"The Killing" (Criterion), Stanley Kubrick's hard-edged 1956 heist thriller, gets the Criterion treatment in a new edition on DVD and Blu-ray. It's not being sold as a double-feature but in essence it is. The highlight of the supplements is a remastered edition of Kubrick's 1955 shadowy boxing drama "Killer's Kiss," technically his second feature but the earliest feature that most of us are able to see. (Kubrick kept his debut feature, "Fear and Desire," essentially unavailable for decades and, but for the rare retrospective screening, his estate continues to keep it suppressed.)

"Killer's Kiss" is a stripped-down, low-budget urban thriller shot on the streets of New York City. Kubrick was a former photographer and he brings that eye to shooting the city, making the film austere and shadowy and atmospheric, just the kind of solution an ambitious young filmmaker would bring to the pulp story of a scruffy underdog boxer (Frank Silvera) in love with a gangster's girlfriend.

 

"The Killing," while still low budget by Hollywood standard, is much more elaborate production with a bigger cast, a complicated puzzle of a plot and a clever construction that slips around the timeline of a racetrack heist. The precision that would define Kubrick's great films is first seen here as is his mordant humor. Sterling Hayden stars as the mastermind and familiar film noir faces Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Marie Windsor and Ted De Corsia co-star, with stand-out supporting performances by Elisha Cook Jr. (perfectly pathetic as a mousy cuckold manipulated by the scheming Windsor) and Timothy Carey, standing out in a small role as a sharpshooter with a different kind of assignment.

 

Both have been available on DVD previously but Criterion's newly remastered DVD and Blu-ray editions are a marked improvement in clarity and detail. Both the DVD and Blu-ray also feature a new 21-minute video interview with producer James B. Harris, a new interview with Jim Thompson biographer Robert Polito about Thompson's work with Kubrick, a video appreciation of "Killer’s Kiss" with film critic Geoffrey O’Brien and about 25 minutes of interviews with Sterling Hayden excerpted from the French television series "Cinéma cinemas," plus a booklet.

 

Brian Gibson's 1980 "Breaking Glass" (Olive) is a terrific rock and roll drama set in Britain in the late 1970s. Hazel O'Connor, a singer/songwriter in her own right, stars as the driven artist who just wants to perform her music and Phil Daniels, fresh off "Quadrophenia" and tossing off the nervous energy of a street kid hustling his way into the music business, is equally driven as the self-styled manager who "discovers" her. "Sign a record contract and you become part of the machine," is Kate's mantra, and sure enough she predicts the cost of her own fame, but it's less a matter of selling out than simply getting tangled up in the sudden success. Daniels' Danny, meanwhile, is just as invested in her music as he is in her success. As the record company's control becomes more pervasive, he's often the one calling her out on compromises. Jonathan Pryce is marvelous as the band's partially deaf sax player and you spot future British stars Jim Broadbent, Richard Griffiths and Michael Kitchen in small bits.

 

Gibson's low-key film isn't free of music business melodrama and success story clichés but they remain backdrop to the characters and the texture of the era, from the dive clubs that the band plays to the social turmoil and racial violence of the era that she channels into her lyrics. O'Connor writes and performs her own songs, which are anthemic and aggressive and authentically straddle punk and New Wave (the soundtrack spawned a couple of hit songs, in fact) and her performance constantly reminds us that being a passionate artist doesn't stop her from being an affectionate, angry, frustrated, loyal and often confused human being. Gibson, who went on to direct Angela Basset to an Oscar nomination in "What's Love Got To Do With It," surely deserves at least some credit for that. He maintains a rough, spontaneous quality to the scenes on and off stage and avoids the obvious romantic clichés to build a more organic relationship between Kate and Danny. Less convincing is Jon Finch as a superstar producer who moves in on Kate professionally and personally.

 

Olive's DVD release presents the American cut of the film, which is about ten minutes shorter than the original British release. Having never seen it, I can't compare the two, but based on descriptions of the British cut (which carries the story beyond the freeze frame of this disc), the American cut sounds more ambiguous. No supplements.

 

The BBC-produced "Outcasts" (BBC) is science fiction TV with more grit and intelligence (as well as more ambition and heavy-handed allegory) than what you can find anymore on the SyFy Channel. Which is one of the frustrations of the show: cancelled by the BBC after eight episodes, it is more unrealized potential than satisfying drama, but the potential itself makes it more engaging than you might expect. Videodrone's review is here.

 

"Dexter: Season Five" (Paramount) finds Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), the blood-spatter specialist of the Miami PD forensics unit who moonlights as cable TV's favorite vigilante serial killer, dealing with his guilt over the violent death of his wife, Rita, at the end of last season and trying to manage as a single parent when he doesn't even believe he has it in him to love. He also takes on a new nemesis and a protégé: Julia Stiles is the survivor of a brutal little cabal who discovers Dexter's secret and asks his help in taking revenge on her attackers. 

 

What I've always liked best about the show is the way Dexter tries to navigate his way through the social world, convinced he can't feel human emotion and yet responding with paternal protectiveness when his adoptive family is threatened in any way. He deals with Rita's loss by avoiding confronting his feelings, which is awfully human, and stumbles his way through reconnecting with his adoptive children. Meanwhile his own department—including​ his detective sister (Jennifer Carpenter)—gets closer than ever to discovering his identity when a corrupt cop (a perfectly creepy Peter Weller) turns a private investigation into a blackmail opportunity.

 

12 episodes on three discs on DVD and Blu-ray. The cast and crew interviews and bonus episodes of "Californication" are accessible only through E-Bridge Technology on DVD and BD-Live on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray set also offers the first two episodes of Showtime's "The Borgias" via BD-Live.

 

If the prospect of the fall TV season without Charlie Sheen headlining a sitcom is too much to face, get a flashback with "Spin City: Season Five" (Shout! Factory), his first season filling Michael J. Fox's shoes as Deputy Mayor, playing watchdog to Barry Bostwick's doofus mayor and locking horns with Heather Locklear. 23 episodes on five discs in a standard case with hinged trays.

 

Animated series:

"Voltron: The Legend Begins" (Vivendi) features the seven episodes from the 1984 animated series about a giant robot warrior created out of five smaller robot lions. Fitting, as the American show was actually built out of two different Japanese anime shows. Also includes the "Voltron 101" overview, an art gallery and a preview of the new "Voltron" series.

 

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 9" (Lionsgate) presents eight episodes from the original run of animated adventures of the heroes in a half-shell turned pizza-munching fighting force and the two-disc "Batman – The Brave and the Bold: Season Two, Part One" (Warner) presents 12 episodes of Batman and friends from the new Cartoon Network show.

 

And the rest:

Molly Parker stars in "Gone" (A&E), a Lifetime Original Movie about a mother who takes on a conspiracy when her child is kidnapped. "Paranormal State: Season Five" (A&E) presents 21 episodes of Ryan Buell and the Paranormal Research Society investigating more paranormal activity. "September 11th Memorial Edition" (History) collects four documentary specials about the World Trade Center attacks, including the Emmy-winning "102 Minutes that Changed America."

 

For more TV on DVD, see the weekly DVD listings in MSN.

 

The BBC-produced "Outcasts" (BBC) is science fiction TV with more grit and intelligence (as well as more ambition and heavy-handed allegory) than what you can find anymore on the SyFy Channel. Which is one of the frustrations of the show: cancelled by the BBC after the initial run of eight episodes, it stands more as unrealized potential than satisfying drama, but the potential itself gives an intriguing backstory to the heroes of the otherwise conventional struggle for control over the fortified outpost five light years from Earth.

 

Liam Cunningham (a reliable vet of British TV and film roles) and Hermione Norris (Roz from "MI-5"), as the president of the fledgling frontier community of Forthaven and its no-nonsense Head of Protection and Security (PAS) respectively, anchor the cast with all the authority their presence brings (which is not insubstantial). They are both compromised heroes, nursing guilt over past mistakes, as are the younger cast members who get most of the action and romance: Daniel Mays and Amy Manson as PAS officers and Ashley Walters as the hot-headed Expeditionary who wants to go to war with the "advanced cultivars," or ACs, that live in the hills outside the walls of the town.

 

The ACs are essentially genetically modified clones created to survive in the hostile environment and then sentenced to be "destroyed" when they were (incorrectly) blamed for a plague that killed many of the settlers. To say they don't trust the humans is an understatement, especially when a power-grabbing politico (Eric Mabius), hiding his militaristic plans behind a front of religious hypocrisy, attempts to beat the drums of fear into a call for war.

 

 

"Jane Eyre" (Universal), an American co-production with BBC films, is perfectly cast (Mia Wasikowska as Jane, Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester), beautifully produced and terribly engaging, and one of the best British literary adaptations since the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" mini-series. Videodrone's review is here. Horror movie master John Carpenter returns with "The Ward" (Arc Entertainment), his first feature in ten years, and while MSN film critic Glenn Kenny finds the material wanting, he praises Carpenter as "comfortable, confident, ready to do what it is he does." Videodrone celebrates the release here.

 

The Robert Redford-directed "The Conspirator" (Lionsgate) tells the story of Mary Surrat, the sole woman charged with conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, but modern parallels aside, MSN critic James Rocchi finds little effective drama in the true story. "From the first frame, "The Conspirator" looks like a bad idea," he warns. "Its (bleeding) heart is plainly on its sleeve, and its brain is nowhere to be found." Robin Wright stars as Mary and James McAvoy, Kevin Kline, Danny Huston, Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long and Tom Wilkinson co-star. The two-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions features commentary by director Redford, a feature-length documentary on the assassination of Lincoln, a "making of" documentary and a collection of featurettes among the supplements.

The foreign title of the week is "Queen to Play" (Zeitgeist), starring Sandrine Bonnaire as a hotel chambermaid on a cozy village on the island of Corsica who discovers a flair for chess and asks gruff American doctor Kevin Kline (performing entirely in French) to tutor her in the game. It's not about romance, mind you, but a life-changing moment from a wife and mother who realizes that the world has more offer and she has more to offer it. "It's the best kind of unforced filmmaking, able to make its points with delicacy and tact," writes Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan. "And the best thing about it is that it is [director Caroline] Bottaro's feature directing debut. We have a lot to look forward to."

"Something Borrowed" (Warner) is more romantic comedy fluff with Kate Hudson in the familiar role as the self-absorbed best friend of a meek good girl (Ginnifer Goodwin) who is hopelessly in love with Hudson's fiancé (Colin Egglesfield). "Goodwin is unchallengingly Cute and Good, while poor Hudson, once a promising starlet and now largely seen as a Quality Cinema Kiss of Death, is, well, present," observes MSN film critic Glenn Kenny, who predicts that "it seems a given that the balance of the film will be a brisk countdown to emotional showdowns, a comeuppance for the borderline sociopath, and bliss for [Goodwin] and [Egglesfield], all unfolding in a bland but gorgeously sun-dappled tri-state area. With the usual breezy supplements on DVD and Blu-ray. Also available On Demand and for Download.

"Priest" (Sony), a mix of horror epic and dystopian science fiction thriller based on a graphic novel, stars Paul Bettany as a futuristic priest who goes rogue to battle a vampire conspiracy led by a swaggering daywalker (Karl Urban) who looks like the villain from a spaghetti western. Priests who fight and float like Shaolin monks from a Hong Kong martial arts movie add more inspirations to the genre mix. "Its B-movie sins are many, worst among them an icy hero and a plot that feels like it was built from relics of other, better films," complains Entertainment Weekly film critic Adam Markovitz. On DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D, with commentary, deleted scenes and featurettes, plus Blu-ray exclusive picture-in-picture mode.

Family friendly:

The animated "Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil" (Anchor Bay) revisits the sub-Pixar fairy tale spoofing of the original "Hoodwinked," with Hayden Pantierre taking over vocal duties on Red Riding from Anne Hathaway. MSN film critic Kathleen Murphy complains that the sequel "reprises the original's formulaic failings: infantile humor, unrelenting wisecracks and popcult references, and flat characters who don't engage one's eyes or interest." Hits home video on DVD, Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack and 3D Blu-Ray 4-Pack editions. Meanwhile the direct-to-DVD sequel "Marley & Me: The Puppy Years" (Fox) is available exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.

 

Foreign affairs:

"Breath" (Palisades), from Kim Ki-duk, the bad-boy of South Korean cinema, is a 2007 drama about female sculptor who bonds with a death row inmate after she learns of his failed suicide attempt. The DVD comes with a making-of featurette, interviews and footage from the film's premiere at Cannes 2007. "Masquerades (Mascarades)" (Global Film Initiative) is a comedy from Algeria about an arranged marriage and a lie that spins out of control and "Shirley Adams" (Global Film Initiative) is a drama about a single mother caring for her paraplegic son in contemporary South Africa.

 

And the rest:

Ryan Philippe and Taylor Kitsch are part of "The Bang Bang Club" (eOne), young combat photographers capturing the chaos of post-Apartheid South Africa, in the drama based on the memoir by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva. Malin Akerman co-stars. The DVD and Blu-ray releases feature commentary, deleted scenes and interviews among the supplements.

"The Best and the Brightest" (New Video) is an indie comedy about middle-class parents (Neil Patrick Harris and Bonnie Somerville) tangled up in the cutthroat competition to get their five-year-old daughter enrolled in a private kindergarten. On DVD, video on demand and digital download. Kim Cattrall stars in "Meet Monica Velour" (Anchor Bay) as a former porn star now appearing in seedy strip clubs to make ends meet. On DVD and Blu-ray.

 

"The Grace Card" (Sony) is a faith-based drama about a cop in crisis. "Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf" (Anchor Bay) is a serial-killer thriller starring William B. Davis and John Rhys-Davies. "Double Crossed" (Screen Magic) is a twisty gangster drama about a hitman, a mob boss and a debt.

 

For more on DVD this week, visit weekly DVD listings in MSN.

 

Rolling Stone once called it "the most worshipped comedy of its generation." I like to think of it the Book of Duderonomy, the lost gospel of the post-modern Testament. Now the beloved Coen classic of easy living and competitive bowling on the absurdist mean street of Los Angeles arrives on Blu-ray. Presenting "The Big Lebowski: Limited Edition" (Universal). You'll like its style, man.

 

Jeff Bridges is brilliant as the Dude, one of the most strangely centered individuals in the movies. This bowler/stoner/free spirit is mistaken for a millionaire (David Huddleston) by a band of German punk nihilists, and John Goodman is his Vietnam Vet bowling buddy, who sinks him deeper into trouble with one testosterone-and-rig​hteous-indignation-f​ueled scheme after another. Think of it as a slacker "The Big Sleep," a shaggy dog parody of classic L.A. detective stories where the passive hero is threatened, confronted, assaulted, seduced, drugged and so completely bummed out that he's forced to solve a mystery so everyone will just leave him alone to enjoy his dope and his Dylan.

 

The Coens concoct an absurdist Chandler-esque mystery, drop in a couple hilarious dream fantasies (including a bowling dream sequence by way of Busby Berkley, complete with credits), and even bring in a drawling Sam Elliot to narrate this tall tale like a western myth. Julianne Moore co-stars as an avant-garde artist turned Valkyrie fantasy, and Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ben Gazzara co-star.

 

It's not the most successful, famous or critically acclaimed film by the Coen Bros., but it surely has the most dedicated fan base. In fact, the Blu-ray was launched at Lebowskifest 2011, complete with a cast reunion and an audience Q&A.

You can get a brief glimpse of highlights from the evening after the jump. The complete cast reunion Q&A -- a very groovy event with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro and "music archivist" T-Bone Burnett -- can be viewed via Livestream on the movie's official Facebook page. See Jeff Bridges lead the audience in a chant, hear John Turturro describe his idea for a sequel starring The Jesus (it's called, of course, "The Second Coming") and enjoy the group answering questions they can barely hear due to screwy stage acoustics. But you'll need to hurry -- it will only be up for a week.

 

It's been ten years since horror movie maestro John Carpenter -- the director who brought genuine suspense and cinematic elegance to the bastardized slasher film genre with "Halloween" and a wicked sense of humor and idiosyncratic sensibility to films as varied as "Escape From New York," "Big Trouble in Little China" and "The Thing" -- released a big screen feature. "The Ward" (Arc Entertainment) may not be return to form but the elder statesman of American horror cinema still has his chops, according to MSN film critic Glenn Kenny, who observes that Carpenter is "comfortable, confident, ready to do what it is he does."

Set in an insane asylum in the 1960s filled with disturbed young women, it stars Amber Heard as the fierce new inmate, a pyromaniac whose firebug tendencies may have something to do with the horror stalking the inmates of the institution she finds herself locked up in. Lyndsy Fonseca, Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer and Laura-Leigh co-star are her ward-mates and Jared Harris is the not-altogether trustworthy doctor.

 

More from Kenny: "All the Carpenter hallmarks are here -- multi-perspective POV shots, creepy traveling camera interludes, methodic, meticulously paced cutting -- and they do work the way they're supposed to, at least for this viewer. The mapped-out coherence creates actual suspense as opposed to the ostensibly galvanic sensory overload that so many contemporary horror and action films rely on."

 

"Carpenter does what he’s always done well here: individualizing shorthand personalities in a group under siege," writes Village Voice film critic Nick Pinkerton. "Each of the actresses has a distinct presence, and teases at a backstory…. The group dynamics in The Ward involve the viewer, even if the monster is foam-rubber, the gotchas shopworn, the kills so-so."

 

"Jane Eyre" (Universal), the new adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's beloved Gothic romance starring Mia Wasikowska as the fiercely self-possessed governess Jane and Michael Fessbender as the darkly attractive and grimly tormented Edward Rochester, is the best kind of reminder why the classics remain alive after centuries and can be effectively remade every generation or so.

 

This one comes from American director Cary Fukunaga and British screenwriter Moira Buffini, both interestingly making their respective second features in an American/British co-production. The otherwise beautiful and buoyant Mia Wasikowska is amazing as the plain Jane who glows with the fire of intelligence and a sense of self-worth that the most soul-crushing abuse can't smother. Michael Fessbender makes the most of Rochester's grandly cinematic entrance, charging into the film and into Jane's life with all the power of an untamed animal. The dark shadows over his spirit and the gruff edges under the moneyed manners makes him all the more seductive, which of course puts Jane on her guard even as it slowly seeps through her defenses.

 

Shot on wind-scoured landscape of the chilly highlands of Northern Britain, this new incarnation embraces the gothic gloom and lonely isolation of the novel but, like its stoic, strong heroine, never gives in to the darkness. It is gorgeous but never what you would call pretty. And for all of Jane's careful social front, never letting her true feelings show through, she is forthright and true and unfailingly honest.

 

Perfectly cast, beautifully produced and terribly engaging, it is one of the best British literary adaptations since the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" mini-series.