Several box sets lead off this look at newly released DVDs.
"The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Volume 4" (Universal, 1953-2000, not rated, b/w, $26.98, two discs). This fourth collection will be the last from Universal, as all of that studio's Abbott & Costello films are now on DVD (except "It Ain't Hay," due to some unresolved issues over "rights").
This set actually has three films but is padded out with a clip film that came out in the '60s and a Jerry Seinfeld TV special.
— "Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" (1953) has Boris Karloff as Dr. Jekyll, and a stunt man as Mr. Hyde, with the boys as cops-in-training in London. Typically silly stuff, with a few inspired moments.
— "Abbott & Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" (1955) has the boys as unintentional stunt men/actors in silent movies during the early part of the century. Some funny stuff in this nice salute to a bygone era. (That's the real Mack Sennett playing himself.)
— "Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy" (1955) is the penultimate A&C comedy and their last for Universal. And though they are older and a bit tired, they muster up enough energy to make this one of their best later films (despite cardboard sets and silly one-piece mummy costumes).
— "The World of Abbott & Costello" (1965) is a clipfest poorly narrated by fast-talking comic Jack E. Leonard, and with an odd choice of weak clips, some of which cut off classic routines before they're over! But it does end with the full-length "Who's On First?" bit from "The Naughty Nineties."
— "Abbott & Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld" (1994) is also a clipfest, as Seinfeld pays tribute to Bud & Lou, and it also includes color home movies.
— "Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters" (2000) is the half-hour making-of featurette from the "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" DVD.
Extras: Full frame, optional subtitles (English, Spanish, French), chapters.
"Edgar G. Ulmer: Archive" (Image, 1946-58, not rated, b/w and color, $29.99, three discs). Ulmer was the ultimate low-budget filmmaker, and some of his efforts hold up surprisingly well.
— "The Strange Woman" (1946) is a solid film noir with femme fatale Hedy Lamarr in 19th-century New England marrying an older man for money, though she's in love with his son. Lamarr is great, as is the strong supporting cast.
— "Strange Illusion" (1945) is less successful, a variation on "Hamlet," with teenage James Lydon suspicious of the man who is romancing his mother.
— "Bluebeard" (1944) is one of Ulmer's best efforts, as John Carradine woos Jean Parker — but he's a deranged strangler.
— "Daughter of Dr. Jekyll" (1957) has the title character worrying that she's inherited her father's madness when local villagers are systematically killed by a night creature. Mediocre monster movie.
— "Moon Over Harlem" (1939) is perhaps the most striking film here, though it suffers from its no-budget roots. Reportedly made for $8,000 and shot in four successive nights with leftover film ends, this is an all-black melodrama with musical sequences, and it's utterly fascinating.
— "Swiss Family Robinson" (1950, color). This failed TV pilot is an enjoyable setup from the book for a series that was never made.
— "Goodbye, Mr. Germ" (1940). An educational health short from the '40s; a real curio.
Extras: Full frame, interviews, featurettes, trailers, photo galleries, chapters.
"Billy Jack 35th Anniversary Ultimate Edition" (Ventura, 1967-74, PG, $39.98, five discs). Tom Laughlin has made a career of his four "Billy Jack" movies from the late '60s and early '70s, about seeking peace by beating the tar out of bad guys. But this set (as opposed to an earlier box set of all four films) is distinguished by its clean transfers and widescreen presentation. Billy is introduced in the biker-thriller "The Born Losers" (1967) as a part-Indian karate expert who battles injustice and racism (look for Jane Russell in a cameo). In "Billy Jack" (1971) he battles locals who try to infringe on his "free school." "The Trial of Billy Jack" (1974) has the character in jail, but he gets out to fight locals again as they bully students of his Freedom School (this one is nearly three hours long!). "Billy Jack Goes to Washington" (1977) is a variation on the Frank Capra/James Stewart "Mr. Smith" film, with Billy elected to the Senate and finding corruption all around him. The bonus disc is rather skimpy.
Extras: Widescreen, making-of featurettes, interactive quiz, photo gallery, chapters.
"The Retrospective: Red Bull Rampage" (Red Bull, 2005, not rated, $39.95, five discs). This five-disc set features down-and-dirty footage of the four "Red Bull Rampage" events that bring mountain bikers from all over the world to southern Utah. The fifth disc is more interviews and outtakes in a retrospective of the four events.
Extras: Full frame, featurettes deleted interviews, bloopers, chapters; collector's tin.
"Mad Hot Ballroom" (Paramount, 2005, PG, $29.99). Delightful documentary about New York's inner-city ballroom-dance competition program, which helps children slowly learn to appreciate dancing, as well as courtesy.
Extras: Widescreen, optional English subtitles, chapters.
"Tell Them Who You Are" (THINKfilm, 2004; R for language, violence, nudity, sex; $ 34.99). Film buffs will get a kick out of this offbeat documentary about cinematographer/filmmaker Haskell Wexler, although it's also about his relationship with his son, Mark, who made this film. Wexler's need to control every environment is entertaining but also quite revealing. Along the way, lots of stars (from Jane Fonda to Dennis Hopper) show up to praise and damn him.
Extras: Full frame and widescreen, deleted scenes, text filmography (of Haskell), text biography (of Mark), chapters.
"The Big Lebowski" (Universal, 1998; R for language, violence, nudity, drugs; $19.98). Despite the following that has built up over the years for this comedy by the Coen brothers, it remains a misfire for me. Jeff Bridges is "The Dude," a stoner who, in a case of mistaken identity, becomes embroiled in a kidnapping caper. John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Ben Gazaara and John Turturro co-star, to little avail. Some amusing moments, but not enough.
Extras: Widescreen, new introduction, making-of featurette, photo gallery (by Jeff Bridges), text production notes, language and subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.
"Land of the Dead" (Universal, 2005; not rated but with R-level violence, language; $29.98). George A. Romero, who began the gory zombie genre with "Night of the Living Dead" in the late 1960s, returns with this effort, as the undead seem to be more human than initially thought. Not that that lessens the gore factor. Some humor helps, especially Dennis Hopper's over-the-top turn, and Romero's audio commentary is lively.
Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary (Romero), deleted scenes, making-of featurettes, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters. (Available in separate R-rated and unrated editions.)
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com