“Flags of Our Fathers”
The first of Clint Eastwood’s bookend films about the World War II battle for Iwo Jima received excellent reviews yet failed to find the audience it deserved. With the buildup to the Academy Awards — where the follow-up film, “Letters From Iwo Jima,” earned a best-picture nomination and a best-director slot for Eastwood — “Flags” may find a second wind as viewers catch up with his overlooked war epic. Led by an ensemble including Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach and Jesse Bradford, “Flags” follows the fate of U.S. troops immortalized in the legendary photo of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima, the film seamlessly flitting from the battlefield to a home front built more on propaganda than truth. Sadly, the DVD has just the film, lacking any extras. Maybe down the road, the “Letters From Iwo Jima” DVD will offer insight on how Eastwood managed to deliver two sweeping war epics in a single year. DVD, $29.99. (DreamWorks) Read the review
“The Grudge 2”
Sarah Michelle Gellar returns for a small role in this followup to her horror hit, which stars Amber Tamblyn as her sibling, sent to Japan to find out what’s up with her hospitalized big sis after the fiery finale of the first flick. The followup tracks Tamblyn and a disparate group of people from Tokyo to Chicago, all inexplicably haunted by the same creepy little spirits from the original movie. The DVD comes in the PG-13-rated theatrical version or in an unrated edition that adds about six minutes of footage. Both DVD editions have deleted scenes and a couple of featurettes, including one on director Takashi Shimuzu, who also created the Japanese franchise on which “The Grudge” movies are based. The unrated DVD also has an introduction from producer Sam Raimi. DVD, $28.95. (Sony) Read the review
“Flicka”
This ho-hum horse tale, an update of Mary O’Hara’s classic family novel “My Friend Flicka,” stars Alison Lohman as a spirited teen who bucks the wishes of her father (Tim McGraw), fighting to stay on the family ranch rather than follow his desire that she get out of Dodge and find something else to do with her life. Her main preoccupation is trying to domesticate a wild mustang that her dad brands too crazy to be tamed. The DVD comes with deleted scenes, a blooper reel, a behind-the-scenes featurette and the music video for the sappy tune country star McGraw sings over the closing credits. DVD, $29.98. (20th Century Fox) Read the review
“Hollywoodland”
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Ben Affleck! After playing a comic-book hero in “Daredevil,” Affleck puts in one of his finest performances in a supporting role as George Reeves, the sadly typecast star of TV’s “Adventures of Superman,” whose violent death in 1959 was called a suicide, though some in Hollywood thought it was murder. Adrien Brody stars as a private detective trying to unravel the case, with Diane Lane playing one of Reeves’ lady loves, whose studio-mogul husband was at the heart of the murder speculation. Along with deleted scenes, the DVD has commentary from director Allen Coulter and three featurettes. The film comes in a standard DVD release or a combo disc with the DVD and high-definition HD DVD versions. DVD, $29.98; HD DVD combo disc, $39.98. (Universal) Read the review
“Running With Scissors”
Annette Bening leads a terrific cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow and her “Shakespeare in Love” co-star Joseph Fiennes, Alec Baldwin, Brian Cox, Jill Clayburgh and Evan Rachel Wood in an adaptation of author Augusten Burroughs’ chronicle of his youth. Joseph Cross stars as Burroughs, whose delusional mother (Bening) splits with her boozy hubby (Baldwin) and sends the youth to live with a seemingly deranged psychiatrist and his family. The DVD features cast interviews, a segment on set design and a chat with the real Burroughs. DVD, $26.96; Blu-ray disc, $38.96. (Sony) Read the review
“The Science of Sleep”
Writer-director Michel Gondry’s visually inventive romance examines the strange nether region between sleeping and waking life where a hopeful yet hesitant young artist spends his days and nights. Gael Garcia Bernal stars as a man with new job designing calendars that turns out to be unfulfilling drudge work, whose vivid dream life — where he’s the star of his own makeshift TV fantasy — begins to spill over into reality, including his fitful pursuit of the girl next door (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Gondry is joined by cast members on commentary. DVD, $27.95. (Warner Bros.) Read the review
TV on DVD:
“Eddie Murphy: Delirious” — A quarter-century ago, he was a raw, fresh, foul-mouthed comedy firebrand. Now he’s a veteran Hollywood survivor who has achieved critical acclaim as an Academy Awards front-runner for “Dreamgirls.” Murphy’s raucous, profane 1983 standup special finally comes to DVD, accompanied by five minutes of unreleased footage and a new interview with the performer. DVD, $19.98. (Entertainment Studios)
“Anything But Love: Volume One” — Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis starred in the short-lived sitcom that debuted in 1989 about best buddies and colleagues who avoid romance for fear of ruining their friendship. A three-disc set packs the first 28 episodes, with commentary from Curtis and Lewis. DVD set, $39.98. (20th Century Fox)
“Mad About You: The Complete Third Season” — Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser are back as the happiest couple in New York City. The three-disc set has all 24 episodes from year three. DVD set, $39.95. (Sony)
“Charmed: The Complete Seventh Season” — The witchy siblings (Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan) work up some more spells in a six-disc set with season seven’s 22 episodes. DVD set, $54.99. (Paramount)
Other new releases:
“Trust the Man” — Julianne Moore stars with David Duchovny in her husband Bart Freundlich’s uninspired look at modern marriage and parenthood, following the domestic crises of an actress and her stay-at-home hubby. Freundlich and Duchovny offer commentary for the full movie and deleted scenes. DVD, $27.98. (20th Century Fox) Read the review
“Cinderella III: A Twist in Time” — A straight-to-DVD release gives the Disney animated classic an “It’s a Wonderful Life” makeover. Cinderella learns what the world would be like if she never became a princess after her wicked stepmother turns back time and undos her big prom night. DVD, $29.99. (Disney)
“Going My Way,” “All Quiet on the Western Front” — The 1944 Bing Crosby classic and the 1930 anti-war saga lead a batch of four vault titles arriving on DVD, including 1942’s “Arabian Nights” and Olivia De Havilland’s 1949 drama “The Heiress.” Each film has an introduction by film historian Robert Osborne. DVDs, $14.98 each. (Universal)
“Here Comes Mr. Jordan” — Robert Montgomery and Claude Rains star in the 1941 classic later remade by Warren Beatty as “Heaven Can Wait” and Chris Rock as “Down to Earth.” Montgomery’s a boxer mistakenly taken to heaven too early, forcing an angelic overseer (Rains) to find him a new body to live out his life. DVD, $19.94. (Sony)