“Zodiac”David Fincher’s dramatization of an infamous unsolved serial murder case certainly doesn’t drag on as long as the investigation itself, but the overlong movie sometimes feels like it. The thriller based on the Zodiac killer, whose slayings terrorized Californians in the 1970s and obsessed professional and amateur sleuths for decades, stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo as three men pulled into the case. With the movie clocking in at nearly two hours and 40 minutes, the filmmakers apparently decided that was enough for home-video viewers, as the DVD contains no extras. The movie is available in widescreen or full-screen versions. DVD, $29.99. (Paramount) Read the review
“The Number 23”
Jim Carrey obsesses on a numeral in this dark thriller directed by Joel Schumacher. Carrey plays family guy Walter, whose tranquil life comes unhinged after his wife (Virginia Madsen) buys him a copy of a self-published novel whose main character fixates on the number 23 and lives a life that strangely parallels Walter’s. The plot twists are fairly predictable, but the movie’s a chance for Carrey to stretch beyond broad comedy and go for some chills. The DVD has the R-rated theatrical cut and an unrated version, with Schumacher providing commentary for the full film and deleted scenes that include an alternate ending. DVD, $28.98. (New Line) Read the review
“Ivan’s Childhood,” “Les Enfants Terribles”Two foreign-language classics come to DVD in stellar editions. Russian filmmaker Andre Tarkovsky’s 1962 debut film, “Ivan’s Childhood,” tells the harrowing story of a boy who becomes a spy against the Nazis after his parents are killed during World War II. The DVD features interviews with Tarkovsky experts and collaborators along with essays about his work. Novelist Jean Cocteau worked with director Jean-Pierre Melville for the 1950 adaptation of his book “Les Enfants Terribles,” which centers on the unhealthily close and cloistered relationship between a sister and brother. The DVD has interviews with some of the actors, essays and commentary by film critics and a documentary segment on Cocteau and Melville. “Ivan’s Childhood” DVD, $29.95; “Les Enfants Terribles” DVD, $39.95. (Criterion)
“Classic Musicals From the Dream Factory: Volume 2”
Slideshow 26 photos
Celebrity Sightings
Seven musicals from the MGM vaults arrive in a seven-disc set and in a series of single-DVD and two-disc releases, led by the 1948 swashbuckler “The Pirate,” starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly and directed by Garland’s husband at the time, Vincente Minnelli. Garland also stars with Mickey Rooney in 1948’s “Words and Music,” a tale about songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, while Kelly is host of the 1985 retrospective “That’s Dancing!” Available in the boxed set or as two-disc releases are “That Midnight Kiss” and “The Toast of New Orleans,” both featuring Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza; and “Royal Wedding” and “The Belle of New York,” which star Fred Astaire. DVD boxed set, $59.92; two-disc sets, $24.98; single DVDs, $19.97. (Warner Bros.)
“Elvis: MGM Movie Legends Collection,” “Frank Sinatra: MGM Movie Legends Collection”Two of Hollywood’s greatest crossover artists get boxed-set treatment. A four-disc set has four of Elvis Presley’s 1960s music romps: the boxing tale “Kid Galahad,” the prince-and-the-pauper story “Clambake,” the Florida comedy “Follow That Dream” and the riverboat romance “Frankie and Johnny.” Five of Sinatra’s films are gathered from the 1950s and ’60s, anchored by John Frankenheimer’s disturbing assassination thriller “The Manchurian Candidate.” Also in the set: “Guys and Dolls,” the musical pairing Sinatra and Marlon Brando as fast-living gamblers; “A Hole in the Head,” with Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson in a family comedy directed by Frank Capra; “Kings Go Forth,” starring Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood in a World War II love-triangle drama; and “The Pride and the Passion,” teaming Cary Grant and Sophia Loren with Sinatra in a Napoleonic-era epic. DVD sets, $39.98 each. (MGM)
TV on DVD:
“Land of the Giants: The Complete Series” — Irwin Allen’s cult sci-fi series that debuted in 1968 comes to DVD in an elaborate package housed in a wooden box to simulate the cages that held the puny human space travelers who mistakenly journeyed into a world where giants reigned. The nine-disc set has all 51 episodes and interviews with Allen and the cast, plus a load of collectible trinkets including a keychain, postcards and a comic book. DVD set, $199.98. (20th Century Fox)
“Benson: The Complete First Season” — Robert Guillaume stars in the spinoff of “Soap” that premiered in 1979, moving from irreverent butler to manager of the home of a scatterbrained governor (James Noble). The three-disc set has the first 24 episodes. DVD set, $29.95. (Sony)
“Stargate SG-1: Season 10”— The final season of the series about a team of interstellar travelers battling hostile aliens arrives in a five-disc set with 20 episodes, each with cast and crew commentary. DVD set, $49.98. (MGM)
“Weeds: Season Two” — Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon and their strange friends and neighbors return in the tale of a suburban widow who builds her own marijuana empire to pay the bills. The two-disc set has 12 episodes, seven with commentary. DVD set, $39.98; Blu-ray disc, $39.99. (Lionsgate)
“Star Trek Fan Collective: Captain’s Log” — The latest themed collection packs five discs with a favorite episode chosen by each captain in the five “Trek” series: William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula. Each actor provides an introduction, and the set also includes favorite episodes chosen by fans. DVD set, $42.99. (Paramount)
“Tales From the Crypt: The Complete Sixth Season” — The horror anthology series returns with 15 episodes in a three-disc set, featuring such stars as John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, Isaac Hayes and Wayne Newton. DVD set, $39.98. (Warner Bros.)
“Todd McFarlane’s Spawn: The Animated Collection” — The animated series from the late 1990s focuses on a slain man who returns to Earth as a vengeful “hellspawn,” torn between his humanity and the side of evil. All 18 episodes come in a four-disc set. DVD set, $39.98. (HBO)
“A Bit of Fry & Laurie: The Complete Collection” — Hugh Laurie (“House”) and Stephen Fry yucked it up on British TV with this sketch-comedy series from the 1980s and ’90s. A four-disc set has all 26 episodes. DVD set, $79.98. (BBC)
Other new releases:
“The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection” — The cartoon bird that debuted in 1940 and starred in almost 200 short theatrical releases gets his own boxed set. The three-disc package includes 75 cartoons, plus a featurette on Woody’s creator Walter Lantz, six behind-the-scenes segments with Lantz from “The Woody Woodpecker Show” on television and an episode of the TV series. DVD set, $39.98. (Universal)
“Hard-Boiled” — John Woo’s 1992 action thriller stars Chow Yun-Fat as a cop going after the gunrunners who got his partner killed. The two-disc set has a featurette on Woo plus interviews with some of his actors and collaborators and commentary by Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan. Also available is Woo’s martial-arts tale “Last Hurrah for Chivalry.” “Hard-Boiled” DVD set, $24.95; “Last Hurrah” DVD, $19.95. (Genius)