DVD reviews: ‘Will Be Blood,’ ‘Walk Hard’

“There Will Be Blood”
Daniel Day-Lewis drank Paul Dano’s milkshake and earned another Academy Award as a flamboyant, acquisitive and more than a little crazy oil pioneer in Paul Thomas Anderson’s saga of early 20th-century greed and corruption. Day-Lewis won the best-actor prize for his towering performance as Daniel Plainview, whose single-minded determination to pull petroleum from the ground puts him on the path to destroy himself and everyone around him. Dano co-stars as a young preacher who proves that religious piety can be just as black-hearted as cutthroat commerce. The movie is available in a single-disc DVD with just the film and a two-disc set with extras that include a couple of deleted scenes, the 1923 silent film “The Story of Petroleum” and a slide show of vintage photos from the era selected by filmmaker Anderson. Single DVD, $29.99; two-disc set, $29.99. (Paramount) Read the review.

“The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep”

A boy and his sea monster. This family film featuring Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin and Brian Cox centers on a boy in Scotland who finds an egg that hatches a cuddly reptile, which quickly grows into a colossal friendly beast — and the most famous and elusive resident of Loch Ness. A two-disc DVD set and the Blu-ray high-definition release come with deleted scenes and half a dozen behind-the-scenes segments examining the myth of the Loch Ness monster, the effects that went into creating the beastie and how the story was developed from the novel by Dick King-Smith. Two-disc set, $28.96; Blu-ray, $38.96. (Sony) Read the review.

“Lions for Lambs”

A lot of talent and ambition went into this box-office dud that was the first release from United Artists under its new overseers, Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner. One of a string of war-on-terror dramas generally ignored by audiences last fall, the movie stars Cruise as a senator with a bold new plan for the fight in Afghanistan, Meryl Streep as a jaded Washington journalist, Robert Redford (who also directed) as an idealistic professor, and Derek Luke and Michael Pena as U.S. soldiers in the line of fire. The movie is accompanied by commentary from Redford, two making-of featurettes and a segment on United Artists, the venerable outfit founded by Charles Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. DVD, $29.98. (MGM) Read the review.

“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”

The latest laughfest from producer Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “Superbad”) earned fair praise from critics but could not bring in the crowds. Apatow and director Jake Kasdan spin an over-the-top parody of music biographies with their tale of the rise and fall and rise again of a rock icon (John C. Reilly) who lives an outrageous life of excess as he beds women, sires children and overindulges in every drug he can find. A two-disc DVD set and the Blu-ray release have an unrated version of the movie running 24 minutes longer than the theatrical release, along with deleted and extended scenes, full-song performances, commentary with cast and crew, and a huge range of background featurettes. The movie also comes in a bare-bones single-disc DVD with the R-rated theatrical version. Single DVD, $28.95; two-disc set, $29.96; Blu-ray, $43.95. (Sony) Read the review.

“The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”
Terry Gilliam might stand as modern Hollywood’s most-jinxed filmmaker, having waged epic battles against studio executives and blind fate to make films such as this, “Brazil” and “The Brothers Grimm,” which starred Heath Ledger. Gilliam had to drastically alter the approach to his current fantasy, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” using Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to take over Ledger’s character after the actor died midway through production (Depp also had starred in Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” an unfinished film that had to shut down days after filming began because of a series of weather misfortunes and illness to co-star Jean Rochefort). “Baron Munchausen” stars John Neville, Uma Thurman, Eric Idle and Sarah Polley in a wild fantasy about an adventurer’s impossible travels. In a 20th-anniversary edition, the movie is accompanied by commentary from Gilliam and a making-of documentary about the film, whose budget ballooned amid production troubles. DVD, $19.94; Blu-ray, $28.95. (Sony)

“The Bette Davis Collection”
Five films from the actress with the piercing eyes are gathered in a six-disc set, led by 1950’s best-picture Oscar winner “All About Eve,” which gets a DVD makeover in a two-disc version that includes commentary featuring director Joseph L. Mankiewicz and co-star Celeste Holm. The film stars Davis as an aging stage star whose young fan (Anne Baxter) schemes to take over her idol’s life. The set also has single-disc editions of “Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” starring Davis as a reclusive spinster whose cousin (Olivia de Havilland) plots to have her committed; “Phone Call From a Stranger,” about revelations unveiled about the victims of a plane crash; “The Virgin Queen,” with Davis as British monarch Elizabeth I; and “The Nanny,” featuring Davis as a woman suspected of child murder. DVD set, $49.98; individual titles, $19.98 each. (20th Century Fox)

TV on DVD:

“Sense & Sensibility” — Days after its PBS premiere, the latest Jane Austen adaptation comes to DVD. The miniseries stars Hattie Morahan as Austen’s prudent lady and Charity Wakefield as her starry-eyed sister as they maneuver the complications of romance and society in staid Britain. The two-disc set includes the BBC special “Miss Austen Regrets,” commentary and interviews with cast and crew. DVD set, $34.98. (BBC)

“Fortysomething” — “House” star Hugh Laurie has done the doctor gig before with this 2003 British series in which he stars as a neurotic physician with voices in his head and incessant family problems. The two-disc set has all six episodes. DVD set, $39.99. (Acorn)

Other new releases:

“Reservation Road” — Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly, Mark Ruffalo and Mira Sorvino star in this dark drama of two families drawn together by a tragedy that prompts profound grief and a longing for revenge. The DVD includes deleted scenes and a making-of segment. DVD, $29.98. (Universal) Read the review.

“P2” — This fright flick stars Wes Bentley as a wacko who terrorizes a woman (Rachel Nichols) trapped in a parking garage on Christmas Eve. The movie is accompanied by commentary with the filmmakers and three background featurettes. DVD, $26.99. (Summit)

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