When Peyton Place was first on the air, it was broadcast twice a week with no repeats (!), so it goes without saying that there’s a whole lotta Peyton Place for those who are interested. That being said, though, Peyton Place: Part One (2.5, Shout! Factory) is way more valuable as a cultural curio than it is as contemporary entertainment.

There’s a pedigree to The Paper Chase that sets it apart from typical TV dramas of its age, but in the land of boob tubes, savvy intelligence only gets you so far: The Paper Chase: Season One(2.5 , Shout! Factory) is one of those DVD box sets that is as noble as it is stuffy, as admirable as it is compromised. The tentpole of the series is John Houseman, who brings his background as a founding member of the Mercury Theatre to his performance as a curmudgeonly college professor with a heart of gold

t still slays me that a show like South Park that goes out of its way to have low-to-the-ground animation looks so damned great – especially on this South Park: The Complete Twelfth SeasonBlu-ray Disc box set  (Paramount).

The film may have been released before the early-90s renaissance of Disney animation, but the new Oliver & Company: 20th Anniversary Edition (Buena Vista) is nevertheless a fine DVD package. It may pale in comparison to the company’s new advents on Blu-ray Disc (if you haven’t purchased your Sleeping BeautyBD yet, it’s time)

This round of catalog Blu-ray Disc releases from Paramount are fairly disappointing, and not just because this writer doesn’t necessarily think any of them are decidedly grand films. In fact, I have no problem saying that the worst flicks in this bunch (the odious and so-dumb-it-hurts Event Horizon and the sweet but misguided Last Holiday) looks and sounds the best.

These initial releases in Paramount’s Centennial Collection series have the kind of name recognition that make cinephiles drool with excitement, but as an avowed DVD-head, I found myself asking: Why? The transfer afforded the first DVD release of Sunset Boulevard was not fantastic, but why not a Blu-ray release or a big box set (especially with Billy Wilder’s own Sabrina being one of the releases here)?

No, I’m not kidding. Many dismissed this 2000 film as being teeny-gyrate shtick with no redeeming value whatsoever, but for those of us who know the tingly magic of Coyote Ugly, this high definition presentation of the film reminds us of the giddy pull cinema can have when it’s simply being fun. Containing both the theatrical and unrated versions of the film (the unrated one just includes more of heartthrob Adam Garcia’s bare ass and some Piper Perabo body-double boobs), this Blu-ray Disc is a veritable party in a snap-case.It’s SO STUPID

The Beatles have been notoriously and understandably hesitant to license their music.  You can’t find their music on iTunes, and they only just announced the forthcoming availability of their music on Rock Band.  But in Las Vegas you can indulge in a glorious live production of their music via innovative sight and sound – Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE.

For anyone who’s a sucker for documentaries (especially biographical ones), The Presidents emits a tractor beam that may be difficult to resist. This collection of ten feature-length looks at commander-in-chiefs like FDR, Jimmy Carter and JFK are all exceptionally well-constructed and engaging enough that even if the information presented isn’t surprising and new

Friday the 13th as a series is best left appropriated as a long-lost curio than an actual entity. This syndicated series from the late 1980s tries to establish that the evil that brought good ol’ Jason Voorhees to life could also be the lightning bolt that could start up multiple different tales of suffering and darkness – call it The Crystal Lake Twilight Zone. But – as should come as little surprise to most anyone who investigates it – Friday the 13th is little more than an appendix to an already unstable F13 franchise. If you bought Peter Bracke’s essential Crystal Lake Memories book about the history of all things Friday the 13th, you’ll no doubt want to add this disc to your collection. All others should let this one pass.