Stephen King has never hidden his love of cinema, and his newly shared “10 favorite films” list says a lot about the stories that shape his imagination. It’s an eclectic, auteur-leaning group—heavy on the 1940s and 1970s—that prizes moral ambiguity, tension, and character over jump scares. Notably, he excludes movies based on his own writings, keeping the focus on outside influences.
You’ll find noir, New Hollywood grit, and a couple of epochal crowd-pleasers. Below, a film-by-film look at the picks and where to stream them in the U.S., plus why this roster aligns so neatly with King’s sensibilities.
The list: King’s picks and where to stream
Sorcerer (1977) — Prime Video. William Friedkin’s nerve-shredding odyssey about desperate men hauling nitroglycerin through the jungle is existential terror without the supernatural. A restored cut helped cement its reputation after an initially harsh box-office run.
The Godfather Part II (1974) — MGM+ via Prime Video Channels. Francis Ford Coppola’s epic sequel earned six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and deepened the Corleone saga with a time-hopping structure that many filmmakers still emulate.
The Getaway (1972) — Prime Video. Sam Peckinpah turns a heist-gone-wrong into a sun-scorched chase thriller, with Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw caught between romance and ruin. It’s lean, mean Americana—exactly the kind of fatalism King often admires.
Groundhog Day (1993) — Netflix. A time-loop comedy that became a philosophical touchstone, this Harold Ramis classic has been preserved by the Library of Congress for its cultural significance—proof that high-concept genre can be deeply human.
Casablanca (1942) — Max. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman headline the wartime romance that the American Film Institute routinely ranks among the greatest films ever made. It won three Oscars and remains a clinic in character-driven suspense.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) — Prime Video. John Huston’s parable of greed netted three Academy Awards, including Director and Supporting Actor for Walter Huston. Its descent-into-paranoia arc feels tailor-made for King’s taste in moral unraveling.
Jaws (1975) — Netflix. Steven Spielberg’s breakthrough changed distribution forever and became the template for the modern summer blockbuster. The Academy honored its editing, sound, and John Williams’ iconic score; the primal fear is timeless.
Mean Streets (1973) — Prime Video. Martin Scorsese’s early breakthrough, featuring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, introduced a kinetic street-level realism that reshaped American cinema. It’s in the National Film Registry for a reason.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) — Prime Video. Awe, obsession, and the unknown converge in Spielberg’s rhapsodic sci‑fi drama, which earned multiple Oscar nominations and won for cinematography. It’s otherworldly, but fundamentally about faith.
Double Indemnity (1944) — Prime Video. Billy Wilder’s razor-edged noir—seven-time Oscar nominee—helped define the genre’s fatalism. Its doomed lovers and hardboiled voiceover echo through decades of crime fiction, King’s included.
Why these choices track with King’s sensibilities
King’s fiction has always been less about monsters and more about people under pressure. This list favors moral crucibles: greed in Sierra Madre, obsession in Close Encounters, cyclical redemption in Groundhog Day. Even Jaws is a character study disguised as a creature feature.
There’s also a clear auteur streak. Friedkin, Coppola, Peckinpah, Scorsese, Wilder, Huston, and Spielberg all left fingerprints on American cinema. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized many of these films with top-tier accolades, and the Library of Congress has enshrined several for preservation—signals of enduring craft that likely appeal to King’s storyteller instincts.
Notice the Bogart thread—Casablanca and Sierra Madre—suggesting King’s affinity for flawed men trying to do the right thing with the wrong tools. And while only Jaws and Close Encounters brush against the uncanny, nearly every title amplifies dread, consequence, and ethical stakes, the bedrock of King’s narrative engine.
Streaming tips and caveats
Availability shifts frequently. The platforms listed here reflect common U.S. placements; catalogs rotate due to licensing deals. If a title isn’t included with a subscription, check storefronts like Apple TV, Google Play, or Vudu for digital rental or purchase, and consider Prime Video Channels add-ons such as MGM+ when noted.
When possible, seek 4K restorations (Sorcerer and Jaws particularly benefit from upgraded transfers), and use platform search with year and director to avoid remakes or TV versions. For context and further viewing, consult resources from the American Film Institute and the British Film Institute, which provide production histories and curated lists to deepen the experience.
Whether you start with Bogart’s weary nobility, Scorsese’s street-corner saints, or Friedkin’s white-knuckle fatalism, King’s favorites double as a compact tour of film history—and a masterclass in tension that lingers long after the credits.