'Silverado' leads list of new DVDs

Leading off this look at new DVDs is a pair of revisionist Westerns that have arrived on Blu-ray, one a riotous barrel of fun and the other a bizarre homage to spaghetti Westerns.

"Silverado" (Columbia/Blu-ray, 1985, PG-13, $28.95)

This action-packed comic Western from Lawrence Kasdan benefits from imaginative direction and clever casting, as cowpokes Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover and Kevin Costner team up to defeat evil Brian Dennehy and his gang. Also on hand are Linda Hunt, John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette and Jeff Goldblum.

The script is smart, if a bit overstuffed, causing some cast members get short shrift (chiefly Arquette and Goldblum), but Kline, Glenn and Glover have great chemistry, and Costner — in a star-making performance — has more energy than he's exhibited in any subsequent film. In addition, the Bruce Broughton score is a rousing Western anthem.

This Blu-ray transfer is gorgeous, showing off the location scenery to great advantage.

Extras: widescreen, featurettes, trailers; Internet applications; 32-page photobook

"The Quick and the Dead" (TriStar/Blu-ray, 1995; R for violence, language, nudity; $28.95)

Sharon Stone stiffly impersonates Clint Eastwood's "Dollar Trilogy" Man With No Name, complete with squinty-eyed close-ups and stubby cigar. She rides into Redemption to take part in a gunslinger contest, but she really wants revenge on town boss/bully Gene Hackman (channeling his Oscar-winning "Unforgiven" role).

The over-the-top direction by Sam Raimi (the "Spider-Man" movies) seems to aim for parody, but it's not funny enough to be a comedy and it's too weird to be a straight-ahead Western. Stone is supported by a fine cast, which includes Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise and, in his last film, Woody Strode.

Extras: widescreen, trailers; Internet applications

"Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story" (Sony, 2009, $24.96)

Cuba Gooding Jr. leads an exceptional cast in this inspiring TNT cable-TV movie, the true story of a man born into poverty who overcame enormous odds to become a highly renowned pediatric neurosurgeon.

Kimberly Elise is outstanding as his mother and the rest of the cast is uniformly fine in this exceptionally well-written and directed drama. Among the bonus features is a look at the real-life Ben Carson.

Extras: widescreen, featurettes, trailers

"Facing the Giants" (Sony/Blu-ray, 2006, PG, $28.95)

This crowd-pleasing football picture, now reissued on Blu-ray, was produced by a Baptist Church — but it's no amateur effort. The story has a Christian high school coach challenging his players to call upon their faith to help them perform as a team on the field. Very well done.

Extras: widescreen, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, music video, bloopers, trailer