DVD corner

“Burt Lancaster Signature Collection”: Another signature collection from Warner that should have lost the word “Signature” from its title. The set doesn’t come through with what it promises – excellence – so the studio is fishing for disappointment. This is true for the “Burt Lancaster Signature Collection,” a set of five films that doesn’t offer any of Lancaster’s best movies, such as “From Here to Eternity,” “Birdman of Alcatraz,” “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “The Professionals,” “Atlantic City” and “Elmer Gantry,” the latter of which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Instead, we get 1950’s “Flame and the Arrow,” 1951’s “Jim Thorpe – All American,” 1953’s “South Sea Woman,” 1954’s “His Majesty O’Keefe” and 1973’s “Executive Action.” While those movies are good, especially “Thorpe,” few would sign off on the idea that they are among the actor’s signature films. Grade: B-

“C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation: Complete Seventh Season”: Arguably the series’ best season, with the miniature killer on the loose (that isn’t as corny as it sounds) and, at season’s end, one key character’s life hanging in the balance. William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger and Jorja Fox return, with Liev Schreiber showing up in a supporting role as a questionable new cop on the scene (he’s excellent). All make for a fine cast, with the story lines digging into the grisly aspects of investigative work in ways that reveal character through action, not exposition. This is a good reason why each show feels greased with drama, horror and, in some cases, wry humor and the tug of romance. Highlights include the episodes “Leaving Las Vegas,” “The Good, The Bad and The Dominatrix,” and “Empty Eyes,” in which six Vegas showgirls are snuffed before their time. Their show might be over, but this show, on the other hand, nicely goes on. Grade: B+

“Gilmore Girls: Complete Seventh Season”: With names like Sookie St. James, Luke Danes and Logan Huntzberger, you expect “The Gilmore Girls” to be soapier than it is. But with its core relationship focused on the lives of single-mother Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), the story lines are steeped in a privileged idea of reality. Quirky New England characters and old money round out the landscape of this final season in the series, which occasionally is too precious for its own good. Still, moments are mildly amusing, and this well-acted show, while hardly at its best here in spite of bringing Lorelai and Luke together, is wise enough not to hit us too hard over the heads about how difficult it can be to grow up, whether you’re a child or an adult. Grade: C+

“Hairspray” DVD, HD DVD: Adam Shankman’s “Hairspray” is one of the year’s best comedies, a surprise given that Shankman directed “The Pacifier” and “Cheaper by the Dozen 2,” each of which put a flop in the box office’s flip. Not so with “Hairspray.” Based on the hit Broadway musical by way of John Waters’ 1988 camp classic movie, the film is expertly conceived, fun and infectious. In the lead is newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, the impossibly perky, plus-size Baltimore lass whose beaming naivete and kindness are about to be challenged when, in 1962, the country nudges forward with the ramifications of segregation and integration. Those are serious subjects to explore, so it’s to the movie’s great credit that it manages to make you feel just how serious without ever sacrificing the film’s mischief and fun. Beyond Blonsky, whose unflagging energy should be canned by Red Bull, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Allison Janney and Taylor Parks are terrific. As Tracy’s robust mother Edna, John Travolta tucks himself beneath so much foam padding, he could double as a three-piece living room set. Unlike Harvey Fierstein and Divine before him, Travolta’s Edna is sweet, soft-spoken and shy, with the actor playing the part with barely a wink that it’s Travolta beneath all that makeup. As such, for purists, this particular man in the fat suit might not suit, but for mainstream audiences, for whom the movie is targeted, Travolta likely will win over plenty. Helping him to that end is Christopher Walken as Edna’s husband, who shares with her a dance and a song that’s one of the film’s highlights. The song is called “You’re Timeless to Me,” which, given the film’s themes of acceptance in a world that continues to resist it, easily could speak for the movie itself. Rated PG-13. Grade: A-

“Live Free or Die Hard” DVD, Blu-ray: Len Wiseman’s “Live Free or Die Hard” turns out to be that odd sequel that works more often than it doesn’t. This fourth film in the “Die Hard” franchise offers exactly what you expect, only with more outlandish stunts, a bigger budget, and an older Bruce Willis returning as John McClane, the New York City cop who this time out finds himself up against his most formidable foe yet – the computer- which McClane admits he knows nothing about. It’s here that the film offers its wink and a twist. Co-starring opposite Willis is Justin Long, the dude from the Apple Computer commercials, who goes a long way in making “Live Free or Die Hard” as enjoyable as it is. He’s Matt Farrell, a New Jersey-based computer hack who has run afoul of the law and who McClane is ordered to bring to Washington, D.C., for questioning. Trouble is, Farrell also is wanted by some seriously stylish thugs who are out to destroy the U.S. defense system because of issues surrounding Sept. 11. Led by Timothy Olyphant’s Thomas Gabriel and Maggie Q as his vicious girlfriend, the group is a merciless, acrobatic bunch who will stop at nothing to snuff Farrell and anyone else who gets in their way. Since that means McClane and, by extension, his estranged daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Whitehead), each of whom is tougher than these terrorists think, the wheels come off the plot as the computer-generated mayhem begins. Rated PG-13. Grade: B-

“Melrose Place: Third Season”: Strife! Sex! Hit men! Bomb threats! This third season of the popular, long-running series introduced Kristin Davis (“Sex and the City”) as Brooke Armstrong, a not-so-sweet young lady who had nothing but trouble in mind for the glossy residents of Melrose Place, and who helped to push the series toward one mother of a cliffhanger. The show offers everything you expect from a nighttime soap opera – backbiting, infighting, greed, recklessness, people flat on their backs with others on top of them – and it does it well, as these things go, with one of the brighter high points being Heather Locklear as the conniving Amanda Woodward. It’s tough to go wrong with Locklear, who rarely disappoints, and it’s fun to revisit Marcia Cross before she became Bree on “Desperate Housewives.” The third season includes guest appearances by former porn star Traci Lords and game-show host Chuck Woolery. So, for fans of the series, it’s a must. Grade: B

“Mission: Impossible – Third Season”: With each show beginning with the lighting of a fuse, it’s up to the writers, the director and the cast to sustain the excitement and tension inherent within. In the third season of this influential espionage show, which spawned a movie franchise, that proves true once again. Here, the world is reduced to the size of a postage stamp and we’re all over it, with Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Greg Morris, Barbara Bain and Peter Lupus smoothly handling the most crafty of criminals. Entertainment is key here – gadgets abound – but so is credibility. The show does a fine job walking the tricky line each offers. Occasionally, when compelled, it also leaps off it. Grade: B+

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of BDN film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.