Film noir collections now on DVD

Vintage film noir thrillers and a best-picture Oscar nominee lead off these movies that are new to DVD.

"Bad Girls of Film Noir, Volume 1" (Columbia, 1946-56, b/w, two discs, $24.96)."Bad Girls of Film Noir, Volume 2" (Columbia, 1950-53, b/w, two discs, $24.96). Each of these collections features four mysteries in the classic style, with Ida Lupino, Audrey Totter, Evelyn Keyes, Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Grahame, among others, taunting leading men Charlton Heston, Vittorio Gassman and a young Richard Crenna.

The best films in "Volume 1" are the intense "The Killer That Stalked New York," the two Scott pictures, "Two of a Kind" and "Bad For Each Other." "The Glass Wall" is less inspired but does feature Grahame, who makes up for a lot.

"Volume 2" gets a boost from the underrated "Night Editor," about a cop who witnesses a murder but can't report it because he was with a woman who was not his wife! "One Girl's Confession" and "Over-Exposed" are lesser efforts, but "Women's Prison" boasts a one-of-a-kind campy performance by Lupino as the sadistic warden.

Extras: full frame, four films each, TV shows, trailers

"A Serious Man" (Universal, 2009; R for language, sex, nudity, violence; $28.98). In general, I love the work of the Coen Brothers, but this one didn't really do it for me — though I'm clearly in the minority, since it has earned critical raves and a best-picture Oscar nomination. Biblical echoes hover over this yarn about a physics professor whose life is falling apart around him even as he seems to be having a breakdown. There are isolated flashes of the Coens' brilliance, but it all seems a bit too cold and calculated.

Extras: widescreen, featurettes, trailers

"The Stepfather" (Sony, 2009, $28.96). The theatrical film was rated PG-13, but this is the unrated director's cut, with a little more violence. The story has a psychopath, who has killed his wife and kids (in Salt Lake City!), moving to another state to seek out a single mother so he can start again to build the perfect family. But when he can't, his violent nature surfaces. Dylan Walsh never quite captures the malevolent charm of Terry O'Quinn in the original '80s version.

Extras: widescreen, audio commentary, featurettes, bloopers, trailers

"Ice Castles" (Sony, 2010, $24.96). Here's another unnecessary remake — anyone remember the 1979 original with Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson? This time around, it's figure skater Taylor Firth whose character has Olympic aspirations until she is blinded in an accident but is then encouraged to pursue her dream anyway. Michelle Kwan has a cameo.