DVDs make perfect stocking stuffers

Gifts for snobs, WWII buffs and kids
If you know someone who wears a beret, corrects your grammar and refuses to drink wine that comes in a box, you know a bona fide snob. But usually such a person has highbrow taste in movies, or at least fakes it.

When buying for such an individual, or just for folks who enjoy classic films, the Criterion Collection is a wise area in which to begin. This holiday season some of its highlights include “Pandora’s Box,” a superb German film from the silent era directed by G.W. Pabst and starring Louise Brooks; Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “The Double Life Of Veronique”; Carol Reed’s “The Fallen Idol,” a collaboration with novelist Graham Greene;  and a new packaging of the acclaimed 1976 Maysles Brothers documentary, “Grey Gardens,” complete with a new “sequel” put together partly with lost footage, “The Beales of Grey Gardens.”

Koch Lorber

But while Criterion Collection is the leader in its field, it doesn’t have a monopoly on snooty fare. Two other excellent releases are a deluxe collector’s edition of Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita,” put out by Koch Lorber, a sizeable three-disk set with tons of extra features and some collectibles; “Swept Away,” also by KL (the brilliant Lina Wertmuller original, not the putrid Madonna remake); and “Pride and Prejudice,” the 10^th anniversary limited edition collector’s set of the BBC miniseries from the Jane Austen novel  (whew!) starring Colin Firth, courtesy of A&E Home Video.

For the World War II buff in your midst, there are hours of educational enjoyment packed into “The History Channel Ultimate Collections: World War II,” a fat boxed set containing a total of 892 minutes of footage from 30 different documentaries.

If there’s a kid or two you want to keep quiet, er, keep entertained, then consider some of the many DVDs geared for that small-fry clientele. Some of the better titles include Disney releases like “Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition,” “The Little Mermaid: Two-Disk Special Edition” and “Walt Disney Legacy Collection: True Life Adventures” as well as the non-Disney “Ice Age: The Meltdown.” For the tiny tykes, there’s “Meet Blue’s Baby Brother” and “Sesame Street: The Best of Elmo.” Another good choice is “Cars,” assuming the youngsters can rip it away from their parents.

Last but not least comes “It’s A Wonderful Life: 60^th Anniversary Edition.” Hey, it’s the holidays. You’ve probably been celebrating with George Bailey just about every year. It’s time you had a pristine new version and some featurettes to go with it.

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