“Million Dollar Baby”The title holder from the 2004 Academy Awards, Clint Eastwood’s boxing drama earned Hilary Swank her second best-actress Oscar, plus the prizes for best picture, supporting actor for Morgan Freeman and director for Eastwood. Swank plays a woman who overcomes her hard-luck roots to become a champ in the ring under the tutelage of a gruff trainer, only to have her dreams shattered by tragedy. The two-disc set includes a round-table discussion with Eastwood, Swank and Freeman in laid-back but talkative mode a day after the Oscars, plus a segment with cast and crew discussing the fighting life. Also available is a three-disc set that contains a soundtrack CD with Eastwood’s film score. DVD set, $29.95; DVD-CD set, $39.98. (Warner Bros.) Original theatrical review
“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story — Unrated”
The unrated tag is a misnomer. Last year’s surprise hit starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller doesn’t get much spicier in this revamped DVD edition. The new version of the movie remains an amiable tale of good goofballs triumphing over bad blowhards as Vaughn’s floundering Average Joe’s gym squares off in dodgeball against bully Stiller’s phys-ed gulag. Stiller, Vaughn and writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber team for commentary, and Thurber offers remarks on nine deleted and extended scenes plus the movie’s original, unhappy ending. Before you get your hopes up, the “super-sexy uncensored footage of the Dodgeball Dancers” promised on the packaging is pretty tame and lame. DVD, $26.98. (20th Century Fox) Original theatrical review
“A Very Long Engagement”
The reunion of “Amelie” star Audrey Tautou and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet proved a box-office blip by comparison yet had every bit of the energy and clever style of its predecessor. The World War I era drama stars Tautou in a tale combining romance, mystery and a grand war story about a woman who refuses to believe all the hard evidence that her lover died on the battlefield. Jeunet contributes commentary for the full film and deleted scenes, and background materials in the two-disc set include a making-of featurette and an examination of Paris in the 1920s. The set also features a behind-the-scenes look at the movie’s big special-effects sequence, a zeppelin explosion inside a makeshift hospital hangar. DVD set, $29.95. (Warner Bros.) Original theatrical review
“Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection”The unlikely time-travelers and duelers with Death return most auspiciously. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter star as airhead buddies in 1989’s “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” in which they round up great leaders from the past to help them pass an oral history exam, and 1991’s “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” in which they are sent to the afterlife and engage in competitions (Twister, Battleship) with the Grim Reaper. The three-disc package has a look back on the movies with new interviews from Winter, directors Stephen Herek and Peter Hewitt and other collaborators, along with recollections by writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson on creating the characters. There’s also an episode of the “Bill & Ted” cartoon TV series and an air-guitar tutorial. DVD set, $29.98. (MGM)
“Unfaithfully Yours,” “Le Notti Bianche”Preston Sturges’ 1948 romp “Unfaithfully Yours” stars Rex Harrison as an orchestra conductor who, convinced his wife is stepping out on him, plots elaborate revenge with madcap results. Luchino Visconti’s 1957 drama “Le Notti Bianche,” adapted from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s story “White Nights,” is a dreamlike tale of lonelyhearts (Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell) who begin a dark, passionate romance after a chance meeting on a bridge. Three Sturges experts combine for commentary on “Unfaithfully Yours,” which also is accompanied by an interview with the director’s widow. Visconti collaborators and scholars offer interviews on the “Le Notti Bianche” DVD, which also has an audio recording of the Dostoyevsky story. DVDs, $29.95 each. (Criterion)
TV on DVD:
“The Nanny: The Complete First Season” — Fran Drescher becomes surrogate wife and mother for a wealthy widower and his three children as this sitcom’s title character, a worldly-wise Queens babe with a voice that could crack fine china. The three-disc set has the first 22 episodes, with cast interviews and commentary from Drescher on a handful of episodes. DVD set, $29.95. (Sony)
“Hercules: The Legendary Journeys — Season Six” — The ancient Greek hero more famous to modern audiences for introducing “Xena: Warrior Princess” finishes his six-season run. The last eight episodes come on four DVDs, with commentary from stars Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst on the final one, plus extensive cast and crew interviews. There’s also a CD-ROM disc with trivia and other background. DVD set, $39.98. (Anchor Bay)
“Tales From The Crypt: The Complete First Season” — The horror anthology series that debuted in 1989 comes back to life with a two-disc set containing the first six episodes. The set includes a new introduction by the show’s “host,” the cackling, decomposing Cryptkeeper, plus a segment on adapting the series from the “Crypt” comic books. DVD set, $26.98. (Warner Bros.)
“Titus: Seasons 1 & 2” — Your own little family dysfunctions will seem insignificant by comparison to those of Chris Titus, creator and star of this semi-autobiographical sitcom about his own relations, a depressive mom and boozy, abusive dad (Stacy Keach) among them. The six-disc set has the first 33 episodes, with Titus contributing commentary and an interview. DVD set, $44.98. (Anchor Bay)
“The Best of the Mickey Mouse Club” — Available in original style or Britney-flavored. “Best of the Mickey Mouse Club” has five episodes of the Disney kids show from the 1950s and ’60s. “The Best of Britney, Justin and Christina” presents favorite moments from its modern counterpart featuring pop stars-in-embryo Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. DVDs, $14.99 each. (Disney)