Week in DVD: ‘Crank’ it up … again

There’s a little of something for every taste available this week on DVD. A short list of the more interesting stuff follows.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Very First Alvin Show” : The subtitle to this animated 1961 re-release pretty much says it all.

“Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition” : Disney leads the way in trying to find new marketing ploys for older material. Here, the 1971 Angela Lansbury fantasy – which is loosely based on Mary Norton’s book – tacks on some featurettes and an extra song or two as an incentive for potential viewers.

“Crank 2: High Voltage” : The movie sequel that we thought couldn’t be made. Jason Statham’s character died, or so it seemed, at the end of “Crank.” Oops, guess again.

“Dance Flick” : Another one of those satires on movie genres, this one starring the Wayans brothers.

“Friday: Director’s Cut” : Haven’t breathed until I could see the “Director’s Cut” of this lame 1995 Ice Cube comedy. Hey, at least Nia Long is easy on the eyes. Especially in Blu-ray.

“The Human Condition” : Scattered amid the dross on this list comes this re-release of Masaki Kobayashi’s 1959-61 three-part saga about a Japanese soldier enduring the trials of World War II, before and after. Compiled into a nine-and-a-half-hour view, Kobayashi’s film will strike most of us as a moviegoing endurance contest. Still, critic Andrew O’Hehir of Salon.com describes “The Human Condition” as “a richly rewarding visual and human experience in all its bleakness.” Sounds good to me.

“If the World Were a Village” : If it were, this animated film tells us, we’d see things a lot differently – especially if just 100 people comprised the world. For one thing, that means 39 would speak Chinese as a native language (as opposed to just nine for English). Makes me hungry for egg foo yong.

“That Hamilton Woman” : This 1941 film is most notable for pairing two actors, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, then married, as the real-life historical pair, Lady Emma Hamilton and Lord Horatio Nelson. The new high-def digital transfer features an interview with Michael Korda, nephew of director Alexander Korda.

Happy viewing.