'Tiger' pounces in Blu-ray box set

Here are some of the many movies newly released on DVD this week, led by some martial-arts favorites on Blu-ray.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (Sony/Blu-ray, 2000, PG-13)."Curse of the Golden Flower" (Sony/Blu-ray, 2006, R for violence)."House of Flying Daggers" (Sony/Blu-ray, 2004, PG-13). This collection of three recent Chinese action-filled period pieces is being released as a Blu-ray box set, although the only one that is actually new to Blu-ray is "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (and it's only available in this set).

That said, if you don't have the other two and are a fan of these films (as I am), here's your chance to get all three in Blu-ray — with each film's vivid rich color palettes and lavish costume/set design enhanced by high definition.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "House of Flying Daggers" are special-effects driven martial-arts epics that far surpass the kung-fu pictures of two decades ago, when such genre films were often bottom-of-the-barrel productions, occasionally lifted by the talent involved. These three are all A-list productions with powerhouse performances from Ziyi Zhang in both films, and Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh in "Crouching Tiger."

"Curse of the Golden Flower" is a Shakespearean rough-and-tumble, muscular battle of wits (with warrior battles thrown in for good measure), as an emperor (Chow Yun Fat) goes up against his formidable, albeit ailing, wife and adversary (Gong Li). Both stars' performances are electrifying and all-out.

Extras: widescreen, in Chinese with English subtitles, featurettes; on "Crouching": audio commentary, photo gallery

"12" (Sony Classics, 2007, PG-13, $28.96). Did a Chechen teenager kill his stepfather? A jury of "12 Angry Men" must decide in this loose Russian adaptation of the classic American teleplay/movie.

Co-writer/co-producer/director Nikita Mikhalkov also co-stars as jury foreman and the film is, of course, less about the verdict than the effectiveness of the legal system and of how 12 flawed humans must make such a decision. Only drawback is overlength (more than 21/2 hours), but despite the one-room setting it moves well.

Extras: widescreen, in Russian with English subtitles

"Don't Touch the White Woman" (Koch Lorber, 1974, $19.98)."Bye Bye Monkey" (Koch Lorber, 1978, $19.98). These two foreign films are strange offerings from the wild and weird Italian surrealist Marco Ferreri, whose work was nothing if not provocative and often mind-boggling.