A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE (Cert 15, 101 mins, streaming from January 26 exclusively on Netflix, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
In the pantheon of great comedies, National Lampoon's Animal House directed by John Landis – who subsequently helmed The Blues Brothers and Trading Places – displays only minor wear and tear 30 years after its original release.
The making of this low-budget landmark in testosterone-fuelled tomfoolery is chronicled in A Futile And Stupid Gesture, which streams exclusively on Netflix after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Based on Josh Karp's non-fiction 2006 book, David Wain's hilarious history lesson charts the formative years of National Lampoon magazine founded by Doug Kenney (Will Forte) and Henry Beard (Domhnall Gleeson), which repeatedly riled the political and religious elite with its provocative front covers.
Matt Lucas co-stars as writer Tony Hendra, who helps to propel the business into the Hollywood hills where the likes of Chevy Chase (Joel McHale), John Belushi (John Gemberling) and Bill Murray (Jon Daly) capture the publication's defiantly anarchic spirit on celluloid.
THE MINIATURIST (Cert 15, 180 mins, Spirit Entertainment, available now on Amazon Video/BBC iPlayer/iTunes and other download and streaming services, also available from January 29 on DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Drama/Romance)
Based on the international bestseller by Jessie Burton, this handsome two-part BBC One drama set in 1680s Amsterdam screened over the Christmas period and now arrives on the home formats.
Eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman (Anya Taylor-Joy) arrives at the home of her wealthy husband, merchant trader Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell), and is greeted by the master's ferocious sister Marin (Romola Garai).
She casts a long shadow over the household, which is maintained by servants Cornelia (Hayley Squires) and Otto (Paapa Essiedu).
When Johannes eventually materialises, he presents his wife with a most intriguing gift: a dolls house replica of the marital home.
An elusive miniaturist is hired to fill the rooms with tiny furniture and dolls representing the inhabitants. These beautifully crafted objects seem to predict the future and Nella's curiosity is piqued.
She subsequently uncovers dark secrets and deceptions that may bring down her husband and everyone around him.
DIRTY MONEY (6 episodes, streaming from January 26 exclusively on Netflix, Documentary)
Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney – the man behind Loughinisland massacre film No Stone Unturned – spearheads this six-part Netflix documentary series, which uncovers stories of corruption and scandal in the cutthroat world of big business.
He directs the episode Hard NOx, which probes the furore that surrounded Volkswagen's emissions testing and the links between governments and the automotive industry.
Other instalments are directed by Jesse Moss, Erin Lee Carr, Kristi Jacobson, Brian McGinn and Fisher Stevens, who offers a sobering account of Donald Trump's business dealings and the rise of Trump Inc in an episode entitled The Confidence Man.
