Quirky ‘Science’ in a dream world

Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg star in Michel Gondry’s surreal “The Science of Sleep” (Warner, $28). Bernal plays a shy young man from Mexico who escapes life’s difficulties through a Dali-esque dream world.

Extras include lively commentary from Gondry, Bernal (a real charmer), Gainsbourg and Sacha Bourdo, who plays one of Bernal’s co-workers. There’s also a 40-minute “making of” documentary that explores Gondry’s life and career, plus a fascinating featurette on Lauri Faggioni, who created the soft furry animals that were used in the dream sequences. Rounding out the disc are two rather unusual extras: a music video of the Linda Serbu song “Rescue Me,” urging animal lovers to adopt cats, and a short documentary by Serbu about the need to get cats spayed and neutered.

Critics weren’t very kind to the uneven film noir “Hollywoodland” (Universal, $30), but they did single out Ben Affleck for his multilayered performance as actor George Reeves. Though the ill-fated star of the 1950s TV series “Superman” allegedly committed suicide in 1959, Reeves’ death remains a mystery because several people who knew the actor were convinced he was murdered. This “Rashomon”-style thriller offers three scenarios for his death.

Extras include a few perfunctory featurettes and commentary from director Allen Coulter (“The Sopranos”).

In 1985, director Susan Seidelman scored a hit with her hip romantic comedy “Desperately Seeking Susan,” starring Madonna. She returns to the genre two decades later with the engaging “Boynton Beach Club” (Sony, $27). This time her subjects are not twentysomethings but the over-55 crowd that lives at an “active adult” community. Joseph Bologna, Dyan Cannon, Brenda Vaccaro, Len Cariou, Michael Nouri and Sally Kellerman (who even has a nude scene) star.

In her commentary, Seidelman reveals that her mom’s experiences inspired the movie, for which she also wrote the first draft.

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Also New

“Anything but Love -- Vol. I” (Fox, $40): Though never a huge hit, ABC’s 1989-92 romantic sitcom had a loyal following thanks to the chemistry between stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis. This set features 28 episodes. Extras feature nostalgic commentary from Curtis and Lewis on the first episode and an above-average retrospective, including clips from the first pilot.

“The Heiress” (Universal, $15): Olivia de Havilland received her second best actress Oscar for her complex, heartbreaking performance in this 1949 adaptation of Henry James’ “Washington Square” as a plain-Jane who falls for a handsome fortune hunter (Montgomery Clift). Ralph Richardson gives an Oscar-nominated turn as her domineering father. Directed by William Wyler, it received four Academy Awards, including one for Aaron Copland’s evocative score.

“The Clock” (Warner, $20): Vincente Minnelli directed this exquisite 1945 romantic drama starring his then wife, Judy Garland, in her first nonsinging role as a young woman who meets a sweet young soldier (Robert Walker) on leave in New York. Extras include a short, a cartoon and the Lux Radio Theatre version of the movie.

“Crossing Delancey” (Warner, $20): Underrated 1988 romantic comedy about a young single woman (Amy Irving) working in a New York bookstore who is set up by a Jewish matchmaker with a pickle maker (Peter Riegert). Directed by Joan Micklin Silver.

“Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (Sony, $20): Warren Beatty remade this 1941 comedy fantasy in 1978 as “Heaven Can Wait.” In this version, Robert Montgomery plays a boxer taken to heaven before his time by a nervous angel and who is then put into the body of a millionaire. Nominated for several Oscars, including best picture and actor, itwon for original story and screenplay.

“A Summer Place” (Warner, $20): Scrumptiously campy 1959 romance filled with overheated passion, sex, histrionics and Max Steiner’s score. Troy Donahue, Sandra Dee, Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire and Arthur Kennedy star.

And: “Flags of Our Fathers” (Paramount, $20); “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet: The Musical Edition” (Fox, $20); “Cinderella III: A Twist in Time” (Disney, $30); “Trust the Man” (Fox, $28); “Arabian Nights” (Universal, $15).