A bold ‘Knight’ move

The Dark Knight

Warner, $28.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $35.99

Director Christopher Nolan raises superhero realism to dizzying heights with “The Dark Knight,” which places Christian Bale’s morally conflicted Batman and Heath Ledger’s creepy Joker in a Gotham City that looks disturbingly like contemporary America, not some remote, fantastical movie set. Some of Nolan’s “Are heroes and villains really so different?” philosophizing is overcooked, but his impressionistic images hold a lot of power, as does his gutsy choice to use iconic characters to explore his usual themes of identity and lost ideals.

The double-disc DVD set includes only a few behind-the-scenes featurettes and alternate scenes, but the Blu-ray disc adds more, including a replication of the movie’s innovative Imax framing. This is one of 2008’s most essential DVD purchases.

Horton Hears a Who

20th Century Fox, $29.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

Blue Sky Studios adapts Dr. Seuss’ classic fable about an elephant’s faith in the microscopic creatures only he can hear, and though the movie’s far too quippy and manic -- led astray by the aside-laden voice performances of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell -- co-directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino do a marvelous job of replicating the fanciful curves and folds of Seuss’ art. “Horton Hears a Who” feels wrong but looks just right. The special-edition DVD and Blu-ray discs offer insights into how Blue Sky brought Seuss to computer animation, as well a detail-oriented commentary by Hayward and Martino.

Man on Wire

Magnolia, $26.98

In 1974, tightrope walker Philippe Petit traversed the Twin Towers of the newly constructed World Trade Center, and if nothing else, the photos and films of the incident in James Marsh’s documentary “Man on Wire” should leave even the most jaded viewers gasping, though Petit’s recollections of how he pulled off his stunt are gripping as well. Marsh purposefully chooses not to connect the event to any larger context, and the story becomes a little repetitive. Still, when Petit steps out into thin air . . . oh, man. The DVD adds deleted scenes and a Marsh commentary track.

Swingtown:

The First Season

Paramount, $40.99

This CBS summer series about sexual revolution in the Chicago suburbs probably should’ve aired on a pay cable channel, where it would’ve been as sophisticated and explicit as creator Mike Kelley clearly intended. What held the show back was that Kelley never supplied his characters with a strong ongoing narrative. Nevertheless, “Swingtown” looked fantastic, all dreamy and retro. The DVD set includes deleted scenes, Kelley commentary on selected episodes and featurettes about the making of the show and the mood of its times.

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