DVD extras add to the trip down ‘Glory Road’
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Selected releases of new DVDs:
“Glory Road” – Blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Remember the Titans”) revisits the sports genre with this true-life 1960s drama starring Josh Lucas as Texas Western coach Don Haskins, who built an NCAA championship basketball team with the first all-black starting lineup.
The DVD has nice features centered on Haskins’ career and training methods. ($29.99, Disney)
“John Wayne-John Ford Film Collection,” “John Ford Film Collection” – Hollywood masters Wayne and Ford get a loving retrospective in two box sets.
The Wayne-Ford collection features eight of their 14 collaborations ($79.92, Warner Bros.), led by a new collectors’ set of “The Searchers,” their 1956 Western masterpiece. The Ford collection has five of the director’s films without Wayne: “The Informer,” “The Lost Patrol,” “Cheyenne Autumn,” “Mary of Scotland” and “Sergeant Rutledge.” ($59.92, Warner Bros.)
“Dumbo: Big Top Edition” – Walt Disney’s animated classic returns to DVD with many of the same extras included on a release five years ago. The 1941 charmer follows the exploits of a baby elephant who feels like an outcast because of his oversized ears – until he discovers they allow him to fly. DVD materials include a new circus game and a music video with Jim Brickman and Kassie DePaiva performing the film’s lullaby, “Baby Mine.” ($29.99, Disney)
Among other extras are a previously released making-of feature, Walt Disney’s television introduction for the film and two vintage Disney short cartoons.
TV on DVD
“NCIS: The Complete First Season” – Mark Harmon stars as the leader of a crackerjack team investigating crimes connected to the military. ($68.99, Paramount)
“The Wild Wild West,” “F Troop,” “Cheyenne” – The first seasons of three 1950s and ’60s Westerns debut on DVD. “Wild Wild West” stars Robert Conrad as a federal agent battling criminal masterminds ($54.99, Paramount); “F Troop” features Ken Berry, Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch ($39.98, Warner Bros.) and “Cheyenne” stars Clint Walker as a heroic gunman ($39.98, Warner Bros.).
“Entourage: The Complete Second Season” – The tale of a rising young actor (Adrian Grenier) and his circle of friends and associates continues. ($39.98, HBO)
“Home Improvement: The Complete Fourth Season” – Tim Allen returns as a TV handyman bungling his way through work and family life. ($39.99, Disney)
“Charmed: The Complete Fifth Season” – Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan are the three witch sisters. ($54.99, Paramount)
“The Time Tunnel: Volume Two” – Two scientists (Robert Colbert and James Darren) resume their time-traveling in the final 15 episodes of the 1960s sci-fi show, plus the 1976 TV movie “Time Travelers.” ($39.98, 20th Century Fox)
Other new releases
“Firewall” – Harrison Ford dukes it out with Paul Bettany in this tepid thriller that feels like a rehash of Ford’s catalog of action tales. Skimpy DVD extras include a conversation with Ford and director Richard Loncraine ($28.98, Warner Bros.). The movie also is available in a release containing both the DVD version and the new high-definition DVD format ($39.99, Warner Bros.).
“Underworld: Evolution” – Kate Beckinsale returns as a vampire foot soldier in this follow-up about a centuries-old feud between bloodsuckers and werewolves. Director Len Wiseman and his crew team up for audio commentary, while the DVD offers a music video and half a dozen features covering the visual imagery, makeup, production design, stunts and overbearing music and sound design that went into the movie. ($28.95, Sony)
“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” – Tommy Lee Jones makes an impressive directing debut and stars as a modern ranch foreman who forces his best friend’s killer (Barry Pepper) to dig up the body and haul it for reburial in Mexico. Jones teams with co-stars Dwight Yoakam and January Jones for commentary. ($26.96, Sony)
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Unrated” – Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie deliver a new version of the action romp on which they began their real-life romance. The “unrated” edition adds about five minutes of footage, though nothing terribly steamy or explicit. The set features commentary from director Doug Liman, who also contributes a feature on his filmmaking process. ($26.98, 20th Century Fox)
“Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic” – Standup comic Silverman presents an often-hilarious combination of performance film and strange musical and behind-the-scenes segments, tackling AIDS, the Holocaust and racism with a delightfully foul mouth and wicked irreverence. Silverman offers commentary. ($26.99, Visual Entertainment)
“Running Scared” – Paul Walker stars in this crime dud about a low-level mob member on a frantic all-nighter to recover a gun whose existence jeopardizes him and his family. Director Wayne Kramer contributes commentary. ($27.95, New Line)
