This week’s DVD releases include a film that earned Oscars for two of its cast, another great Gamera double feature, and the second installment of what is certainly the most lighthearted Batman animated series of all time.
 
TV Shows on DVD
 
The top animated “TV on DVD” release this week is Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 1, Part 2 (Warner Bros., 325 min., $19.98), which collects the second 13 episodes of the series that debuted on the Cartoon Network in November of 2008 and ran for 52-episodes. More lighthearted than previous Batman animated series, The Brave and the Bold consisted of stand-alone adventures that teamed the Dark Knight with another DC hero, which gave the show’s creators the chance to use a lot of DC’s lesser known characters such as Wildcat, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, and Red Tornado. The series' good humor and lighthearted tone did not prevent it from occasionally tackling some major tragedies including the killing of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne by Joe Chill.
 
Fans of classic TV westerns will be happy with the release of Laramie: The Complete First Season (Timeless Media, 1550 min., $49.98), which collects 31 episodes of the series starring John Smith and Robert Fuller that debuted in 1959 and was one of best family western series of all time thanks to a strong cast that featured the incomparable Hoagy Carmichael and a strong roster of guest stars that included James Coburn, Eddie Albert, Gena Rowlands, Brian Keith, Ben Johnson, Charles Bronson, Richard Farnsworth, and more. Western fans will also be heartened by the release of The Virginian: The Complete Third Season (Timeless Media, 2315 min., $79.98), which collects 30 episodes of the groundbreaking 90-minute NBC series from the 1960s.
 
Comedy series out this week include Coach Season 4 (Universal, 450 min., $24.98), the 1970s comedy/mystery The Snoop Sisters: The Complete Series (Visual Entertainment, 400 min., $49.95) that starred Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick, and for fans of Canadian humor, The Red Green Show: Seasons 1997-1999: The Delinquent Years (Acorn Media, 1170 min., $79.99).
 
But perhaps the most interesting release of the week is Who Do You Think You Are? (Acorn Media, 293 min., $39.99), a genealogy-themed reality series that traces the ancestry of a disparate group of American celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Emmett Smith, Brooke Shields, Spike Lee, Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, and Susan Sarandon. The secrets and surprises hidden these folks’ family trees makes for intriguing viewing.

Classsic on DVD

Gamera vs. Zigra/Gamera: The Super Monster (Shout Factory, Unrated, $19.93) is another excellent kaiju double feature featuring the spinning radioactive giant Turtle. Produced in 1971 by Daiei, Gamera vs. Zigra is one of five Gamera films featured in various episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Gamera vs. Zigra is one of the more entertaining entries in the Gamera series—the alien Zigra spaceship reacts to Gamera’s attack by turning into a giant shark-like creature, which unlike most kaiju monsters has the ability to speak. Gamera: Super Monster, which wasn’t released until 1980, was the final Showa era Gamera film and the last Gamera movie written by Nisan Takahashi and directed by Noriaki Yuasa, the creative team behind the original Gamera movies. It is quite obvious that the franchise was fading when Gamera: Super Monster was made. The film uses lots of stock footage from previous Gamera movies, which comes at a narrative cost, but is now a real visual treat for kaiju fans since it affords them the chance to see Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron, and Barugon all in one compact 92 minute film.

Theatrical Movies
 
Both Melissa Leo and Christian Bale earned Oscars for their performances in David O. Russell’s The Fighter (Paramount, “R,” $29.98, BD $39.99). Though The Fighter is Russell’s most conventional movie so far, this “true” story unites the tried and true verities of the boxing film with a dynamic family saga anchored by Leo’s domineering mother and Bale’s skeletal turn as the crack-addicted older brother who blew his chance at boxing fame and fortune.
 
Just as Russell took on something different with The Fighter, so too Clint Eastwood with Hereafter (Warner Bros., “PG-13,” $29.98, BD $34.99) stepped outside the normal confines of the kind of genre films that have brought him a success as a director that has surpassed his fame as an actor. Though not completely successful, Hereafter is a metaphysical saga about life after death that proceeds with the pace of European art film. This is not a film for everybody--those expecting an action movie are going to be disappointed.
 
The Switch (Lionsgate, “PG-13,” $28.95, BD $39.95) stars Jennifer Anniston, and the always reliable Jason Bateman in an offbeat comedy/drama about parenthood that features a really interesting performance by child actor Thomas Robinson, who is far and away the least clichéd character in this film that is better than its critical rating (52% positive).

Anime
There are a number of new titles this week including Hero Tales Part 1 (Funimation, “14+,” 325 min.$64.98) and Hero Tales Part 2 (Funimation, “14+,” 325 min., $59.98), which between them include all 26 episodes of the anime from Studio Flag adapted from the wuxia (Chinese martial arts) influenced manga series illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa (Full Metal Alchemist).
 
Also out this week are the Rideback Complete Series (Funimation, “14+,” 300 min., $64.98), a 12-episode science fiction/mecha/racing anime from Madhouse that is based on a seinen manga written by Tetsuro Kasahara about an injured ballet dancer who uses her balance, finesse and strength to excel at racing transforming motorcycle-like robotic vehicles known as Ridebacks, and Clannad the Movie (Sentai Filmworks, “13+,” 95 min. $29.98) Osamu Dezaki’s streamlined retelling of the Clannad saga.
 
Re-priced re-releases are a staple of the current anime market. Popular titles are priced down several times. A good example of first tier price reduction is D. Gray-Man Season 2 Complete Collection (Funimation, “14+,” 600 min. $69.98), which collects all of the 24 Season 2 episodes at an MSRP that is just ten dollars more than the price of Part 1 ($59.98) and Part 2 ($59..98), which were released in October of 2009 and January of 2010 respectively. A similarly large price reduction from its original release is  evident in the case of the Gunslinger Girl Complete Collection (Funimation, “17+,” 700 min.), which includes both 13-episode seasons of the “girls with guns” epic along with two OVA episodes.
 
The Soul Eater Parts 1 & 2 Collection (Funimation, “14+,” 635 min., $69.98, BD $69.98) affords a similar reduction in price with the added benefit of a Blu-ray edition available for the same price as the conventional DVD.
 
The Heroic Age Complete Series S.A.V.E. Edition (Funimation, “13+,” 630 min, BD $34.98) is a good example of the second tier of price reduction, which involves yet another major price cut for a third release, and in this case also provides the added bonus of a Blu-ray edition at a bargain price.

Documentaries
 
Certainly ranking among the best films this week are two documentaries, Waste Land and The Wildest Dream. The Oscar-nominated Waste Land (New Video Group, Not Rated $29.95) follows Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, who collaborates with a number of trash pickers at a huge garbage dump outside Rio de Janeiro to create some amazin art. Lucy Walker’s film manages to wring a considerable and disturbing beauty from what would appear at first to be a most unpromising setting—and this film, which was shot over three years, brings a heightened level of social awareness to the often rarified and hermetic world of contemporary art.
 
The Wildest Dream: The Conquest of Everest (Virgil Films, “PG,” $19.99, BD $28.99) is a visually spectacular film about the visionary mountaineer George Mallory’s ill-fated attempt to climb Everest in the 1920s. American climber Conrad Anker found Mallory’s body in 1999, and in this film, which includes sections of Mallory’s diary read by Ralph Fiennes, Anker returns to the mountain to put Mallory’s spirit to rest.