10 Black Movies to Stream on Amazon Prime in August

1. “Attack the Block” (2011)

Before John Boyega reteams with director Joe Cornish for a sequel to the cult classic, rewatch (or watch for the first time) the 2011 original sensation that put him on the map. Boyega was an unknown actor when he starred in the film that centered on a scrappy group of friends who find themselves defending their neighborhood from aliens. The actor, who was 19 years old at the time, went on to worldwide fame several years later in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015). He hasn’t quite seen the kind of leading man big screen success that “Attack the Block” promised, but it stands as a reminder of a still-untapped potential.

2. “Falcon Rising” (2014)

“Falcon Rising” was to be the first installment in a franchise of movies under the “Codename: Falcon” header, starring actor and martial arts pro Michael Jai White, but no sequels followed. It revolves around a former marine named John “Falcon” Chapman, a self-destructive anti-hero type driven by guilt, which makes him a useful weapon for a secret political organization called the foreign ministry.

In “Falcon Rising,” Chapman travels to Brazil to hunt down his sister’s killers, and, in the process, discovers an underground world of drugs, prostitution, and police corruption ruled by the Japanese mafia.

It’s the type of project and role that suits White’s talents, but even with its exotic locations, it’s no 007 or Jason Bourne (nor does it have to be), and doesn’t have anywhere the budget of each. But it’s still a rugged, fun watch that should satisfy any action movie enthusiast in search of a purely entertaining, if cliched Saturday or Sunday evening stream.

3. “Blackbox” (2020)

The Blumhouse/Amazon Studios production was the second installment in a series of “elevated” genre feature-length films to be released direct-to-service on Amazon Prime Video. Essential to the anthology, titled “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” has been a committment to attaching diverse and underrepresented talent to direct and bring these titles to life.

“Black Box” stars Mamoudou Athie as a single father who undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is, after losing his wife and his memory in a car accident. Co-starring veteran of stage and screen Phylicia Rashad, it’s a well-acted sci-fi thriller with enough twists and a compelling enough story to keep it interesting.

4. “Quilombo” (1984)

This historical saga of runaway slave communities (or “quilombos”) of northern Brazil is a rousing union of mythology, politics, and bold storytelling. It chronicles the most famous of these self-governing communities, which flourished after the slave revolt of 1641, under reign of the legendary Ganga Zumba, who escaped bondage on a sugar plantation and eventually rose to the position of highest authority within the kingdom of Palmares.

It’s a captivating historical account spanning several decades, memorable for its striking use of color, and set to the infectious beats of leading Brazilian musician and activist Gilberto Gil’s score.

5. “Beat Street” (1984)

DJ-rapper Kenny (Guy Davis) meets jazz artist Tracy (Rae Dawn Chong), and is inspired by her dedication to her craft. It puts him on a path that he hopes will eventually lead to an exit from his tough, working class existence. Of course, sometimes there’s a high price to pay in following one’s artistic dreams.

Arguably one of the most influential hip-hop movies, this gritty musical featured a who’s who of the then-burgeoning movement, including Kool DJ Herc, Doug E. Fresh, Afrika Bambaataa, and Melle Mel, as well as the famous Rock Steady Crew vs. New York City Breakers battle at the Roxy — a major influence on the evolution of hip-hop culture. The key elements are all there, including the breakdancing, the flashiest dance sets, the graffiti art, the DJs and MCs, all combined into one memorable experience. 

6. “Lilies of the Field” (1963)

The film showcases Sidney Poitier in one of his classic roles as an itinerant handyman named Homer Smith who helps refugee East European nuns build a chapel in rural Arizona. The nuns can’t pay him for the work and instead try to convince him by citing various Biblical verses (from the Sermon on the Mount). Moved by their plight, but also wanting to demonstrate his skills as a builder, Smith agrees.

The film’s “magical Negro” critique is certainly a valid one that would be leveled against other Poitier roles (good friend Harry Belafonte was offered the part but turned it down). However, for better or worse, Poitier built his early career on roles like Homer Smith, becoming a superstar during a period in American film history when meaty roles for Black actors, even at Poitier’s level, were slim.

For his portrayal, he became the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor. It was followed by a lesser-known sequel, “Christmas Lilies of the Field,” made in 1979 for television starring Billy Dee Williams.

7. “Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property” (2003)

A “troublesome property” for his master, as the title indicates, Nat Turner — an enslaved man who led a rebellion of enslaved people in August 1831 — has remained the same for historians, storytellers, and others who have struggled to understand the leader of the famous bloody slave rebellion. Most recently, Nate Parker attempted to contextualize Turner’s plight with “The Birth of a Nation” (2016) — a film that didn’t quite measure up.

A decade earlier, director Charles Burnett’s film “Troublesome Property” used an innovative approach that combined documentary filmmaking techniques, dramatic recreations, and historical methodology to explore how the country’s reckoning with Nat Turner and the revolt, which remains critical in coming to terms with the racial history of the United States.

8. “Crown Heights” (2017)

LaKeith Stanfield stars in this heartfelt drama based on an incredible true story about a man who is wrongfully convicted of murder, and the best friend who devotes his life to proving his innocence. Adapted from a “This American Life” broadcast, it’s a portrayal of a harrowing quest for justice to save a man who begins to lose hope in the likelihood that he’ll be rightfully set free, even in the face of his friend’s tireless efforts to exonerate him.

It predates films like “Just Mercy,” the Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx drama that sparked conversations about the realities of the justice system from the perspective of the Black men who are herded through it, based on the thinnest of cases, and without proper representation. 

9. “Disco Godfather” (1979)

A descendant of his blaxploitation classic “Dolemite” (recently revived by Eddie Murphy), “Disco Godfather” is Rudy Ray Moore’s highest rated film. It’s equal parts “Saturday Night Fever,” “Kung Fu” (1972), TV cop drama, and afterschool anti-drug special. Moore plays a retired cop, nightclub owner, and popular DJ (aka Disco Godfather) who takes on local drug dealers who have unleased a dangerous hallucinogenic drug called Angel Dust that takes hold of the community, including his nephew, a basketball phenom.

It’s pure camp, of course, released when blaxploitation was on life support, as a new crop of Black filmmakers (the L.A. Rebellion notably), sought to create work that contrasted much of the era’s cheap exploitation of Black stories. Moore’s 1979 “Godfather” could be seen as the final nail in the subgenre’s coffin. The soundtrack, featuring disco, funk, R&B, and soul tracks, should excite any DJ, even today.

10. “Night Comes On” (2018)

An official selection of the NEXT program at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Dominque Fishback made her feature acting debut, alongside Tatum Hall, in this complex portrait of trauma and sisterhood. Fishback is Angel LaMere, a strong-willed and resourceful young woman released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday, as she embarks on a single-minded focus, with little sister Abby (Hall), to avenge her mother’s death — which includes revenge on their estranged father.

Ultimately a story about exorcising past demons and beginning family life anew, the film is steered by convincing naturalistic performances that bring a necessary warmth to an otherwise extremely tense premise. Director Jordana Spiro won the Sundance NEXT Innovator Award.