amazon Prime Video has to offer in terms of original productions? Then see below for our top three movies from the company. 

Leos Carax (Les amants du Pont-Neuf) brings us a wonderful yet devastating musical. The script is written in its entirety by the pop rock duo Sparks.

Most viewers won’t probably know of the cult group, which adds an extra layer of the unknown to the movie. Annette is strange, and nothing like the audience would expect, and that is the beauty of the film. 

The story follows a stand-up comedian, Henry McHenry (Adam Drivers) and an opera singer, Ann Desfranoux (Marion Cotillard).

They fall in love and have a child – Annette. Soon after Ann dies, Henry discovers that baby Annette has the singing voice of an angel. So he decides to show her off to the world. 

While the songs can be a little repetitive, it’s one of the most beautiful productions on Amazon Prime Video right now.

This neo-noir psychological thriller is based on a novel of the same name written by Jonathan Ames. Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) does an outstanding job in directing one of the most gripping movies of the last few years

You Were Never Really Here was released in 2018 and paints an uneasy picture with unreal horror and quite a few stabbing flashbacks.

Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood is responsible for the music score, which heightens the eerie and uncomfortable pace of the movie. 

Joaquin Phoenix stars in the movie as Joe, a war veteran who now works as a problem solver specialized in rescuing trafficked girls.

When the daughter of a U.S. senator goes missing, he hires Joe to find her and bring her home. However, the fallout that ensues is sure to keep audiences on their feet. 

Phoenix gives one of the most memorable performances of his career, and Ramsay manages to make the overused noir plot something new and enticing.

This Amazon Prime Video original production is one of the most thrilling movies in their catalog. 

Darius Marder is responsible for both writing and directing this disquieting movie. Sound of Metal came out in 2020 and follows the story of Ruben Stone, played by Riz Ahmed.

Ruben is the drummer for the metal band Blackgammon. One day, Ruben experiences a sudden drop in his hearing while assembling the merchandise table before one of his bands’ concerts. 

One of the most interesting aspects of the movie (and responsible for securing an Oscar for sound-design) is that the audience also experiences Ruben’s continued hearing loss as the film goes on.

After Ruben’s diagnosis, he ends up at a camp for hearing-compromised and deaf people, run by a recovering alcoholic named Joe. 

While Ruben is determined to resume his music career by getting cochlear implants, Joe tries to make him understand that deafness is not a disease or something that needs fixing.

The movie is incredibly human and manages to transfix the viewer up to its mind blowing climax. 

Sound of Metal is one of Ahmed’s greatest performances and definitely worthy of a spot in our top three list of best Amazon Prime Video originals.

Now, do you want to know what are the best Netflix original series? Follow the link below to see our top picks.