'Yankees,' reissued 'Shawshank' are top releases on DVD

Here are some new movies on DVD — the best being the debut of "Damn Yankees" on disc and a reissue of "The Shawshank Redemption."

• "Damn Yankees" (Warner, 1958, not rated, $19.97). This adaptation of the stage sensation is a lot of fun, although Tab Hunter in the lead is a weak link. But don't let that stop you; Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston more than make up for him, as they repeat their Broadway roles (Walston won a Tony).

The story has an aging Washington Senators fan selling his soul to the devil (Walston) for a chance to regain his youth. So he receives a youthful body (Hunter) and helps his team as they attempt to beat the Yankees for the pennant. However, when he tries to invoke an escape clause, the devil brings in a temptress (Verdon) to seduce him.

The film is funny, charming, witty, boasts excellent dancing (choreographed by the great Bob Fosse) and is loaded with terrific songs — "Whatever Lola Wants," "You Gotta Have Heart," "Two Lost Souls," etc. Walston is a riot and Verdon is sex on wheels; her mambo with Fosse is a real highlight.

Extras: Widescreen, trailer, subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

• "The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition" (Warner, 1994; R for violence, language, brief sex, nudity; $26.99, two discs). Some of the best film adaptations of Stephen King stories have nothing to do with horror — "Stand By Me," "The Long Green Mile" and this one.

Timothy Robbins stars as a New England banker who receives two life sentences for the murders of his wife and her lover in 1947 . . . but did he really do it? In prison, he befriends a long-term inmate (Morgan Freeman, who also narrates), and the film takes a number of surprising twists and turns.

Although at 2 1/2 hours it's a bit long, Robbins and Freeman — and supporting player James Whitmore — are excellent, and "Shawshank" brings to mind the best in the prison-picture genre, from "White Heat" to "The Birdman of Alcatraz" to "Cool Hand Luke."

Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary (writer/director Frank Darabont), making-of featurettes; interview with Darabont, Robbins and Freeman on "The Charlie Rose Show"; spoof "The Sharktank Redemption," photo gallery, storyboards, trailer, DVD-Rom applications, language options (English, French), subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters. (Also available for $44.99 in "Deluxe" edition, which is the same as this one, with the addition of audio soundtrack CD and booklet.