A new test of this car’s horsepower
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Pixar and Disney’s critical and commercial winning streak, which began 11 years ago with “Toy Story,” continues with the rousingly fun and heartfelt “Cars” (Disney, $30).
Owen Wilson supplies the voice of Lightning McQueen, a cocky young stock car who, on his way to a race in California, accidentally gets waylaid in the once vibrant town of Radiator Springs. It is in this town off the famed Route 66 that Lightning learns the true meaning of friendship and family.
The film features the voice of Paul Newman as wise old “Doc,” who sentences Lightning to community service and harbors a secret about his past, and Larry the Cable guy as the sweetly clueless tow truck Mater.
Usually, the extras on a Pixar/Disney DVD are deluxe, but on the single-disc “Cars” they are strictly standard-issue.
Granted, there is a sparkling new animated short, “Mater and the Ghostlight,” as well as the clever Oscar-nominated short, “One Man Band.” But the rest of the pickings are rather slim -- some deleted scenes, a featurette about director John Lasseter’s inspiration for the movie and a teaser for the next film, “Ratatouille.”
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Also new
“Beverly Hills, 90210 -- The Complete First Season” and “Melrose Place -- The Complete First Season” (Paramount, $55 each). These two addictive Fox nighttime soap operas helped put the fourth network on the map.
Produced by Aaron Spelling, “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which premiered in 1990, revolved around a group of rich Beverly Hills high school students. The series starred Jason Priestley and Shannon Doherty; Spelling’s daughter, Tori; and Luke Perry, among others.
The six-disc set includes all 22 episodes and four featurettes, including an interview with creator Darren Star and commentary by Star on two episodes.
“Melrose Place,” also created by Star, was a spinoff of “Beverly Hills” that premiered in 1992 and explored the lives and loves of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex. Two “Desperate Housewives” regulars, Doug Savant and Marcia Cross, were among the stars.
That eight-disc set includes all 32 episodes and three featurettes.
“Wordplay” (IFC, $25): Director Patrick Creadon’s entertaining and at times exciting documentary on the New York Times Crossword puzzle. The pleasurable extras include deleted scenes, extended interviews with crossword buffs Ken Burns, Jon Stewart and former President Bill Clinton, and breezy, brainy commentary with Creadon, New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz and crossword constructor Merl Reagle.
“The Fallen Idol” (Criterion, $30): Superlative 1948 British thriller beautifully directed by Carol Reed from Graham Greene’s taut script. Young Bobby Henrey gives a remarkable performance as the 8-year-old son of a French ambassador in London who tries to clear his “idol” -- the engaging embassy butler Banes (a mesmerizing Ralph Richardson) -- from being accused of murdering his shrewish wife (Sonia Dresdel).
Michele Morgan is effective as an embassy typist with whom Banes is having an affair. The DVD includes the new documentary “A Sense of Reed,” which features insightful interviews with the late director’s colleagues and friends.
“Gary Cooper -- The Signature Collection” (Warner Home Video, $50): There’s only one “signature” film of the lanky superstar in this mixed bag, five-film collection. That’s 1941’s “Sergeant York,” for which Cooper received his first best actor Oscar as the World War I hero. The two-disc edition features documentaries on the real Alvin York and on Cooper, as well as a vintage short and cartoon. Historian Jeannine Basinger discusses the historical context of “Sergeant York” in her commentary.
Other films in the collection: 1949’s controversial adaptation of Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead,” the tepid 1950 western “Dallas,” the pedestrian 1952 western “Springfield Rifle” and the acceptable 1959 thriller “The Wreck of the Mary Deare,” which also features Charlton Heston and Richard Harris.
“The Marlon Brando Collection” (Warner Home Video, $60): The actor is always worth watching; still, only one of the films in this five-movie set would be considered classic Brando: Joseph Mankiewicz’s evocative 1953 adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” for which Brando, portraying Marc Antony, received his third best actor nomination. Include on that disc are an introduction by Turner Classic Movie host Robert Osborne and featurettes on Shakespeare and Brando.
Other films in the set: 1956’s “The Teahouse of the August Moon,” a comedy based on the hit Broadway play in which Brando plays a wily Okinawan translator working with American servicemen; the lavish though turgid 1962 version of “Mutiny on the Bounty,” for which Brando received mixed reviews for turning Fletcher Christian into an effete snob; John Huston’s visually stunning but unsatisfactory 1967 version of Carson McCullers’ “Reflection in the Golden Eye”; and the 1980 thriller “The Formula,” in which Brando plays an oil tycoon. The latter disc also includes reflective and funny commentary from director John G. Avildsen and screenwriter Steve Shagan.
“Flower Drum Song” (Universal, $27): Lavish 1961 adaptation of the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II Broadway musical that features such standards as “I Enjoy Being a Girl” and “A Hundred Million Miracles.” Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Benson Fong, Jack Soo and Miyoshi Umeki star. The digital edition includes mini-documentaries on the evolution of “Flower Drug Song” as well as the casting, the songs, the sets and costumes and the legacy of the composers. Rounding out the disc is informative commentary with Kwan and film historian Nick Redman.
“Inside the Actors Studio -- Icons” (Shout Factory, $40): Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand and Clint Eastwood talk about their careers with James Lipton, host of the long-running Bravo series.
Extras include Lipton’s overly dramatic introductions and “great moments that didn’t make the cut” from Newman and Redford.
“The Best of Carson, Vol. 1” (ESI, $40): This three-disc set of the clips of memorable moments from “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.”
The highlight is “Return to Studio One,” a “lost” episode that was broadcast on March 6, 1969, when Carson and the show visited California. It’s truly one of the show’s funniest, especially when guests Bob Hope, George Gobel, Dean Martin and Carson try to outdo each other with riotous ad-libs and jokes.
“Edward R. Murrow -- The Best of Person to Person” (Koch Vision, $40): With the award-winning success last year of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” there’s been a renewed interest in CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow.
This fabulous three-disc set features interviews Murrow did from 1954 through 1959 with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Marilyn Monroe, Dick Clark, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
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