THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Blue Velvet: 25^th Anniversary Edition (Twentieth Century Fox)

One of the ’80s best and most fucked-up movies finally comes to Blu-ray. David Lynch’s super-twisted look at suburban hell through the eyes of a college kid who comes home after his dad ends up in the hospital starts with a severed ear and leads to a blowjob at knifepoint, Dean Stockwell singing Roy Orbison, and Dennis Hopper’s most whacked-out performance in a career that was built on them. Extras include lots of previously unreleased footage that’s positively Lynchian in its ability to creep you out.

 

Band of Brothers/The Pacific Special Edition Gift Set (HBO)

HBO’s Emmy-hogging World War II miniseries get boxed up for the holidays in this 13-disc set. Both shows ran for 10 episodes, so you’ll have to clear your calendar to get through all of them. The extras – most about the real-life troops who fought – are pretty great too.

Cars 2 (Walt Disney)

The sequel to Pixar’s worst movie certainly comes off like a cash-grab at times. The story takes Lightning and his wheeled crew to Europe for a grand prix, but the racing stuff is boring (the spy subplot has a little more life). It’s no Toy Story 3, but it isn’t Hoodwinked Too! either.

 

Fanny & Alexander (Criterion)

Ingmar Bergman’s last great movie – about his family – makes its Blu-ray debut. In addition to the terrific 1982 theatrical cut, the original butt-numbing five-and-a-half-hour TV version is here, along with Bergman’s own enlightening documentary about making the movie.

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