Monsters and sharks lead off new releases

A wide variety of movies have been released on DVD this week, led by a favorite of creature-feature aficionados and Ray Harryhausen fans.

Reissued DVD

"20 Million Miles to Earth: 50th Anniversary Edition" (Columbia, 1957, color or b/w, two discs, $24.95). Harryhausen, a protege of special-effects genius Willis O'Brien ("King Kong"), became the master of stop-motion animation from the 1950s through the early '80s (highlighted by the dueling skeletons in "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad").

This is one of his early works, about a monster from Venus attacking Rome, a low-budget effort sparked by Harryhausen's still-effective work. And for fans, this reissue holds particular appeal with a bevy of bonus features — chief among them, an audio commentary with the always articulate Harryhausen holding court with modern effects giants Phil Tippett and Denus Muren, and moderator Arnold Kunert. And an interview with Harryhausen by Tim Burton.

Also, with Harryhausen's approval, there is a colorized version of the film (along with the original black-and-white). For the record, the creature is green!

Extras: Widescreen, color or b/w options, audio commentary (Ray Harryhausen, f/x artists Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Arnold Kunert), featurettes, comic book, photo/poster galleries, trailers

Documentaries

"Blue Water, White Death" (MGM, 1971, G, $19.98). This look at the great white shark is occasionally over the top, but it gets your attention — and it was made four years before "Jaws"!

Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, featurette

"Los Zafiros: Music From the Edge of Time" (Shout! 2007, $19.99). The 1960s five-man Cuban singing group Los Zafiros (the Sapphires) was "more popular than the Beatles ... in Cuba." A highly entertaining mix of talking heads, vintage footage and anecdotal material, which also reunites the two surviving members.

Extras: Widescreen, in English and Spanish with English subtitles, deleted scenes, featurettes, '60s Cuban TV shows and commercials

"Roving Mars" (Disney, 2006, G, $29.99). Entertaining IMAX account of the 2003 Mars Rover mission with the robots Spirit and Opportunity exploring the red planet.

Extras: Widescreen/full-frame options, featurettes

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