What to watch on Amazon Prime this week

With the weather all set for some breezy summer nights, we’ve rounded up a selection of titles both new and old that have recently hit Amazon Prime. We recommend you check them out whilst your tan settles in.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Amazon’s latest high-profile project is an adaptation of the Australian novel by Joan Lindsay, which was in turn made into an influential Peter Weir film in 1975.

This new version, adapted by Larysa Kondracki, Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison, and starring Natalie Dormer, covers six hour-long episodes and looks truly excellent.

The period thriller is about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and their teacher, who vanish following the titular picnic.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

An old classic starring an array of much-loved British actors such as Martin Freeman and the late Alan Rickman, sci-fi classic The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has been added to the Prime roster this month.

Based on previous works by Douglas Adams, the movie follows journeyman Arthur Dent as he tries to handle an alien construction crew threatening to demolish the Earth. This wacky comedy is a staple of British pop culture, so if you’ve been missing out, now’s the perfect time to clue yourself up on some iconic nerdy inside jokes.

Last Flag Flying

From the mind of School of Rock director Richard Linklater, Last Flag Flying is the story of a former Navy medic who learns his son was killed in action and will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Not wanting to go alone, he rounds up two fellow vets he hasn’t seen in some time, played by acting legends Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne, only to then decide that he wants to take his son’s remains and bury them back home.

Like many of Linklater’s films, it’s warm and brimming with empathy, and though its subject is a bit darker than Linklater fans may be used to, it’s still at its core the kind of movie he does best: a story of people moving through space together, connecting in ways they didn’t expect to.

Orphan Black Season 5

The fifth and final season of this sci-fi thriller aired last summer, and now it’s up on Amazon Prime for those who missed it (or who just fancy a nostalgic rewatch already).

Orphan Black follows a woman who, after witnessing the suicide of someone who looks suspiciously like her, decides to assume the woman’s identity. As a result of this gutsy move, she ends up finding out that they’re both part of an illegal human cloning experiment.

The series stars Tatiana Maslany as the lead, taking on the role of a whole host of clones so varied you’ll forget that they’re all played by the same woman.