by Bruce Dancis
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
4 December 2007
“Pirates of the Caribbean—At World’s End”
One and two discs, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, $29.99/$34.99, rated PG-13
The final installment of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski’s swashbuckling saga finds Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) trying to rescue Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). The single-disc edition includes the movie and bloopers; the two-disc edition adds “Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom,” a documentary on star Johnny Depp’s relationship with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones; a bunch of features on the making of the movie and its special effects; a look at the man behind Capt. Sao Feng (played by Chow Yun Fat); and much more.
“Superbad”
One and two discs, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $28.95/$34.95, rated R and unrated versions
This coming-of-age, searching-for-sex romp starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as high school seniors gets even raunchier on the two-disc unrated DVD edition. In addition to scenes that were cut from the theatrical version, it includes “Line-o-Rama,” a running scorecard of obscenities; “TV Safe Lines,” alternate lines of dialogue made suitable for TV; the fake documentary “Everyone Hates Michael Cera”; on-set diaries; audition footage; a gag reel; a running commentary from cast members, director Greg Mottola and co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg; and more.
“The Nanny Diaries”
Genius Products/Weinstein, $29.95, rated PG-13
Based on Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus’ bestseller, Scarlett Johansson stars as a recent college graduate who goes to work as a nanny for a very wealthy and very dysfunctional family on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Extras include a bloopers reel; a making-of documentary; and “Confessions From the Original Nannies,” featuring interviews with McLaughlin and Kraus.
“Arctic Tale”
Paramount Home Entertainment, $29.99, rated G
Queen Latifah narrates Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson’s documentary about a polar bear cub named Nanu and a walrus pup named Seela as they grow up in the Arctic. The DVD comes with a behind-the-scenes documentary on the years of work that went into making the movie and an episode of National Geographic Kids Entertainment’s “Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting.”
“Ford at Fox”
21 discs, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, $299.98, not rated
Considered one of America’s greatest film directors, John Ford made 50 movies at 20th Century Fox from 1920 to 1952. This exceptional box set packages 24 of those films—including the silent epic “The Iron Horse,” “The Grapes of Wrath” and “How Green Was My Valley”—along with “Becoming John Ford,” a new feature-length documentary on the director; a coffee-table book with rare, previously unpublished photographs; and more.
“The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season”
Four discs, HBO Video, $59.99, rated TV-MA
David Simon’s extraordinary HBO series about Baltimore cops, drug dealers, politicians and society at large turns its attention to the public education system—specifically, four middle-school-age boys—in its fourth season. The result is some of the most powerful television ever. Bonus features include a two-part documentary ("It’s All Connected” has interviews with cast and crew members, while “The Game Is Real” brings viewers up to date with what occurred during the first three seasons) and audio commentaries on six of the 13 episodes by series creator Simon and others.
Plus:
- Antonia (not rated)
- Battlestar Galactica: Razor Unrated Extended Edition (not rated)
- The Best of Crank Yankers: Uncensored (not rated)
- Drama/Mex (not rated)
- Erik the Viking: Director’s Son’s Cut (rated PG-13)
- Exiled (rated R)
- The Hottest State (rated R)
- Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks – Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Virgin Spring (not rated)
- Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door (not rated)
- Lady Chatterly (rated R)
- The Last Man on Earth (not rated)
- Live-In Maid (not rated)
- Lubitsch in Berlin: The Oyster Princess, I Don’t Want To Be a Man, Sumurun, Anna Boleyn and The Wildcat (not rated)
- MGM Movie Legends: Bob Hope Collection (not rated)
- Midnight Clear (rated PG-13)
- New Street Law: The Complete First Season (not rated)
- 24: Season Six (not rated)
- Will & Grace: Season 7 (not rated)
More News 