Selected home-video releases:
“Chicken Little” – After its 10-year partnership with Pixar Animation produced such hits as “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles,” Disney made its first solo foray into computer-animated cartoons with this solid though slight fairy-tale tweak.
Zach Braff provides the voice of the title character, a chick who cried wolf that the sky was falling and now must save his town when his prediction comes true – in the form of an alien invasion.
Among DVD extras are deleted sequences and concepts, including three alternate openings, one in which Chicken Little is a female character. The disc also has half a dozen features examining story development and voice talent, which includes Joan Cusack, Steve Zahn and Garry Marshall, plus music videos from Barenaked Ladies and the Cheetah Girls. $29.99. (Disney)
“Capote” – Last year’s portrait of the artist Truman Capote proved one of the best literary chronicles ever on screen, earning a best-picture Academy Award nomination.
Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best-actor Oscar as author Capote, who with help from lifelong pal and “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee (Oscar nominee Catherine Keener) sets out to investigate the murders of a Kansas family. Capote’s research results in the groundbreaking true-crime novel “In Cold Blood” and leaves the author an emotional ruin because of the choices he makes in pursuit of his art.
The DVD has two making-of features and a segment on Capote’s life. Oscar-nominated director Bennett Miller teams with Hoffman and his cinematographer on two separate commentaries. $28.95. (Sony)
“The Ten Commandments” – When Hollywood thought big, Cecil B. DeMille thought bigger. This three-disc upgrade for DeMille’s 1956 biblical epic packs the same DVD extras contained in an earlier two-disc edition but adds the filmmaker’s original 1923 silent version of “The Ten Commandments.”
One of the big screen’s most elaborate spectacles, the 1956 version stars Charlton Heston as Moses from orphan child to slave and finally to prophet leading the Jews out of Egypt and the oppression of Pharaoh (Yul Brynner).
The 1923 version is part biblical epic, part modern-day moral tale about a good man and his brother gone wrong. Both versions are accompanied by commentary with DeMille expert Katherine Orrison. $24.99. (Paramount)
TV on DVD
“Huff: The Complete First Season” – Hank Azaria stars as a psychiatrist whose world is rocked to the core after a teenager commits suicide in his office. The first 13 episodes of the show, which earned an Emmy for Blythe Danner and also co-stars Oliver Platt, come in a four-disc set. $39.95. (Sony)
“Over There” – Current events meet TV drama in Steven Bochco’s acclaimed but short-lived series set among American troops on the front lines in Iraq. All 13 episodes are packed in a four-disc set, along with commentary on three from the show’s creators, co-stars and military advisers. $39.98. (20th Century Fox)
“Gidget: The Complete Series,” “The Flying Nun: The Complete First Season” – Before we all really liked her as a two-time Oscar winner, Sally Field was grinning and goofing on the small screen in these 1960s sitcoms. The four-disc sets have all 32 episodes of “Gidget” and the first 30 episodes of “Flying Nun.” $39.95 each. (Sony)
“South Park: The Complete Seventh Season” – The cartoon world’s raunchiest batch of kids return in a three-disc set featuring year seven’s 15 episodes. Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone offer commentary. $49.99. (Paramount)
“Bewitched: The Complete Third Season” – Elizabeth Montgomery is back as the witchy wife with a loving hubby (Dick York) and a meddlesome mother (Agnes Moorehead). A four-disc set has season three’s 33 episodes. $39.95. (Sony)
“The White Shadow: The Complete Second Season” – A white ex-basketball star (Ken Howard) continues his mentoring duties as coach at an inner-city school. Year two’s 24 episodes are included in a four-disc set. $39.98. (20th Century Fox)
“Tales From the Crypt: The Complete Third Season” – The horror anthology series with a rotting corpse as host resumes its frightful ways in a three-disc set that has the third season’s 14 episodes. $39.98. (Warner Bros.)
Other new releases
“In the Mix” – Singer Usher stars in this romantic comedy as a nightclub DJ who saves the life of a mob boss (Chazz Palminteri), then finds trouble when he falls for the don’s daughter. The DVD has deleted scenes and a making-of feature. $27.98. (Lionsgate)
“Paradise Now” – Nominated for best foreign-language film at the Oscars, this disturbing drama explores the human side of terrorism, following the journey of two Palestinian friends chosen to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel. $27.95. (Warner Bros.)
“The Squid and the Whale” – Divorce, American-style is the basis for this searing comic drama about the painful breakup of a couple (Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney) told from the confused perspective of their sons. Writer-director Noah Baumbach offers commentary. DVD, $26.96. (Sony)
“Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story” -Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell star as a daughter-and-dad duo who team up to nurse an injured racehorse back to health – and turn it into an underdog national competitor. Along with deleted scenes, the DVD has a batch of horse-related features. Writer-director John Gatins also provides commentary. $29.99. (DreamWorks)
“Derailed” – Jennifer Aniston stars as a business executive and family woman who begins a torrid tryst with a married man (Clive Owen), their affair turning dangerous when a menacing thug (Vincent Cassel) threatens to expose them. The DVD is available with the R-rated theatrical cut or an unrated version that offers a few minutes of heated-up footage. Other extras include deleted scenes and a making-of segment. $28.98. (Genius)
Some DVD issues may not have corresponding VHS releases. VHS prices vary widely.
“Chicken Little” is out today on DVD.
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