Warner Bros. is certainly hoping that, even if they didn’t go to see it in theaters, comic book fans will be willing to buy the Jonah Hex DVD.  More likely some of them will be searching the remainder bins in a few months in an effort to complete their collections of comic book movies on the cheap, but there are other releases of interest this week including the final season of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, a huge Humphrey Bogart collection, a documentary history of the American horror film, and lots of animated releases including one of Dreamworks’ best, the first season of Dexter’s Laboratory, and The Essential Bugs Bunny Collection.

 

Theatrical

 

There is little doubt that the bestselling new DVD to be released this week will be How To Train Your Dragon (Dreamworks, “G,” $29.99, BD $39.99), which not only includes the highly successful animated feature (though it is not presented in 3-D in this incarnation), but also a brand new adventure, “Legend of the BoneKnapper Dragon” that recently debuted on the Cartoon Network.  Along with Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon represents the best of Dreamworks Animation so far, and at times this film soars, especially in the well-produced flying scenes.

 

Jonah Hex (Warner Bros., “PG-13,” $28.98, BD $35.99) was considered the bona fide “bomb” of the recent summer season.  In spite of an aggressive and expensive ad campaign, the film earned just $10 million against an admitted cost of $47 million, and thoroughly wasted the talents of a fine cast (Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, and Michael Fassbender).  Still there should be many who want to possess some version of this Ishtar of comic book movies.

 

TV on DVD

 

It’s not a bad week to be a fan of Joss Whedon’s various idiosyncratic TV series.  The second (and final) season of Dollhouse is out in both Blu-ray and conventional editions.  Dollhouse: Season 2 (Fox, $49.98, BD $59.99) includes all the episodes of the last season of the series starring Eliza Dushku as well as a comic book produced by Dark Horse, which will be publishing a continuing Dollhouse comic book series that will essentially serve as Dollhouse: Season 3 (see “The Whedonverse Expands at Dark Horse”).  Also out this week are repackaged complete sets of two other classic Whedon series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Series (Fox, 6,560 min., $199.98) includes all 144 episodes of the series on 40 discs including a special bonus disc with a new documentary and a letter signed by Whedon.  The Angel: Collector’s Set (Fox, 5,130 min., $139.98) includes all the extras from previous editions, plus a letter from Whedon and a deluxe companion booklet.

 

One of the best releases of the week is Johnny Staccato: The Complete Series (Timeless Media, 675 min., $34.98), a wonderfully fluid, jazzy private eye series starring John Cassavetes as an ex-jazz musician turned detective.  Though it lasted just 27 episodes in 1959, Johnny Staccato with its mixture of noir visuals, jazz, and a gritty urban setting was a landmark show in the development of the American private eye genre.

 

Another release of interest to comic book fans is The Greatest America Hero: Season 2 (Mill Creek, 924 min., $14.98), a bargain-priced edition of the superhero series that starred William Katt.  Michael Chiklis fans might want to check out The Commish: The Complete Series (Mill Creek, $69.98), which includes all 94 episodes of the ABC series on 17 discs at a very reasonable price.

 

Continuing series of interest include CSI Miami: The Complete 8th Season (Paramount, $62.99), The Ghost Whisperer: The Complete Fifth Season (Paramount, 966 min., $62.99), In Treatment: The Complete Second Season (HBO, 400 min., $59.98), Marcus Welby, M.D.: The Second Season (Shout Factory, 1,140 min., $49.98), and The Tudors: The Complete Fourth and Final Season (Showtime, 533 min., $42.99).

 

There are a lot of animated TV on DVD releases this week including The Essential Bugs Bunny (Warner Bros., 210 min., $26.98), which contains some of the very best cartoons (“The Rabbit of Seville,” “What’s Opera Doc?”) featuring Warner Bros.’ most famous animated creation. Unfortunately the second disk in this collection is pretty weak, and in any case, two discs hardly afford enough space for a reasonable sampling of the great Bugs Bunny cartoons.  But if you can’t afford the Looney Tunes Golden Collections, this set, with all its flaws, is still well worth the money.

 

Comic fans should enjoy Wolverine and the X-Men: The Complete Series (Lionsgate, 598 min, $29.98, BD $44.99), which contains all 26 episodes of the series that aired on Nicktoons in 2008-2009.  Although a second season was in pre-production, the series was cancelled after just one season when a financial backer pulled out.  Lionsgate has released all 26 episodes on a series of five individual discs, but this is the first boxed collection of the complete series.

 

Also of great interest is Dexter’s Laboratory: Season One (Warner Bros., 286 min., $24.98), which collects the first 13 episodes of the hilarious Cartoon Network series from the director of Samurai Jack, The Powerpuff Girls, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

 

Other animated releases of interest include the bargain-priced, single-disc G.I. Joe: Countdown to Zartan (Mill Creek, $9.98), Postcards from Buster: The Complete Series (Mill Creek, $14.98) a four-disc collection of a series from Marc Brown and the producers of the popular PBS animated series Arthur, and the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special (Classic Media, $9.99).

 

Anime

 

The top release this week is the Blu-ray edition of Full Metal Panic Fumoffu Complete Collection (Funimation, “13+,” 300 min., $39.98, BD $44.98).  The 12-episode Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu series, which aired in 2003, takes place between the FMP first season and The Second Raid.  Produced by Kyoto Animation, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu concentrates primarily on the high school romance elements of the FMP saga, which blends mecha action with typical anime high school romantic comedy elements.  Unlike the original series, there is not much of a continuing storyline running through the episodes of FMP Fumoffu.  Most of the episodes are stand-alone narratives (with a couple of two-parters), which actually makes the series easy to watch and quite enjoyable.  The high definition Blu-ray treatment also helps with pristine visuals and great sound.  Don’t expect the full-fledged battles of the series' first season, but do expect lots of slapstick romantic comedy.

 

Also due out this week on Blu-ray is Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings Complete Collection (Funimation, “14+,” 325 min., $59.98, BD $64.98), which was originally supposed to be released on September 21st (see “DVD Round-Up: Week of September 21st”).  The only other release of new-to-the-U.S. material this week is Tytania Collection 2 (Sentai Filmworks, “13+,” 325 min., $49.98), the final 13 episodes of a 2008 space opera anime series based on a series of novels by Yoshiki Tanaka and directed by veteran Noboru Ishiguro (Macross).

 

This week’s re-priced bargain editions include Tokyo Majin Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 600 min., $29.98) and Welcome to the NHK Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 600 min., $29.98).

 

Documentaries

 

Nightmares in Red, White & Blue (Kino, not rated, 96 min.) is a documentary history of the American horror film from the silent days to the present.  Yes, it occasionally misses the mark and falls short of its ambitious goals, but it is still a “must-see” for horror movie fans, and not just because of the numerous film clips—the interviews with Roger Corman, John Carpenter, and George A. Romero are also not to be missed.

 

Equally engaging is The Gates (Lorber, not rated, 89 min., $29.95), a fascinating documentary about an art project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude who in the winter of 2005 installed some 7,500 arches curtained with orange cloth in Central Park.  The documentary examines the struggles that it took to get the project accepted and then the largely delighted reactions of New Yorkers to the colorful exhibition that transformed the February landscape of the city.

 

Classics

 

Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection (Warner Bros., $99.98) contains 24 films on 12 discs including a number of Bogie films that are truly “essential” such as Casablanca, To Have and Have Not, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Dark Passage, High Sierra, Petrified Forest, and The Roaring Twenties.  Plenty of the other movies included such as Marked Woman, Kid Galahad, Black Legion, All Through the Night, Across the Pacific, Action in the North Atlantic, and Passage to Marseilles are well worth watching (though not necessarily for Bogart’s performances).  This is a truly great collection of films at a very reasonable price, and is highly recommended for anyone who doesn’t already own many of these Hollywood classics.