Joy in a Box

DVD box sets that'll make you go hmmm.

by Sam Adams

Trilogies Plus: Since every film series deteriorates over time, a boxed set can be a mixed blessing. Alien and Aliens may be the strongest original-sequel pairing this side of the Godfathers, but Fox's Alien Quadrilogy box ($99.98, out Dec. 2) may be too much for all but the most devoted fan. Double-disc editions of all four films plus a bonus ninth disc include multiple versions of each: great to have the non-director's-cut Aliens on disc for the first time, but could an extra half-hour (added without director David Fincher's input) possibly make Alien3 any less unbearably pretentious? Consider gifting the chest-bursting enthusiast in your life with a gift certificate so he or she can wait for the New Year and pick up the first two films individually.

Universal's The Adventures of Indiana Jones ($69.98) is a better bet, if only because the series holds up so much better over the long haul. Though Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade never make up for the lack of a female lead like Karen Allen's tough-talking bar brawler, they're at least Raiders' equal when it comes to wildly inventive set-pieces. Given the welcome diversity of Spielberg's recent films (even the failures), it's a bit shocking to realize how much of his career he's devoted to the Indy trilogy, especially since he's headed back to the well next year. But better Indy 4 than Hook 2, I suppose. A fourth disc holds a surprisingly watchable two-hour making-of, including Tom Selleck's and Tim Matheson's screen tests.

Bear in mind: The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali, Aparajito and The World of Apu ($29.95 each), The Criterion Collection's superb The Adventures of Antoine Doinel (5 discs, $99.98) and The BRD Trilogy (4 discs, $79.95).

Back in Time: F.W. Murnau has never gotten quite the respect of his German contemporaries, Lang and Lubitsch, perhaps because he died as his American career was just getting under way. Kino's The F.W. Murnau Collection ($119.95, pictured) scoops up nearly all of Murnau's major films: from the Gothic Nosferatu and Faust to the unique hybrid Tabu, co-written with Nanook of the North's Robert Flaherty. Sadly, Murnau's Sunrise is still only available as a bonus in a studio box set, but this five-disc collection (which also includes The Last Laugh and Tartuffe) shows Murnau as far more than the master of silent horror he's often pigeonholed as. Criterion's five-film Hitchcock box, Wrong Men & Notorious Women ($124.95) makes an extra-special treat as well, as several of its titles go out of print at the end of the year. Make your own box set with Warner Bros.' two-disc, three-film The Lon Chaney Collection ($39.98) and Milestone's two-disc The Phantom of the Opera ($24.99) which combines both the 1925 and 1292 versions for a definitive look at Chaney's most iconic performance.

Bear in mind: Warner's Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (8 discs, $88.92) and Image's Charlie Chaplin Short Comedy Classics (7 discs, $99.99), Warner's The Bogart Collection (7 discs, $99.98).

TV on DVD: The at-long-last opening of the BBC's archives has made a slew of legendary shows available. Would that American TV had a place for something like The Singing Detective (3 discs, $59.98), which comes to a natural, hard-earned end after six episodes, with no chance for a second season. Skip the wan big-screen remake and seek out the deservedly reputed original. Speaking of wan remakes, two seasons of the British Coupling are now available, with no more Yank retread to soil their reputation. The first seasons of The Office, Prime Suspect and Cracker are now available as well.

Bear in mind: The Honeymooners: "Classic 39" Episodes (5 discs, $49.99).

Music, Music, Music: If you've grown tired of scanning MTV for the five minutes a day they actually play videos, the first three releases from The Director's Label are something of a godsend. Devoted to directors Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham, each disc ($19.99 apiece) is crammed (on both sides in the first two cases) with not only videos, but short films, documentaries and miscellany, and each comes with a handsome book full of interviews and photographs. More than just a chance to catch clips you've never seen -- like Cunningham's legendary video for Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker," a devastating demolition of TRL cliches -- it's a unique opportunity to make connections between videos that you'd never otherwise see back-to-back. Gondry's clips for Cibo Matto's "Sugar Water" and Kylie Minogue's "Come Into My World" are sophisticated re-imaginations of narrative that outclass anything Adaptation or Memento have to offer.

Bear in mind: Devo's The Complete Truth About Devolution ($14.99), Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime ($59.98), which includes a DVD of their landmark Storytelling Giant collection along with 3 CDs of music.