'The Producers' arrives on DVD

Here are three recent films that have arrived on DVD this week, along with four reissued discs of popular titles — dude, like, including, like, "Napoleon Dynamite." Geez!

• "The Producers" (Universal, 2005, PG-13, $29.98). This remake of Mel Brooks' 1968 Oscar-winning film (he won for original screenplay) is an adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprising their stage roles.

The story has a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer (Lane) scheming with a high-strung accountant (Broderick) to mount the worst play ever written, a sure flop — after collecting way too much money from way too many investors. The play? "Springtime for Hitler."

The stars — especially Lane — are right at home in this over-the-top farce, and though it's a bit strained at times, there are some funny sequences. Co-stars include Uma Thurman (sexy and hysterical) and Will Ferrell (as the German playwright, right at home in this broad-comedy setting).

Extras: Separate widescreen and full-frame editions, audio commentary (director Susan Stroman), deleted scenes, making-of featurette, bloopers, language options (English, French), subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.

• "Something New" (Universal, 2006, PG-13, $29.98). The title notwithstanding, this is a romantic comedy-drama that trods familiar territory, as a black career woman (the winning Sanaa Lathan) is romanced by a white landscape architect (Simon Baker), much to the chagrin of her family and friends. Nothing spectacular, but the players are all good, including Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood and Donald Faison (TV's "Scrubs").

Extras: Separate widescreen and full-frame editions, introduction (Blair Underwood), making-of featurettes, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.

• "Winter Passing" (Fox, 2005; R for language, sex, partial nudity, drugs; $27.98). The usually charming Zooey Deschanel is unable to shine in this dark mood-swing comedy-drama. She stars as an unhappy (and unlikable) struggling actress/cokehead who returns home to retrieve (and sell) love letters exchanged by her father (Ed Harris) and her recently deceased mother, both famous novelists. An uneasy reunion follows as Deschanel discovers her alcoholic dad has turned over the house to a former female student and a strange slacker (Will Ferrell, ill at ease doing very dry comic relief). Amy Madigan (Harris' real-life wife) plays the literary agent in pursuit of the letters.

Extras: Widescreen/full-frame versions, making-of featurette, subtitle options (English, Spanish), chapters.