‘Nacho Libre’ leads week’s DVD picks
Published 9:00 pm Monday, October 23, 2006
“Nacho Libre”
For his follow up to “Napoleon Dynamite,” writer-director Jared Hess essentially does “Nacho Napoleon Dynamite,” transplanting things south of the border for another tale of odd outsiders finding kinship. With a shock of hair reminiscent of Napoleon’s, Jack Black stars as a cook at a Mexican orphanage who moonlights as a masked lucha libre wrestler to buy better food for the kids and earn respect for himself. And, like Napoleon, he finds a stoic sidekick and strikes up a chaste relationship with a wallflower, in this case one of the orphanage nuns. Black and his producing partner, co-writer Mike White, join Hess for audio commentary. The DVD also has deleted scenes and five behind-the-scenes featurettes. DVD, $29.99. (Paramount)
“Monster House”
Something different rises up among this year’s rush of animated movies featuring cute talking animals. This one’s a story about humans, created through the same motion-capture technique used in the holiday tale “The Polar Express,” in which live actors are filmed with dozens of infrared cameras that render 3-D images of movements and facial expressions, which animators use as the basis for the finished characters. The DVD comes with seven featurettes examining the technology and methods of motion-capture, along with commentary from the filmmakers. The movie is available in regular DVD format or as a high-definition Blu-Ray disc. DVD, $28.95; Blu-Ray disc, $38.95. (Sony)
“Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection”
Following up on an earlier five-film collection, all 10 of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ song-and-dance collaborations are gathered in a 12-disc set: “Top Hat,” “Swing Time,” “Follow the Fleet,” “Shall We Dance,” “The Barkleys of Broadway,” “Carefree,” “Flying Down to Rio,” “The Gay Divorcee,” “Roberta” and “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle.” The films are accompanied by vintage shorts and cartoons, plus a new documentary on Astaire and Rogers. If you already bought the “Volume 1” boxed set, “Volume 2” with the last five films is available separately. The films also are available as single DVDs. “Complete Film Collection” DVD set, $119.98; “Volume 2” DVD set, $59.92; single DVDs, $19.97 each. (Warner Bros.)
TV on DVD
“The Addams Family: Volume One” – The creepy and kooky family of the 1960s sitcom debuts on DVD. John Astin and Carolyn Jones star as Gomez and Morticia, heads of the macabre household that includes towering butler Lurch and a meandering severed hand. The three-disc set has 22 episodes, with two featurettes and commentary by Lisa Loring and Ken Weatherwax. DVD set, $29.98. (20th Century Fox)
“That’s My Bush!” – “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone spoofed sitcoms and the White House with this short-lived 2001 comedy about the wacky domestic life of George W. Bush (Timothy Bottoms). The two-disc set has all eight episodes, plus commentary with Parker, Stone and cast members. DVD set, $26.99. (Paramount)
“The O.C.: The Complete Third Season” – The glitzy soap opera continues among teens and their families in the swanky environs of Southern California’s Orange County. A seven-disc set packs all 25 episodes from season three, plus three featurettes and commentary from creator Josh Schwartz. DVD set, $69.98. (Warner Bros.)
“The L Word: The Complete Third Season” – America’s favorite circle of lesbian friends and lovers returns in the show set among a hip group of Los Angeles residents looking for romance. DVD set, $69.99. (Showtime)
“Creature Comforts: The Complete Second Season” – Aardman Animation, creators of “Chicken Run” and “Wallace &Gromit,” presents its latest clay-animated tales. Season two’s 12 episodes come in a two-disc set. DVD set, $24.96. (Sony)
“Wings: The Complete Third Season” – The goofy gang at a small Nantucket airport takes off for another season. The four-disc set has year three’s 22 episodes of the show featuring Tim Daly, Steven Weber, Thomas Haden Church and Tony Shalhoub. DVD set, $42.99. (Paramount)
“Bewitched: The Complete Fourth Season” – Season four’s 22 episodes come in a four-disc set. DVD set, $39.95. (Sony)
“The Facts of Life: The Complete Third Season” – Charlotte Rae is the mentoring house mother for a group of girls at a boarding house in the 1980s sitcom. A three-disc set has year three’s 24 episodes. DVD set, $29.95. (Sony)
“Sesame Street: Old School – Volume 1, 1969-74” – A three-disc set packs the 1969 pilot plus the season premieres from the next four years of the venerable children’s show. DVD set, $39.98. (Sony Wonder)
“SCTV: Best of the Early Years” – A three-disc set has 15 of the best episodes from the early days, featuring John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. DVD set, $39.98. (Shout)
“Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season Two – Volume One” – The souped-up submarine Seaview is back in action in Irwin Allen’s 1960s undersea adventure. The first 13 episodes from season two are collected in a three-disc set. DVD set, $29.98. (20th Century Fox)
By David Germain Associated Press
