Life

New to download, stream or buy on DVD: Full series of The Last Tycoon out

Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer in The Last Tycoon
Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer in The Last Tycoon Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer in The Last Tycoon

THE LAST TYCOON (9 episodes, streaming from July 28 exclusively on Amazon Prime, Drama/Romance)

THE pilot episode of this lavish Amazon Studios drama, based on F Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel, has been available to stream for free since June last year. The full series of a further eight instalments is available this week and draws inspiration from the life of legendary film mogul Irving Thalberg. Monroe Stahr (Matt Bomer) is the golden boy of 1930s Hollywood and he is locked in a fierce battle with his father figure, Pat Brady (Kelsey Grammer), for control of a film studio. This power struggle is exacerbated by Monroe's romantic interest in Pat's spirited daughter, Celia (Lily Collins), who is a chip off the old block. As Hitler's Germany exerts a greater international influence and the Great Depression takes a toll, Monroe and Pat test each other's resolve as they fight tooth and nail to realise their towering ambitions.

A DARK SONG (Cert 15, 100 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, available from July 31 on Amazon Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from August 14 on DVD £15.99, Horror/Thriller)

IRISH-Welsh film-maker Liam Gavin's directorial debut is an unsettling horror thriller, which unfolds almost entirely within the claustrophobic confines of a remote house in the Welsh countryside. The film's dramatic fulcrum is grief-stricken mother Sophia (Catherine Walker), who is maintaining only the faintest grasp on her sanity in the aftermath of her young son's demise. Unable to achieve closure, she takes the orthodox step of hiring an occultist called Solomon (Steve Oram) to conduct an ancient ritual that will allow her to make contact with her beloved boy. Locked away for six months inside the house to complete the ceremony, Solomon makes clear from the outset the inherent dangers of the ritual: neither of them can leave the house, and if they fail to carry out each step properly, they run the risk of opening a doorway to dark, malevolent forces. Unperturbed, Sophia urges Solomon to begin and they embark on a harrowing journey into the unknown that pushes them to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion.

AMERICAN GODS (Cert 18, 440 mins, StudioCanal, available now on Amazon Prime, available from July 31 on DVD £29.99/Blu-ray £34.99/Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray £39.99, Fantasy/Drama)

THE dystopian fantasy drama, based on an award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman, began streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime in May and a second series has already been commissioned. Set in a grim world in which mortals and deities live side by side, the story focuses on Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), who is released early from prison after his beloved wife Laura (Emily Browning) and best friend Robbie (Dane Cook) are killed in a car accident. Alone in the world without family or friends, Shadow takes up a position as bodyguard to a con artist called Mr Wednesday (Ian McShane). They travel around America, meeting with Wednesday's contacts, and Shadow eventually deduces that his boss is the god Odin, who is gathering together the old guard including Mr Nancy (Orlando Jones), Mr Ibis (Demore Barnes) and Mr Jacquel (Chris Obi) to challenge a new order of gods led by the likes of The Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) and Media (Gillian Anderson). The four-disc DVD and Blu-ray box sets include all eight episodes.

DAUGHTERS OF DESTINY (4 episodes, streaming from July 28 exclusively on Netflix, Documentary)

DIRECTED by Academy Award winner Vanessa Roth, this four-part Netflix original documentary series unfolds over the course of seven years as five girls learn to support themselves and their families by studying at the co-ed Shanti Bhavan residential school in Tamil Nadu. The girls, aged seven to 23, are part of the impoverished 'Dalit' caste. By attending the school, they strive to forge a brighter future for the generations that will come after them while lifting their loved ones out of poverty. Each twist and turn in the girls' journeys is set to an original score by acclaimed composer AR Rahman, who won the Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire.