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Noteworthy DVDs released 11/3/09
PICK OF THE WEEK “The Claudette Colbert Collection” (Universal): Six films starring one of the greatest screwball heroines, easily found online for a cost of under $6 per film. Contains “Three-Cornered Moon,” “The Maid of Salem,” “I Met Him in Paris,” “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife,” “No Time for Love,” and “The Egg and I.”
OTHER TOP PICKS “The Dead” (Lions Gate): John Huston could hardly have picked a better last film as director than this elegiac James Joyce adaptation starring daughter Anjelica.
“Columbia Pictures Film Noir Collection Volume 1” (Sony): Old noir favorite “The Big Heat” joins four titles (like Don Siegel’s “The Lineup”) that have never seen DVD before, all introduced or dissected by afficionado-practitioners like Martin Scorsese and James Ellroy.
“Food, Inc.” (Magnolia): An effective and engrossing primer on the ecological and health issues raised by modern agriculture, Robert Kenner’s documentary may convince you to change the way you shop.
“Say Anything” 20th Anniversary Edition (Fox): Standing outside your beloved’s window with a jambox: heartbreakingly romantic, or cause for a restraining order? Decide for yourself on Blu-ray.
“The Taking of Pelham 123” (2009) (Sony): The new one’s fun and all, but couldn’t Sony pair it with the original for a home video double feature?
“Wings of Desire” (Criterion): Wim Wenders’s potently romantic view of angels among us gets the Criterion treatment in both video formats.
“Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live” (Time-Life): A whopping nine discs full of live performances drawn from 25 years of the HOF’s existence.
NEW ON BLU-RAY “A Christmas Carol” (1951) (VCI); “Forrest Gump,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Paramount); “Godzilla” (Sony); “Howards End” (Criterion); “Love Actually” (Universal); “North By Northwest” (Warner Bros.); “Two Girls and a Guy” (Fox)
FRESH FROM THE MULTIPLEX “Aliens In The Attic,” “I Love You, Beth Cooper” (Fox); “The Answer Man” (Magnolia); “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (Paramount)
ARTHOUSE/FOREIGN “Before the Fall,” “Lemon Tree” (IFC)
DOCUMENTARIES “Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart” (Docurama); “The Ister” (First Run / Icarus); “Unmistaken Child” (Oscilloscope); “The Way We Get By” (The Way We Get By Productions)
IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE… “Christmas Story” (2007, with John Turturro) (Anchor Bay); “Home for Christmas” (VCI); “One Christmas” (Vivendi); “Scruff: A Christmas Tale” (Image); “White Christmas” (Paramount)
BEST OF TV Doctor Who: “The Black Guardian Trilogy,” “The War Games”; “Edge of Darkness” Complete Series (BBC); “The Donna Reed Show” Season 3 (Virgil Films); “G.I. Joe: Resolute,” “Mission: Impossible” Final Season (Paramount); “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” Season 1.2, “Merry Sitcom!,” “Spin City” Season 3 (Shout! Factory); “Here’s Lucy” Season 2 (MPI); “The Rockford Files: The Movie Collection Vol. 1” (Universal); “The Shield” Complete Series (Sony); “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Season 1 (Warner Bros.); “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Season 7 (Lions Gate); Walt Disney Treasures: “Zorro: The Complete First Season” and “The Complete Second Season” (Walt Disney); “Will Ferrell: You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush” (HBO); “Wolverine & the X-Men” Volume 3 (Lions Gate)
REISSUE/REPACKAGE Almodóvar’s “All About My Mother,” “Law of Desire,” “Matador,” and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (Sony); “Rocky: The Undisputed Collection” (MGM); “Transformers” Gift Set (Paramount); “Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut” (Warner Bros.)
STRAIGHT(ISH) TO VIDEO Dolph Lundgren in “Direct Action” and “Command Performance” (First Look); “InAlienable,” directed by Walter Koenig, aka Chekov of “Star Trek” (Anchor Bay); Robin Givens in “A Mother’s Prayer,” Vincent D’Onofrio in “The Narrows” (Image); John Leguizamo in “Where God Left His Shoes” (IFC)
KIDS’ STUFF “Dora the Explorer: Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure” (Nickelodeon); “Fraggle Rock: A Merry Fraggle Holiday,” “LeapFrog: Learning DVD Set,” “Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express” (Lions Gate)
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