DVD SCANS

All three levels of `Touch of Evil'

The two-disc Touch of Evil: 50th Anniversary Edition DVD (Universal Home Entertainment, $27) is nothing less than a revelation, regardless of whether you've seen the film. There are three versions of Orson Welles' famously troubled 1958 film noir included in the set: The 96-minute version that was released to theaters (where it flopped); a 109-minute ''preview'' version, discovered in 1972, that had since been assumed to be Welles' original cut; and a new 111-minute ''restored'' version, which had...

DVD NEWS

'Election' soon on Blu-ray

File this under the pleasant surprise category: Election, Alexander Payne's superb satire of American politics set in a high school, will get the high-definition treatment on Blu-ray disc on Jan. 20 -- Inauguration Day -- courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. Other catalog titles the studio is preparing to release on the format include Ghost, the Farrelly Brothers comedy The Heartbreak Kid and last year's Oscar-nominated Into the Wild.

DVD SCANS

'Iron Man' packed with many cool goodies

The home video release of the summer blockbuster Iron Man (Paramount Home Entertainment, $40 for the two-disc DVD and Blu-ray versions, $35 for the single-disc) comes packed with as many cool goodies as Tony Stark's armor. The movie, of course, is smashing entertainment, taking a not-so-popular comic-book and turning its characters into household names.

COMING TUESDAY ON DVD

'Chapter 27,' 'Meerkat Manor' coming out this week

Buried Alive Can't Hardly Wait: 10th Anniversary Edition Chapter 27 Deadliest Catch The Complete 4th Season Dora's Out-of-This-World Adventures

Coming to DVD on Tuesday

The Anderson Tapes Ax Men -- Season 1 Boston Legal -- Season 4 Broken Fences Brothers and Sisters -- The Complete Second Season CSI: New York -- Fourth Season

DVD SCANS

'Godfather' finds a new way to keep dragging us back in

In one of the new featurettes found on The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Giftset (Paramount, $70 DVD, $125 Blu-ray), actor Alec Baldwin compares the first film in the trilogy to a drug. ''When it's on, you're gonna watch it whether you want to or not,'' he says.

DVD SCANS

Don't you (forget about them)

Revered by anyone who grew up in the 1980s, writer-director John Hughes' first three movies -- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science -- are emblematic of the decade of tall hair and synth pop. Although the films have been previously released on DVD several times, the new High School Flashback Collection (Universal, $40), which collects the trilogy in a metal tin shaped to resemble a high school locker, marks the first time the movies have received any substantial supplements.

Coming Tuesday to DVD

88 Minutes Another Cinderella Story Before the Rains Chuck -- The Complete First Season Criminal Minds: The Complete Third Season Dirty Sexy Money: Season One

DVD SCANS

DVD Reviews | Why does this nonsense seem so sensible on TV?

There's plenty of talk about baby mamas these days but this Baby Mama (Universal; $29.98; PG-13) is the movie comedy with 30 Rock's Tina Fey and Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler. Both actresses worked on the latter show and are easy comedians. There are some laughs to be had in this brisk comedy about a career woman (Fey) who wants a baby but has had little success landing Mr. Right and even less grace from Mother Nature. She's told by her doctor that she has a T-shaped uterus so conception would...

Also coming Tuesday to DVD

14 Women Brian Regan: The Epitome of Hyperbole Criterion Collection: Essential Art House, Vol. 1 C.S.I. Miami -- The Sixth Season The Fall

DVD News and Rumors

Pixar hit Wall-E will land in stores Nov. 18 in DVD and Blu-ray formats, along with an extensive collection of extras and, as is quickly becoming standard, a digital copy to watch on your iPod or laptop.

DVD SCANS

DVD Reviews | Film is funny, but you probably haven't even heard of it

Although it came and went so quickly this summer most people haven't even heard of it, The Promotion (The Weinstein Co., $20) arrives on DVD with a nice assortment of extras. The directorial debut of former screenwriter Steven Conrad (The Weather Man, The Pursuit of Happyness), the movie, about two supermarket employees (Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly) competing for a manager's job, is laugh-out-loud funny.

DVD news and rumors

Just in time for school, Universal Studios is dusting off John Hughes' trio of 1980s high school classics -- again -- but they're finally doing them right this time. Due in stores Sept. 16 are new editions of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, each accompanied for the first time by commentary tracks, retrospective documentaries and other goodies.

DVDs also coming Tuesday

AKA Tommy Chong August Bangkok Love Story The Black House Brotherhood of the Wolf -- Director's Cut Entourage -- The Complete Fourth Season

DVD SCANS

What happens is just as lame in Extended Jackpot Edition

There isn't a moment in What Happens in Vegas (20th Century Fox, $35 DVD, $40 Blu-ray) when you forget you're watching Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz -- instead of characters, they're playing concepts, which is why the movie just sits there. Any successful romantic comedy must make the viewer want the would-be lovers to get together. But in Vegas, you don't care because all you see is a pair of actors trying their hardest to be wacky.

DVDs out Tuesday

Also coming Tuesday to DVD: DVDs out Tuesday Also coming Tuesday to DVD: An American Crime Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Collection 3

DVD SCANS

'Nixon' set wins our vote

Even though it earned four Oscar nominations and tons of media attention, Oliver Stone's Nixon never drew a sizable audience, probably because people weren't willing to sit through a three-hour movie about a president they loathed.

News and rumors

Distributor Warner Brothers has announced the release of two beloved 1980s staples, The Goonies and Gremlins, on the Blu-ray format on Oct. 8. The catch? The titles are scheduled to hit stores only in Japan at the moment. But an overseas release date means a U.S. bow can't be too far behind.

Coming Tuesday | DVD/home video

Caroline in the City -- The First Season Comedy Central's Kenny vs. Spenny: Season One -- Uncensored Dave's World -- The First Season