New DVDs: ‘The Simpsons Movie,’ ‘Halloween’

REVIEWS

By David Germain

updated 2:47 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2008

“The Simpsons Movie”
The first family of Springfield leaps to the big screen with this hit adaptation of the long-running animated TV comedy. Lovable moron Homer does what he does best — causes an uproar for his family and fellow townsfolk, this time creating a pollution hazard that results in “President Schwarzenegger” quarantining Springfield behind glass, with the Simpsons going into exile in Alaska. Along with five deleted scenes, the DVD and Blu-ray high-definition disc come with an alternate ending and two commentary tracks featuring key Simpsons overseers, among them creator Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, the movie’s director, David Silverman, and the voice of Homer, Dan Castellaneta. DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98. (20th Century Fox) Read the review

“Halloween”
Rob Zombie puts his own gory spin on one of the forebears of modern slasher flicks, examining the tormented formative years of psycho killer Michael Myers, who breaks out of the nuthouse and returns to his hometown wielding a big, fat knife. The movie is available in the R-rated theatrical cut or an unrated version that adds 11 minutes of footage. Zombie offers commentary, and the movie is accompanied by an alternate ending, deleted scenes, bloopers and a big batch of behind-the-scenes featurettes. DVD, $29.95. (Genius)

“Stardust”
Falling stars, flying schooners, a cross-dressing captain, a pesky batch of sibling ghosts, a wicked old crone who morphs into a wicked young babe in the form of Michelle Pfeiffer. Director Matthew Vaughn’s fairy-tale romance for adults is a visual delight featuring Claire Danes as a star that drops out of the sky to take human form, is wooed by a young hero in training (Charlie Cox), befriended by a prancing ship’s skipper (Robert De Niro) and pursued by Pfeiffer as a hag-turned-beauty aiming to suck the life out of her prey to maintain her youth. The DVD and high-definition HD DVD disc come with deleted scenes and a making-of segment. DVD, $29.99; HD DVD, $39.99 (Paramount) Read the review

“Underdog”
Jason Lee provides the voice of a mutt mutated into a canine superhero in this live-action adaptation of the TV cartoon. Featuring Jim Belushi, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Warburton and Amy Adams, the movie follows the adventures of the heroic dog as he tries to foil the schemes of an archvillain. Among the DVD and Blu-ray extras are deleted scenes, a segment on canine actors, a music video and the first-ever cartoon episode of “Underdog.” DVD, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99. (Disney)

“Once”

Summit Entertainment Lp / Samson

Writer-director John Carney and his non-actor stars, musicians Glen Hansard of the Irish band the Frames and Marketa Irglova, caught movie lightning in a bottle with this remarkable romance shot for what amounts to spare change compared to Hollywood flicks. The story follows a street musician and a Czech immigrant to Dublin who meet, connect, discover a musical kinship then write and record a terrific batch of folk pop tunes in just a few days, all the while bumping against obstacles to the mutual love developing between them. Carney, Hansard and Irglova provide commentary, and the DVD has a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes. DVD, $29.98. (20th Century Fox) Read the review

“Blade Runner”
Ridley Scott never seems to tire of tinkering with some of his films, but what’s billed as the final cut of his visionary sci-fi tale arrives in a variety of sets ranging from affordably mainstream to pricey completist package for the serious fan. Starring Harrison Ford as a future cop tracking and snuffing renegade superhuman “replicants,” the film marks its 25th anniversary with a new version featuring added and extended scenes and enhanced visual effects. The film comes in a two-disc set with commentary from Scott and a making-of-documentary, a four-disc set that also includes the 1982 U.S. theatrical version, the overseas version and the 1992 director’s cut, or a five-disc set in briefcase packaging that also has Scott’s early “workprint” version of the film. Two-disc DVD set, $20.97; four-disc DVD set, $34.99; four-disc HD DVD and Blu-ray sets, $39.99 each; five-disc DVD set, $78.92; five-disc HD DVD and Blu-ray sets, $99.98 each. (Warner Bros.)

TV on DVD

“The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Two — The War Years” — The buildup to next summer’s fourth Indiana Jones film continues with this second collection of George Lucas’ 1990s small-screen series. The nine-disc set features eight feature-length adventures starring Sean Patrick Flanery as the youthful Indy amid his World War I exploits. The set is loaded with dozens of documentary segments on the times and real-life people he encounters. DVD set, $129.99. (Paramount)

“One Tree Hill: The Complete Fourth Season” — Teen drama continues for two wildly different half-brothers (Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty) and their circle of family and friends. Year four’s 21 episodes are contained in a six-disc set, accompanied by deleted scenes. DVD set, $59.98. (Warner Bros.)

“Rawhide: The Second Season, Volume 2” — The 1950s and ’60s Western series featuring Clint Eastwood as cowboy Rowdy Yates hits the

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