Selected home-video releases:
“Into the Wild”: Sean Penn directs a film with a tragic end that still somehow comes off as a hopeful and inspiring story.
Adapting Jon Krakauer’s book, Penn chronicles the real-life story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a fiercely idealistic college graduate who turned his back on his family and privileged upbringing and hit the road on a spiritual quest that ended in disaster in Alaska.
The film, which earned a supporting-actor nomination for Hal Holbrook at the Academy Awards, comes in a two-disc DVD set ($29.99) or in HD DVD high-definition format ($39.99), accompanied by background segments on the story and characters. (Paramount)
“Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”: Dustin Hoffman plays the title role in this Willy Wonka wannabe, a family tale centered on a wild-haired, 243-year-old eccentric who runs a magical toy store where anything can happen.
The action is set in motion when Hoffman’s Mr. Magorium decides it’s time for him to leave this world, so he turns over the store to his protege (Natalie Portman), who’s forced to find her inner child and regain the whimsy and creativity needed to run a shop where magic and fantasy are the ruling order.
The DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray high-definition disc ($39.98) feature a handful of behind-the-scenes segments spotlighting the characters and the actors behind them, along with writer-director Zach Helm. (20th Century Fox)
“101 Dalmatians”: Disney finally looses the hounds from its vaults. Previously available in a single-DVD release that’s long out of print, the animated classic is back in a two-disc set loaded with extras.
The 1961 tale follows the adventures of a Dalmatian mom and pop who have 99 pups — their litter winding up abducted by the villainess Cruella De Vil, who intends to skin them for her latest fur coat.
Cruella’s the focus of some of the DVD set’s extras, among them a feature on the evil woman and a new music video of the tune that bears her name, performed by Disney Channel star Selena Gomez. The set also has deleted songs, trivia about the film and a collection of correspondence between Walt Disney and Dodie Smith, whose book inspired the movie. $29.99. (Disney)
TV on DVD
“The Love Boat: Season One, Volume One”: Romance on the high seas became a weekly ritual with the 1977 debut of the show that spun tales of love among the passengers of a luxury liner. Gavin MacLeod, Lauren Tewes, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange and Fred Grandy led the regular cast of the show. $36.98. (Paramount)
“Magnum P.I.: The Complete Eighth Season”: Tom Selleck is back for his final season as the Hawaiian private detective with the laid-back style. $49.98. (Universal)
Other new releases
“Awake”: Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba and Terrence Howard star in a thriller about a man who remains unexpectedly conscious during heart surgery and overhears his wife’s plan to kill him. $28.95. (Genius)
“Things We Lost in the Fire”: Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro star in a stark drama of a wife and mother coping with the violent death of her husband, who finds comfort in a complicated friendship with her spouse’s old pal, a drug addict trying to start a new life of his own. DVD, $29.99; HD DVD, $39.99. (Paramount)
“12 Angry Men”: Henry Fonda is the voice of reason and restraint in Sidney Lumet’s classic court drama about a jury that’s almost, but not quite, unanimous in voting to condemn a youth in a murder trial. The 1957 film returns in a 50th anniversary edition featuring making-of features. $19.98. (MGM)
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